Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout

It’s one of the great conundrums of modern American politics. Time and again, voters elect politicians who espouse positions that are contrary to what the majority of the public believes.

The list of such issues is a long one: climate change, gun violence, wages, tax fairness, health care.

And another classic example of this disconnect occurred in this past Tuesday’s election. All across the country – in red and blue states – voters came out in big numbers to support initiatives that enshrine abortion rights in state constitutions. And yet, at the same time, they elected a president opposed to reproductive freedom.

How? Why?

Sadly, the suspicion here is that a huge proportion of the public is simply not paying attention. These folks may hold progressive beliefs, but they vote with their heart or their gut instead of their head.

The bottom line: Donald Trump is an enormously savvy politician, but ultimately, his success should be a reminder to voters that they too need to be savvy and pay close attention if they want their policy beliefs to prevail.

For NC Newsline, I’m Rob Schofield.