Millions today are feeling powerless and very frustrated with the loss of their political power. They are fed up having a dysfunctional and corrupt political system and politicians in general. This sentiment is evidenced by the great popularity of the two extremes in the presidential race, Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders.

We all get excited and optimistic when our party wins an election. Unfortunately, it’s not us (the voter) who has won; it’s the powerful special interest groups that put up the millions of dollars it took to win. Its the special interest parties and not you and I that will be listened to by our elected politicians. Its their agenda, not ours, that will get voted on and implemented.

Getting your favorite party elected may make you feel good, but in the long run, it will do little to change the corruption of power and money that permeates our political system. We may have won the election, but the biggest problem remains. In election after election, this feel-good attitude is like an opiate that distracts us from seeing the much bigger problem in which both parties are equal participants.

Both parties are corrupt and are controlled by special interests, not by you and me. By continuing to focus on winning the smaller battles, we lose sight of the bigger picture of winning the war to reform Washington and its elite power structure. Neither the Democratic nor Republican parties can solve this bigger problem alone. But in spite of this need to reform for the common good, both parties continue in their power grab and think only of themselves and not the country as a whole.

The American voters seems to have lost their most important power. Our voice has been drowned out by the voice of the special-interest groups, those that contribute “big bucks” politicians need to win. Is it any wonder why most politicians become career politicians and millionaires before or soon after leaving office?

Something is terribly wrong when political candidates must raise over $500 million to successfully run for president. With this kind of financial corruption, a candidate like Abraham Lincoln or George Washington would not have been elected.

Let’s stop getting too excited and distracted when our party wins an election battle. Its the war on political reform we need to win. Until both parties can come together to bring about term limits and strong restrictions on big money and special-interest groups controlling Washington, we’re only deluding ourselves in thinking were winning. In election after election, we lose sight of the real problem and continue losing the war.

Politicians are never going to reform themselves. Its going to take a revolution of millions to bring about the kind of change our country deserves. How about you? Are you ready to contribute your part?

Darrell Newton
Gainesville

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