Any casual observer of US politics can see that our system of government is broken.

[Joe Nation]

Our political system clearly isn't producing the best and the brightest leaders. Our standard of living is in serious decline while billionaires use our politicians like personal valets. We have less and less control over our two-party entrenched aristocracy. The entirety of the citizenry simply doesn't matter as much as one single billionaire.

In short, our system is broken and it isn't working for the vast majority of the country. Why is it this way? Money. Money in politics has become the drug on which our system feeds itself. Money is speech. Money and wealth are good. Money has corrupted the ideals of democracy until we can't even recognize the country we thought we lived in.

We have two choices if we want to recover all that we have lost. We have to either get money out of our political system or tear the system down brick-by-brick and start over. Anything less than that will only continue the decline of this great American experiment in democracy. It's either pitchforks or political reform. Pick your poison but do it fast.

[Aussie105]

1. More to the point, it is being deliberately broken.

All for the sake of saving money.
Going to cost to fix it all up later.

I'm just waiting for the Trump trucks to arrive at Ft Knox to transport all of 'his' gold to Mar-a-Lago.
To be stored in a toilet or cupboard somewhere.

[kimbutgar]

2. Money is the root of all evil

And it seems that the more one gets money they become eviler!

I wish we could do away with citizens United and make it so no one can contribute for than $100 to any candidate. And also make the election season only 6 months. The 🍑💩🤡 fundraiser for 4 years with no limits to those who contributed was horrendous to our democracy as rule of law.The musk🐀 brought the presidency and owns the convicted felon.

[Aussie105]

3. It's become that way, yes.

Other countries protect themselves from that, knowing greed can do wicked things.

[Mysterian]

4. The electoral college and the undemocratic apportionment of senators are the big problems

These fundamental problems resulted in problem number three: a corrupt supreme court.

[in2herbs]

5. Someone posted in The Way Forward forum an article titled Person To Watch -- Neera Tanden

Center for American Progress.

IMO we should not try to recover what we've lost because that would require re-building on the same capitalistic foundation that we now find ourselves in.

IMO we should send our ideas for our new Way Forward to Neera Tanden and then monitor that the org is paying attention.

[Phoenix61]

6. "Tear the system down brick by brick" Where have I heard that before? nt

[Meowmee]

7. If any reforms ever do happen

Please put standards in place for who can even run for office. .

[The Madcap]

8. The two-party system is also largely to blame.

Multi-party systems require consensus between some of the parties to get anything done. Here, whichever party is in charge pretty much dominates. There is no debate within the parties that we are privy to. It's us vs. them. Unfortunately, issues are not typically black and white, so to get the best solution, you have to debate and reason. That doesn't happen in the U.S. Here, it's just a football game between two nearly equal sides, and there's no third (or fourth, fifth, etc.) party to change the balance.

Maybe I'm a bit idealistic about it, but I would think true centrists or moderates would love to have their own parties instead of having to choose. So, between the two we have, the D's are the obvious choice for the thinking person, as the R's are just appalling.

[uponit7771]

9. MAGA Party broke it and wants to keep it broken

[Hekate]

10. It has been deliberately broken. When Bannon said he wanted to "deconstruct" the ...

… “administrative state” just wtf did people think he meant?! Sure, it was fancy talk so college graduates would know he’d been reading a French philosopher, but even the knuckledraggers could decode the intent.

Our government has had its problems — it is a human construct, after all. But it was bent, not broken. Now it is actually broken, and some parts are smashed to pieces. Putin couldn’t be happier unless he found someone new to toss from the window of a skyscraper.

As for who’s to blame in America, the list is long. Mitch McConnell, who created the current SCOTUS. The GOP, who so willingly whored itself out for power since Reagan. The Christians who fell for Republican Jesus and the nonexistent prosperity gospel. The common clay consisting of so very many misogynistic, racist, hate-filled morons… Almost half the nation.

They voted for trump. Musk & trump are just fine with “tearing the system down brick by brick & starting over, “ as you put it. A lot of them are fine with it too, if it means that all the non-whites, non-Christians, women, and Jews will once again know their place. I for one will not be happy with those results, being a woman and a pagan married to a Jew.

So let’s come up with a different plan.