We don’t even know who’s running yet. Implying people aren’t allowed to criticize shitty hypocritical politicians because they might, at some future date, announce they’re running for president is completely ridiculous.

This person ALMOST gets it, but I have to hammer down on the "we don't even know who's running yet" part. Why don't we know? Why is there no obvious champion of the popular will? We are going to wait around until a small slate of candidates who are acceptable to the donors and media barons are selected for us, and they are all going to be repugnant imperialists.

The US political system is governed by a series of filters. To be deemed eligible, you first must go through the Cursus honorum of state government, the House of Representatives, and then the Senate, or be the executive of a large state or serve as Secretary of State or something of that stature. Along all of these steps, you must maintain the favor of our oligarchical media apparatus. You must never draw the ire of the party machinery, making sure to never cut the line in front of any of the corrupt sleazebags who have "tenure" over you because they have been wetting their beaks for decades. By the time it is finally "your turn," you have sold out any principle you ever had, or you have been locked out of the system by any one of these filters.