Yesterday, I spent some time in Michigan's Capitol Building, you can read about it here (warning: wonky budget negotiation details ahead). But one thing really struck me- how open and well, free it was. No charges, no pat downs, no burly men in suits with guns posted at every door. I even spoke with a Senator, just walked right up to her and started chatting it up. Something a lowly DFH blogger-cum-cub reporter could never, ever do in DC. This is really the heart of the problem about which so many are constantly complaining. There is no contact between real people and their leaders elected officials, not at the national level at least. For Democratic reps, the most important thing is what is said on TV, and the only America they know is one on constant Orange Alert, peopled with "protective" thugs and brownshirts on every corner.