Devolving power to the states doesn't solve the problem, because state governments are also democratically elected. The central tenet is "If money can be used

Devolving power to the states doesn't solve the problem, because state governments are also democratically elected. The central tenet is "If money can be used to buy votes, then how do you have a democracy?" Nothing you've said above seems to address that, nor anything I can think of, in a world with an absolute right to spend money to promote ones own or preferred speech.