"We're a republic not a democracy" is the "tomatoes are fruits, not vegetables" of political discussions.
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Then what is the "communism is great in theory but can't be applied in practice" argument?
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I think that gives it more credit than it's due. "Tomatoes are fruits" is a true statement. The republic/democracy bit obfuscates the point that the distinction made at the time was between representative and direct democracy, so, "we're a republic" still means we're a democracy
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"You don't put democracy in a republic salad." Or something like that ...
Disagree. Former statement is not pedantry, but highlights distinctions between a republic and a direct democracy and the (valid) criticisms of direct democracy (including by the Framers) in the face of uniformly pro "democracy" American political formulae and civic propaganda.
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