How the Left Has Hijacked Our Republic

The United States was founded as a Constitutional Republic, designed to protect individual liberties and prevent majority tyranny. Yet, the term "democracy" has increasingly been used to describe our form of government, a shift driven by leftist progressive forces that distorts the Founders' vision. This mischaracterization threatens the core principles of our Republic.

When Did "Democracy" Become Commonplace?

Before the Woodrow Wilson Administration (1913-1921), the United States was rarely called a democracy. The term was met with skepticism by those who understood the Founders' intent to prioritize minority rights. Thomas Jefferson, in the Declaration of Independence, stated that governments are instituted "to secure these rights, deriving powers from the consent of the governed”, reflecting a republic, not a democracy.

The shift toward labeling America a democracy gained traction during Wilson's presidency, marked by leftist progressive policies favoring centralized authority. This redefinition moved away from the Republic's principles, creating a false narrative that has eroded our system.

The Founders' Rejection of Democracy

The Founders explicitly rejected pure democracy. Benjamin Franklin described it as "two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch," highlighting the danger of majority rule without safeguards. John Adams warned, "Passions are the same in all men, under all forms of simple government, and when unchecked, produce the same effects of fraud, violence and cruelty."

James Madison, in The Federalist No. 10, cautioned: "In a pure democracy, there is nothing to check the inducements to sacrifice the weaker party or an obnoxious individual. Hence it is that such democracies have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention; have ever been found incompatible with personal security or the rights of property; and have in general, been as short in their lives as they have been violent in their deaths." Madison's words underscore the instability of democracies and the need for a republic's structured governance.

Professor Alexander Fraser Tytler, writing during the colonial era, noted: "A Democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of Government. It can only exist until the voters discover they can vote themselves largess of the public treasury." He predicted collapse into dictatorship due to fiscal irresponsibility. Plato, in Republic, warned that "tyranny arises from democracy." These insights led the Founders to establish a Constitutional Republic with checks and balances.

The Threat of Direct Democracy

Today, many states use ballot initiatives, creating the illusion of a democratic system where citizens directly vote on laws. While seemingly empowering, this undermines the Republic's framework. The Founders designed a system where elected representatives, knowledgeable about constitutional limits, craft legislation to protect rights. Madison, in The Federalist No. 10, argued that a republic's representatives and broader electorate "refine and enlarge the public views," mitigating factionalism inherent in democracy.

By relying on voter initiatives, we absolve elected officials of responsibility. Legislators evade accountability, claiming laws passed by popular vote reflect "the will of the people." This undermines representative government, where officials must ensure bills align with constitutional principles. The result is a weakened Republic, with diminished safeguards against government overreach and eroding rights.

Restoring Our Constitutional Republic to its original untainted form

Mislabeling our Constitutional Republic as a democracy is a deliberate shift that jeopardizes limited government and individual liberty. The Founders' warnings remain critical. We must reject direct democracy and recommit to the Republic's structure, holding elected officials accountable for crafting constitutional legislation and protecting rights, not deferring to popular sentiment.

By buying into the narrative that we are a “Democracy,” or that someone is a “threat to our Democracy,” we miss the point. We are not, and have never been, a “Democracy”, regardless how much the media and politicians want to make it so. To do so waters down the strength and genius of what the founders established: a beautiful Constitutional Republic that protects ALL Citizens  and the inherent Rights we, as Citizens, enjoy, even the ones someone else may not like. That is what a Constitutional Republic does!

As we see the left do all they can to erode our Republic by installing the terminology and principles of “Democracy”, over a Constitutional Republic, stop and think. Why did the founders avoid using the term “Democracy” in both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States? The term “Democracy” was not used even once in either document.

I believe it was purposeful.  What say you?