How can we fix this issue?
How about this:
No more campaign contributions that come from ANY private entity directly. Each election has a single funds pot, and it is split equally among each potential nominee. Every single penny used to campaign must come from this pot.
Example: Your state has a $50,000 pot for their senate elections. There are 5 people running. Each nominee gets $10,000 to spend on campaigns. Anything they don't spend is returned to the pot for the next elections. If they are caught spending money that wasn't from the pot, then they will be disqualified from the race, and given a mandatory prison sentence.
Where does this money for the pot come from? Anyone who wants to help their favorite nominee is to put their contributions into this pot, with only 50% of the entire pot coming from contributions. They must also be informed that the contribution will be split equally among the nominees. They are allowed to state that they contributed, but they are not allowed to disclose the amount that they contributed. The other 50% of the funds will come from the politicians. Each person serving in public office will be given a 1% income tax that will go directly to the campaign pot. Remember, you should be in public office because you want to make a difference, not because of the money.
Term Limits. No more lifetime politicians. The longer someone is in office, the easier it is for them to be persuaded against public opinion. A single person can serve three four-year terms of public office in their lifetime, but only two in a single position. The only exception to this is the position of POTUS, where they can serve an additional term if they have already served three. Example: Joe the Plumber has been elected to state senate. He serves two terms then unsuccessfully runs for governor. However, two years later he is elected vice-POTUS. He serves a single term before they are voted out of office. Since he has now served three separate terms, his options are to either retire from public office, or run for POTUS for a single term.
No closed doors between the people and politicians & lobbyists. We elected these people to represent us in public office, that means we should be very aware of everything they do that could affect us. Politicians and lobbyists are allowed to meet and talk, that is their freedom of speech. However, anything spoken, given, or done between them must be fully documented and made available for public access. Any persons found violating this process will be given a mandatory fine, prison sentence, and the politician will be removed from office, along with the additional punishments. That way, if it is becoming obvious that a special interests group is heavily persuading a politician to side against the will of the people, the voters will have a much easier decision when the next voting season rolls along.
Mandatory town halls. Each politician is required to hold at least one town meeting with their constituents. All records are to be made available in print for the week leading up to the town meeting at the location of the town hall. Any politician found not complying with this requirement is to be removed from office & their remaining term limits revoked. A replacement will be voted in & the remainder of the term will not count against their own term limits.
This is all just off the top of my head, so I know it's not perfect. I do want to hear your thoughts on it.