As a youth, I remember media talking heads using the term managed democracy being used to describe the various "regimes" that had free elections, but which in no sense did citizens democratically determine the direction of the country's government. It didn't take much introspection to apply that logic to the USA, but apparently introspection is a rare trait.

As Nyerere said, the United States is also a one-party state but, with typical American extravagance, they have two of them. We get to have free elections where the only thing we decide is to what degree of depravity the government will treat marginalized people.