"A Republic, if you can keep it."

Democracy vs. Constitutional Republic

In our society today, where everything from top to bottom, and front to back is politicized beyond belief, there is an astonishing amount of criticism and judgement that takes place before a person even opens their mouth. If I am wearing my favorite “USA” cap, I’m automatically labeled a patriot, and of course today that is a nasty word because patriots are not those who cherish our Constitution. No! Patriots are all right-wing crazy people… aren’t they? (Sigh).

What’s equally as disheartening is that there has been a very clear shift (read “re-defining) of the actual meaning of words. Thanks in great part to the mainstream media (the alphabet criminals as some people call CNN, NBC, MSNBC, ABC etc.) and their illegal partnering with the Democrat party (which has been overrun by Marxists to a large extent), there has been a re-working of the English language to suit their needs and promote their propaganda. I call it “word salad”. Example, there are no more “master bedrooms” in New York homes. Now they are referred to by realtors as “primary bedrooms.” And don’t call yourself a “new mother” if you just gave birth in NYC - no, no, you are a “lactating person” who is going to “chest feed” instead of breastfeed. No joke folks. I got that tidbit of information directly from a friend of mine who is an OB/GYN in Manhattan. (Side note: Is this going on in other states, or is it just in dystopian New York?)

And so, like all things that are word salad, you must pick through the lettuce carefully until you can see the true type of salad that has been placed on the table before you. There’s a big difference between a Nicoise and a Taco salad, and yet they have the same underlying base.

One word salad victim that is the topic of this article and is certainly worth noting for its legal implications is the definition of democracy, and particularly in relation to our form of government. Of course Americans know, or should know even despite the lack of constitutional classes in our schools, that the United States of America is a constitutional republic. This means we have a constitution that governs how our republican form of government runs. Note, here the word “republican” does not mean the political party. It means a representative form of government, and it is guaranteed in Article IV of our Constitution which states in part:

The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government…

The title of this article is a quote by Ben Franklin. As it goes, when he was exiting the Constitutional Convention on September 17, 1787, a woman by the name of Elizabeth Willing Powel approached him to ask, "Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?" to which Franklin replied, “A Republic, if you can keep it.” You may be astonished to see the word “monarchy” there - how could the founding Americans even consider a monarchy as a form of government? Who would possibly want rule by one over the many? Well, don’t forget that the first Americans were actually British subjects who had been born and raised under a monarch, so when they broke away to form their own country, they examined multiple forms of government and discussed (and argued heatedly) over the details, so it was natural that a monarchy was one of those forms of rule that they considered. Thankfully the Constitutional Republic won the day. A monarchy would be abhorrent, as it’s basically a totalitarian form of government. A pure democracy would also be a bad choice, as pure democracies are essentially mob rule where majority wins. Why is that bad? Because it opens the door to the very real possibility that demagogues would rule the land, and the masses would be ignored and, worse still, horribly abused. As the father of our Constitution, this was James Madison’s biggest fear when he and the other Founding Fathers were painstakingly crafting our form of government. Madison was sure to bypass the direct democracy and move to a representative form of government which would ensure that minorities in the republic would be protected from majorities. Wisely, Madison recognized that the tyranny of majorities is perhaps the greatest threat to freedom, as he equated it with the downfall of ancient Athens. (See his Federalist Papers #10 for more details).

However, what many do not know, or fail to realize, is that even a constitutional republic is a form of democracy. In other words, there are elements of a constitutional republic that operate as a democracy. Hence the interchangeability of those words.

I explain.

The word “democracy” comes from the Greek word dēmokratia, which stemmed from dēmos (“people”) and kratos (“rule”). There are different types of democracies, but all forms of democracy are a system of government that gives power (“kratos”) to the people (“demos”), which translates into rule of the people. The word “republic” comes from the Latin phrase res publica, which means “public thing” - which translates into a country “owned” or governed by its people. In a direct or pure democracy, the power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly, meaning the people make their own laws and rules. A representative democracy is when the power is vested in the people but exercised through the peoples’ freely elected representatives. So, technically, here in the United States, we are a constitutional republic, but we are also a representative democracy. Why? Because a constitutional republic (like a representative democracy) means the people elect their representatives to make the laws and rules. The difference is that in a constitutional republic, those laws and rules must stay within the confines of the Constitution that was adopted by the nation’s founders. This is the basis of the 1803 landmark decision in Marbury v. Madison where the United States Supreme Court held that, “A Law repugnant to the Constitution is void,” whereby marking the first time the Supreme Court had declared unconstitutional a law passed by Congress and signed by the President.

