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> Our government is broken. It is no longer by the people for the people.

Are there good grounds for thinking it was ever much more "by the people for the people" than it is now?

Are there good grounds for thinking it was ever much more "by the people for the people" than it is now?

Teddy Roosevelt's national parks.

Teddy Roosevelt's trust busting.

That was populist pandering based on some sensationalist fictions. Getting personal political gain by capitalizing on outrage ginned up through the activities of several yellow journalists. Some of the worst (not the only!) behavior in the name of progressivism in our (American) history.

For the record, I used to really like this guy, until I read more about the era from some real (not high-school) history books and analysis pieces.

Interestingly, Roosevelt wasn't elected in his first term and only became president because McKinley was assasinated.

Would he have been able to run on his own at that point? I suspect not - he would have been viewed as too progressive by the people in charge.

Of course, then there are moments when it was much less "for the people" than it is now: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McCarthyism

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