You Think When You Vote, You Get to Pick Your Leaders… Right?

There is also the Gerrymander to thwart election choice.

Stop with the "republic not a democracy" shit since that is pretty much meaningless.
Especially when some elections don't have ANY candidate choice. That is the elections have no candidates from parties that can't win.
A recap for people who want to parrot the "republic not a democracy" bullshit. There is NO difference between the two in modern political thought: well short of republics not having aristocracy. Here are the characteristics of both systems.

1. A political system for choosing and replacing the government through free and fair elections;
2. The active participation of the people, as citizens, in politics and civic life;
3. Protection of the human rights of all citizens, and
4. A rule of law, in which the laws and procedures apply equally to all citizens.

The French Revolution pretty much proved the founders WRONG about the benefits of a republic over a democracy.
Can you say "the Terror"?