I think we're more like a "banana democracy" now(we're so far gone, can't even use republic in that phrase). It's obvious that there are different sets of rules for the "in crowd" (multinational corps., certain highly placed operatives in both parties, anybody with a certain ethnic last name, etc.) and then there's the rest of us schmucks still trying to figure out how to return us to a republic or else we're toast.
That's about the size of it. If we're not past the "tipping point," then we're too close to turn it around before we do pass it.