Democracy the pawn of special interests? A slave to the media? The spaniel of political parties? Perhaps, but who drives the special interests, the media, and the political parties? The people are the drivers. It is the people who ultimately decide what is democratic and what is not.
During the construction of the constitution the framers had no intention of forming a democracy in the true sense of the word that is "a government or country where everyone has the equal right to choose the leaders, by voting". The framers allowed for only white land owning males to vote. James Madison said, "Democracies have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention have ever been bound incompatible with personal security of the rights of property" no doubt he had little faith in democracy. Instead the framers set up a decentralized representative government that was limited by the Bill of Rights (and other amendments to follow) to protect personal liberties. These liberties for citizens were not always protected by the electorate of the time.
Several amendments have since been passed to make our society a much more democratic one. Amendments such as the fifteenth and the nineteenth extended the right to vote to those of non-Anglo origin and to women. Early interest groups played important roles in the women's suffrage and civil rights movements. If individuals had not come together to change the legislation our society would not be anywhere near the same as what we have today. What could be more democratic than that!.
The ability of special interest groups to make a difference in society relies heavily on the ability to attract potential support from fellow citizens getting their message out to as many people as possible. The most efficient tool for this is the media. People in every part of the U.S. can receive information through the media. Whether it is radio, print or television the media has the ability to span distances that a single group could never hope to accomplish.
