This is a link shared with me from an opinion article posted in a really red state that hits the sweet spot
Corporate America has broken our political system
You can decide for yourself the motivations behind the opinion what you can't do is deny the reality of what is being expressed. I'll supply a paragraph or two but I suggest reading it in it's entirety.
Gone are the days when a lowly log-splitter and self-made lawyer like Lincoln could ascend to the nation's highest office or even to one of the seats in Congress. Without capital - and lots of it - a candidate who is not willing to sell his soul to those who have capital in copious amounts is doomed not to failure but rather to not even qualifying as a viable contender.
When did the friction start to shake the machinery so hard that we began to cheer the failure of our government's attempts to help the common people? When did the failure of our leaders become something to celebrate? At what point did it become impossible for congress to provide a basic affordable health care plan to the common people instead of a thousand-plus-page document that was doomed to be hated if not rejected? There is no exact date, but it happened when the numbers of unelected lobbyists in Washington exceeded the numbers of elected officials to such a degree that the paradigm shifted away from humans and toward business. Now there is not even a pretense of power to the people. Now we are truly Corporate America.
Check it out it's pretty good especially considering where it is from.