We may be six months away from Election Day, but I've already racked up nearly 160,000 km this year crisscrossing the country and listening to voters in more than 20 states. Both President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are in full campaign mode, and opinions and analysis of their chances to win are flowing fast and thick. I study what Americans think and how they communicate. And I can tell you firsthand that there are widespread misconceptions about conservative voters — what they believe in and what they are looking for from their leaders. Let's look closer at this key demographic and debunk some of the biggest whoppers.
1. Conservatives care most about the size of government.
They may have rallied around President Ronald Reagan's call for smaller government three decades ago — but it's not the 1980s anymore. Today, conservatives don't want a reduced government so much as one that works better and wastes less.