Americans ‘disgusted’ with both Democrats and Republicans

An American political commentator says the American people are “disgusted” with the bipolar system of the US politics, as polls show a growing number of Americans are identifying themselves as independents.

“The American people, the American electorate have become disgusted with, outraged by, and cynical about both the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. They see both parties as expressions of power based on money,” Brian Becker of the ANSWER Coalition told Press TV in a phone interview on Thursday.

A recent Gallup poll has shown that a record 42 percent of Americans have identified themselves as independent and not affiliated with either of the two major political parties.

Becker pointed to the huge amount of money that was spent in election campaigns by the two opposing parties last year in the United States.

“In the last Presidential election, more than $5 billion was spent between those running for president and US Senate; just to win office, five billion dollars.”

In an interview with HuffPost Live, American academic and antiwar activist Noam Chomsky also criticized the two major political parties in the US, saying their policy agenda is dominated by corporate interests.

“The American electorate, and especially younger people under the age of 35, see the American political scene as becoming more expressive of plutocracy, that is the power of money and power of wealth rather than democracy,” Becker told Press TV.

“They view both parties, the Democrats and Republicans, as an expression of plutocratic rather than democratic power. So, the American people are looking for an alternative.”

A Gallup poll, which was released in October, also showed that 60 percent of Americans said their country needed a third major party because the Democratic and Republican parties do such a poor job that they cannot adequately represent the American people.