{"id":2269819,"date":"2024-06-17T16:11:48","date_gmt":"2024-06-17T20:11:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/why-the-left-hates-it-when-you-point-out-were-a-republic-not-a-democracy\/"},"modified":"2024-06-17T16:20:00","modified_gmt":"2024-06-17T20:20:00","slug":"why-the-left-hates-it-when-you-point-out-were-a-republic-not-a-democracy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/why-the-left-hates-it-when-you-point-out-were-a-republic-not-a-democracy\/","title":{"rendered":"Why the Left Dislikes the Phrase &#8216;A Republic, Not a Democracy"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwhy-the-left-hates-it-when-you-point-out-were-a-republic-not-a-democracy%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2269819&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The text discusses the\u200c <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/donald-trump-rejects-idea-that-he-didnt-drain-the-swamp-in-first-term\/\" title=\"Trump denies not 'draining the swamp' in first term.\">ongoing \u200cdebate<\/a> between viewing\u200d the \u200bUnited States \u200cas a democracy versus a republic, a topic that has political and ideological\u2064 implications. Critics on the left \u200doften \u2063mock \u200dthe \u200ddistinction, treating terms &#8220;republic&#8221; and &#8220;democracy&#8221; as interchangeable, while\u200c others, \u2062including some Trump supporters, emphasize the differences, \u200carguing that these distinctions are crucial in understanding the U.S. political system. The\u200c debate touches on the\u200c foundational structures of the U.S. political system such as the Electoral College,\u200d the Senate,\u2063 and federalism, which\u200d are designed to protect against pure majority rule and to balance the control between the\u200c <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/better-than-expected-u-s-economy-added-638000-jobs-in-october-unemployment-dropped-to-6-9\/\" title=\"Better Than Expected: U.S. Economy Added 638,000 Jobs in October, Unemployment Dropped to 6.9%\">federal government<\/a> and individual states.<\/p>\n<p>CNN correspondent Donie O\u2019Sullivan \u2062highlighted Trump \u2063supporters&#8217; views on this topic,\u2063 portraying a misunderstanding among them, while the &#8220;democracy expert&#8221; Anne Applebaum suggested there is no significant difference\u2064 between a democracy and \u200da\u2063 republic. Contrary to \u200cApplebaum&#8217;s view, the\u200c text argues \u2062that there is indeed a meaningful difference, evidenced by various leftist attacks \u2062on U.S. institutions that\u200c protect against majoritarian \u2062rule. \u200cIt further \u200dcriticizes certain Democratic proposals\u200c and strategies as attempts\u2063 to impose majority rule without consensus, favoring\u2064 direct democracy over the \u2063republicanism \u2063embedded in the Constitution.<\/p>\n<p>The \u2064discussion extends to the broader\u2063 themes of minority rights, \u2062power \u2063distribution, and the role of federal \u200cinstitutions in ensuring a\u2063 balanced \u200bgovernance that protects individual \u200cand state autonomy against national majorities. The text underlines \u200dthe need for\u200b a deeper understanding\u200b and \u2064discussion about the exact nature of U.S. governance\u2014whether as a\u200d republic, a \u2062representative \u200bdemocracy, or a direct democracy\u2014and criticizes simplifications\u2062 or misunderstandings\u200d in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/proposed-9-11-resolution-from-school-board-member-who-spoke-of-jihad-spends-1-paragraph-honoring-dead-americans-10-lamenting-muslim-discrimination\/\" title=\"Proposed 9\/11 Resolution From School Board Member Who Spoke Of Jihad Spends 1 Paragraph Honoring Dead Americans, 10 Lamenting Muslim Discrimination\">public discourse surrounding<\/a> this issue.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-content\">\n<p>For as long as I can remember, the left has been sneering at anyone who points out that the United States is a republic, not a democracy. They find the notion almost as unsophisticated and fascistic as flying a revolutionary-era flag.<\/p>\n<p>Even some people I admire dismiss the democracy\/republic debate as a semantic distraction. They shouldn\u2019t.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2-long d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-1617638933\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1379703300879-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-91262f892d93d9162e31c4a4bccf09e9 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-91262f892d93d9162e31c4a4bccf09e9\"><\/div>\n<p>The other day, CNN\u2019s Donie O\u2019Sullivan <a href=\"https:\/\/www.realclearpolitics.com\/video\/2024\/06\/17\/cnns_donie_osullivan_some_trump_supporters_say_america_is_a_republic_not_a_democracy.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">tried<\/a> to make Trump fans who repeat this factual contention look like a bunch of dumb, lockstepping authoritarians. To explain the problem, CNN even recruited \u201cdemocracy\u201d expert Anne Applebaum, who noted that, \u201cAmerica is a democracy. It was founded as a democracy \u2026 the word \u2018democracy\u2019 and the word \u2018republic\u2019 have often been used interchangeably. There isn\u2019t a meaningful difference between them \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sure there is.<\/p>\n<p>Ask the contemporary leftists who target virtually every protection we have against mob rule in the name of \u201cdemocracy\u201d \u2014 attacking the Supreme Court, the Electoral College, federalism, the filibuster, the Senate, and even the existence of states. They understand the difference, even if just intuitively.<\/p>\n<p>Ask leftists who treat the \u201cpopular vote,\u201d not as a wishcasting cope, but as means of legitimizing presidential elections. Those who want a few big states ruling the nation via a direct federal democracy are not interested in an American \u201crepublic.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-4568e57cbdc9668914d478b8d9c0c2cf fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-6\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-4568e57cbdc9668914d478b8d9c0c2cf\"><\/div>\n<p>Blunting the federal government\u2019s power over states and the state\u2019s power over individuals is an indispensable way to ensure a diverse people in a huge nation can govern themselves and live freely. The \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/gop-leaders-to-meet-with-trump-on-agenda\/\" title=\"GOP Leaders to Meet With Trump on Agenda\">save democracy<\/a>\u201d types who refer to these long-standing federalist institutions as \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/opinions\/2023\/12\/28\/voters-democracy-minority-rule\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">minority rule<\/a>\u201d do not view \u201cdemocracy\u201d and a constitutional republic as interchangeable concepts.