This is gaslighting. Not Libs of TikTok (yes, trans activists, I push out Chaya Raichik’s content). CNN is doing the gaslighting. The editors and producers know exactly what American citizens mean when they say they live (or at least should live) in a constitutional republic and not a democracy. CNN is taking something that millions of people know to be true and misrepresent it as something novel and dangerous, fully aware that tens of millions of America are profoundly ignorant of basic facts about their country’s history. Instead of enlightening the public (like high school civics used to do), CNN pushes its collective head even further into the muddy waters of ignorance and scare them over something they should embrace. This misrepresentation is a key part of the Democratic Party narrative that Donald Trump, a republican thinker, represents a threat to democracy.
In Federalist Paper No. 10, James Madison, the principal architect of the US Constitution (and the Bill of Rights), articulated a clear distinction between a democracy and a republic, clarifying that the United States is latter not the former. This distinction was central to the Founders’ political philosophy and the foundational principles of American governance. In the paper, Madison discusses the inherent dangers of democracy, which he defines as a system where the people directly participate in decision-making. He contrasts this with a republic, where the people elect representatives to make decisions on their behalf.
Madison argues that a republic can better guard against the dangers of factionalism and the tyranny of the majority. He defines a faction as a group of citizens united by a common interest that is adverse to the rights of other citizens or the community’s aggregate interests. In a democracy, Madison contends, it is easier for majority factions to oppress minority groups. In contrast, a large republic can accommodate a greater number of factions and interests, making it more difficult for any single faction to dominate.
The Constitution’s establishment of a system of checks and balances among the executive, judicial, and legislative branches to prevent any single entity from gaining too much power is the republican model of governance. Our system also incorporates federalism, dividing power between the federal government and the states, thus providing another layer of protection against tyranny. The Electoral College is designed to temper direct popular influence. This is why the Democratic Party and the corporate state media are so hostile to separation of powers (in particular the independent judiciary), federalism, and the Electoral College.
Madison and his contemporaries were concerned that democracy could lead to mob rule, where impulsive and unstable policies driven by temporary passions would prevail (see A Scheme to Thwart Mob Rule). They also feared majoritarianism, where the majority could easily infringe upon the rights and interests of minorities. By weaving to a tapestry of aggrieved minority groups, cultural managers, and the credentialed class, the Democratic Party seeks majoritarianism. But this does not mean they seek democracy. When Democrats and progressives talk about democracy, they really mean technocratic control over the population serving at the behest of corporate power. The establishment of a fourth branch of government, the administrative state, is designed to replace the constitutional republic with a corporatist system of governance cloaking itself in the language of democracy while delegitimizing constitutional republicanism and its classical liberal foundation.
Madison envisioned the United States republic as an exercise in pluralism, which would create a more stable and just government, capable of protecting individual rights and promoting the common good—the national interest over the narrow interest of factions. James Madison argued that the United States was not a democracy in the sense of direct governance by the people. Instead, he advocated for a republic where representatives, chosen by the people, would govern within a structured system designed to mitigate the risks associated with democracy, ensuring stability, protecting minority rights, and promoting thoughtful and effective governance.
In June of last year, in my essay America is a Republic (It is also a Democracy), I argued that the conservative claim CNN misrepresents is somewhat of an exaggeration (I also criticized the majoritarianism inherent in the conservative desire to democratically deprive women of their right to control their bodies in a July 4, 2022 essay Majoritarianism is Antithetical to Freedom: On this July 4th, Let Us Rededicate Our Political and Moral Selves to the American Creed). What rightly troubled Madison and the founders was direct or pure democracy. But that’s not what the Democratic Party and corporate power seek, so progressive disingenuousness on this matter is calculated to smuggle in its totalitarian ambitions under the guise of popular democracy.
freedom and reason 