The United States is no longer a democracy because of "unlimited political bribery" that's created "a complete subversion of our political system as a payoff to major contributors," former President Jimmy Carter says.
In an interview on the "Thom Harmann Program," Carter said Supreme Court cases like the 2010 Citizens United decision have turned America into an "oligarchy," where wealthy elites wield the most power.
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"It violates the essence of what made America a great country in its political system," he said. "Now it's just an oligarchy, with unlimited political bribery being the essence of getting the nominations for president or to elect the president. And the same thing applies to governors and U.S. senators and Congress members."
"The incumbents, Democrats and Republicans, look upon this unlimited money as a great benefit to themselves," Carter added.
"Somebody's who's already in Congress has a lot more to sell to an avid contributor than somebody who's just a challenger."
In 2012, Carter called the Citizen United decision "the stupidest decision that the Supreme Court ever made,"
The Hill reported.
And the following September, he called the U.S. election process "one of the worst… in the world,"
The Associated Press reported.
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