Along with most of the media, the educational system has also been hijacked.

And the leading example is the party-of-the-people's front runner for President: Hillary Clinton

While Secretary of State, something like 60 companies who were petitioning the US gov't for something gave about $26 million to the Clinton Foundation.

Of course, no quid pro quo could have possibly existed. Heavens no!

The American people get exactly what they deserve when crony politicians like this get even the slightest support. We are so inured to bs politicians we no longer worry about the optics of such actions.

The media has not been hijacked, it has been handcuffed and gagged.

Congress is impotent, the only way things get done is by Executive Order.

We the people have little, if any say in how we are governed.

Just watch what happens next.
In November of 2016 many/most of the corrupt politicians will be re-elected.

We the people have little, if any say in how we are governed.

Sorry Gina, but I'm calling BS on this.

The ballot box still exists, and we're not a totalitarian dictatorship who can subvert all the votes. If the American people wanted gov't to be responsible, to not over-spend, to not be prisoner to corporate money, then they would elect people who did those things.

The basis for many of the votes lies in personal greed - what has candidate "x" promised for me. Not in what they will do to preserve the Constitution, liberty, or reject corruption. We have exactly what we deserve because of how we cast our votes.

Pops: “ANYONE can be bought. are you that naive?.”

Wrong.
Many people have ethics and morals are practice them.

We the people have little, if any say in how we are governed.

Sorry Gina, but I'm calling BS on this.

The ballot box still exists, and we're not a totalitarian dictatorship who can subvert all the votes. If the American people wanted gov't to be responsible, to not over-spend, to not be prisoner to corporate money, then they would elect people who did those things.

The basis for many of the votes lies in personal greed - what has candidate "x" promised for me. Not in what they will do to preserve the Constitution, liberty, or reject corruption. We have exactly what we deserve because of how we cast our votes.

ANYONE can be bought. are you that naive?.

Its what happens after its apparent that someone was bought that is the problem.

The internet has opened the gates on news reporting for anyone who cares to look. We're no longer beholding to the big three media outlets, controlled by their corporate leaders. If you want to find strong evidence or suspicion of subverting the trust of the voters, its all out there. But politicians have little fear of that, since so few of the voters care, and they know a few key promises can easily buy them too. Payoffs work both ways.

Saying anyone can be bought is the lazy answer that bypasses the voter's responsibility to pay attention. We get what we deserve from the choices we make. Given the retention rate of so many of our politicians running for reelection, that would appear obvious.

Hey Fuji I agree.

I'm done blaming the politicians. The American electorate continually shirks their democratic responsibility. Voter turn out sucks. We get what we deserve.

Democracy is not a team sport. All one has to do is read these posts to see that most Americans consider our political system some big game with winners and losers. As long as the two parties win the people lose.

Hey Fuji I agree.

I'm done blaming the politicians. The American electorate continually shirks their democratic responsibility. Voter turn out sucks. We get what we deserve.

Democracy is not a team sport. All one has to do is read these posts to see that most Americans consider our political system some big game with winners and losers. As long as the two parties win the people lose.

I think it is a more complex problem then blaming one side or another as we are all complicit in what our country has become.

I agree that our woeful voter turnout is a problem but if we agree both parties are controlled by big business then what choices do voters have if there are only two parties to vote for? If we agree both the GOP and Democrats suck where is the choice?

Here are the problems as I see them

1. Unrestricted "donations" by private citizens and big corporations influence candidates. We need campaign spending limits for all candidates to level the playing field and give independent parties a chance to run.
2. Without campaign spending limits there will never be more than 2 choices, GOP and DEMS, to vote for. Independent candidates have no chance against the two parties as they cannot compete with raising money for campaigns.
4. Lobbyists run Washington. We need to ban or limit Lobbyist activities.
5. Make it easier for 3rd parties candidates to run for office.
6. We need term limits in Congress and in the SCOTUS so that we get fresh blood in office on regular basis. There are too many lifetime people in Congress and the Supreme Court who accumulate too much power and influence. Flush out the system every 8-10 years to limit the accumulation of power. The President can only serve 8 years so why do we allow these other politicans and judges the ability to serve a lifetime?

The majority of voters for both party's are "low information voters" who have no idea what the issues are or what the candidates platforms are. I believe they tend to vote along party lines no matter who is running or what their platform's are. Not sure there is a way to fix this but having more choices other than the two big party's will at least give voters more options.

I think Hillary is far from the ideal candidate but she is better than any of the GOP candidates IMHO in that her platform is closer to what I believe in. That being said I am still waiting for the GOP to put up a candidate who I think is worth voting for. Rand Paul is the closest I have seen to my values but he will never get the nomination.

Also the young have become too complacent. What happened to the protests we had in the 60's which helped force our politicians to make changes. Our elected representatives do not carry out their promises once elected and we sit back and just accept it. Our apathy is part of the problem.

I am not a fan of Trump but tend to agree with Alloak in that he is shaking things up in the GOP. He is holding the GOP hostage with his threats to run independent if they don't stop picking on him and he has the money to do it if he wanted to. Of course he would split the GOP ticket so it just about guarantees the Democrats a victory so it will be interesting to see if his ego drives him to do it even though he has little chance of winning.

I am really looking forward to the first GOP debate Thursday.

Hey Fuji I agree.

I'm done blaming the politicians. The American electorate continually shirks their democratic responsibility. Voter turn out sucks. We get what we deserve.

Democracy is not a team sport. All one has to do is read these posts to see that most Americans consider our political system some big game with winners and losers. As long as the two parties win the people lose.

I think it is a more complex problem then blaming one side or another as we are all complicit in what our country has become.

