Yup, the monster feeds on itself. As a result people in cities are s*rew*d.
Damn shame there isn’t more urban Republican strength. Having that (R) next to your name is a non-starter in many places. Perhaps creating local parties, “good government” coalition type deals with non-corrupt rats should be explored. The rats tend to be highly factionalized in areas they dominate.
Unfortunately, some of those urban R’s are scarcely different than the Dems. Rarely do you have big time reformers and privatization advocates like you had with former Indianapolis Mayor Steve Goldsmith or folks like Bret Schundler.