The way modern politics works, it doesn't matter if people realize the truth. Democracy as currently implemented in the USA is broken. Even if you think the in

The way modern politics works, it doesn't matter if people realize the truth. Democracy as currently implemented in the USA is broken. Even if you think the incumbent is doing bad things, we've been conditioned to believe that the "other side" (from whichever tribe you count yourself) is evil and must be stopped at all costs. Thus, you have to vote against that evil challenger. This, of course, gives politicians license to be exactly one iota less evil than the other guy. Although it's a complex question, I think a lot of the blame can be put on (A) the entrenched two-party system, since there can never a choice other than your team or the evil team; and (B) gerrymandering, so that what choices can be made over candidates happens in the primaries, which means the choice is made primarily by the most hard-core party members.