I’m going to dive a level deeper. Stay with me.

A constitutional republic has elements of a democracy in it. Here’s how: when our elected representatives in our legislature (let’s say Congress at the federal level, for example) meet in order to create a law, they typically discuss, they debate, and then they vote. The bill passes if a majority of the legislators vote in favor of it. Similarly, if a majority of the legislators vote against the bill, it fails. Majority rules. That is a democratic principle.

Understanding now why our Constitutional Republic is so unique and brilliant, you’ll note that Ben Franklin charged us with “keeping it.” He knew it would be dependent upon We The People to ensure our Republic would succeed and survive. He knew the greed and power thirsty nature of mankind would constantly challenge our Republic and its representative form of government. He was so right! And so, the question that follows is, are you doing your part in this Herculean task of safeguarding our precious country? Stop and think for a moment… are you helping to “keep it?” Deep dive question: in the past week, name all of the things you’ve done to ensure our way of life continues for the generations that will follow us - your children, grandchildren, and so on. Make a list, and write it down. Can’t think of anything from this past week? Ok, so let’s say the past month… How does your list look? Probably it will be pretty bare for most people, and herein lies the problem. Apathy will be the death of us. Whilst most Americans are asleep at the wheel, there are distinct and tremendous forces that are working to destroy our way of life by undermining our Constitution and thereby abolishing your power, your rights, your freedoms. If you haven’t yet, please check out my article entitled, “Our Constitution is the Answer, Which is Precisely Why it is Under Attack” which was also published by the Brownstone Institute (where I am a Fellow), as well as by The Epoch Times.

It’s not too late to help us “keep it.” There are always a plethora of ways you can get involved and become an answer to the problem instead of part of the problem. Here are just a few:

• Stay informed and educate others:

  • If you’re not already signed up for my weekly Substack, please do so. It’s free, unless you’d like to support my work, in which case you can do a paid subscription.

  • There’s also free weekly newsletters from Uniting NYS, the citizens’ group that is one of the plaintiffs on my quarantine camp lawsuit against the Governor. Sign up for their free e-newsletter here.

  • If you have other sources of information you like, that’s great. Just try to diversify sometimes to ensure you get other perspectives, too.

• Spread the word

  • Share what you learn with others. Post on your social media platforms, send out in email blasts, talk about it at family functions or social events.

  • If you know anyone in media, share the information with them and get them involved.

• Donate to a group, candidate, or someone who is fighting on your behalf!

  • If you’d like to support my work, you can donate at: www.CoxLawyers.com

  • To support my quarantine camp lawsuit appeal, donate at: www.UnitingNYS.com

  • Reach out to the candidate running for State Senate or Assembly or Congress in your area, and offer to volunteer your time, or make a donation to their race. Candidates are always looking for help!

• Take action

  • This is an absolutely crucial election coming up November 5. VOTE. And if you love our country, and you live in New York, vote Republican, because I can tell you with certainty, the “Democrats” in power here in NY are not Democrats. They are anti-American and have implemented policies that are socialist on a good day, Marxist all the other days.

  • Make a promise to bring at least 10 people you know to vote on election day, or take advantage of early voting in your area.

  • If in New York, flip your ballot and vote NO on Prop One on the back of your ballot! More info on that HERE.

  • For all those who say voting is useless, I tell you this: if you do not vote this November, then you are part of the problem. If you don’t vote, they will win, hands down - no contest. By not voting, you are doing exactly what they want you to do, which is to get so discouraged that you refuse to vote. In 2022, Republican Lee Zeldin ran for governor against Democrat Kathy Hochul, and Lee lost by only 300,000 votes. We have 19 million New Yorkers. Only 5.5 million voted in 2022. You do the math.

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