Our current system is a plutocracy not a democracy. The recent Supreme Court decision in the Citizens United[1] case allows unlimited campaign financing from corporations. This is the last nail in the coffin of unfulfilled promises of campaign finance reform. Democracy cannot flourish if the outcomes of political campaigns are determined primarily based on who has spent the most money. Congress must pass a comprehensive campaign finance reform law that limits the maximum contribution of any single entity to any campaign. Let’s start with a limit of $1000 maximum contribution by any entity to any campaign and go from there.
The Republican Party has been able to thwart all efforts for progress under the cynical tactic of Filibuster. A simple reform would require that a majority of senators of the Filibustering party be present during the Filibuster. Another possibility would be to end Filibustering by a simple majority vote.
[1] The Supreme Court got this one wrong in a big way. Corporations are not people and should not automatically be protected to the full extent of the 1st Ammendment. People have a moral responsibility to act ethically; corporations have a fiduciary responsibility to maximize shareholder equity. These are very different imperatives that lead to very different behavior.