Hi,

Mcgrath of Harlow wrote:
"I don't know why anyone should be keen to emphasise that they live in a Republic, but be pleased that it is not a Democracy. You could say the same of South Africa under apartheid. The same for Hitler's Germany and Stalin's Russia, Saddam's Iraq, the Taliban's Afghanistan, Pol Pot's Cambodia...and a lot more. I doubt very much if there's anyone around here who much fancies that bunch."

I found this reply to a question about US politics on an newgroup last night:

"The Republican Party is a political party which at its heart supports the Republican form of government. Democrats on the otherhand favor a democracy. One might be confused by this, thinking there is little difference between the two, but while republicanism as established in the U.S. is a democratic process, it still differs substancially from a democracy.

First: central to the republican form of government is the idea that the principle of law must prevail. In other words, unlike democracy where
the will of the people by majority vote prevails. In a republic, if the will of the people is contradictory to the law ... the law prevails.
For example, in a constitutional Republic (like the U.S.) if a public referendum was passed tomorrow by popular vote of all the citizens of
the U.S. banning the practice of (say) Christianity in the U.S., it could not be law because of the constitution (1st Ammendment) which
guarentees an individuals right to practice their religion. In a democracy, they would re-interpret the Constitution to allow such a
referendum and go ahead with the ban. This is in fact what the democrats keep trying to do with the 2nd Ammendment (the right to bear arms). See?"

The author was Semperfinite.

How accurate is this? Perhaps some of the US denizens of the Mudcat will focus some of their brightness on the above and illuminate,for me,this shadowy subject.

It seems that before you can have a major political change in the US, e.g. banning Christianity, you would have to perform major surgery on the Constitution/Ammendments using the political operating facilities in DC.

Regards,
Colwyn.