For crying out loud...

There are still some here that maintain we are a democracy rather than a constitutional republic. Can we put this to rest once and for all?

Please access and read the link I provide at the end of my comments.

Many people incorrectly believe we are a Democracy in no small part because of the Democratic Party’s prowess and consistency in redefining our form of government for name recognition. Now, the misnomer permeates dictionaries, writings, and teachings with several different definitions.

Some people even espouse that “voting” equals “democracy.” We do not elect our President; the Electoral College does. “Freedom to vote” or just "freedom" would be more appropriate. We did not even elect our U. S. Senators until the 17th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified, which in my opinion, was a mistake. State legislators choosing U. S. Senators and the electoral college were included in the U. S. Constitution as facets of republicanism.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I did some research. The Federalist Papers mention “republic/republican” 205 times, all favorably. It says “democracy” 28 times, all in negative contexts. It does not mention “democratic republic” or “representative democracy.” The word “democratic” is mentioned six times — once in a neutral context and five times in negative contexts.

“Democracy,” or any derivative thereof, is not mentioned in the U. S. Constitution, its Bill of Rights, or any other Amendments. In fact, “Democracy,” or any derivative thereof, is not mentioned in any of our founding documents, The Declaration of Independence, or any of the states’ Constitutions.

If some people ignore all this and call our form of government a democracy, that’s their prerogative, but they’d be wrong. For those who remain unconvinced, I recommend the following piece in the New American, published in 2000. It is a bit long, but it is an interesting read and an eye-opener.

________________________________________________________________

"A Republic, if You Can Keep It" - The New American

 

Because it is.

Definition of democracy

1a: government by the people especially : rule of the majority
b: a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections

By the way how are electors chosen and how do they choose the POTUS?

 

You didn't read the link, did you?
Rule of the majority. We do not have that.
The EC: the most common method of choosing electors is by state party convention.

 

Voting=democracy.

 

I know you're right.

You not only didn't read the link I offered, but it also seems you didn't even read my comments.

 

A Constitutional Republic is simply a indirect democracy with checks and balances. It is a representative republic on the national scale in which the commoners allow the representatives to vote for what they believe should be done. The problem is the populace does not really do that and with a 92% reelection rate average over the past century or so, it is no wonder why we are int his mess that we are in.

 

According to Websters:
Definition of democracy

1a: government by the peopleespecially : rule of the majority
b: a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections

So we do technically fit the bill. Though I by no means intend to undermine your point about being a constitutional republic. Its just that a republic with representation voted for by the people is also a form of democracy, even when limited by a constitution.

 

92%????

I didn't know it was that high. Is that at the federal level, or across the board?

Politics in this country has become a sport. The public is so badly misinformed and with an unspoken yet very evident ignorance of American civics, it would not surprise me.

I do think we do have to seriously consider placing an age limit on political offices. I think 80 should be the cut-off, and anyone running in their 70s has to accept that their term ends at 80, period.

Our forefathers didn't have to worry about this because very few of them ever got to 80.

I'm not a fan of term limits, because do we really want a new person every couple of years to get up to speed?

 

It is for House and Senate reelections at the federal level. The reason for the high rate is based on several factors, money, especially for the senate, congressional map redistricting, aka gerrymandering, and quality of candidates. On a side note, occasionally, the reelection rate drops overall such as in 2010 or 2018, but that is the general gist of it. Justor.org I think did a study on it.

most people in this country do not vote on issues per se, they vote by the letter behind the name. Yes, many are misinformed, but with so many issues, which ones are the most important vary year by year by year. Right now, it is the economy is the most important despite the fact that the populace will blame the President who has no control over the economy. Other important issues may include no radicalization on social policy issues and immigration to varying degrees.

 

Oh, don't get me going on that issue. That's the biggest shell game that has been going on for over 100 years.

 

yeah I understand, Even though I have first hand experience from the outside looking in, it is a shell game. But then again, I would love to give a citizenship test to certain people and see how they will pass. And I mean all 100 questions in that citizenship test.

 

What you do with term limits is that after they step down they may run again after a certain amount of time has passed.

 

@Fred68 Play word games all you want. The Presidency is the only office left that is not elected directly by the people. Every other electable position in government is filled by direct democracy!

But I did read some of your link's content and I agree that Republicans want to place the law above the people.

 

Sure, our political system is a Federal Constitutional Republic and our economic system is Free Market Capitalism with Government intervention or what many refer to as a mixed market economy.

Personally I find calling the intervention into the economic system “Socialism” more offensive simply because it denigrates the principles laid out in the political one.

 

There is a subtlety in part b of the definition: "...exercised by the people directly or indirectly through a system of representation...."

Here is my reading: Either the people administer a law they voted in or delegate it to an establishment ("...system of representation...") To me, the definition doesn't mean a "system of representation" makes laws (not the supreme power); it means they follow the majority’s mandates; otherwise, there would be widespread chaos even before the civilization devolved into a monarchy.

 

For crying out loud Fred, they never will!! Unless you kiss the *** of the worthless, corrupt, politician they support (on either repub, or dem) they will always scream at the top of their lungs your wrong!! It's the new way of life.

ALL politicians could not care less about you or your family, and until we unite against them they win.

 

And I could even simplify that.

In order to vote a citizen should be able to name the three branches and functions of the federal government.

Quite a few cannot even do that. Pull out a $10 bill and ask the average person you meet whose picture is on it. The majority cannot even do that

 

Please read my link.

 

@Fred68

no i. nor the others , read your link, but in all fairness we have endured this endless beating of a dead eohippus for decades.

"a republic, if you can keep it?" franklin didn't even say that, and if he did it was to that old matron whose great great grand daughters would not be voting until the progressive era.

the founders were aware that government requires "the consent of the governed." democracy? republic? it is a distinction without a difference.

 

Our system of representation only makes some of the laws. We vote directly for some as well, at the state and county level. You might be able to argue that fedgov is not a democracy on that basis, but all the states are democracies.

 

For James Madison, regarded as the "Father of the Constitution", democracy meant direct democracy, and republic meant representative government. Link: https://www.britannica.com/topic/democracy/Democracy-or-republic

But before anyone gets too concerned over today's typical American being unable to discern the difference between a 'democracy' and a 'republic', bear in mind that our population has grown "progressively" ignorant and uncaring about nearly everything except whether or not they will get more of 'something-for-nothing' in the way of handout welfare or 'subsidies' from the government... in return for their votes....

 

True, 26 states.

 

Why only 26?

 

But that really is not a citizenship question.

Here are three examples I would use:

What are two rights for everyone living in the United States?

What are two rights that only apply to US Citizens?

What are two ways that Americans can participate in their democracy?

These are the easy questions and no partial credits allowed.

 

From what I read, only 26 have initiative and referendum. I don't know how many have recall. I just looked it up. It's 19.

Recall of State Officials (ncsl.org)