I have seen the future.

Magnus, I LIVE in VA. I know who the MM are. They represent a small, but vocal, minority. Their membership is a few million. In a nation of 300 million, this doesn't even begin to become a useful sample, especially as it's self selecting. Most Americans, when actually asked, don't place anywhere near the amount of weight on abortion, gay rights, and flag burning as the fringe groups would have you believe. Unfortunately, the fringe groups are the ones who are most likely to vote. The studies are out there. The average US citizen does not want to live in a theocratic state, despite being religious. They're smart enough to recognize that their particular flavor may not meet the standard, and we all grow up in this country learning that the Pilgrims fled from England so they could be as crazy as they wanted without being persecuted. Religious freedom is something indoctrinated by the schools from very early on. Unfortunately, out of a couple hundred million potential voters, only twenty million or so show up (the tri-state NYC metropolitan area is 30+ million people, just to give you an idea of how few actually bother to show up), and they tend to be the older and the affluent, which is not a representative sample of the majority, so yes, a small non-representative group like the MM can make a large impact by doing nothing more than encouraging a slight increase in the numbers. Don't let that fool you into thinking they actually represent anything more than a fringe.

Both parties engage in election fraud. Tammany Hall is the current gold standard, with the Mayors Daley and friends of Chicago coming in a close second, but we're working hard find a new low. The fuck ups in Ohio from the 2004 election cycle are a matter of documented public record. It's not a question of faith, as I don't believe in invisible pink unicorns, gods, or men in black.