A rebuttal to the phrase "We're a republic, not a democracy."

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Link to tweet

[brush]

1. Just say we're a representative democracy, which is true.

[Igel]

8. But very often it's not the overlap that people mean,

but the difference: They want a democracy that's more majoritarian, when the republic structure was put in place for the very reason of avoiding a majoritarian democracy. Basically hog-tying it to keep it from becoming a mob that can do very rash and anti-liberty things very quickly.

It's very hard to amend the Constitution, a court can stop things that are transgressive of the Constitution, weak president, dueling chambers of congress elected by different means, government split into layers.

Frame: Republic
Engine: Democracy
Destination: Preservation of liberty

[brush]

19. Majoritarian? Seldom evoked in the US, most have never heard of it.

A republic, a form of democracy with representatives chosen/elected to represent segments of society, is inherently more workable than convening 330 million American's to vote/make a decision on an issue. That's not just impractical, it's impossible, which I'm sure you know.

IMO anyone who invokes majoritarianism in a conversation is more an argumentative contrarian than anything else. Just ask them for an example of a country governed by majoritarianism.

[Irish_Dem]

2. How about telling them that playing lying and nonsensical word games won't work anymore.

[Arthur_Frain]

3. "Representative Democracy is a form of a Republic you idiot."

Has usually been my go to reply.

Mob rule results in killing of your smart folks (see Socrates). Mobs are driven as hell, and generally stupid as hell. If I haven’t been watching the republicans pander to the stupidest people in the nation for the last 20 years, I’m sure I don’t know what it was I was watching. Looks to me like the idea was to create a mob that they could lead for their own purposes.

Now they are finding out that control of the mob is impossible, and what that is going to cost. Shitty thing is that it’s going to cost us all, and when it becomes obvious that they have lost, I expect them to lash out.

Hope they fail, hope I get to see a few noses rubbed in it along the way.

[blm]

4. Founders declared a republic and chose democracy to make it work.

It’s like a car. The frame relies on the engine to move.

Frame = republic
Engine = democracy

[OhNo-Really]

5. Whatever they chose to gaslight with

In any situation ask

“What would Love do or say?”

Would it say “wear a mask to protect others”

Would it say “dismantle that ugly tented homeless community” with no solutions offered.

Whatever the gaslight words they use, asking

“what is the loving thing to do” shuts up the hateful rather quickly.

Well, it works for me. Benefit of being raised by an empathic social worker.

I enjoy a wide space at the local grocery store.

[multigraincracker]

6. Guy hit me with that, my reply was

There are two types of republics. A Representative Republic or a Banana Republic. Shut him up.

[CrispyQ]

7. I love Mehdi!

Too bad most of the news shows let guests get away with that. The age of (mis)information is killing us!

We are a democratically elected representative government. I still remember that from 5th grade social studies.

[Freddie]

9. It's their high-falutin' reason

To defend the Electoral College.

[WarGamer]

10. This topic is beat to death

The US is a democratic FORM of government called a



FEDERAL CONSTITUTIONAL REPUBLIC.

or a Federal Democratic Republic.

or a Representative Democracy.

https://clyburn.house.gov/fun-youth/us-government#:~:text=The%20Constitution%20establishes%20a%20federal,by%20free%20and%20secret%20ballot.

The Constitution establishes a federal democratic republic form of government. That is, we have an indivisible union of 50 sovereign States. It is a democracy because people govern themselves.

None of them are wrong.

[treestar]

11. Yes, I agree so much

well done as to making that point.

The Founders did not intend minority rule. Just some limitations. A majority might want to make the Catholic Church the state religion. That's all the founders meant by protecting the minority from the majority - that's the reason for the limitations in the Bill of Rights.

They did not intend for a minority to rule - what would be the point of that?

[albacore]

12. I have this on my desktop....ready to copy-and-paste....

NORTH KOREA AND CHINA ARE REPUBLICS, TOO…Even the USSR was Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

We’re not a “direct democracy,” but we are a “representative democracy.”

The United States is a republic because our elected representatives exercise political power.

It’s OK to follow in the footsteps of Jefferson, Adams, Webster, and Chief Justice Marshall and simply call our “representative democracy” a “democracy.”

We are a democracy because we govern from the bottom up, not top down. The word democracy just means government by the people. It does not preclude the people choosing their representatives. Some people think that democracy means direct government by the people, with each citizen directly voting on every law, action, and policy. What nonsense. I don't know of any government that operates like that.

A republic is a democracy.

We are a democratic republic - a hybrid. That was the genius of our Constitution. Elected leaders, plus protection of the minority (of white males, originally).

Throughout our history we have functioned as both. Put another way, we have utilized characteristics of both. The people decide, but they do so through elected representatives working in pre-established, rule-bound and intentionally balky institutions such as Congress and the courts.

The government seated in Washington, D.C., represents a democratic republic, which governs a federated union of states, each of which in turn has its own democratic-republican government for its jurisdiction.

https://www.npr.org/2022/09/10/1122089076/is-america-a-democracy-or-a-republic-yes-it-is

[ExWhoDoesntCare]

13. My response is always

"No, that's North Korea, but do continue with this comparison. I'm sure it will prove dumber than even that remark."

[Kennah]

14. "So was Rome. How'd that work out?"

[brush]

20. Rome actually lasted for many centuries. We're a long way from how long Rome lasted.

[Bucky]

15. Idiots thinking those are mutually exclusive terms... smdh

For people who are convinced we're "not a democracy" they sure do fret a lot about who got the most votes

[treestar]

16. Also ask them what they think a Republic is

rule by people who are called Republicans?

Often said by those defending the Electoral College. So they believe it is a form of government with an Electoral College.

[kairos12]

17. I say, yeah, like China or North Korea.

[Emile]

18. I was taught in middle school we are a Democratic Republic.

How in hell did these right wing politicians get into office without an election?