Republicans must go
Next time a self-important MAGA vassal smugly corrects you with what they intend as a “lib-owning truth,” by telling you that we live in a republic and not a democracy, ask them to define both. I’ll bet they can’t. That’s proof positive that the distinction was made in bad faith.
The truth of the matter is that America is both a republic and a democracy. They are synonyms. Look them up if you don’t believe me. Like most synonyms, they both mean approximately the same thing, a state in which supreme power is held by the people and their elected representatives. Occasionally the term “republican” (small r) is used to mean someone who is anti-royalist. (Watch (or re-watch) “I, Claudius” for a brilliant tour de force on that idea.)
Very often the disingenuous (or ignorant) distinction is made by (capital R) Republicans because the word “republic” looks more like the name of their party and “democracy” looks more like the name of ours. Ha ha. Get it? Yeah, it’s a real “gotcha” point. It’s about as meaningful as observing that Hitler’s “National Socialist Workers Party” means Hitler was a socialist.
But Republicans are using the word republic more and more these days for an even more sinister reason. They are growing tired of democracy because to them, it’s too reminiscent of voting.
You see, Republicans wouldn’t mind voting so much if it didn’t also mean that they could lose. But they’ve noticed that they do lose at least half the time. They don’t like losing, and everything they don’t like they blame on Democrats.
But voting is part of democracy, and they’re starting to get tired of democracy. They’ve noticed these days, as a matter of fact, that the more Americans vote the more Democrats seem to win. It’s because Democrats have a platform that is hugely popular and Republicans don’t have a platform at all, at least, they don’t have one they can say out loud and win exceptions. So they’re trying to make it harder for Democrats to vote in the name of “voter security.”
These days when Republicans lose elections they refer to it as “mob rule,” which is ironic because most of them, on January 6, 2021, anyway, cheered on a literal mob who tried to literally rule. But that’s different because that particular mob favoured Republican politics. I know, it gets complicated.
Another term Republicans are using more and more is “Marxism.” Next time a MAGAland cretin tries to beat you over the head with that word ask them to define it. I’ll bet they can’t.
They frequently use it in conjunction with the idea of being “woke,” which is a word that means giving a shit about oppressed people. Marxism, on the other hand, is an economic and political theory that examines the flaws inherent in capitalism and seeks to identify an alternative. It’s a pretty dry theory and has nothing to do with being “woke.”
Again, the goal these days of Republicans is to get Americans comfortable with the idea that America doesn’t really need to be a democracy and it doesn’t need to be about voting. Don’t let them bullshit you. America is all about democracy and America is all about voting.
America is also about the peaceful transition of power. And equal justice under the law. And diversity. And freedom. These are all things Republicans hate because Republicans have ceased to be Americans. They are monsters instead. If the United States of America is to survive, Republicans have to go. And, as ever, ladies and gentlemen, brothers and sisters, comrades and friends, stay safe.
Robert Harrington is an American expat living in Britain. He is a portrait painter.