The house always wins.
Yes, but when did our Republic acquire "a house"?
I'm thinking it acquired "a house" in the decades preceding the civil war. In fact, it was an attempt to get out of "the house" that caused the civil war.
Let’s not delude ourselves. America is ruled by the Five Cities, Boston, New York, Washington, Chicago, and Hollywood. The rest of us just pay taxes. The heart of the beast is New York, the Ivies being its nursery and Washington its storefront.