Democracy or Republic

When Thomas Jefferson was asked to write the declaration of independence, he looked at different forms of government. A monarchy, even a constitutional monarchy, was out of the question. A Roman style Dictatorship with a Senatorial representation was also rejected. Pure democracy was the downfall of ancient Greece, and socialism wasn’t even in the vocabulary at that time. The monarchy in France was going through some seriously troubling times that eventually led to a rebellion which ended in a Republican form of government – although, Jefferson could not have known that outcome at the time.

The eventual form of government for our country was not officially declared until the Constitution was ratified in 1790. From the time of the Declaration of Independence to ratification of the Constitution, the Articles of Confederation governed our country. The United States Constitution gave us a Republic of states represented by democratically elected representatives.

Why such a seemingly convoluted form of government? Well, for one thing a pure democracy – where every person has a vote and every vote counts equally – would allow huge voting blocks, such as those in large cities, to overwhelm the process and essentially give them ruling power. States and areas with lower populations would have no voice in government. A bicameral Congress with apportioned elected representatives from all states was seen as assuring equal representation for all populations.

For practical purposes, the government was split into three branches: Congress, Executive, and Judicial. While Congress has the sole decision-making authority regarding laws, budgets, taxation, and treaties, the Executive branch embodied in a single elected President is empowered to execute the will of Congress and day-to-day operations of the federal government. The President is also the Commander-in-Chief of the military. The President is elected, not by the majority of the voters, but by vote of the Electoral College. This too was engineered to allow equal representation of all urban and rural areas of the states.

Why have I gone to such lengths to explain our government? Astoundingly, I find all too many American “citizens” have no clue how our government works. If you ask people randomly on the street what kind of government we have, the majority would likely say Democracy. Sadly, many would simply shrug, and say, “I dunno.” You see, civics is no longer being taught in schools. By the way, both answers are wrong. We have a Republic.

Our congressional representatives, both in the House of Representatives and the Senate, are elected democratically. Every voting age citizen is entitled to vote for a Representative from their apportioned district and two Senators from their state.  While many politicians are grouped into a party, citizens can vote for whomever they choose.

It may seem like there are only two political parties. In reality, though, there is no limit to the number of parties that can be represented in our government. Political parties were formed to define a cohesive policy among like-minded individuals. Each party has a platform that they present to the voters during elections. Generally, the elected members of a party will vote for policies consistent with their party platform. It’s not a hard-and-fast rule that a politician must vote with the party platform, but more often than not this is the case.

Our form of government has served us well for more than 225 years – the longest form of government in history. Many other countries have tried to emulate our government with variations here and there, but none have been as economically or socially successful as the United States of America.

So, when someone proclaims we are a democracy, you can proudly correct them and say that we are a constitutional Republic with democratically elected representatives. And, despite what our current President seems to think of our constitution, it is still the law of the land, and Congress still makes the rules.

An Affront to Logic

Just when you think it couldn’t possibly get more bizarre, the Obama administration continues to top itself in incredibly stupid actions.

I’m sure you will recall the flood of children illegally entering the United States – according to Border Patrol figures that would be 198,155 Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC) from 2009 to March 31 of this year. You may also recall Obama’s executive order giving not just the children but also millions of other illegal aliens amnesty. Then just to rub salt into the wounds of taxpayers, Obama decided to give these illegal aliens an amnesty bonus. It started by allowing the illegal aliens to receive a social security number that will allow them to legally file an income tax return. Through come creative accounting, these illegals will now be able to get a refund for money they may or may not have paid into fraudulent social security accounts.

But wait, it gets even more insane! It was an insult to all those who legally applied for entry into the United States and have been waiting years for approval when these thousands of children received legal residency status for no valid reason other than they were children. Now the Obama administration has decided to bring the families of these children to this country as well. No, they are not just receiving legal residency status. Obama is going to pay to bring and resettle them here – of course with your tax dollars.

According to the Washington Free Beacon, the 2014 budget to care for these kids was $376,080 but was expected to skyrocket to nearly one billion dollars. I could find no estimate for the cost to bring – and resettle – the families to the US. How could it cost a billion dollars to care for these kids? They get special diets, full room and board, first-class Spanish education, and complete healthcare all paid for with your tax dollars. We can only imagine what the reunited families will receive compliments of the US taxpayers.

Apparently, the Obama administration was not satisfied spending precious tax dollars to reunite families merely of these Unaccompanied Alien Children, they are now planning to bring families of all the other millions of Illegal aliens here as well.

Well, it’s looking more like crime pays these days. It is a crime to enter and remain in this country without proper documentation. It is a crime to fraudulently pass off a social security number that has not been assigned to you by the social security administration. But families need to be together, the liberals will say. So why were these children and adults not returned to their families in their own country? Obviously, it wasn’t for lack of funds, since Obama seems to have found enough tax dollars to bring the rest of their families here.

So, this is Obama’s idea of compassion? What about the millions of good people who have been waiting years for the opportunity to come to America at their own expense? Many of them have children too. Where is the compassion for them?

Okay, let’s look at what we American taxpayers get for this “compassion.” Those who have legally applied for immigration are generally well-educated, productive citizens. Many have special skills that could add to the productivity and value of our country; doctors, engineers, educators, administrators, lawyers, musicians, artists, writers, businessmen, and many other valuable professions. Yes, there are probably simple laborers on the waiting list as well.

I wonder how many professionals are in this country illegally and included in Obama’s amnesty program. I also wonder how many of these illegal aliens are involved with the drug cartels of Central America. While it may sound crass, I also wonder just how many more uneducated gardeners and landscapers we really need. How many more day laborers do we need? How many more laborers for below rate non-union construction do we need?

Well folks, if Obama is the man you voted for twice, is this the kind of performance you bargained for? Is this the way you expected your tax dollars to be spent? Do you actually believe that any of this makes sense? Can you honestly answer yes to these questions?

The Obama administration is a horrendous affront to logic. This is what happens when voters select a person simply because of his or her race, or gender, of because they would be the first president of any stripe. When voters ignore experience and competence, you get Obama. You don’t get reason, frugality, or even true compassion in your government.