What was the urban political machine?

The previous post was quite thorough.  As part of the
Gilded Age's approach to politics, the machine was developed as a way of "getting out
the vote."  If we put aside its corrupt elements and actually examined it as a political
approach, one can see that there were some democratic tendencies present from a strictly
theoretical standpoint.  Most of the people whom the machine represented were those who
lacked a voice in the political process.  The machines did not represent the
Rockefellers, the Carnegies, or the Stanfords.  Rather, they represented the working
class, the immigrants, and those who comprised the urban settings.  The machines were
based on patronage, and sought to provide for those who assisted it.  As the machines
gained more traction, they represented the trappings of power as they really did not
enhance discourse or discussion, but rather grew out of their patronage element.  Along
these lines, the machines became both politically and financially beneficial to those
who were a part of it, contributing to not only its formation but its
sustenance.