No Commish, it's not quite that simple. Ever since democracy took hold of the modern state, populism has produced the worst results because it appeals to people's emotions rather than their reason. Never forget that Adolf Hitler was the populist result of a democratic system.
In the Trump thread, Tobias notes that one of his grave concerns about the Trump supporters is their willingness to give up our constitutional rights and freedoms. And that's largely true, except that these people have always been there since we started. There is a portion of the public who knows nothing and cares nothing about American ideals; you threaten their economic livelihood, you present them with somebody to blame for that threat, and they're willing to chuck all of our ideals away, and our form of government too if need be. Luckily for us we have less of these sorts than the Germans or Russians have had, but they're still around. And right now, unfortunately, they comprise a significant portion of the Republican base. THAT's the big problem, not our system.
Why not? Because "regular people" aren't properly educated? Populism isn't anything more than the belief in "regular people" having control of their government instead of an "elite few". 
