It's the Republic, Stupid!

EDITOR'S NOTES (2.21.2012):  Before we go any further in this campaign season, let's review the difference between a "Republic" and a "Democracy".  In the near future, we'll talk about "Progressives".  Below is  reprint of a column I posted last year.  Read it and learn.  Pass it on.

“The natural cure for an ill-administration, in a popular or representative constitution, is a change of men. “

Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 21, 1787

I sure hope you’re enjoying the cool Fall weather we’re finally getting. I am surprised that the trees in my neighborhood haven’t started changing colors. Like hubby pointed out, they are probably savoring the heavenly “sprinkling” they received this week. I can’t wait to take a day ride to Boone. And to see my Christmas tree farm.

That’s all good. And, ummm… my morning brew smells as heavenly. I’ve got Eight O’clock Bean in my cup. So grab yourself a cup because it’s time for a little bit of studying.

How many times during the Clinton era did we hear, “It’s the Economy, stupid”? I can hear James Carville’s (Freddy Krueger’s brother) squeaky, whiny voice now. This time around I’ve heard the pundits say it’s the economy and only the economy. I beg to differ. It’s about the Republic and for which it stands.

I love to read quotes, articles and books on the Founding Fathers. As if you can’t tell if you regularly read my column. One of the quotes on the American experiment that I often refer back to came from Ben Franklin. Franklin, at the close of the Constitutional Convention in 1787, was asked by an unknown woman what kind of government had been decided on. And Franklin’s reply was telling, “..a republic, if you can keep it.” We’re too close to losing it, folks, and it’s 223 years later. What exactly did he know then?

I’ve always wanted to have a clearer understanding of the difference between a democracy and a republic. It’s so easy to interchange the two and that’s completely wrong. I stand corrected.

So…What is a democracy? And what is a republic?

Let’s examine what the founding fathers meant.

They are not the same! The difference between a democracy and a republic are as stark in 2010 as they were in 1787. A democracy can be summed up by this description: “Rule by Omnipotent Majority”. (1)   The minority has no power, no say, no recourse. They are insignificant. Hail to the power of the elitists and the laws of the land become impotent. Have you seen this lately? Healthcare reform passage, March 23, 2010, by the Democratic White House, Senate and House of Representatives, is a perfect example. You should be afraid.

If you read the Federalist papers (undoubtedly not easy) and study the Constitution, you would see the framers were adamant that a democracy is nothing more than tyranny. A democracy cannot stand the golden words, “Creator-given”, in the Declaration of Independence. Because those words directly state that no man can give life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness to individuals. We are granted them by a higher power than man. By a power that no man can destroy. No matter what he/she tries. We always rebound. There is a reason it’s called the Declaration of “Independence” not the Declaration of “Dependence”.
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Show me a democracy that is prosperous. Let’s take a look at South Africa. This is one of the richest continents in the world, yet the people are the poorest. Huh, you say? The natural resources, gemstones, etc, could suddenly bring wealth, prosperity and freedom to this part of the world if, and only if, the people were not afraid to rise up, put their faith in something other than government, and seize their land. But fear reigns because the dictators disperse it.

 They hoard the money we, including the all caring leftists, send for famine, catastrophes. They starve their people to keep them in bondage. If we were to look at this situation metaphorically, there is a huge similarity to what the Democrats do to the poor. They preach prosperity yet do everything in their power to keep the people in bondage – like refusing vouchers for kids in DC to go to better schools, like keep extending unemployment for weeks on end and making it impossible for people to rationalize working in the private sector at $8 instead of being on the government payroll at $10 (the max for unemployment when I was on it in 2001-02), like pitting black against white, poor against rich, you against me. They tell poor people that hating the rich is right. Yet, jobs are not created by the poor, unless it’s a self-made job and you can bet that person didn’t want to be poor or unemployed to begin with!

Here are some famous quotes about a democratic government:

Dwight D. Eisenhower: "Every step we take towards making the State our Caretaker of our lives, by that much we move toward making the State our Master."

Benjamin Franklin : "They who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security, deserve neither liberty or security."

Benjamin Rush: "A simple democracy ... is one of the greatest of evils" (1789).

James Madison: "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" (1787).

John Adams: "Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide" (1814).

Benjamin Franklin : "Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote!"

A republic, on the other hand, means to govern by lawsthe same power.

Think about this…Does the Pledge of Allegiance say “For the Democracy for which it stands”? No. It’s says “for the Republic for which it stands”. FYI - President Obama, it actually has these words in it that you conveniently leave out, “one nation UNDER GOD”.

Nor does one of our countries most patriotic songs have the title of , “The Battle Hymn of the Democracy”. It’s “The Battle Hymn of the Republic”. Have you got it yet that “republic” meant something to the framers?

What have we done friends? Does the supreme power rest with us anymore? I’m not sure. We have gotten so complacent, so lazy and so indifferent to America’s affairs, that we are on the verge of losing the Republic. I keep saying this. Is it resonating? Can we take hold and stop the erosion?

Let me end with a few quotes to remember about the republic and your responsibility. Take them seriously. Your life, your future, your sacred honor is now at stake.

Noah Webster: "If a republican government fails to secure public prosperity and happiness, it must be because the citizens neglect the divine commands, and elect bad men to make and administer the laws."

Benjamin Franklin : “It is the working man who is the happy man. It is the idle man who is the miserable man. “

Thomas Paine:  "It is the duty of the patriot to protect his country from its government."

Abraham Lincoln:  "We the People are the rightful masters of both Congress and the Courts--not to overthrow the Constitution, but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution."

Daniel Webster:  "Hold on, my friends, to the Constitution and to the Republic for which it stands. Miracles do not cluster, and what has happened once in 6000 years, may not happen again. Hold on to the Constitution, for if the American Constitution should fail, there will be anarchy throughout the world."

Until next week,

Sheila

Resources:

(1) http://www.lexrex.com/enlightened/AmericanIdeal/aspects/demrep.html

(2) http://www.cancertutor.com/Quotes/Quotes_Presidents.html