Serious question (not trying to bait anyone). What do you make of the rise of Independents?

[bigbadR]

109. serious indeed!

I think the problem with both the Republican and Democratic parties is that they are so similar in their surrender to big money's influence and interests at the expense of the majority of the American people. I consider the Republican Party corrupted by big money from Reagan's presidency and the Democratic Party corrupted by big money from Clinton's presidency. I view corruption as not JUST quid-pro-quo but the simple affect of access (lobbyists/elected officials) which often yields undue influence. A big arm of this undue influence is the America Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) made up of corporate lobbyists and congresspeople. This unholy alliance often pass laws written verbatim by the corporate lobbyists and passed by Congress. THIS IS A MAJOR REASON WHY WE HAVE SUCH VAST INEQUALITY in today's society. I do not see that this will change, regardless of which party is in power, until ALL elections are publicly funded ONLY! It costs multi millions of dollars to be elected to a measly 2 year term in the US House. Congress men and women spend a huge portion of their time raising money for the next term instead of governing. As for myself, I have been a Democrat for most of my voting life (although I once registered as a Republican just so I could vote against Ronald Reagan in his first presidential primary!) and once in a while would vote for a member of another party if I thought they would do a better job. Today, I have little trust in the Democratic Party because of this stated corruption and because of the very undemocratic existence of the 'super delegates' and because of the way Sanders was treated. The corruption is also a major reason so few people vote.

This abysmal greed and exploitation of all of us, our ecosystem, our planets continued ability to support life is why I can't support either party. I will continue to vote, researching each candidate and pick the person that I think will do the least harm here at home and abroad.