Then the word democracy must be declared better, Dave. Democracy normally means a system of representation. The USA does not have that. The USA has winner-take-all.

In Sweden, 100% of the voters (or very close to 100%) can point to the person they either handpicked themselves or that was the perfect substitute for their vote.

In the USA, 60% of the voters (figure based on the US Senate, 2006) can do the same.

In Sweden, the majority of the voters equal the majority of the decisions made by politicians.

In the USA, the majority of the voters do not equal the majority of the decisions made by politicians. It's more like 30%.

And that is not what the Founding Fathers had in mind.

Folks rightfully complain that their 'democracy' sucks. They don't have the real deal. We have powers concentrated into two parties, and the Founding Fathers never envisioned a two-party system.

If we follow the US Constitution to the letter, we would end up with a four-to-six party system. Instead, the powers that be blocked the real version of democracy at State and local levels. They concentrated powers in areas where concentrating powers was not only unnecessary, but also denies/disparages the rights retained by the people.

'A Republic, if you can keep it'

https://fred-rick.medium.com/a-republic-if-you-can-keep-it-9e2990d3ceab