[D9u]

I always thought that the USA was a Constitutional Republic.

As for my fascism remark, it refers to some campaign posters from 2008. http://americanbuilt.us/images/facism/not-fascism.jpg

However, fascism is not a single, set, ideology, and there are those who view the current spate of "crony capitalism" as a form of fascism, namely "Corporate Fascism."

I have not seen the word "democracy" anywhere within the US Constitution, yet the word "Republic" is present in that "damned piece of paper" which I swore an oath to defend. http://rense.com/general69/paper.htm (apocryphal source)

I do agree with your final paragraph, and consider myself lucky to be an American. We could be a lot worse off.