I don't think the big copyright holder view it in terms of rights or public interest. They have a financial interest, and they act to preserve and extend that. That's not surprising. One of the major problems, perhaps the largest problem, is that such players have a disproportionate voice with legislators. The advocates on the other side are few and relatively disorganized, and the common voter really doesn't care.
Even without cynicism about politicians being bought, it's a matter of which side of the argument makes a more compelling case. I think the big stakeholders do a better job at this.
That's the problem with party-driven politics; the limited scope of which issues decide elections. Copyright is never a frontline issue during elections because there are always bigger problems. In effect, democracy doesn't apply to copyright legislation because the majority doesn't let IP decide their vote.
It's not at all a problem with party-driven politics. The problem is that the government and the parliaments in the US don't accurately represent the people.
That's a problem with a broken democracy. In Europe you don't have that problem, at least not to such an extreme extend.
Even without cynicism about politicians being bought, it's a matter of which side of the argument makes a more compelling case. I think the big stakeholders do a better job at this.