Introduction

“Are not both major political parties corrupt?” is an important question. The easy answers are 1) they are both corrupt, or 2) one is worse than the other. It’s not that simple, I’m afraid. There are layers to this issue and, I believe, a new destructive element that’s emerged.

Part of this question’s significance was shown in the 2016 election where many people judged both parties to be corrupt and either did not vote or impotently put their vote toward third-party candidates who could not win, thus assuring that voters for one of the two “corrupt” parties would decide our next president and other officials. Some of the claims of corruption were, of course, based on propaganda machines rather than evidence and fed by manufactured outrage. Let’s look at some of the layers of nuance beginning with the insidious corruption of the population at large.

Generally-Shared Corruption

First, regardless of all the other influences on government, the fact that we live in a democratic republic means that the entire population of this country shares in the responsibility of whatever our government does to the degree we do not effectively act to oppose it.

We have also allowed ourselves to become numb to morally outrageous actions not only in our national history, but by being distracted by a relentless barrage of reprehensible behaviors that have to some degree normalized the unacceptable, and bought into the authoritarian tactic of accepting abusive, immoral, unethical and illegal behavior in the name of “national security.”

We all also bear responsibility in benefiting from a system that has relied first on slavery and then on a race-based economic system that is a new form of slavery fed by a discriminatory, class- and race-based justice system.

The press (speaking generally) has its share of responsibility as well but, again, it’s important to discern outlets that are purposely misleading and lying to their readers from those who are succumbing to the distracting antics of the president’s shell game, leaving us in the dark about what’s happening legislatively in the Republican-controlled house and senate.

So, we must first recognize the people empowering the parties – and that includes us.

Shared Corruption of Parties – a faulty system going to the highest bidder

First, let’s recognize that wherever public or private power exists, we are likely to find some degree of corruption. Fallible human beings will use that power to advance their own status, personal agenda or colleagues – or to simply hold on to that power. From this standpoint, indeed, both parties can be judged corrupt – as can some of the third-party leaders as well.

We can then question the degree to which that use of power is in service to the common good or to special interests (thus, disenfranchising the rest of the citizenry). This is where the parties begin to show differences, especially in such issues as civil rights, separation of church and state, funding of education, recognition of scientific realities, censorship of press and government science employees, protection of the environment as a public resource, prevention of toxic pollution, protection of vulnerable populations, voter facilitation, marriage equality, wealth inequality, and which segments of the population tax policies favor. Even a cursory consideration of these issues shows a striking difference, suggesting that one party tends to serve a wider and more inclusive slice of the population than the other.

There was probably a time when a rough equivalence of corruption could be claimed for both parties, but that time has long-since passed. We saw evidence of that coming up the 2016 election. To claim equivalence at this point seems rather naïve: the usual parameters of corruption with shame as a response to its discovery have given way to boasting about violating women, morals, contracts, previous promises and criminal behavior. Until now, neither party has threatened the structure and viability of the government and our society of free, equal and educated citizens.

Differences in Values and Constituencies

Of course, the parties have differing values and orientation. The Republican party has been more regimented, authoritarian, centralized and cultish, with a more unified message carefully crafted toward emotional triggers and the mobilization of anger and fear which they then direct disingenuously toward their enemies. Their propaganda machine has created an alternative false reality that serves their needs, regardless of the deleterious outcomes on people and the environment. Democrats have been more amorphous, diverse and inclusive with the result of a blunting of clarity and focus. They may have lost ground in trying to have too-large an umbrella and thereby lost the heart of progressive, humanistic ideals – and a willingness to let things slide and avoid overt social struggle.

The Democratic party has been complacent and passive in the face of militant extremist factions of the radical right. It has also prejudged candidates, deciding who might be most likely to win, rather than represent Democratic ideals. It has failed the propaganda war, neglecting to educate the electorate on the issues – how social security is funded and works, what immigrants pay into vs. what they receive from the economy, the value of separation of church and state and various constitutional assertions, and the costs of a society with second-class populations, for example.

In terms of constituencies, the Republican Party has come to represent a faction of the population for whom information is irrelevant to their cult-like devotion to a strong, authoritarian leader. On the other hand, it appears at times that Democratic “human rights” principles have been more strategic than genuine.

It’s tempting, and falsely comforting, to think that it’s just the man at the top who is out of the pale, but the Republican establishment is fully supportive of this malignant narcissist because he serves other purposes for them.

Corruption and Deconstruction of the Government Itself

Having looked at equivalent and general corruption of power, some of the differences of values of the two parties, and whom each party tends to serve, I’d like to address the emergence of a new element to which citizens and system do not yet know how to respond – a betrayal of rule of law, citizens’ rights and adherence to reality and truth.

We now see a level and quality of corruption that are destructively corrosive, allowing foreign interference in our elections, hell-bent on destroying the alliances that have given us stability among nations and, instead, allying with and doing the bidding of brutal dictators, and implementing economic policies likely to destroy the social fabric of the county. We have a president and his party who are shamelessly violating standards of law and ethics for self-aggrandizement and wealth-building. Worse, they are relentlessly attempting to discredit the other branches of government whose responsibilities include serving as a check on executive power. They have also attempted to destroy the independent press, which is our only chance to know what is going on beyond the propaganda machines. Still worse, this president has appointed people into positions with the admitted intention that they destroy the effectiveness of those agencies for the benefit of a wealthy few.

It is also clear that the separation of powers – intended to keep corruption at a minimum – has been eroded under this regime with unfounded attacks on anyone who is critical of or in opposition to the regime’s corruption. Overt attempts are being made at disrupting investigations and discrediting the investigators, rather than letting them run their course, clearly suggesting there is something to be hidden.

As a result of all this, the current Republican Party has been judged by some to be a greater threat to American democracy than overt attacks from other countries, for the fruits of its actions are centralizing power in the executive branch, despoiling the environment, undercutting faith in our institutions and electional process, privatizing everything possible (reducing accountability to the public), protecting the aristocracy of the wealthy few – all on the backs of middle and poor America who are being distracted by the relentless lies and demands of a con man.

Thus, this level of corruption goes beyond the individuals in either party or the parties themselves; and is a bare-faced attempt at corrupting and deconstructing the constitutional government designed to prevent (or at least reduce) such things.

Summary

To summarize, while both can be said to be corrupt, only one has been willing to deconstruct the government, suppress voting, punish dissent, reduce accountability, redistribute wealth and power into the hands of an oligarchy, put us all at the mercy of climate change, and allow obvious foreign influence on US elections – in addition to threats to humanity itself by departures from the realities of science in favor of ideological fantasies.