Sadly, it seems the only way a politician can show his principles and criticize their own party is when they are heading out the door. That certainly is the case with Senator Flake of Arizona. As long as you are dependent on the current corrupt system to get elected you have to keep your mouth shut and just take the money.

“No longer can we turn a blind eye or deaf ear to those assaults on our institutions and, Mr. President, an American president who cannot take criticism, who must constantly deflect and distort and distract, who must find someone else to blame, is charting a very dangerous path,” Mr. Flake said.

“And a Congress that fails to act as a check on the president adds to that danger.”

via Arizona’s G.O.P. Senators Assail Trump for His Attacks on the Press – The New York Times

I don’t know how we get out of this condition? The two parties around today seem to totally hate each other and are willing to cut off their nose rather than admit that their enemies have something good to provide.

I think it is time before it is too late to think about some constitutional changes. Our current constitution might have worked well for an 18th and 19th century America but there are just too many ways to subvert it in the 21st century.  Gerrymandering, which thanks to sophisticated computer systems is now an art form that almost assures a corrupt system.

Another item that needs to be seriously addressed is the power given to one person in the executive branch.  If the current Oval Office occupant somehow manages to survive his total term in office, America might just look like something very different. He came into office thinking, due to his almost total ignorance of governmental processes, that he was a king instead of a president of a democracy.  The sad part of this story it that he refuses to try to learn what this country is all about.  He seems determined to make changes that will eliminate any evidence of his predecessor and will primarily benefit himself and some others like him. I know executive power drifts with the times but current fundamental powers are simply too concentrated.

Maybe it is time to really shake things up. Maybe it is time to create a new political party to attack the corruption of the two currently in existence. One, or maybe both of the current political parties needs to go the way of the Federalist Party, Whig Party, Know-Nothing Party, and several others that have come and gone from the American landscape.

But in the end, none of the ideas above can really result in real reform without a fundamental change in the electorate. We who elect these officials need to become more informed of what it takes to maintain a democracy in the 21st century.  I don’t even know if “government” is taught in high school anymore? We need to select our government leaders with at least the same enthusiasm as selecting our favorite sports team.