How well do Idaho lawmakers know what their constituents think? Not very, according to Boise State University's 19th annual Public Policy Survey, released last week.

Sixty-three percent of Idahoans say it should be illegal to fire someone who is perceived as being gay or lesbian.

Sixty-nine percent want the sales tax on groceries eliminated.

Fifty-seven percent support giving all cities the power to levy special taxes if voters approve.

Legislators are behind the curve on those issues.

A majority in the Legislature consistently votes to limit the rights of homosexuals. The House of Representatives not only won't scrap the sales tax on groceries; it won't even give low-income Idahoans a larger grocery tax credit.

And every legislative effort since 1974 to allow all Idaho cities to impose local option taxes has failed.

So who are lawmakers listening to?

To special interests and to each other, for the most part. In a closed circuit of ideas, it's easy to make assumptions about what the voters want - assumptons that might not be true.

The BSU survey, taken in November and December, paints a picture of a state that is conservative, but not especially political.

Frugal, but not very ideological.

And surprisingly, independents and Democrats combined far outnumber Republicans.

Seventy percent of Idahoans oppose construction of a nuclear power plant in their counties if the electricity generated there is sold to other states.

Yet by a narrow margin, 45 percent to 43 percent, they favor nuclear energy if the power stays in Idaho.

And in a state full off-roaders and snowmobilers, it turns out 53 percent of Idahoans want more wilderness.

In short, Idaho has become a more complex and diverse place than many legislators realize.

That's because, by and large, they've gotten lazy about taking the public pulse.

Many don't know their own legislative districts as well as they think.

As a consequence, there's a body of conventional wisdom in Idaho politics that's rarely tested.

To his credit, Gov. "Butch" Otter is temperamentally uneasy with the tried-and-true.

He thinks outside the box on a range of issues from tax policy to land use, and he's not afraid to float even widely unpopular ideas.

In a state dominated by one political party, we have legislative leaders who are too comfortable. They ought to get out more.