Ben: re what Steven is saying, think of polls. The candidates are strongly influenced by the voters before the election.

The kinds of people who are NOT influenced by polls are filtered out long before you get to the level of US Congress. At best, you may have a few core values that you decide trump your other values, and then use your other issues to create a mix that alienates the fewest potential allies on your core values.

Do you vote for people you disagree with just because it seems their announced policy choices were not influenced by polls or focus groups? Neither does anyone else.