I'm sure replacing one Republican with another would have made ALL the difference...don't forget it was Bush 41 who essentially GAVE the FDA to the pharmaceutical industry, by installing pharma execs & pharm-industry lobbyists as the heads of the FDA for (at least) the last 8 years. If you doubt the existence of a 'revolving door' between industries and the agencies intended to oversee them, you really should look into The last, say 4 heads of the FDA, what they did before they got that job, and what they did after.
Civilian protest has made a difference in these matters in the past (it's how we got DSHEA, for ex) but only because the massive outpouring of public opinion meant political suicide if it was ignored.
We need that again. Now.