There is an ancient story that Benjamin Franklin, after leaving the Constitutional Convention, was approached and asked what kind of government they would have created. His answer was, “A republic, if you can maintain it.”
Just about everyone who took a middle/high school political science class learned that we are a constitutional republic. Now I wonder if everyone is even taught that anymore.
Here’s what it says in the Constitution.
Article IVSection 4: The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a republican form of government, and shall protect each of them from invasion, and, at the request of the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened), from internal violence.
Well, that means “Republican” not in the sense of the party, but in the sense of the government.
This all seems like a pretty amicable agreement, doesn’t it?
But then there was a crazy piece on CNN claiming that MAGA people were spreading conspiracy theories by claiming our government is a “republic.”
CNN special correspondent Jamie Gangel posted about it.
CNN’s @jamiegangel and her colleagues at CNN are apparently unaware that the United States of America is a constitutional republic. Really depressed. pic.twitter.com/KLuguOAlxM
– Mollie (@MZHemingway) June 14, 2024
She seems to have deleted the post after people insulted her.
But the CNN clip of the segment was much worse, it was really wild. They seemed to be trying to refute the fact that we are indeed a republic.
CNN’s Donie O’Sullivan examines why many MAGA Republicans claim America is a republic, not a democracy. pic.twitter.com/XdMPBUXwX5
— Anderson Cooper 360° (@AC360) June 14, 2024
Regardless, O’Sullivan sat down for an interview with author Anne Applebaum and asked, “Is America a democracy?”
Applebaum claimed: “America is a democracy. It was founded as a democracy.” [….]
Still, O’Sullivan complained: “I’ve heard a lot of conspiracy theories – I hear a lot of things on the street. But when I heard Americans – people who would call themselves patriots – say that America is not a democracy – that made me pause.”
Applebaum saw a major conspiracy at work here and responded: “You hear people say America is not a democracy because there are people around Trump who want them to say that. Who have put this narrative out there.”
Applebaum even tried to argue that there was not much difference between the terms “republic” and “democracy.”
The Founding Fathers specifically rejected pure democracy or direct democracy because they feared mob rule. They wanted to protect individual liberty and minorities, they wanted a rule of law that would endure and protect those rights. So although we can be called a representative democracy because the people elect their representatives, it is more true and specific to speak of a constitutional republic. This difference is very significant because while in a pure democracy mob rule could take away your rights, in a constitutional republic you have control through the courts, which uphold the rule of law and protect individual liberty.
If we actually had a pure democracy, politicians would only appeal to the most populous states and urban areas and completely ignore the smaller states to win elections because that’s all they would have to do to maintain control. But with things like the Electoral College, we provide more balance. These are just a few reasons why what we have is far superior to a pure democracy.
That’s what the MAGA people are referring to, so it’s not scary or worrisome at all. Nor is it a conspiracy by Trump or something that came out of Fox, no matter what CNN is promoting. It’s the basic fundamental concept of our government, a better form of government. But CNN is trying to portray this as some kind of threatening idea.
Here is a good breakdown of the basic differences from Prager University.
So this is truly a bizarre attempt by CNN to attack MAGA and Trump – and they should be ashamed of themselves. Of course they won’t. However, since it’s CNN, probably not too many people even saw the wild report.
The better question is: Why do Democrats seem to want to view America as a democracy and downplay or ignore the “constitutional republic” that we are? Are they just unsophisticated or do they not know the difference? Or is there a more problematic movement going on here?
Consider their actions. Biden and/or various Democrats have advocated ignoring, undermining, and/or abolishing fundamental aspects of our constitutional republic. We see Biden brag about disregarding the Supreme Court, Democrats talk about packing the Court or attacking judges because they don’t like their rulings. We saw Biden attack the Supreme Court at his fundraiser in Los Angeles on Saturday. We’ve seen Democrats advocate abolishing Republican checks and balances like the Electoral College, one of the most crucial elements of our Constitution. We’ve seen Democrats attempt to disqualify a political opponent from the election. We’ve seen lawfare directed against the Republican Party’s presidential nominee. So much for “democracy.” It is not Trump who threatens the nature of our government.
If the Democrats can get rid of the Electoral College, they can ignore the middle class altogether and focus on their base in New York and California. They can ignore those people Hillary called “a bunch of wretches” and who Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) tried to call “an immoral majority.” So much for the interests of the other, smaller states.
But if you don’t teach children how our government works, they won’t know that there are safeguards like the Electoral College and what they’re all about. They’ll be more easily deceived and confused and more easily seduced into apostasy like communism rather than celebrating the rule of law that makes our country so special.
If they only hear “democracy,” they will not understand that we are so much more than that. The Democrats seem to want to make us even smaller.
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