Jeezes, we need some actual Democrats in office

[Zorra]

54. Yes. It's a catch 22. The game is rigged, and is played in a maze that has no exit.

The only constructive solution I can envision is worldwide mass solidarity and democratic resolve, a focused and immutable non-violent direct action bloc of widespread non-participation in the game, surrounding the powers that be and rendering them incapable of subverting the democratic process, and politely but insistently and assertively kicking their corrupt asses to the curb.

This has to be done with a great deal of forethought, prudence and a relatively foolproof transition plan in place, mainly to insure that everyone can survive reasonably comfortably while all systems and resources are nationalized, and to prevent the greed driven sociopathic megalo-maniacs who currently control the system from interrupting and subverting the flow and evolution of democratic processes. They will do everything they can to regain control, and we will need to plan accordingly in order to gently restrain them from interfering with the democratic evolution that will maximize the possibilities for the future liberty and happiness, and comfortable survival of the 99% and the planet itself.

A formidable undertaking, but an undertaking that is now critical to having any possibility of present and future democratic self-determination, comfortable physical survival, and maintaining and improving what is left of the planetary environmental systems necessary to support physical life in this world.

That said, voting in as many real Democrats as possible may help buy us more time to fix what needs to be fixed, but like you said, most of "those who would have to initiate the reforms are the ones who are currently the beneficiaries of that same system. Seriously, what are the chances they're going to turn off the spigot?"

IMO, we really have limited options for insuring, to the greatest degree possible, the comfortable survival of the majority of human beings and other life forms at this stage of the game ~ something reasonably similar to what I described above ~ or we will be faced with an inevitable political catastrophe involving worldwide, iron fisted authoritarian control of the 99% by sociopathic plutarchs, and the unprecedented environmental catastrophe that would naturally follow iron fisted control by greed/ego driven sociopaths.