A Matter of Definition

I'll be writing more on this in the coming days, but it is striking to me how one-sided American politics has become.  Democracy is about tension.  It's not a bad tension.  People in a free society have differing views and they express them.  They have certain likes and dislikes.  They have differing world views.  They all come together to run a government that they hope will take into account their views.  That's the tension.  But we've come to a point where we must ask oursleves, "If Republicans aren't really for smaller, more affordable government and lower taxes, who is the counterweight to the Progressives?"  In the absence of real tension - a real give and take and an effective counterweight - aren't we living under one party rule regardless of who is in power?  Aren't the political views of a huge swath of the American electorate being ignored?  If we accept that as the case, then we can rightfully ask if we will continue to live in a free society.  Just food for thought.