In a democracy the people are expected to select their leaders. In order to do that the people need information. They need to know what kind of leader that person will be and what kind of policies they will put forth.

A major problem with Mitt Romney is that he never gets into the specifics of policies. This problem isn’t only talked about amongst Democrats, but also Republicans.

But today we have further proof that the people running to lead our nation don’t care about the knowledge voters have. Not only that, but it also exemplifies that we don’t have a democracy, but an auction:

In a speech to donors in the backyard of a private home here, the former Massachusetts governor and presumptive GOP presidential nominee outlined his plans to potentially eliminate or consolidate federal agencies, win back Latino voters and reform the nation’s tax code.

And even Ann Romney, the subject of a national debate last week over the role of women in the workplace, was more direct than usual. She sounded like a political tactician when she described a Democratic consultant’s criticism of her decision to be a stay-at-home mom as “an early birthday gift.”

Romney went into a level of detail not usually seen by the public in the speech, which was overheard by reporters on a sidewalk below. One possibility floated by Romney included the elimination of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Cabinet-level agency once led by Romney’s father, George.

So unless you have tons of extra money to donate to a candidate and can attend one of these super high price fundraisers, you really don’t need to know about policy, like what departments a President Romney might eliminate in the federal government.

This should feel like an insult to any voter, regardless of party identity. I guess in Romney’s eyes we aren’t “elite” enough to understand or merit the knowledge of what he would do as President. I’m sorry, but I find that beyond insulting, not only to me but to our nation as a whole.

And I don’t want to bash Romney for doing this. He is just the latest one to get caught. The fact is all politicians do this, rather they are Democrat, Republican or Independent. The only solution to this problem is to remove the money from politics. Make everything publicly funded and get rid of these private “you paid me, so you can select a leader based upon actual knowledge” fundraisers.

This is America and the very essence of what our founding fathers envisioned depends upon getting rid of the auction and returning to an actual democracy. The longer we wait the harder it will be.