Draining the Swamp… and Filling It with Scum: How America’s Two Political Parties Got Us All Wrong

They think they know us. The politicians. The strategists. The TV pundits. The loudest voices from both sides of the aisle. They think they know who we are—what we believe, how we vote, what we want.

But the truth is, they have no idea.

They don’t see us—the Americans in the middle. The people who work jobs that don’t come with private jets or catered dinners or ten-thousand-dollar checks from a PAC. They don't see the ones who pay attention, but not to cable news. The ones who care deeply about the country, but who don’t yell about it online. The ones who still believe in things like honesty, fairness, and public service—but who feel like those words don’t mean anything anymore.

They’ve forgotten us. Or worse—they’ve stopped trying to understand us.

And we’re angry.

The Great Betrayal

Do you remember when Donald Trump promised to “drain the swamp”? Millions of Americans cheered when they heard it. Not because they all believed in Trump, and not because they trusted every word out of his mouth. They cheered because it finally felt like someone was saying out loud what they already knew: Washington is broken. The system is corrupt. The people in charge aren’t working for us anymore. If they ever were.

But here’s the problem. The swamp did start to drain. And underneath? We didn’t find clean land. We didn’t find fresh water or firm ground.

We found scum.

Because as it turns out, draining the swamp wasn’t the hard part. Replacing it with something better—that was the real challenge. And instead of integrity, or transparency, or truth, we got a new kind of sludge. One made of grifters, influencers, liars, and sycophants. Trump and his inner circle didn’t wash the system clean. They just filled the vacuum with a different flavor of filth.

And while that was happening, the other party—the Democrats—were busy collapsing under the weight of their own contradictions.

The Hollow Left

I was raised a traditional liberal. I believe in protecting the vulnerable. I believe in civil rights. I believe in helping people who need help. I believe government can be a force for good—when it’s honest, restrained, and in service of the people.

But look at the Democratic Party today.

What do they stand for, really? Who among them inspires confidence, strength, and clarity? The truth is, they’ve become a party of half-measures and buzzwords. Of massive corporate donors and confusing priorities. Of identity politics and performative virtue—but very little action that actually changes the lives of the people they claim to represent.

They don’t know who they are anymore. And it shows.

They’ll scold you for saying the wrong thing, but they won’t stop billionaires from buying up neighborhoods. They’ll march for justice, but they won’t reform the systems that create injustice in the first place. They’ll speak about “the working class” in speeches—but they haven’t been working class in decades.

They’ve been bought, too. Just like the other side. And if you listen closely, you can almost hear the rustling of favors being exchanged behind every photo-op, every press release, every “historic” piece of legislation that somehow never fixes the problem it claims to solve.

The Middle Has No Home

So where does that leave people like me? And, I suspect, people like you.

We’re not Republicans. We don’t want book bans, culture wars, or authoritarian strongmen telling us how to live.

But we’re not Democrats either—not if that means swallowing hypocrisy, corruption, and a political class more interested in managing their image than fixing the country.

We’ve been told this is a “binary” system. That you have to pick a team. That there are only two choices, and anything else is a waste of time.

But what if both choices are bad?

What if millions of Americans are stuck choosing between a decaying mansion filled with ghosts and a shiny new house built on quicksand?

We didn’t ask for this. We didn’t build this system. We inherited it. And now, we’re watching it crumble.

They Mistook Our Desperation for Loyalty

The Republican Party thinks our votes are endorsements. They’re not. They’re cries for help.

Some of us voted for Trump because we wanted to see the whole rotten system turned upside down. Because we were desperate. Because we saw that polite politicians with their polite smiles and empty promises weren’t doing a damn thing to fix the cost of living, the loss of dignity in labor, or the erosion of the American Dream.

But don’t confuse that with approval.

Don’t mistake our desperation for loyalty.

We saw the Republican Party’s point—but we hated their tactics. We shared their anger—but not their cruelty. We agreed the system needed to change—but not at the cost of decency, democracy, or truth.

And now? Now we’re left with a Democratic regime that looks tired, bloated, and out of touch—and a Republican Party hijacked by a cult of personality and chaos.

No wonder so many of us feel politically homeless.

A Rotten System, Rotting More Every Day

Here’s the hard truth: the American political system is failing. Not because the Constitution was bad. Not because democracy doesn’t work.

But because the two-party system has turned into a rigged game. A duopoly of power that serves itself first—and the people last.

We were warned. Washington and Adams both cautioned us against the dangers of party politics. They knew what could happen when loyalty to a party became more important than loyalty to the country.

And now, here we are.

Staring down a future where “We the People” have become “We the Puppets.”

Where elections are won by whoever can scare us the most. Where real debate has been replaced by soundbites, memes, and moral panic. Where both parties operate more like brands than public servants.

And the worst part?

Most Americans—most—aren’t even that ideological. We’re reasonable. We want balance. We want accountability. We want leaders, not celebrities. We want systems that work, not ones that just protect the people already in power.

The Swamp Was Gross—But the Scum Is Worse

In the end, maybe the swamp wasn’t good. But at least it was familiar. At least it had rules. At least the creatures in it knew how to swim in government without setting the whole damn pond on fire.

The scum, though? The scum floats on the surface, feeding on attention, sowing division, blocking the light. It doesn’t care about service, or tradition, or even basic function.

And somehow, we traded one for the other.

The Question Left Hanging

So what do we do now?

That’s the question, isn’t it?

Do we keep bouncing back and forth between two failing parties, hoping one will eventually get it right?

Or do we do something harder—something riskier—like imagining a different kind of politics? One that actually reflects who we are, what we care about, and how we want to live?

That part’s up to us. But here’s one thing I know for sure:

They don’t know us. Not anymore.

But we still know ourselves.

And that’s where every real change in American history has ever started.