I agree that our woeful voter turnout is a problem but if we agree both parties are controlled by big business then what choices do voters have if there are only two parties to vote for? If we agree both the GOP and Democrats suck where is the choice?

Here are the problems as I see them

1. Unrestricted "donations" by private citizens and big corporations influence candidates. We need campaign spending limits for all candidates to level the playing field and give independent parties a chance to run.
2. Without campaign spending limits there will never be more than 2 choices, GOP and DEMS, to vote for. Independent candidates have no chance against the two parties as they cannot compete with raising money for campaigns.
4. Lobbyists run Washington. We need to ban or limit Lobbyist activities.
5. Make it easier for 3rd parties candidates to run for office.
6. We need term limits in Congress and in the SCOTUS so that we get fresh blood in office on regular basis. There are too many lifetime people in Congress and the Supreme Court who accumulate too much power and influence. Flush out the system every 8-10 years to limit the accumulation of power. The President can only serve 8 years so why do we allow these other politicans and judges the ability to serve a lifetime?

The majority of voters for both party's are "low information voters" who have no idea what the issues are or what the candidates platforms are. I believe they tend to vote along party lines no matter who is running or what their platform's are. Not sure there is a way to fix this but having more choices other than the two big party's will at least give voters more options.

I think Hillary is far from the ideal candidate but she is better than any of the GOP candidates IMHO in that her platform is closer to what I believe in. That being said I am still waiting for the GOP to put up a candidate who I think is worth voting for. Rand Paul is the closest I have seen to my values but he will never get the nomination.

Also the young have become too complacent. What happened to the protests we had in the 60's which helped force our politicians to make changes. Our elected representatives do not carry out their promises once elected and we sit back and just accept it. Our apathy is part of the problem.

I am not a fan of Trump but tend to agree with Alloak in that he is shaking things up in the GOP. He is holding the GOP hostage with his threats to run independent if they don't stop picking on him and he has the money to do it if he wanted to. Of course he would split the GOP ticket so it just about guarantees the Democrats a victory so it will be interesting to see if his ego drives him to do it even though he has little chance of winning.

I am really looking forward to the first GOP debate Thursday.

_______________________________________________________________________

Hillary has no platform.
In her speeches she talks in the most general of terms and only on populist issues.
She never makes a specific policy statement and even refuses to take a position on serious matters either until Obama states his or until “after I am elected” as in The XL Pipeline issue.

Maybe you have a geriatric pantsuit fetish.

We the people have little, if any say in how we are governed.

Sorry Gina, but I'm calling BS on this.

The ballot box still exists, and we're not a totalitarian dictatorship who can subvert all the votes. If the American people wanted gov't to be responsible, to not over-spend, to not be prisoner to corporate money, then they would elect people who did those things.

The basis for many of the votes lies in personal greed - what has candidate "x" promised for me. Not in what they will do to preserve the Constitution, liberty, or reject corruption. We have exactly what we deserve because of how we cast our votes.

You should read Ralph Nader's recent article on third party non-machine candidates and how honest citizen-interests-representing politicians have fared over the last three decades.

You could also take a look at the Republican primary process from 2012 where Ron Paul - like him or not - was systematically eliminated by the media and the party from any serious shot of winning.

You could read the joint study done by the political science departments of the University of Chicago and Princeton which studied over 150 (or was it 1,500?) major issues in politics and found that when the majority of the public's interests was adverse to that of corporation the outcome was in favor of the public ZERO times. This report which came out a year or two ago also came to the conclusion that the US is no longer a representative democracy and is an oligarchy.

There is also the original post here: a US president giving testimony that the system has been completely broken.

Also just look around and ask yourself whether you think ANYONE that is presented to you as a candidate by the Democratic or Republican party would vote for YOUR interests over that of some "person" (don't forget! corporations are people too now!) with an army of lobbyist. That includes foreign "persons" too by the way.

We don't have a government anymore so much as we have an auction house. You really think there is meaningful choices when it comes to representation? I'd advise you read some more of that alt media. William Black, Ralph Nader, Glenn Greenwald... hell you can even find it in the mainstream media sometimes. The Sunday NY Times just a week and a half ago featured an article by a former economist for the IMF outlining and explaining how the Greek debt "rescue" is in reality designed to crush the Greek democratic system and open the doors for corporate exploitation that could never be achieved through representative government. Gives you a chill when the you think about that TTP Obama and the Republicans are so interested in (why are mortal enemies is such lockstep on a secret trade agreement we are not allowed to see?)

Yes, it is necessary to continue to vote. We are lucky to have that but vote for a third party or vote for the guy who is NOT in office. Basically the only vote we have at this point is a protest vote because all these guys are feeding from the same through.

Bottom line: you want your vote to actually mean something? Get a lobbyist or cast a protest vote 'cause it won't count otherwise.

We the people have little, if any say in how we are governed.

Sorry Gina, but I'm calling BS on this.

The ballot box still exists, and we're not a totalitarian dictatorship who can subvert all the votes. If the American people wanted gov't to be responsible, to not over-spend, to not be prisoner to corporate money, then they would elect people who did those things.

The basis for many of the votes lies in personal greed - what has candidate "x" promised for me. Not in what they will do to preserve the Constitution, liberty, or reject corruption. We have exactly what we deserve because of how we cast our votes.

Yes we can still vote, but even the voting machines were shown to have been rigged with the Diebold Scandal. The next point is, who is it that is on the ballot and how they get there. Ross Perot's answer to that was change things at least in your state by referendums, that way the PAC money candidates etc. don't get all their people on the ballots. We need to be aware of that. We can change things, but it will not be easy, not will be without harassment from those in powerful positions who do not want their authority and control challenged.