Sadly, I fear it makes no difference anymore what the American people believe or want.
They are going to get both a decadent society and an oppressive nanny state shoved down their throats.
“Whether they like it or not.”
You might enjoy this podcast:
Morris Fiorina on Polarization, Stability, and the State of the Electorate
http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2013/07/morris_fiorina.html