It is the people alone that establish the legitimacy of our government, not money, nor corporations, private donors, or special interests. This core premise has been lost in a torrent of secret donations that fund politicians and their campaigns, and buy and sell political votes.
The United States needs radical and unequivocal changes in the way politicians are selected and elected.
Today, elected officials must first satisfy their large corporate and private donors to receive future support to be competitive and win elections. This relationship between political candidates and their donors must end. Instead the US needs an army of true Statesmen at the helm of government, with their elections funded transparently by public funds.