The United States is a Democracy.

[Agit8r]

"we may define a republic to be, or at least may bestow that name on, a government which derives all its powers directly or indirectly from the great body of the people, and is administered by persons holding their offices during pleasure, for a limited period, or during good behavior. It is essential to such a government that it be derived from the great body of the society, not from an inconsiderable proportion, or a favored class of it"
-- James Madison; from Federalist #39

Which by definition makes us a democracy.

Yes, as Jefferson put it:

"We of the United States, you know, are constitutionally and conscientiously democrats."
-- Thomas Jefferson; from letter to P. S. Dupont de Nemours (Apr. 24, 1816)

 

[SuperDemocrat]

Yes? No? Discuss.

The United States is a Republic that operates off of Democracy principles. Meaning the majority rules.

I pledge allegiance to the REPUBLIC of the United States.....

We are not a democracy. With certain checks and balances meant to preclude a true democracy, we operate as a democratic republic. Some Senate issues require only 51 of 100 votes to win. Some require 60. The Electoral College keeps the big cities from tromping on rural areas with majority rule. The President has veto power over the majority that voted for a bill in Congress.

All of the checks and balances are not designed to thwart the people but to thwart the people in power from violating the constitution.

 

[BluesLegend]

The U.S. is a Constitutional Republic, so not a pure democracy, thank the Goddess.

A Republic protects minority rights. A pure Democracy always descends into Mob Rule.

^^^ you nailed it the founders would be proud!

 

[Moonglow]

Yes? No? Discuss.

The United States is a Republic that operates off of Democracy principles. Meaning the majority rules.

I pledge allegiance to the REPUBLIC of the United States.....

We are not a democracy. With certain checks and balances meant to preclude a true democracy, we operate as a democratic republic. Some Senate issues require only 51 of 100 votes to win. Some require 60. The Electoral College keeps the big cities from tromping on rural areas with majority rule. The President has veto power over the majority that voted for a bill in Congress.

All of the checks and balances are not designed to thwart the people but to thwart the people in power from violating the constitution.

Seems that sometimes they are all complicate..

 

[Fenton Lum]

Once more without the bullshit labels.

 

[Fenton Lum]

The U.S. is a Constitutional Republic, so not a pure democracy, thank the Goddess.

A Republic protects minority rights. A pure Democracy always descends into Mob Rule.

You're right about that, the founders wanted the unsusbtantial people to have very little to say about their own governance.

 

[SuperDemocrat]

The U.S. is a Constitutional Republic, so not a pure democracy, thank the Goddess.

A Republic protects minority rights. A pure Democracy always descends into Mob Rule.

You're right about that, the founders wanted the unsusbtantial people to have very little to say about their own governance.

Can you actually find something of one of them saying that? Why spend all the time fighting against British imperialism and democracy only to replace it with another authoritarian system.

 

[BluesLegend]

Yes? No? Discuss.

The United States is a Republic that operates off of Democracy principles. Meaning the majority rules.

I pledge allegiance to the REPUBLIC of the United States.....

We are not a democracy. With certain checks and balances meant to preclude a true democracy, we operate as a democratic republic. Some Senate issues require only 51 of 100 votes to win. Some require 60. The Electoral College keeps the big cities from tromping on rural areas with majority rule. The President has veto power over the majority that voted for a bill in Congress.

All of the checks and balances are not designed to thwart the people but to thwart the people in power from violating the constitution.

Damn straight! We fought a revolutionary war to escape tyrannical rule and abuse. Precisely the type of tyrannical rule and abuse we are suffering today from our government. Our government imposes taxes and fees on every conceivable thing there is to tax and fee, they even tax debts. They abuse us with hundreds of thousands of pages of government regulations right down to how much water we can use to flush our damn toilet. Our so called representatives are bought off and bribed and corrupted just as the nobles were in the 1700's. Elections are rigged for the most part to ensure the establishment party's candidate wins. Those few true representatives are rendered powerless by the establishment party's system of seniority and House and Senate rules. The founders knew full well the corruption of power.

 

[Fenton Lum]

The U.S. is a Constitutional Republic, so not a pure democracy, thank the Goddess.

A Republic protects minority rights. A pure Democracy always descends into Mob Rule.

You're right about that, the founders wanted the unsusbtantial people to have very little to say about their own governance.

Can you actually find something of one of them saying that? Why spend all the time fighting against British imperialism and democracy only to replace it with another authoritarian system.

Look at how they set the thing up. Only affluent white land/property holding males were included in this "brave neew experiment". Even the senate was appointed. Why? Because all it was, this "revolution", was a pissing match between bickering transatlantinc aristocracies.

