Reply #17: A Republic is one form of Democracy

[JaneQPublic]

A Republic is nothing more than a Representative Democracy -- as opposed to a Direct Democracy.

So, to say that we have a Republican form of government, not a Democracy, is like saying "We drive a Taurus, not a Ford."

Further explanation from Wikipedia:

"Democracy" versus "republic"

The definition of the word "democracy" from the time of ancient Greece up to now has not been constant. In contemporary usage, the term "democracy" refers to a government chosen by the people, whether it be direct or representative.

There is another definition of democracy, particularly in constitutional theory and in historical usages and especially when considering the works of Aristotle or the American "Founding Fathers." Socrates, Plato and Aristotle never used the words democracy or republic interchangeably. See classical definition of republic. According to this definition, the word "democracy" refers solely to direct democracy, whilst a representative democracy is referred to as a "republic". This older terminology also has some popularity in U.S. Conservative and Libertarian debate.

Modern definitions of the term republic, however, refer to any state with an elective head of state serving for a limited term, in contrast to most contemporary hereditary monarchies which are representative democracies and constitutional monarchies adhering to parliamentarism. (Older elective monarchies are also not considered republics.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy