Conservatism in the US isn’t about consistent principle. It’s about loyalty. It’s a throwback to feudalism, in which govornors are aristocrats who govern by force rather than by consent.

It’s what we have in the US, oligarchy with some small democratic features. You can decide which plutocratic shill will represent you, though you won’t find any actual representatives of public interest on the ballot.

But letting the people vote and have legitimate power is the alternative to the other means by which the people assert their will.