All this influence peddling has come at the price of democracy. First, the Israel lobby and the defense industry advance interests contrary to Egypt‘s pro-democracy activists. Second, the the will of the American people, 6 in 10 of whom say aid to Egypt‘s military government should be reduced or eliminated, is being ignored. If money and special-interest lobbying did not so distort the U.S political process, if the country were a genuine democratic republic, Congress and the Obama administration would take a harder line.