This wasn't news then, why is it news now?

Less is demanded of our voting system than of our ATM system. The irony is that it is the same system. People vote with their money every day. Western democracy is realized through the market system on a national level. Locally it is still in tact as a function of voting ballots and money.

Governance is largely about the use of limited resources and less about civil liberties. Civil liberties are largely a function of popular majority and politicians just reflect the popular opinion of the day.