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Originally Posted by maverikv
What's the weather like in the reality you live in? Congress refuses to do anything Obama wants to do, somehow this is Obama's fault?
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It isn't the job of members of congress to be a doormat for the POTUS. Boehner was largely useless, but I do agree with one sentiment of his...something to the effect that 'congress should be judged by repealing dumb laws, not the opposite'. Do a search for 'president stompy foot or 'president stompy feet'. On the occasions I have done that, the name of only one person who has been the president of any country appears, our current POTUS Barack Obama. Obama is a human being, he is just as capable of compromise as other human beings. He should get his way just because he is the POTUS? Nope. Parties need to convince the public to keep all three elected entities of the federal government in their corner if they want to take a 'my way or the highway attitude' and have their legislative wishes come true. What was one of the results the last time that was the case?....the ACA
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The U.S. is absolutely a democracy, go back to school.
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You're the one who needs to go back to school. The U.S. is a constitutional republic, not a democracy. Do you understand any of the differences between a republic and a democracy? It doesn't sound as though you do, else you wouldn't have posted the statement above. Perhaps what confuses you is that the U.S. can also correctly be described as a democratic republic. The key is that the U.S. is a republic, not a democracy.
Democracy vs Republic - Difference and Comparison | Diffen
^^^^^ The comparison chart section highlights the differences between a Democracy and a Republic. Under 'famous examples' in the Republic section (NOT the separate Democracy section), the only example listed is the United States of America.
Lower down (below the comparison chart) on that same page:
"Is the United States a Democracy or Republic?
The U.S. is a republic. Though it is now common for people, including American politicians, to refer to the U.S. as a "democracy," this is shorthand for the representational republic that exists, not for a pure democracy."
Even lower down on the same page, a section entitled:
"Implications
There are several political implications that arise from the U.S. being a republic. Laws passed by the majority --- through their representatives in government (federal or local) -- can be challenged and overturned if they violate the U.S. constitution. For example,"
The text after this gives descriptions with each example. I'll list the examples without the descriptions as quoted from the page
"Jim Crow laws
Brown v. Board of Education
Loving v. Virginia
2010 healthcare reform bill (a.k.a. Obamacare)
California Proposition 8, and Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission"
The FIRST sentence AFTER the above examples = "If the U.S. was not a republic, laws passed by the government (elected by majority) could not be challenged"
The section directly BEFORE the "Is the United States a Democracy or Republic?" section is entitled:
"Are a Democracy and a Republic Mutually Exclusive?"...
...The author then makes an assumption, and gives his/her opinion. He/she starts with my statement in the post that you replied to above - "There are many who make this statement, "The United States is a republic, not a democracy". This make it seem like a democracy and a republic are mutually exclusive. They usually aren't"....note usually, not always...the terms aren't synonymous......and the description of what a republic usually (but not always) is contains no specific reference to the United States for the rest of this section..."usually a republic is a type of representational democracy with some checks and balances enshrined in the constitution that safeguard the rights of minorities. A "pure" democracy would imply the rule of the majority in every sphere of life, without such safeguards"....still no specific reference to the United States. IME, others have argued the meat of this author's "mutually exclusive" section are what make the 'democratic' in 'democratic republic' the case.
The section IMMEDIATELY/DIRECTLY after the "mutually exclusive" section in his/her text is the "Is the United States a Democracy or a Republic?" section also noted earlier in this post, as stated:
"Is the United States a Democracy or a Republic?
The U.S. is a republic. Though it is now common for people, including American politicians, to refer to the U.S. as a "democracy," this is shorthand for the representational republic that exists, not for a pure democracy"
^^^^^ This section is specifically descriptive of the United States. "representational REPUBLIC" (not representational democracy as in the latter part of the "mutually exclusive" section that is not specific to the United States).
The LAST/FINAL section of the link is entitled "Democracies and Republics Today"....the first sentence is as follows:
"Despite the common use of the word "democracy" and the desire to "spread democracy", most countries throughout the world today govern as republics."
I've always been aware of what the U.S. is and what it isn't. Many progressives I encounter see the fact that the U.S. is a republic as an irritating inconvenience that gets in the way of progressive policy that can be put into place by non-elected bureaucrats (usually via regulations), and would love it if the SCOTUS didn't exist as a potential check on this. Given this, I like to get under the skin of progressives with my statement, reminding them that the U.S. is a republic (A.K.A. a constitutional republic or democratic republic). The post you replied to was a reply to another member...not you...although given both of your posts, you would probably agree on quite a bit.
Different parties could debate the related semantics of this all day long (Is the United States a pure democracy?...no....Is the United States a republic with democratic features...yes....etc....ad nauseam.....which wouldn't be productive), but technically Classical Greece and Rome were democracies, and the United States is a republic.
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