Maybe it looks that way if you’ve only been at this a couple decades. Given how things have changed slowly over the last 40 and relatively abruptly with the Trump era, I think Democracy has been under fire for a long time.

There's a canyon of difference between "is under fire" and "is on the ballot".

One of these may be able to be supported through reference and analysis. The other is hyperbolic outrage bait.

But the real failing is that the growing corruption – regulatory capture, lobbying, campaign finance, rise of oligopolies in ever more markets, etc. – has left us with neither major party primarily beholden to anyone but the ultra rich and mega corporations

A failing which precludes the notion one can simply defend democracy by voting blue.

So I would argue that our realistic choices (since with our election mechanism, we are essentially locked into a choice between only two parties) are …

If you're going to draw arbitrary realistic bars by which to measure, you may as well just stop voting.

Democratic – incremental progress socially but mostly status quo economically and little interest in addressing the root problems I mentioned along with failing to address the seriousness of the rising threat of the right wing, loosely similar to the attitude of liberal centrists in the German Weimar Republic of 1930-1933. (I am fully aware that Democratic party is a hodge podge including some left leaning groups but the centrists run the show, I think we can agree)

I'd argue they're center-right at best, and actively malicious towards the working class.

Republican – long term (40+ year) plan to undermine education, suppress voters, dismantle government safeguards, challenge (by ignoring) fundamental checks and balances, along with regressive social policies (particularly race, sexual orientation, reproductive freedom, gender expression).

Every single one of these failings applies to Democrats as well - hence the problem.

If one is actually aware of the GOP’s gerrymandering, active voter suppression, undermining of news media, rejection of the concept of truth and fact, conspiring to overturn the presidential election, anti-intellectualism, stochastic terrorism, active persecution and suppression of marginalized people, criminal activity, and brash corruption, one cannot interpret as anything but a directed, coordinated, doggedly persistent attack on American democracy.

Are you still pretending the majority of these don't apply to Democrats?

Only one of these two groups severely degraded the operation of the government in the last decade and one of these groups is driven to further establish a theocratic, nationalist, authoritarian, regressive—in short, fascist—rule

If you haven't been paying attention to anything but Salon and Vox, sure, I can see how you'd think that.

To look at the last twenty years and term “democracy on the ballot” as trope or hyperbole just shows how bad “the new normal” had gotten by the 2000s.

Alternatively, it highlights the extent to which media has been crying wolf using such tropes to try and drive blue votes where platform has otherwise utterly failed to do so.

I agree that the new normal is bad - I disagree with using irrational outrage-bait to drive votes in such a manner as to perpetuate every problem behind the new normal.