Why Our Politicians Leave Americans Wanting

Voters of most every demographic or ideological bent today say they deserve more than they get from the traditional political establishment that ignores them for three out of every four years. They seek leaders who not only identify the structural roadblocks to freedom and prosperity, but also develop prescriptions to overcome them, thus restoring trust in failing public and private institutions. The American electorate is discontented with its choices and constrained by conventional wisdom into thinking there’s not much they can do about it. But their hopes remain.

As a social scientist, I recognize that the poll is long on alienation questions, thereby priming respondents to be inclined to support an alternative to our two-party system. Nonetheless, the overwhelming response by a large, representative sample of the American electorate suggests that our current politicians leave Americans wanting. We found government corruption and ethics to be the issue – more than health care, the economy, national security and climate change – that is most important in the eyes of voters today.

In fact, 72% of those in our recent poll said they would vote to replace every single member of Congress, including their own, if there was a place on the ballot where they could do so. This is the highest number ever record in the Smith survey.

The country is run by an alliance of incumbent politicians, media pundits, lobbyists and other powerful money interest groups for their own gain at the expense of the American people.