Said another way, the government answers to us. (Because you’d have a hard time making the case that it works for anyone but them.)

One of the foundational differences between conservatives and leftists is that conservatives believe and understand that the government answers to us. We elect them. We pay their salaries. They represent us. We tell them what we want them to do.

Conversely, leftists believe government is all-knowing and all-seeing. Government has “experts,” who know better than the common folk. Government is to be trusted not only because they know best, but they specifically know what good for us.

This is another element of conservatism that puts us at a marketing disadvantage. Many people want to just elect someone and then check out while they deal with it. Elected, and unelected, government workers can pretty much do what they want because most people aren’t paying attention.

Leftists can watch the money laundering and the political favor exchanges of politicians and their reaction is to get in on it. When conservatives see it, they want to stop it and prosecute all of them.

This is also why there the two have such different attitudes toward the Constitution. Our Constitution is essentially a list of what the government can’t do to the people. Conservatives love that because they largely see government as useless and something to be reigned in.

Leftists see the opposite. They think government should be activist in its control over as many aspects of our society as possible. But as our Constitution is, for the time being, still our Constitution, the conservatives have this one right. The government should stay out of our lives as much as possible.