Any person running for office is:
1) Looking for power.
2) Can't obtain the office without being indebted to groups(electorate and other groups)
People who search for power are either megalomaniacs or idealists(or both), hardly the type of people you want running for office. Megalomaniacs will set the country on the path of ruin for the sake of their vanity or greed, since they won't be around long enough to see the results of their actions they can do this without worry, the common man can't see clear enough to put the blame on the right person anyway. Idealists can be safely ignored in most cases, since they lack the backing to get anything done, and the ones who have sufficient backing must pay this support back with interest and thus are compromised. All elected officials are tainted before their first work day.
In a democracy checks and balances primarily apply to the government, this essentially places all real power outside of the elected government. The media, other corporations, government departments and labor unions have officials who have power comparable to any senator, but they aren't elected, and they are more secure in their position than any elected official, this basically results in elected officials being dependent on favors by these unelected officials. Elected officials can't really do a damn thing, since if they don't comply they'll lose their power, and they will be replaced by someone who is more compliant. To reduce the power of these organizations requires time, and time is not something an elected official has, so they will either lose their power or comply. In a democracy those with power supposedly are more accountable, this simply is only the case if you believe that the ones with power are the ones sitting on the chair, only a fool would believe such a thing. The chair has the power, not the person sitting on it, the people with the real power are the ones who determine who gets to sit on the damn thing. Supposedly it is the people, but I like to think that people on here know better.
Take the media for example. The people who run the media aren't elected by the people, and it must have limited restrictions in a democracy. What can the media do?
1) Trade favorable coverage in return for having political parties and individuals change their positions on various issues.
2) Has dirt on everybody through their huge net of informants.
3) Determines what gets shown to the people, and
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