You are absolutely correct. Hitler was democratically elected, remember? More recently, Hamas was democratically elected by Palestinians and Hezbolla in Lebanon.
Democracy is nothing but a method. A method to what ends? The answer lies outside politics: it is produced by the culture.
The author, like so many before him, is completely wrong. No minority has the power to take over a country unless the vast majority is indifferent. It is the conservatives that left the field to Wilson, Roosevelt and other "progressives" almost one hundred years ago. It is conservatives that did nothing but shake their heads when the 60's radicals appeared on the scene --- radicals that subsequently monopolized the system of education and thus ensured their eventual victory.
It is really silly at this point to write yet another book about the perfidious left. The author would have done a greater service if he pondered the question, how and why did Americans become indifferent to traditional American values? But it is much easier, of course, to point finger at the attacking enemy.
I will admit that many of us were caught flat-footed by many personalities staffing the news, they had earned their reputations in W.W.II.
And that newfangled TV thing was something else!
Maybe you do not remember the "Fairness Doctrine" days, the days before modern talk radio. Of course there was no Internet.
There were still conservative newspapers though fading fast as TV news took over. Time and U.S. News were pretty good.. otherwise it was a matter of searching out limited-circulation publications and talking to co-workers and neighbors.
Most important were the two movements of that era: civil rights and "anti-war." The former enjoyed overwhelming support -- but it was politically dangerous for supporters to bring up "states rights" and "law and order," they became codes words for the N-word.
Many across the country formed little groups to inform.. but it was nothing compared to the MSM.
We were the silenced majority -- except on election day as for example 1972.
When modern talk radio started for good in 1987 the most oft-heard caller comment was, "I didn't know others believed as I believe!" That's what I remember.