It's still a Representative Republic in concept, and thanks for that. But in many ways, we are a direct democracy. Think about how much influence out of state organizations have in a senatorial election. Used to be, the senators were appointed by the state legislatures, and therefore, people rightly had a great interest in who they elected to the state legislature. Now with all that campaign money pouring in from out of state and essentially brainwashing the useful idiots among us, we now have people in other states voting by proxy in senatorial elections they should have no part of. Possibly even of more concern, the voters are distracted by the glamor of a national election and therefore pay less attention to local/state politics. That's a lose/lose and it's at least the beginnings of a direct democracy. There's a reason the founders wanted states to appoint senators.
I have a feeling you are using the "Don Quixote approach" sans windmills.
etc., etc. ad nauseum.
What does that have to do with conservatism and where do you get off thinking you somehow have to educate us?