We are not just an ordinary 'democracy'.....we are a 'representative democracy'.....
Don't you realize they are two different things ?
Conservatives hate that word democracy, because it reeks of equality, which is not a tenet of conservatism. Conservatism throughout history works to undermine democracy and equality and create some form of an aristocracy and hierarchy. In today's culture it is the 'job creators', the 'makers', and the corporations who the ultra-conservative Supreme Court majority deemed a person. And for the underlings who are not among the elite it is crucial to conservatism that those people must literally love the order that dominates them.
It truly is the antithesis of liberalism.
Classical liberals assume a natural equality of humans; conservatives assume a natural hierarchy.
James M. Buchanan
true democracy is tyranny of the majority. now you think you love it because you think you are in the majority now, but some day soon you will find yourself in the minority and my guess is you won't be such a big fan of a true democracy. kind of like your new found hatred of the filibuster. you loved it when Bush was President, now all of a sudden it is a relic of a rule that should be abolished. weird how these things work with you libs
we are a type of democracy. that much is obvious.
at the same time our founder fathers realized that unchecked democracy was not a good idea. That's why:
1) we have 2 houses in congress, they didn't want small states to get completely run over by states with high populations
2) that's why we don't use a simple majority when it comes to juries
3) that's why when passing amendments, you need approval of 75% of the states. A very high barrier.
We can go on and on for examples within our society that simple democracy does not cut it. We built active protections into our constitution AGAINST strict democracy. Because strict democracy is mob rule and an awful form of government.
She does indeed know this, but is showing that Jefferson used the word democracy in his description of our system.
Conservatives hate that word democracy, because it reeks of equality, which is not a tenet of conservatism. Conservatism throughout history works to undermine democracy and equality and create some form of an aristocracy and hierarchy. In today's culture it is the 'job creators', the 'makers', and the corporations who the ultra-conservative Supreme Court majority deemed a person. And for the underlings who are not among the elite it is crucial to conservatism that those people must literally love the order that dominates them.
It truly is the antithesis of liberalism.
Classical liberals assume a natural equality of humans; conservatives assume a natural hierarchy.
James M. Buchanan
You are confused. Why am I surprised? Our nation was founded on democratic principles. Our form of government is a representative republic.
"The equal rights of man, and the happiness of every individual, are now acknowledged to be the only legitimate objects of government. Modern times have the signal advantage, too, of having discovered the only device by which these rights can be secured, to wit: government by the people, acting not in person, but by representatives chosen by themselves, that is to say, by every man of ripe years and sane mind, who contributes either by his purse or person to the support of his country." --Thomas Jefferson to A. Coray, 1823. ME 15:482
The introduction of this new principle of representative democracy has rendered useless almost everything written before on the structure of government; Thomas Jefferson