Split issues then.

The power of voters voices:

A million emails from constituents means more than a year's lobbying by a corporation. Or something like that. That is how congress trimmed a few energy company subsidies last year (more were added when the public wasn't looking, but that's another story). It is what made Hastert convene a show investigation into the Foley matter. Public opinion matters.

If people are discouraged and stop talking to their representatives then we are doomed. We might as well stop voting too.

Bright future in space:

I have high hopes for the commercial sector too. But it cannot be counted on to send missions to Europa and Titan and Mars in the next few decades. I want to see those missions. I want to find and characterize all the terrestrial planets within 100 ly, before I die. I don't see private industry doing it for me any time soon. Anything they do is great, but it is always better to plan for the worst.