Party Identification

I went back to the topic of Party Identification and how we choose our parties. The first book we read states and i believe that a great deal of influence comes from out parents. I examined my personal experiences and then decided to ask some of my friends about theirs.
My parents chose to never tell me whom they voted for and to what party they identified with. To this day they still wont tell me who they vote for but i can obviously figure out who they support and where they fall on the political spectrum. Now i will definetly not consider myself a political elite i will say that i have a much greater interest in politics than the layman. Therefore, i was able to read and examine the issues on my own and decide where i stood before i was even able to vote. I should also mention it helped that i had some very close friends that shared the same interest.
My best friend and current roommate is an interesting case. He will say no matter what he is a Liberal and nothing can change his mind. Most of us that are friends with him know that he is a little off when it comes to this. When i got a chance to ask him a few questions the results where outstanding. I asked him what he thought about gay marraige. His answer, "those queers shouldnt be allowed to get married anywhere no matter what." Next, i asked him what he thought about illegal immigration. His answer, "My solution is to put snipers towers every hundred feet and shoot em all dead as they try and cross the border." After some more questions it was clearer than ever he held some extremely right views. When i asked him why he considers himself conservative he answered, "My says we are, so i assume we are."
I recently had a conversation with a friend of mine who goes to Stevens Point. When i asked her how she voted she replied, "I vote based on what mom says."
I was astonished by what some of my friends said. The worst who were the ones who just said they didnt care. I didnt really believe the extent of parental influence on voting behavior and party identification until i witnessed it right infront of me. Now my roommates considers himelf a liberal and will vote liberal but is clearly a conservative. He grew up in a conservative household and family based primarily on his father. However his father doesnt consider himself political while his mother does. For this reason he listens to his mother and considers himself liberal and votes accordingly. It brings up a startling realtiy that a majority of the electorate might actually vote against their true beliefs. In a perfect democracy every voter would be political elites and experts on the issues and candidates and inturn vote on those beliefs. However, the american electorate is far from this. It leads me to question whether or not the electorate can be held responsible for some of the faults and critiques of political partys?