Democracy problem: Voters politically incorrect and stupid

The Swiss vote to ban further minarets, thereby possibly alienating Muslims both at home and abroad, surprised both politicians and pollsters. What happened?

For one thing, voters were unimpressed with the widely touted notions that the proposed minaret ban was "politically incorrect and its supporters stupid." One political analyst explaining:

People aren't necessarily going to tell pollsters the truth if they think it makes them look ignorant and intolerant.

And politicians seem to be out of touch with their constituents:

What many Swiss politicians are beginning to realise this morning is that they underestimated the concern among their population about integration of Muslims in Switzerland, and about possible Islamic extremism.

Never fear, the government knows what to do:

So concerned is the government by the decision that Swiss Justice Minister Eveline Widmer Schlumpf, watching the results come in on Sunday afternoon, apparently told her advisers there ought to be some restrictions on what the general public can actually vote on.

Yep, it's a real problem when uppity voters don't do what they're supposed to.