Here are some guesses.<p>On (1), the mental model I have is more like an understanding of who the super-intense supporters are. 90% of people might say they support background checks for gun purchases, but it&#x27;s the 10% who support it who are voting on the basis of that issue, in part due to organizations like the NRA. I think our findings are consistent with that, in the sense that politicians seem to believe they don&#x27;t need to learn what public opinion is in order to get re-elected; they can focus on other forms of information-gathering.<p>On (2), I suspect there is something there, but it&#x27;s hard to make sense of Democrats from that angle, as Democratic primary voters, for example, are more liberal than the average person, yet Democratic politicians don&#x27;t seem to see their districts as more liberal than they are. My guess is the key group is something more like &quot;the people who choose to write in and go to meetings.&quot;