Actually, we're both. There was a good article on NPR:
Is America a democracy or a republic? Yes, it is : NPR
"What do we call the system of government in the U.S.? Are we a democracy or a republic?The conundrum is, well, as the common expression goes, "as old as the republic itself."
"But it's not just a question for scholars and semanticists any more."
"Since the election of 2020, supporters of former President Donald Trump have become notably more willing to assert their belief that voting in America is suspect. That Trump won an election he lost. That "millions of ballots" were uncounted or miscounted. That voting by mail was fraught with abuse."
"Despite the lack of evidence, and the judgments of election officials from both parties and judges appointed by presidents from both parties, election denialism has become not only a thing, but a movement. And when critics call this an attack on democracy, some election deniers respond by saying the U.S. is not a democracy, it is a republic."
"Robert Draper of The New York Times published a piece on Republicans who say this in August. He cited a GOP candidate for the Arizona state legislature, Selina Bliss, saying: "We are not a democracy. Nowhere in the Constitution does it use the word 'democracy.' I think of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. That's not us."
"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."
"The relationship between the democratic and republican elements of this equation has been a dynamic and essential part of our history. But it has not always been easy, and in our time the friction between them has become yet another flashpoint in our partisan wars."
"We regularly hear people on the left speak of conservatives destroying democracy, and just as regularly we hear conservatives say Democrats have no respect for the Constitution. To add to the confusion, the two camps often swap their lines of attack and defense. Republicans call Democrats enemies of democracy, Democrats rail against what they see as Republican disrespect for the Constitution."
"And that also makes sense, in a way, as both sides want to be the champions of both democracy and the Constitution, and to advertise themselves as such to the voters."
"Yes, as a polity, we think we are and can be both. We aspire to be both. But in practice that can prove difficult. And in our time, when so much of the public discourse happens on Twitter and cable TV news, the terms have become increasingly weaponized."
"Equality and democracy are under assault," said President Biden on the steps of Independence Hall last week. "We do ourselves no favor to pretend otherwise."
"Biden at Independence Hall used the word democracy 31 times, including three times in one sentence. He used the word republic just twice."
"Republicans, by contrast, have seemed of late to be stressing the role of the republic and its restraint on democracy. Sen. Mike Lee of Utah, an outspoken Republican but hardly an outlier, got considerable attention for saying bluntly on Twitter in October 2020: "We are not a democracy."
"Lee then posted online an explanation of what he meant. It said, in part: "Our system is best described as a constitutional republic [where] power is not found in mere majorities, but in carefully balanced power."
"Lee went on to catalog how difficult it was for majorities in Congress to pass legislation, get it signed by a president and watch it undergo judicial review. Lee's point was that he was OK with all that. It was the intent of the founders."
"In the absence of consensus," Lee wrote, "there isn't supposed to be federal law."
My take: The Republicans are prevaricating on the definitions of "democracy" and "republic" to push their own agenda, which is that they are not committed to majority rule unless it is in their favor.
Thanks, Katherine. I have also noticed the "we are not a democracy" line among Republicans. They seem to want to establish a ruling class, which is kinda what we have in Congress and state legislatures, except that the rulers are democratically elected and turn over every so often.
ReplyDeleteThe GOP now seem to be moving toward undermining the electoral process with the goal of limiting the electorate. Red states are busy redistricting to reduce the clout of certain minority populations (and sadly some Blue states have followed suit). Disenfranchising women is discussed openly and unapologetically among the more radical Christian Nationalists.
Ironic that the GOP was the party 30 years ago that wanted us to limit terms so that "corrupt career politicians" could not stay in power for life.
The idea behind the "republic" part of it was supposed to be that we elected people to represent our interests in Washington. Except now to a large degree they don't represent our interests. They represent the interests of the entities that financed their campaigns, and the interests of their ruler in chief who will exact revenge by promoting a hostile primary if they don't toe the mark.
DeleteTrump's constituency seems to be Trump, Inc. I expect he will leave office old, sick, mad, rich, and with sweetheart deals that protect him and his kids from prosecution.
DeleteThe post-Trump challenge for Americans and their elected reps will be finding the will to curb the excessive powers of the Executive Branch to prevent more Trumps.
I think both parties have beefs with our constitutional order. Not that the parties or their beefs are equivalent.
ReplyDeleteOff topic: Former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams reviews JD Vance's book, "Communion."
ReplyDeletehttps://www.theguardian.com/books/2026/jun/29/communion-finding-my-way-back-to-faith-by-jd-vance-review-veep-behnd-the-curtains
Thanks Jean. It appears that that link no longer works. This one does: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2026/jun/29/communion-finding-my-way-back-to-faith-by-jd-vance-review-veep-behnd-the-curtains
DeleteArchbishop Rowan Williams wrote a thoughtful review, outlining the books good points, as well as its flaws. His take is a good deal more nuanced than many things I have read. Maybe looking at it as a Brit, from across the Atlantic enables a more objective view.
Jean, unless you had planned to do so, I would like to post some excerpts from Archbishop Williams' review.
DeleteSeemed like a balanced review. Williams has no skin in the game, neither a Catholic nor an American but well enough acquainted with both POVs, so I trust he's relatively objective.
DeleteI am waiting for "Converts" by Melanie McDonaugh to arrive via interlibrary loan at my library out here in the cornfield.
(Except I see more wheat than soybeans this summer. Are you noticing that in Nebraska? I suspect Trump has disrupted markets enough that it's changing the ag landscape somewhat.)
McDonaugh's book covers well-known figures in arts and letters who converted to Catholicism in the 20th century. Hoping to find some fuel for inspiration.
No, I don't plan to post excerpts. Please go ahead.
DeleteI'm not seeing as many soybeans here as usual. A lot of corn. There isn't much wheat in eastern NE. A lot in the western part, but they have had terrible drought and fires. Hopefully there were able to grow some wheat, middle or late July is usual for harvest.
Delete"Converts" sounds like an interesting book, I will have to check our library.
I think we are more of a Republic with a constitution and laws that support government of the people, by the people and for the people, than a democracy in which majority vote rules. Yes, we are a democracy in the sense that we elect most by not all of our officials. However, the checks and balances are designed so that it is not easy for a majority to move things quickly in any direction by passing new laws. Both the executive and judicial branches have a big say in how those new laws work.
ReplyDeleteMost of the election landslides have not proved to be enduring except for those of that brought us FDR and the democratic Congresses that ruled America for a substantial period. The Obama victories did not last long. Some claimed Trump won a mandate for his second term but all the data says that new coalition has fallen apart.
Many other things slow the pace of political changes; all the state and local governments, the senate vs the house, and until recently the courts, the varied turnout at elections, all the vested interests and their lobbies.