Never said they were. You can try to float that straw filled red herring all you want. It’s stinky, DOA, and sinking.
[Money buys stuff]
Yep, stuff like ambassadorships and political influence.
I thought the whole point of VOTING was that political influence was ultimately supposed to be in the hands of the voting public.
It is...that's what elections are for.
You seem to have trouble with the difference between pure democracy and a Republic.
We have the latter. We vote for representatives on our behalf. If you don't like an Ambassador, that's tough.
Your leader might for a reason you may not see.
If you consistently don't like the choices, vote differently or get more active at the grass roots level.