Debunking ‘Democracy Vs. Republic’: The Legal Theory Firing Up GOP State Legislators
As we approach the midterm elections, one thing is for certain: Democracy is in danger. But a group of Republicans want you to believe America is not actually a democracy, but a ‘Republic’. Constitutional law expert and host of the “Amarica’s Constitution” podcast Akhil Reed Amar says the United States is a combination of Republic and democracy and Republicans shouldn’t get it twisted. When they say that, it means “they want to take power away from the voters in the presidential election and relocate them to the public in state legislature.”
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Debunking ‘Democracy Vs. Republic’: The Legal Theory Firing Up GOP State Legislators
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Vote for open boarders vote for solar energy vote for high gas prices vote for more IRS agents vote for special laws for the few vote for a rise in inflation vote for lies and keeping us stupid vote DEMOCRAT.
Well done
Gop is waging a war on all words with more then one syllable.
Who invented the concept that the US is a Republic and not a Democracy? It was Robert Welch, the founder of the John Birch Society. His essay on the subject was first delivered as a speech at the Constitution Day luncheon of 'We, The People' in Chicago on September 17, 1961. Using a selective historical argument, he essentially invented a new definition for the words Republic and Democracy to soundly separate them one from the other. His thesis is based on this notion: Liberty is defined as the one true way to live. This is an absolute. It is ordained by God. Democracy, as he defined it, is an inherently corrupt system that has destroyed Liberty. Politicians make corrupt promises – bribes – to the Untermenschen who then vote them into office as a way of accepting the bribe. This is why MAGAists cry "Liberty" as they are trying to install a dictator and destroy Liberal Democracy in the US as we know it. The dictator will restore the country to the one true, Godly, way to live.
It does not surprise me that GOP wants the word Democracy out. They have become a full Fascist party AND the dumb members of the MAGA cult ,think that it is about the democratic party.
They want to HEAR about a Republic because that seems to be connected to the Republican party.
This stupidity is at the base of this item.
We practice democracy in a republic. We directly elect the administrators of law.
In a full republic, we don't have elections.
In a full democracy, the people vote on every budget.
We go for a middle ground.
Some estimates say that about 1/3 of the human population leans toward the sociopathic spectrum. The 2/3 majority of caring people must stop letting the sociopaths run the show. People naively thought that fascism was defeated in WW2. In fact, it was only wounded and hiding under a rock waiting to wreak havoc again. Such behavior was frowned upon before Donald; he just flipped the rock over. Eternal vigilance. Apathy is fatal.
If Politicians succeed in Destroying the VOTE
of the Common man, it won't matter What we call the Government. It will still be Corruption
We are a democracy and a republic. We don't have a monarch but a leader who the people elect representatives to represent our interests
The Republican party has become a fascist party!!!!🤔 is that where antifa comes from???and what is antifa???
Mr. Amar could have drilled down into the claim a bit more. We are a democratic republic because sometimes conflicts must be resolved by a show of hands and sometimes they must not. When selecting leaders, we should be a democracy. When deciding questions of fundamental rights, such as who may be enslaved and who may speak their mind, we most definitely should not. Republicans appear to be 100% backwards on this! The want states to vote on who may be enslaved to give birth against their will and they want the people who hold power to be able to ignore the will of the people indefinitely. The ideology is very purely un-American.
You're missing the point. What emboldens extremism in America today is not the argument of how much we are or are not a Democracy, nor how much we are or are not a Republic. While it's a fascinating intellectual argument and notable that legal scholars have argued both sides (and your guest does an excellent job); it misses the underlying issue completely.
What emboldens the Right is the same bitter feeling that often emboldens the Left: A false belief our system of Governance is "broken".
Coopting the argument "we are a Republic" is simply one way the far-right articulates and attempts to justify there actions. But painting those who favor a Republic-leaning framing of our Constitution as extreme, is a loosing proposition. For example, I'm a former Democrat, a hard-line moderate, and steadfast non-partisan with a near equal distaste for conservatives as much as progressives. What I dislike is extremism. And what I value is our Constitution. I served ten years in the US Armed Forces to defend a set of laws and ideals.
Yet, I favor the argument our Government and Constitutional framing more closely resembles a Republic over a Democracy. Does that make me extreme? No. Your arguments frame of reference just draws more needless lines in the sand.
Instead focus on how both the far-left and far-right portray our system as being "Broken". That is the root cause. In reality, our system of checks and balances is working as intended by slowing down the speed of change, while also allowing for change to take place. It dampens the ability to one faction to exert too much control without being truly a large majority of this Nation as a whole. Yet partisans continually depict a failure of there agenda as a "broken" government.
Nevertheless, we have the government we elected at the Local, State, and Federal Levels. The system works when we allow it to.
In a political environment where every Partisan Republican argues the US is Broken because they can't stop enough changes fast enough, while Republicans don't have a large enough majority to do so. And in the same timeframe every Partisan Democrat argues the US is Broken because they can't create enough changes fast enough, while Democrats don't have a large enough majority to do so…That's the system working to prevent one minority from exerting to much power. It's not a sign of a Broken government, it's a feature of a well designed government.
Yet, both sides argue our system is "failing" because they can't enact there own highly-partisan agendas. It is a portrayal that's strong within both parties, it's been made on this very network. And that portrayal is what emboldens the Right to act, just like it emboldens the Left.
