Not to take this too far afield, and not doubting Shirer, who was there, I mentioned that Germany's Weimar Republic was a "democracy" in the same general sense that the USA is a "democracy" and yes there were significant differences.
The 30% or so of Nazis in the Reichstag were elected and did give them a significant power block. Not a controlling one, until after Hitler took over the Chancellorship and then combined it with the Presidency after Von Hindenbergs death, becoming "Der Fuhrer".
The bas point here is that a democracy (no matter the specific details) is always at risk of one group taking sole power, through (technically) legal means, at first.
The US system with its checks and balances makes that difficult but not entirely impossible.
The 30% or so of Nazis in the Reichstag were elected and did give them a significant power block. Not a controlling one, until after Hitler took over the Chancellorship and then combined it with the Presidency after Von Hindenbergs death, becoming "Der Fuhrer".
The bas point here is that a democracy (no matter the specific details) is always at risk of one group taking sole power, through (technically) legal means, at first.
The US system with its checks and balances makes that difficult but not entirely impossible.