 

[Fenton Lum]

Yes? No? Discuss.

The United States is a Republic that operates off of Democracy principles. Meaning the majority rules.

I pledge allegiance to the REPUBLIC of the United States.....

We are not a democracy. With certain checks and balances meant to preclude a true democracy, we operate as a democratic republic. Some Senate issues require only 51 of 100 votes to win. Some require 60. The Electoral College keeps the big cities from tromping on rural areas with majority rule. The President has veto power over the majority that voted for a bill in Congress.

All of the checks and balances are not designed to thwart the people but to thwart the people in power from violating the constitution.

Damn straight! We fought a revolutionary war to escape tyrannical rule and abuse. Precisely the type of tyrannical rule and abuse we are suffering today from our government. Our government imposes taxes and fees on every conceivable thing there is to tax and fee, they even tax debts. They abuse us with hundreds of thousands of pages of government regulations right down to how much water we can use to flush our damn toilet. Our so called representatives are bought off and bribed and corrupted just as the nobles were in the 1700's. Elections are rigged for the most part to ensure the establishment party's candidate wins. Those few true representatives are rendered powerless by the establishment party's system of seniority and House and Senate rules. The founders knew full well the corruption of power.

They certainly protected their own from the people.

 

[kaz]

I'm a Liberal, and the question's waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too vague.

How can it be vague? Too hot, too cold, or just right? They make children's stories out of this stuff.

Well, first, are you referring to the Federal government? Are you advocating the right of the majority to continue to destroy the rights of the minority? What do you mean by less democracy, do you mean government making our decisions for us or do you mean government leaving us alone?

I think we need less Democracy at the Federal level, more local democracy.

We need the Federal government in that to do less, not make more decisions for us

And Democracy should not be used to impose the will of the majority on the rest of us

There's no way to say that in your poll without stating those assumptions, and I'm not a conservative, liberal or a centrist

 

[oreo]

Yes? No? Discuss.

The United States is a Republic that operates off of Democracy principles. Meaning the majority rules.

I pledge allegiance to the REPUBLIC of the United States.....

We are not a democracy. With certain checks and balances meant to preclude a true democracy, we operate as a democratic republic. Some Senate issues require only 51 of 100 votes to win. Some require 60. The Electoral College keeps the big cities from tromping on rural areas with majority rule. The President has veto power over the majority that voted for a bill in Congress.

All of the checks and balances are not designed to thwart the people but to thwart the people in power from violating the constitution.

Damn straight! We fought a revolutionary war to escape tyrannical rule and abuse. Precisely the type of tyrannical rule and abuse we are suffering today from our government. Our government imposes taxes and fees on every conceivable thing there is to tax and fee, they even tax debts. They abuse us with hundreds of thousands of pages of government regulations right down to how much water we can use to flush our damn toilet. Our so called representatives are bought off and bribed and corrupted just as the nobles were in the 1700's. Elections are rigged for the most part to ensure the establishment party's candidate wins. Those few true representatives are rendered powerless by the establishment party's system of seniority and House and Senate rules. The founders knew full well the corruption of power.

Because we operate under a democracy the majority rules. And since the majority has ruled since the beginning of this nation--your comments are balking at what you consider a tyranny. Therefore, if you believe it's tyranny--it's because the majority voted for Tyranny.

 

[kaz]

By less Democracy, I'm assuming that this poll is asking about the Federal government, I think we should be implementing democracy far more at the local level free from Federal interference. And by less democracy, I mean the Federal government leaves local governments alone to make their decisions, not that they make them for us in an undemocratic way

 

[kaz]

Yes? No? Discuss.

The United States is a Republic that operates off of Democracy principles. Meaning the majority rules.

I pledge allegiance to the REPUBLIC of the United States.....

We are not a democracy. With certain checks and balances meant to preclude a true democracy, we operate as a democratic republic. Some Senate issues require only 51 of 100 votes to win. Some require 60. The Electoral College keeps the big cities from tromping on rural areas with majority rule. The President has veto power over the majority that voted for a bill in Congress.

All of the checks and balances are not designed to thwart the people but to thwart the people in power from violating the constitution.

Damn straight! We fought a revolutionary war to escape tyrannical rule and abuse. Precisely the type of tyrannical rule and abuse we are suffering today from our government. Our government imposes taxes and fees on every conceivable thing there is to tax and fee, they even tax debts. They abuse us with hundreds of thousands of pages of government regulations right down to how much water we can use to flush our damn toilet. Our so called representatives are bought off and bribed and corrupted just as the nobles were in the 1700's. Elections are rigged for the most part to ensure the establishment party's candidate wins. Those few true representatives are rendered powerless by the establishment party's system of seniority and House and Senate rules. The founders knew full well the corruption of power.

