Regardless, the point isn't what some other gov does or doesn't do. The point is the US is being sold snake oil. That doesn't need any comparison. BS is alway BS. Lip stick doesn't make it any less so.
Doesn’t seem like much of a ruse to me.
And regarding “doesn’t matter what other countries do”, come on! This is a thread about the west’s relationship to China in the context of Xi consolidating lifetime rule.
It’s explicitly a thread about our relationship to other governing systems. So your attempt to say people in the US have no standing to criticize China based on some individuals in the US feeling disenfranchised seems like the non-sequitur to me.
Yes. It's a republic.
No. There's no effort to communicate that to those most effected. At some point the friction from the disconnect will manifest itself in "weird" ways. Trump being a prime example.
Is that best for the republic?