Sen. Mike Lee's tweets against "democracy," explained. VOX

[Crunchy Frog]

It’s not often that you see a US senator declare that “we’re not a democracy,” let alone to paint that as a good thing. Yet that’s exactly what Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) did in a pair of tweets spanning Wednesday night and Thursday morning, arguing that “democracy isn’t the objective; liberty, peace, and prospefity [sic] are.” “We want the human condition to flourish. Rank democracy can thwart that,” Lee writes.

snip

On the American right, there is a long tradition of arguing that the United States is a “republic, not a democracy,” a distinction its proponents trace back to the founders. It centers not on whether a nation holds competitive elections but the extent to which it puts constraints on majorities from restricting the rights of minorities. Democracies, on this definition, allow for untrammeled majority rule; republics put in place rules that prevent legislators from using their power in tyrannical ways (think the Bill of Rights).

snip

The spin offered by Lee and others on the right, historically speaking, originated as arguments for curbing democracy in the ordinary sense of the word — the ability of majorities to enact popular policies (that conservatives disapproved of). Warning against “the tyranny of the majority” serves as a justification for minority rule.

Quite a lot more in the article.

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/21507713/mike-lee-democracy-republic-trump-2020

A long article but the upshot is that Republicans want to change our democratic republic into an authoritarian republic.

[regnaD kciN]

1. I can explain it much more simply...

Mike Lee is a f*cking fascist wannabe, just like the rest of his wretched party.

[safeinOhio]

2. There are only 2 kinds of republics.

1. Democratic Republics
2. Banana Republics.

[Crunchy Frog]

3. It's more about explaining the RW claim that...

"We're a republic not a democracy". About its history and about what the word "democracy" meant to the founders of this country, and what system they intended for this country.

It's about unpacking and examining a claim that the Rs are trying to use to establish permanent minority rule in this country.

It's good info to have, in the current political environment, as even many liberals don't get it.

I once had to explain the distinction to my own mother, who is a lifelong liberal Democrat.

I don't like to underestimate the way RWers can manipulate language to confuse the American public, even the ones who are on our side.

[TheRealNorth]

4. China, Iran, the USSR were/are all Republics

So, I don't know how Republicans think that is a good thing.

[Midnight Writer]

5. If Republicans are the majority, democracy good. If Democrats are the majority, democracy bad.

[The Magistrate]

6. Exactly, Sir

"When conservatives find their views cannot prevail at the polls, they will not alter their views. They will reject Democracy."