Leftist politicians have known for decades that America would never accept anything labeled as socialism, and so they followed a strategy of gradualism that brought socialism to America on the installment plan. ObamaCare is the next-to-the-last payment in that installment plan. A citizenry that will allow the government to seize control of its health care will eventually accept seizure of firearms, redistribution of income, limits on speech that the government finds unacceptable, and a host of other evils that always follow the left's rise to power.

With ObamaCare in place, death panels will be the least of America's worries. If ever there was a time that mainstream America needed bold and principled representation, this is the time.

So why is the GOP -- the current vehicle for the center-right mainstream in American politics -- divided over whether to stand and fight or to simply step out of the way of the left's final steps toward socialism? Or, to put it bluntly, why is it always the Republicans who cave and never the far left?

Notice that there was never any question that the four leftist justices on the Supreme Court would vote to uphold ObamaCare. The left knew that their four votes on the Court were solid even before the bill was drafted. The only political question prior to the notorious decision was whether the GOP appointees would stand with the Constitution or fold under pressure from the left. John Roberts had to know the depth and the consequences of his betrayal for future generations of Americans, and yet he caved.

And though mainstream America overwhelmingly wants ObamaCare stopped, notice that there has never been the slightest concern on the left that Obama, Reid, or Pelosi might cave under public pressure. Poll results, economic carnage, and the threat of chaos in the health care system do not scare the radical left or cause them to waver from their support of ObamaCare. The only question on the table has been whether Mitch McConnell and John Boehner would stand with the American people or with the Beltway leftists.

Why does the wheel of government always ratchet to the left regardless of which party's hands are on the wheel?

It is too easy to answer that Republican voters put the wrong people in office. Even if that is true, we still have to ask why that would be the case. The Democrats never put squishy leftists in office. Bizarre, maybe, but never squishy. So why would GOP voters continue to put weak-kneed Republicans in office, especially during times such as these when the nation is in crisis?

We would be getting closer to the truth to say that the GOP folds and the Democrats don't because the left dominates our cultural institutions of education and news. Ill-educated and ill-informed voters are easy prey for one-sided news coverage, and the GOP leadership knows what kind of coverage awaits any Republican who stands in the way of the left's agenda. Cautious Republicans can reasonably ask what good it does in the long run to stand and fight if those who stand get driven from office by an outraged media.

But again we should ask why mainstream America has allowed the far left to dominate our educational and news institutions. The center-right majority has the financial clout to force these institutions to stop pushing the left's agenda and to more fairly reflect the values and beliefs of mainstream America, but instead we do nothing besides complaining.

For that matter, Republicans complain about liberal moderators in presidential debates, but we should ask why the GOP candidate always agrees to have liberal moderators who always try to throw the debate for the Democrats. Could the GOP's campaign managers possibly be so dense as to think that maybe next time the moderators will be fair? Does anyone really think that Hillary Clinton would agree to a debate with Rush Limbaugh or Sean Hannity as the moderator?

Imagine for a moment that the GOP had won the White House, Senate, and House in 2012. Is it likely that the Democrats would have passively allowed the repeal of ObamaCare just because they didn't have formal control of the government? They would have fought the GOP in the trenches and, based on history, they would probably have wrung out enough concessions to keep the bulk of ObamaCare in place until they were back in power. Yet, many in the GOP are ready to cave even with most of the country backing them.

Just as many a toddler has learned to manipulate tired parents who have worked all day, the left-wing minority understands the prime rule of politics: a determined minority willing to push an agenda will always dominate a majority that just wants peace and quiet. Mainstream America for the most part just wants peace and quiet so that we can work, take care of our responsibilities, and mind our own business. The left is willing to make life miserable for everyone until they get their way. So far, the mainstream just has not had the stomach for a political fight.

Until politicians have to worry more about pleasing the mainstream than appeasing the far left, nothing will change.

And that's why the GOP always folds.

Timothy Daughtry is a conservative author and speaker. He is co-author of Waking the Sleeping Giant: How Mainstream Americans Can Beat Liberals at Their Own Game.