Simply put: the United States is not the democracy it claims to be, and the overall reason is the election system that only benefits incumbents in the two major parties. This results in a static, inflexible government that is more susceptible to corruption. How is this fixed? Like so:
1. Get rid of the winner-take-all system and replace it with proportional representation, as many European countries do. Having the winning party take every vote is the same as denying the opposition's existence.
2. Get rid of political action committees. These heavily favor incumbents in elections, giving them an advantage. Instead, have campaign funding come from a pool the candidates draw from.