An excellent, well thought out post.
The thing that enables the careerism problem is, as you say, the voters enabling it by keeping the same clowns in office term after term. We need to start voting on the basis of accountability (i.e., results and real efforts instead of rhetoric). The GOP gets away with repeatedly double-crossing its voters and rarely pays the price for it.
Another factor that works to keep elected officials working in the interest of the Swamp is the variety of sleazy ‘persuasive techniques’ that are used against them. That’s a bit outside the scope of this discussion but its a factor nevertheless.
I confess I will reluctantly vote for a GOP clown to keep a Rat out of office. Rats are simply too dangerous as well as corrupt. The Xiden administration over the past 3+ years shows just how dangerous they are! Someone is blind if that can’t see that! I’ll take a corrupt GOP clown over a Rat; she\he’s not going to be anywhere near as dangerous! Today’s Rats are simply too dangerous to trust with any amount of power for any length of time! I’ll tolerate the corrupt and perhaps comical GOP clown until I get another shot to get rid of it next primary!