I sincerely doubt that the vast majority of the electorate has any clue as to the function or significance of the Fed, except perhaps that it has something to do with interest rates.
They don't have to know what the Fed does. What they do know is that all of a sudden a lot of stuff costs a lot more than it once did - more than they can readily afford some of the time. Not only that, the government seems unable to make matters any better most of the time, and sometimes makes them worse. So they seek out alternatives.

In a sideways sort of way, I'm talking about something like this (though it is not the best example) :

http://www.sun-sentinel.c...4sbaug24,0,3504690.column

Basically, people who can't get the home loan taken care of through the usual channels are looking at an alternative.