I always chuckle when I hear America referred to as a Democracy. Obviously, those that do do not know the literal definition of the term.
At best, the United States of America was a Constitutional Republic with Democratic ideals, or maybe a "Representative Democracy" (rather than a full Democracy), but those days are more in the past than the present.
Today, the United States of America is quickly slipping toward Oligarchy. Possibly even a Plutocracy.
Oligarchy (Greek Ὀλιγαρχία, Oligarkhía) is a form of government where political power effectively rests with a small, elite segment of society (whether distinguished by wealth, family or military prowess). The word oligarchy is from the Greek words for "few" (ὀλίγον óligon) and "rule" (ἄρχω arkho).
In this case, money buys you access to the politicians. Special Interest Groups and Big Industry have the money.
Americans, in general, can only blame themselves (of course, they
won't blame themselves, they'll blame others) --- the societal apathy and generally very low turnouts to vote year-in and year-out have only encouraged special interests, big industry, and the bought-and-paid-for politicians to continue down this road of usurping the "will of the people".
Many elections still have the popularity contest aspect to them; if you really screw up badly in public relations, you can lose your office or lose an election. But all the potential players need special interest, big industry, and big money, just to get into the game in the first place.
Welcome to the Second Act of the Fall of Rome.
