A Trivia Question, Sadly

Q: Who are Jared Polis, Donna Edwards, and Raul Grijalva?

Never heard of them? Me neither, and I consider myself fairly well-informed/pretty much a political junkie.

The answer: They are members of the U.S. House of Representatives, from Colorado, Maryland, and Arizona, respectively. They are all Democrats.

As to why you haven't heard of them, but do know, painfully well, the name of a former Republican Congressman who hasn't held office in a decade, see E. J. Dionne:

A media environment that tilts to the right is obscuring what President Obama stands for and closing off political options that should be part of the public discussion.

Yes, you read that correctly: If you doubt that there is a conservative inclination in the media, consider which arguments you hear regularly and which you don't. When Rush Limbaugh sneezes or Newt Gingrich tweets, their views ricochet from the Internet to cable television and into the traditional media. It is remarkable how successful they are in setting what passes for the news agenda.

... and Eric Alterman:

The net result is a political discourse that ranges “from the moderate left to the far right,” empowering the voices that divide us and ensuring that the most regressive and dogmatic voices are allowed to define the potential of our politics.