Because we operate under a democracy the majority rules. And since the majority has ruled since the beginning of this nation--your comments are balking at what you consider a tyranny. Therefore, if you believe it's tyranny--it's because the majority voted for Tyranny.

Exactly, the majority is voting for tyranny, and that doesn't make it right

 

[SwimExpert]

All those rules came about from the vote of the People, which makes us a democracy.

Actually, they came about from a vote of a representative delegation in convention, and a second representative delegation chosen by the legislatures of the states.

 

[SwimExpert]

If the definition of the term is floating then the poll has no meaning.

I don't think of "democracy" as some quantifiable finite substance like how much gas to put in the tank. Can't do it.

This is not a poll about how to define or quantify democracy. Your attempt to regress the matter into tangents could just as easily be applied to every question whatsoever, rendering every question ever asked to have "no meaning." Cool story, but that's not the topic here. Go take your existentialism questions to the philosophy forum. Fer fuck's sake, it's a simple fucking question. If you can't handle that then GTFO.

 

[NYcarbineer]

All those rules came about from the vote of the People, which makes us a democracy.

Actually, they came about from a vote of a representative delegation in convention, and a second representative delegation chosen by the legislatures of the states.

Elected representatives are a function of a democracy.

 

[NYcarbineer]

The United States is a Republic that operates off of Democracy principles. Meaning the majority rules.

I pledge allegiance to the REPUBLIC of the United States.....

We are not a democracy. With certain checks and balances meant to preclude a true democracy, we operate as a democratic republic. Some Senate issues require only 51 of 100 votes to win. Some require 60. The Electoral College keeps the big cities from tromping on rural areas with majority rule. The President has veto power over the majority that voted for a bill in Congress.

All of the checks and balances are not designed to thwart the people but to thwart the people in power from violating the constitution.

Damn straight! We fought a revolutionary war to escape tyrannical rule and abuse. Precisely the type of tyrannical rule and abuse we are suffering today from our government. Our government imposes taxes and fees on every conceivable thing there is to tax and fee, they even tax debts. They abuse us with hundreds of thousands of pages of government regulations right down to how much water we can use to flush our damn toilet. Our so called representatives are bought off and bribed and corrupted just as the nobles were in the 1700's. Elections are rigged for the most part to ensure the establishment party's candidate wins. Those few true representatives are rendered powerless by the establishment party's system of seniority and House and Senate rules. The founders knew full well the corruption of power.

Because we operate under a democracy the majority rules. And since the majority has ruled since the beginning of this nation--your comments are balking at what you consider a tyranny. Therefore, if you believe it's tyranny--it's because the majority voted for Tyranny.

Exactly, the majority is voting for tyranny, and that doesn't make it right

By your demented definitions, there is no system that is not tyranny.

 

[BluesLegend]

Yes? No? Discuss.

The United States is a Republic that operates off of Democracy principles. Meaning the majority rules.

I pledge allegiance to the REPUBLIC of the United States.....

We are not a democracy. With certain checks and balances meant to preclude a true democracy, we operate as a democratic republic. Some Senate issues require only 51 of 100 votes to win. Some require 60. The Electoral College keeps the big cities from tromping on rural areas with majority rule. The President has veto power over the majority that voted for a bill in Congress.

All of the checks and balances are not designed to thwart the people but to thwart the people in power from violating the constitution.

Damn straight! We fought a revolutionary war to escape tyrannical rule and abuse. Precisely the type of tyrannical rule and abuse we are suffering today from our government. Our government imposes taxes and fees on every conceivable thing there is to tax and fee, they even tax debts. They abuse us with hundreds of thousands of pages of government regulations right down to how much water we can use to flush our damn toilet. Our so called representatives are bought off and bribed and corrupted just as the nobles were in the 1700's. Elections are rigged for the most part to ensure the establishment party's candidate wins. Those few true representatives are rendered powerless by the establishment party's system of seniority and House and Senate rules. The founders knew full well the corruption of power.

Because we operate under a democracy the majority rules. And since the majority has ruled since the beginning of this nation--your comments are balking at what you consider a tyranny. Therefore, if you believe it's tyranny--it's because the majority voted for Tyranny.

You really need to return to junior high and take history class again, try to pay attention this time.

 

[Pumpkin Row]

We're not a democracy. All you did with this thread is show that you don't understand the election process and our government structure.