When Statistics are Correct, but Don't/Shouldn't Matter

Since President Obama recently signed the debt-limit bill that passed Congress, this issue is sort of moot, but I would like to raise it anyway.

Nate Silver and Bruce Bartlett both point out that there is significant public support for raising taxes on wealthy Americans.  The polling data they point to are accurate (and I would say that, in general, Nate Silver's assessments of political polling are top-notch).  The question however, is: who cares?  Obviously, it's valuable for us to know where public opinion lies on a lot of issues.  From my perspective, however, forcing politicians to vote in accordance with opinion polls could undermine the effectiveness of representative government.  Moreover, I think liberals should be hesitant to use these polling data to support arguments in favor of higher tax rates; many of the reforms they hold dear might never have come about if decisions in Washington were always based on polls.  Keep in mind that when the Supreme Court struck down restrictions on interracial marriage in 1967, approximately 73% of the population disapproved of interracial marriage (compared to about 17% as of 2007).  If politicians of either party feel that raising taxes right now is a terrible idea, then they should feel free to legislate accordingly.  If the public dislikes the results, we have the same remedy that we have always had: throw the bums out when they're up for reelection.