I also lament this. There is also one area where I still have internal conflict between my libertarian leanings and the consequences of nefarious actors. I used to be a huge supporter of soft money and PACs. I felt it was merely expressing free speech through new channels. I wish that my teenage thoughts could have reconciled freedom of speech via campaign donations with the stark reality of how forces of evil would use those same laws to functionally buy off politicians and kick off large scale lobbying activism, which grew an order of magnitude after the changes in campaign finance laws. At this point, I think our current establishment is beyond hope. We need to realign government in a way that charlatans and sociopaths no longer lust for the allure of office. I would implore that we start by setting term limits, banning soft money, and setting low wages. All of this so public servants with more honorable intentions tend to run for public office.