As far as what is actually the case we are an oligarchy masquerading as a degenerate form of democracy.
Liberals obey the Constitution just as conservatives do, only they just have a different interpretation. This is no different than the many Christian sects who all adhere to biblical teaching yet somehow come to very different conclusions about how to worship God and live their lives.
Even conservatives are squishy about the Constitution especially when it comes to suspending parts of it during wartime, giving more power to the Feds when its about "being tough on crime", and when they advocate for standardizing state regulations to make it easier for multinationals to expand across the US.
Regardless of what governance should come from DC and what from our state capitols, the increasing funding of state and local budgets from DC leads us ever forward to centralized power. The Dems have defunded police locally. The uniparty will eventually refund them from US taxes. We will then have a nationalized police force.
Rather than arguing over the correct interpretation of the Constitution, we need cities and states to become financially self-sufficient so that they can regain some of their lost autonomy. This might mean higher local and state taxes in the short run but hopefully lower fed taxes in the long term. It's sad that it's come down to "show me the money" but money talks and BS interpretations of our founding documents walks.
“Representative Democracy?”
Where is that in the Federalists or the Debates at the Convention in Philadelphia?