I wasn't very clear with the point I was trying to make, so I'll take another shot. Guessing from the tone of your post I will say that I think we agree that personal freedom is an important issue. I was just using the economy as an illustration of the fact that, when voting, a person may have to choose one issue or set of issues from among many to choose how to cast their vote. To the unfortunately few number of people who don't strictly or closely follow party lines, this can lead to a choice where I disagree on seemingly-small (though arguably large in its implications) issues such as whether 6 year olds or their caretakers should be forced to pay for the songs they sing, opting instead to cast a vote based on some other issue that more directly affects my own freedom (eg, reigning in the TSA). I didn't mean to imply that I think the economy is the only important issue around, nor that it is more important than issues of personal liberty.

Your post highlights one of the major problems with representative democracy. People can't be expected, and rightfully so, to use the single tiny/weak signal they can send to their government (their vote) to take up a cause like this since they might be more concerned about, say, the economy. So it goes unchecked.