Politics demoralizing, ruled by money and not citizens

Working Americans have been demoralized by promises never kept for 30-40 years. They elected legislators to represent and govern them in Washington, D.C. but nothing helped them.

Neither party recognized the plight of middle Americans. At first, they were the "silent majority," but that ends now.

Constant bombardment of talk radio, Clear Channel and Fox News has forced them outside the establishment to find "an ear." Enter Trump. Frankenstein's monster has reared its head with orange hair.

Since he is funding his own campaign, he thinks there are no restraints on him, so he makes racist, sexist, xenophobic and crude assertions, and exhibits "bullying" behavior whenever he pleases (as if that's presidential).

Republicans have no viable alternative to him. Seventeen candidates have dwindled to three, but one of the finalists is too much like Trump, and the other hasn't received 1/10 the media coverage of Trump, so he's relatively unknown.

The GOP is too fractionalized: There's the Tea Party, the establishment, the evangelicals, the Progressives, the moderates, the Libertarians, and the neo-conservatives -- and none will compromise with the others. They won't unify even for the party.

How do you deal with that? It was John Boehner's predicament. He retired.

It's no better. Congressmen conducting campaigns have become more important than governing and being representatives for the people who elected them.

Each has his/her donors whom they are beholden to, and that's where the conflict begins. Big Business, Big Banks, Big Money, and Big Campaigns have caused a Big Mess!

Only when America returns to a representative democracy instead of the current oligarchy will America "become great again." (Hopefully, Mr. Trump won't sue me for using his trademarked slogan.) Everything is too monetized in today's politics.

Could we be about to "fall" like those earlier civilizations that became too greedy and careless?

Terri Kemper

Bradenton

This story was originally published March 31, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Politics demoralizing, ruled by money and not citizens ."