As my economic teacher tried to tell me once was "Politics is never kind or loving to anyone that doesn't benefit from other people's misery" good job also very true the last two lines

I really do like this...I don't mind having a knock at the polly's in my own country as well as others as you probably know haha!!

I grow wary of quack leaders
whose only contribution
is to disable their opponents,
gutting their issues mercilessly.

^^^

Using their twice in this stanza...I honestly don't think their in the last line works....perhaps...each issue?

This Cesarean form of politics
births unnatural conflicts
leaving worthy causes to die
in the womb of Congress.

Wow...I really loved this statement and...boy does it leave the reader with some things to thinks about no matter which country we live in...polly's are polly's after all...another name for liars if I'm being really honest which...this whole poem is about obviously...me being me can just come right out and say as$holes I guess ll!!!!

Questioning your spelling of Cesarean..I know you are on phonetics but...it's named after Caesar....That's Julius so...phonetics shouldn't count???

A great deal of truth in this poem. Well-said Larry, and congrats on the win!

Judging comment:

The brevity here was fascinating, especially in setting the dark tone and suggesting that such corruption has happened and will continue to be present within Congress. I know now there are many scandals being revealed to the public eye and many question how leaders could have made these decisions, how it could be considered legal or constitutional. A powerful poem with a message, politics has no mercy and is "unclean". I think it can take people with good intentions and make them deceitful. Well-crafted piece, especially with the stress of "gutting their issues" and connecting the creation of new, unwanted conflicts with the "womb of Congress". Well-written. (4)