Before the Legislature’s summer recess, the Capitol was buzzing with several legislative committees deciding the fate of dozens of bills. Policy committee work is not glamorous, but it is an essential part of the democratic process that should be respected.

Among all of the hearings one incident stood out and for really unfortunate reasons.

According to a Gallup poll released on July 24,

Hillary Clinton's favorability has continued to drop to a net unfavorable position -- even with her remaining head and shoulders above the rest of the Democratic pack in both favorability and name recognition.

For the first time since the 2008 election, Clinton polls with an "unfavorable" (46-43) status nationwide among all voters. But this drop might not matter much when comparing Clinton to her opposition.

From the time of the Founding Fathers to the Civil War, there was always a very vocal, though sometimes small in numbers, opposition to creating national banks.

One of the strongest reasons against a national bank was that many of the Founders had seen what had happened in the Bank of England during the century prior to the American Revolution.

There is a sufficient lack of political discourse in the United States. Independent voices, now representing 45 percent of the national electorate, are not heard in mainstream political discussions. Citizens are presented with two choices at the polls, in the media, and even in every-day political discussions: Republican or Democrat?

As the 2016 election cycle continues -- spanning from the presidency to state legislatures -- the Democratic Party will have its work cut out for it as slow economic growth and declining presidential approval ratings continue to wreak havoc on its electoral prospects. Early polls indicate that the Democrats may hold the White House, but a Republican hold on Congress and increased influence at the state and local levels may render a Democratic presidency muted.