From what I understand of American history, there was significant conflict between a republican form of democracy where landowners and 'citizens' were seen as truly democratic (using the Greeks as examples), and a one-person one-vote style of democracy we see today. This is often painted as state's rights, but I think it is more about who has the right to vote, and how much does an individual's vote have on the final result. We are seeing this conflict play out today in New York for example, as non-citizens can now vote in local elections.

I think much of Trump's retoric revolved around this older/conservative idea of democracy. My point is that there is no monolithic "democracy", just more or less representatives forms. Progressives want more one-person one-vote forms of democracy, while conservatives are looking back to the original founding fathers who wanted representational government. Looking forward what form of democracy do we want?

Living in California and having voted for Bernie Sanders, I feel my vote, and most Californians were worthless.