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THE VIEW FROM HERE - The United States of America was never a democracy, but with the promotion of the fiction that we are a democracy, both Woke Dems and MAGA GOP are taking giant steps towards tyranny. Every school kid used to know that in 1787 as Benjamin Franklin was leaving the Constitutional Convention, Elizabeth Willing Powel asked, “Well, Doctor, what have we got—a Republic or a Monarchy?” He replied, “A Republic if you can keep it.”
One feature of this verbatim account of the question and answer with Ben Franklin is that she did not even consider that the delegates would have been so foolish to have considered a democracy. The second feature is Franklin’s cynicism that the people would be able to keep the Republic. See Federalist Papers ## 9, 10, 14, and 55.
Every time a President or any other politician refers to the USA as a democracy, people should shout back, “No, No, No, We are republic, you twit.” Because Americans have become outlandishly ignorant of their own history, they have allowed malefactors of evil to convince people that we are a democracy. Today, almost no one knows the virtues of a Republic and the evils of a Democracy, but the difference was so well known that Mrs. Powel understood democracy was not even a candidate for the new government.
To be effective, the new Constitution had to be ratified by nine of the thirteen (9 of 13) states which happened on June 21, 1788. However, the ratification was based on the promise that the first Congress would add the Bill of Rights. The Federalists kept their promise, and on December 15, 1789, ten of the proposed twelve amendments became of part of the Constitution. Thus, the Constitution is book-ended by the Declaration of Independence (1776) with its individual inalienable rights and the Bill of Rights (1789) which elaborated on those rights and provided additional checks on the power to the central government. Although James Madison first believed that individual inalienable rights could be inferred from the context and philosophy of Constitution, he became convinced of the need for more specificity. Madison wrote, The Five Freedoms, into the first amendment. Each one is an individual right:
1) Freedom of religion
2) Freedom of speech
3) Freedom of assembly
4) Freedom to petition the government
The ninth amendment states, “"The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people."
Furthermore, the Constitution’s preamble states that one of its purposes is to “secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity.” The Constitution never uses the words “democracy” and “democratic.” Art IV Sec 4, however, guarantees that every state shall be a republic. In fact, the concept of a Constitution negates a democracy where rights are only what the voters determine in elections. Democracies are easily converted into tyrannies whenever 51% of the voters decide to run roughshod over others. (Tyranny of the Majority) Unless there is a Constitution with checks and balances on power including the power of voters, whoever wins an election by 51% may make themselves into a tyranny. In democracies there are no inalienable individual rights because rights are created or abolished by the latest election. In a constitutional republic, however, no matter how many voters agree on a proposition, if it infringes on a constitutional right, it is null and voidable.
The term “constitutional republic” is redundant since all republics have constitutions, and the term “constitutional democracy” is an oxymoron since democracies do not have constitutions. In a republic such as the USA, the powerful are always trying to replace the republic with a democracy so that they may obtain 51% of the vote and establish tyranny. Both the extreme GOP with their Unitary Executive Theory and the extreme Dems with their Woke DEI try to convince Americas that we are a democracy so that they may do away with individual inalienable rights and declare themselves to be the embodiment of the law after they win an election. Democracies have no limit on what the winner of an election may do since the vote of the people is the supreme law of the land. MAGA supporters do not realize that the deep state, against which Trump rails, is the US Constitution and the various institutions it has created to limit executive power. That is why any judge who does not agree with Trump is declared to be an activist judge. Because Trump won the election, he thinks that the public gave him a mandate to do whatever he wants. Judges who disagree with Trump become criminals. If this were a democracy as people believe, Trump would be correct. In a democracy for which the GOP and the Dems yearn, Trump can lock up dissenting judges.
The Woke Dems are identical to Trump, except their Woke DEI agenda is so hated, the voters have given the GOP control of the House, the Senate, the Presidency and the Supreme Court, all of whom have fallen under Trump’s control on the basis that Trump won the election. Because MAGA acts as if we are a democracy, the Constitutional checks and balances are not seen as safeguards of individual liberties, but are the Deep State stopping America from becoming Great Again.
What Will Happen in November 2026?
The factors which will determine who wins the November election have yet to occur. If Trump does wipe the Iranian regime off the map, the GOP will probably win. If Iran prevails despite Trump’s claiming victory, the Dem will probably oust the GOP from the House.
Had Sen. John Thune not acted as if America is a democracy where the elected President embodies the ultimate Will of the People, Trump would have been forced to have a Secretary of Defense who was competent. Because the rule of law is supreme in a Republic its constitution’s checks and balances on power impose mandatory duties on the elected officials. One of the most vital duties is the Senate’s duty to vet Presidential nominees and to approve or reject them so that the President does not surround himself with Yes Men and fools like Pig Hegseth. While the Obama and Biden Administration’s effete policies had made a war with Iran long over due and it could not be postponed any longer, Trump desperately needed the wisest, smartest, most analytical military advisors. Rather, in violating his duty to “advise and reject” Trump’s nominees like Hegseth for Secretary of Defense allowed Trump to surround himself with knaves, fools, and dim-witted sycophants.
By treating America as a democracy, Thune deprived Trump of wise counselors, and Thune bears primary blame for Trump’s blotching the Iran War. See Sen. Thune’s Perfidy Imperils the Free World
(Richard Lee Abrams is a former Los Angeles-based attorney, an author, and political commentator. A long-time contributor to CityWatchLA, he is known for his incisive critiques of City Hall and judicial corruption, as well as his analysis of political and constitutional issues. Abrams blends legal insight with historical and philosophical depth to challenge conventional narratives. A passionate defender of civic integrity and transparency, he aims to expose misuse of power and advocate for systemic reform in local government. You may email him at [email protected])