<\/p>\n<p>Neither do smaller blue-state governors who sign a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalpopularvote.com\/written-explanation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">national vote compact<\/a> that not only dilutes their state\u2019s power but circumvents the Constitution. They love a direct democracy. A constitutional republic? Not so much.<\/p>\n<p>When writers at The Atlantic, where Applebaum is a contributor, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/ideas\/archive\/2021\/02\/expanding-court-now-or-never\/618063\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">talk about<\/a> \u201cThe Democrats\u2019 Last Chance to Save Democracy,\u201d they aren\u2019t lamenting Biden\u2019s unprecedented executive abuse, but the \u201cdemocratic deficits in the Senate and the Electoral College\u201d \u2014 as if these institutions weren\u2019t specifically instituted to diffuse centralized control. They know the difference. They don\u2019t care about separation of power.<\/p>\n<p>Or take the so-called moderate Democrats who want to get rid of the filibuster or use the slimmest of fleeting majorities to shove through massive, generational federal \u201creforms\u201d without any national consensus \u2014 Obamacare or The Deficit Reduction Act [sic]. They\u2019re aware that \u201creforms\u201d will overturn hundreds of state and local laws.\u00a0They want local minorities subordinate to the whims and vagaries of national majorities.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-cca2669755259ff07389aaca427098df fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-10\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-cca2669755259ff07389aaca427098df\"><\/div>\n<p>Then again, the more \u201cdemocracy\u201d we have, the more demagoguery thrives. Of course they\u2019re fans.<\/p>\n<p>As it turns out, according to CNN a number of Trump supporters also understand the distinction even if they are unable to articulate it in poli-scientific terms. <\/p>\n<p>Then again, if O\u2019Sullivan wants to dunk on them, maybe he should take a civics refresher himself. \u00a0\u201cThere is, of course, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/joe-biden-remains-silent-on-wave-of-anti-semitic-crimes-in-us\/\" title=\"Joe Biden Remains Silent On Wave Of Anti-Semitic Crimes In US\">legitimate debate<\/a> to be had on what form of democracy we have here in the United States \u2014 direct democracy, representative democracy, in fact, constitutional republic, which you heard people mentioned in that piece, that is a form of democracy,\u201d the CNN host explained.<\/p>\n<p>There is, \u201cof course,\u201d zero \u201clegitimate debate discussion\u201d to be had over whether we are a \u201cdirect democracy.\u201d Not today, nor ever. \u201cDemocracy\u201d isn\u2019t even mentioned anywhere in any founding document, much less a direct one. None of the framers entertained any notions about majoritarianism or federal power that would even loosely comport the ones now embraced by the left.<\/p>\n<p>People will often tell me that, sure, we might be a republic, but we also have \u201cdemocratic institutions.\u201d Of course we do. We also have numerous <em>nondemocratic<\/em> institutions. The Bill of Rights, for instance, is largely concerned with protecting individuals from state and the mob. The insistence that we only use \u201cdemocracy\u201d \u2014 primarily understood by modern voters as majority rule \u2014 is meant to undercut the importance of those countermajoritarian rules and traditions. <\/p>\n<p>\u201c[F]or <em>centuries<\/em>,\u201d insists O\u2019Sullivan (italics mine), \u201cAmerica has celebrated its democracy,\u201d before playing clips of Ronald Reagan and others praising the notion of \u201cdemocracy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Indeed, the word \u201cdemocracy\u201d \u2014 from \u201cdemos,\u201d the people \u2014 has been used as a shorthand for self-rule since before Pericles. In the past, we\u2019ve used it to convey respect for a set of liberal ideas about liberties and rights, as well as self-determination. I\u2019m sure I\u2019ve used it in that way, too. Most Americans probably comprehend the notion of \u201cdemocracy\u201d in the same, vague context.<\/p>\n<p>These days, though, a bunch of illiberal progressives (and others) have taken universal notions that once fell under the umbrella \u201cdemocracy\u201d and cynically distorted them to champion a majoritarian outlook that undercuts a healthy \u201crepublic.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0It\u2019s no accident the people who demand you say \u201cdemocracy\u201d also champion the idea that 50.1 percent of the country should be empowered to lord over the economic, religious, cultural, and political decisions of 49.9 percent.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s the point. <\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-62489db477b8a55b34072564a40e8a81 fdrlst__b89e9-after-post-content\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-62489db477b8a55b34072564a40e8a81\"><\/div>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">    \t\t\t\t\t   \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For years, the left has mocked those highlighting that the U.S. is a republic, not a democracy, viewing it as unsophisticated and almost fascistic. Even respected individuals consider the democracy\/republic discussion a mere semantic distraction<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":831,"featured_media":2269820,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Athenian-democracy-.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2269819","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Athenian-democracy-.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2269819","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/831"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2269819"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2269819\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2269820"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2269819"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2269819"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2269819"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}