When an elected official says, "I believe . . . " I tend to reply derisively, "So why would I give a shit what you believe?" Elected officials should be devising new ways to find out the opinions of their majorities—for we elect them to represent, not to vote their religion, their ethics, their heart, or frankly, to think at all.

The real question is not "How did this happen?" (need for power, money, status, etc.) but instead, "Why do we allow it?"