Conservatives 41%, Liberals 21%

Want to know why conservatives got a debt ceiling deal that was more favorable to their point of view?  There's more of them:

Americans’ political ideology at the midyear point of 2011 looks similar to 2009 and 2010, with 41% self-identifying as conservative, 36% as moderate, and 21% as liberal.

If this pattern continues, 2011 will be the third straight year that conservatives significantly outnumber moderates — the next largest ideological bloc. Liberalism has been holding steady for the past six years, averaging either 21% or 22%, although notably higher than the 17% average seen in Gallup polling during the early to middle ’90s.

Longer term, the Gallup ideology trend, dating from 1992, documents increased political polarization in the country. The percentage of moderates has fallen to the mid-30s from the low 40s, while the combined percentage either liberal or conservative is now 62%, up from 53%.

Liberals are loud, whiny and cranky, but relatively few in numbers. They're not mainstream America. Conservatives, on the other hand, are much more representative of most of America and the GOP needs to understand this. They can't go too far wrong following conservative principles.

And when you consider that most so-called moderates probably live much of their lives following conservative principles, there's really no reason to give the liberals anything they demand. They're insignificant.