And so, American democracy survives, only to fight on for another day. The bottom line is that our constitutional democracy works only when all parties to the deal are voluntarily participating, of their own free will, for the good of the country. Unfortunately, only one of our two major political parties is a happy, willing participant in the democratic process. Until the Republicans come around to being willing participants again, or are replaced by another party that is, I fear that we will have more coup attempts in the future.