That's why the Far-Right is so brazen: they believe they are restoring or protecting the US in there actions. Sound like a familiar motivation?
Yet, in a healthy Democracy and in a healthy Republic: no side should win at the complete loss of the other. Our systems of government is built to foster cooperation between two or more competing groups and interests (after all, it was built to get 13 parties to cooperate). But partisan politics both forgets that point, and often corrupts that point. Our system of Government is a system of restraint and compromise. And under such a system, sometimes you'll loose politically. That's healthy.
Yet, somehow loss has become unacceptable in recent history. Each side lashes out in there own way at this, trying again to reestablish there own partisan-agenda as "the right way" and demonizes the other parties point of view. And that is what you're seeing on the Far-Right: A failure to accept the other side has any say in how this country functions.
It has nothing to do with believing we're a Constitutional Republic or a Democracy, as we're both.
Thank you Professor!! I can’t be the only one analyzing this thing correctly. I’ll return one day!
A Republic is a type of Democracy, without Democracy, there is no Republic.
If this was a true democracy neither Bush II nor Trump would have ever taken up residence in the White House. The Senate would not have been controlled be Republicans for a quarter century. And the SC would not be packed with religious fundamentalists. There is little that is democratic about the Constitution of the US of A. A republic is not enough of a democracy to fend off the fascists.
We have to end citizens united, get ALL money out from controlling our politicians and switch to a ranked choice popular vote for an actual democracy of, by, and for the people.
The podcast is named "Amarica's Constitution" (sic). The average episode length is 86 minutes, so it's not for me despite my strong interest in the subject matter.
Who marked him as a professional . Sounds like your tooting your own horn
This is key — we need Ali Velshi's episode here, w Prof. Amar & about the Independent State Legislature theory — times 1,000, & every day.
People, like me, haven't paid close attention to their state reps, who campaign quite coyly and kind of hide their national plans inside their "state" leg jargon.
We're a Democratic Republic. If we were a democracy, we would have referendums. But, we don't and that is why we don't have REAL say in our laws.
Let me help, I pledge Allegiance to the flag…….
It's really not that deep for the majority of them. "Republic" is close to "Republican" in spelling and speaking, and "Democracy" is close to "Democratic" in spelling and speaking. That's all they need to start a new front in their war against reality/sanity.
How uneducated can the US population be? Why is this even something that needs to be discussed?
The whole Democracy v Republic aguement is nonsense. Democracy is a mechanism to elect representatives, a Republic is the governance system by which the elected representatives govern.
Did you get the bit at the end where the Republican Supreme Court is going to hear a case about whether Republican-controlled state legislatures can decide elections?
Gee, do you suppose they'll be unbiased, just like they were when they dismantled the Voting Rights Act?
We are the government, like it or not. We're all designated a number at birth, given a 'participation trophy' birth certificate. To hate government is to hate ourselves, a self-defeating cycle of destruction. A pointless exercise, though not in the short term.
A republic is where we vote for representatives to represent our interests. These elected reps are supposed to do what "we the people" think and feel is best in enacting policy and legislating and funding projects, etc.
If GOP is opposed to that idea, what do they want, a king or something? What crap.
The violent virtues, some take great comfort in over the rainbow, infanticide cult, pedophile authority figures 🌈🤑🌈🌈🤑✌️✌️✌️✌️🕊🕊🕊🕊💀💀💀💀💀💀🧔🧔🧔🧔🧔🧑🏼🧑🏼🧑🏼🧑🏼🧑🏼🧑🏼
Do any whites out there feel a bit forgotten by Pres Joe Biden??
Well, here's the reason!!
BIDEN AND O'ROURKE APOLOGY FOR BEING WHITE"
Story was in the Kansas City Star newspaper 2020
Article Excerpt:
It may be a truism-in-the-making that one’s political career is over when, as a candidate, you must first apologize for your gender and race, which can mean only one thing: Young or old, you’re a white guy.
Heaven forbid you should also be long of tooth and taupe of hair.
The Old White Men meme, usually used to describe the Republican Party, seems to have finally won the day. Because the GOP has become increasingly older, whiter and more male the past several decades — and since it has recently has done little to recommend itself to women and minorities — the widely accepted inference is that OWM are inherently bad, if not evil or criminal.
Republican strategists have latched onto the idea that everything Democrat is bad, including even the word. They've been trying to confuse people about it ever since.
Lock trump up!
Just like millions of simpletons parroting Don the Con's Covid and election-rigging lies, stupid corrupt treasonoud trumplicans parrot that stupid talk point about the US not being a democracy.
What did the Cyber Ninjas find in AZ?
This needs a lot more views!
It's easy msdnc and the Radicals they hob nob with are in Favor of MOB RULE. LOOK how many SHEEPLE msdnc has Decieved just in the last few years.
We are not a combination of anything, we are a Constitutional Republic period. The founding fathers created a Constitutional Republic period. They were against creating a democracy calling it two wolves and a lamb voting on what to eat. This is basic American history.
People who make that argument can't even clearly define what a Republic is. People who make the argument Literally just want a society in which they have unquestioned power
Amar Akhil has a great podcast called: “Amarica's Constitution”
We live in a Constitutionally Limited Democratically Representative Republic. Nothing more and nothing less.
All true Republics are Democratic in nature.
Proof, once again, Republicans cannot win elections without cheating.
Now they're planning to let the Republican legislatures choose the candidates they want instead of voters? Does their corruption ever stop?