How a Trump Presidency Would Threaten Democracy - Bloomberg View

Representative democracy breeds compromise - because the elected official is bound to represent diverse constituencies.  That is why it is so hard for politicians to make firm promises. Voters misunderstand that as dishonesty.  But voters also want to know what principles and interests the representative seeks to advance.  So politicians - and political parties - really do try to live up to their campaign promises.
But what do you do with a wild man like Donald Trump whose policy ignorance is matched by his ego; and is not restrained by the political party whose leaders he defeated? - GWC
How a Trump Presidency Would Threaten Democracy - Bloomberg View
by Jonathan Bernstein
...if there are no promises, there’s no representation. And representation, as James Madison realized, is the only way for large-scale democracy to work. Democracy needs ways for constituents to influence the promises politicians make and how those are interpreted, and it needs politicians to take those promises seriously.

In large part, the political parties are supposed to ensure that happens, and Trump is running without one. If he wins, he would be the least constrained president in U.S. history.

Or, to put it another way, if all he’s promised is to be Trump, he can do pretty much whatever he wants and still claim to be keeping his core campaign promise.

And if he gets away with it, others will follow him. Healthy representation will be the victim. Along with meaningful democracy.