Voter anger has never been higher, as evidenced by results in state primaries and caucuses. Party rules give us terms like delegates and superdelegates, thus adding to the frustration of average voters who wonder if their vote really makes a difference in the election process.

Voter distrust is especially apparent on the Republican side where there is a widening gap between Donald Trump and Ted Cruz forces. "Establishment politician" is another negative label which has doomed the campaigns of candidates like George Bush and Lindsey Graham.Being a political outsider seems much more attractive to voters these days. Only a handful of candidates in our history have won the presidency by being a political outsider without elected experience. Being a war hero certainly helped three of them.Gen. Zachary Taylor became the most popular man in America in 1848 after the Mexican-American War. As an independent, he became the recruit of political clubs and went on to become our 12th president.Although he never held previous public office or directly campaigned, Ulysses Grant, the winning general from the Civil War, won the presidency in 1868.The closest political outsider to win during our lifetime was Dwight Eisenhower, the Supreme Commander of forces in Europe during World War II.Last week, two stories emerged that deepened the disgust American taxpayers have been feeling about Washington politics. One involved the deporting of illegal immigrants on commercial flights and some even on private jets.It was revealed that Immigration and Customs Enforcement spent $116 million - $300,000 every day - in 2015 to transport 235,413 people in this country illegally back to their home countries. More than 40 percent of those who had violated visa restrictions were convicted criminals while more than 1,000 were identified as gang members.The average cost of every immigrant last year was $12,213, which includes apprehension, detention, court appearances and deportation. Deporting an illegal immigrant costs an average of $1,962, which includes both ground and airfares via commercial flights. Amazingly, some even flew back on private jets like the Gulfstream IV.The second story that fueled our anger about politics as usual in Washington was the release of the 24th edition of the Citizens Against Government Waste's "Pig Book," which documents spending on questionable projects that lawmakers lodged into the budget.Those lawmakers who seem genuinely concerned about government waste and spending used a live pig in an American flag hat to drive home their point about pork-barrel spending.Despite a 2011 moratorium on earmarks imposed by then-House Speaker John Boehner, the cost of earmarks increased 21 percent from fiscal 2015.The latest expose on pork-barrel spending includes $40 million to upgrade the M1 Abrams tank, which is opposed by the Pentagon, and $8 million for the aquatic plant control program.Democratic Sen. Brian Schatz managed to secure a $5.9 million earmark for The East-West Center in his home state of Hawaii. The center was founded in 1960 to promote better relations with Asia and the Pacific region even though the State Department maintains it was not needed. In a press release last December, Schatz boasted about securing his earmark, noting it was $5.9 million more than the administration wanted.Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, is one Washington politician who has railed against the out-of-control spending, stating that it must be corralled if we are ever going to get the debt under control.Many voters agree with Ernst.Hearing last week's stories about Washington spending, it's no wonder why voters are so charged up and angry and why outsider candidates have been doing so well in the primaries.By Jim Zbick |

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