As much as I despise Donald Trump and his infestation of the White House, he’s actually not the problem.  As much as I opposed Hillary Clinton’s candidacy (twice), she’s actually not the problem.  Barack Obama’s presidency being blocked from greater accomplishments is actually not the problem.  All of the screaming heads on cable TeeVee are not actually the problem.  The idiots in state houses all over the country trying to strip people of their rights and places to go to the restroom are not actually the problem.  All the other nonsense going on in politics around the US is not actually the problem.

The actual problem?  It’s the Did Not Vote vote.  Did Not Vote wins most every election.  Have a look at this map:

Of eligible votes in 2016, Clinton received 28.43% (65,845,063) of all votes compared to Trump’s 27.20% (62,980,160) and Did Not Vote received 44.37%(102,731,399).  Did not vote won, and the American people lost.  Again.  This is how you get nut jobs like Dan Patrick, Sid Miller, Greg Abbott, and Rick Perry elected to statewide office.  When half of eligible voters can’t be bothered, this is what you get.  If voters actually voted, Russian hacking wouldn’t matter.  Gerrymandering would have much less effect.  Politicians would be driven toward compromise and making government work, rather than barricading themselves in their extreme corners heaving molotov cocktails at the opposition.  They would stop holding Americans hostage over budget squabbles, healthcare, Social Security, and energy policy.

If the majority of Americans actually voted, we would have a government that actually worked.  As it is today, while people sit around watching America’s Got Talent eating their Cheetos and drinking their Diet Coke, evil and/or crazy people make decisions that damage our democracy, threaten Americans’ lives, and make us the laughing stock of the world.

This is the actual problem.  This is what actually needs to get fixed.