• Ghostalmedia@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    6 months ago

    We don’t have a democracy, we are a constitutional republic

    This is the new battle cry of American fascism.

    The opening of the American Declaration of Independence literally states that the country is going to establish a government that derives “their just powers from the consent of the governed.”

    • Billiam@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      6 months ago

      The opening of the American Declaration of Independence literally states that the country is going to establish a government that derives “their just powers from the consent of the governed.”

      To play devil’s advocate, you could argue that’s why the Easter Oregonian fascists should be allowed to join Idaho- because they don’t consent to be governed by the state legislature.

      (Of course, the real problem is that these assholes are increasingly rejecting the concept of government altogether.)

      • Eatspancakes84@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        0
        ·
        6 months ago

        I don’t understand this argument. The Declaration of Independence is not part of the constitution so it’s not part of a valid legal argument. as I understand it the Constitution does not give individual citizens the right to elect the State that governs them ( beyond by moving obviously).

        • Billiam@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          0
          ·
          6 months ago

          You’re right, which is why the argument made is a moral one, not a legal one. If you want a more clear-cut example, think about the American South during the US Civil War. They no longer consented to being governed by Washington, so an argument could be made that the North was morally wrong to force the South to remain in the Union. However, as established in Texas v. White in 1869 there was (and still isn’t) a legal mechanism for a state to leave the Union, therefore the South couldn’t legally secede.

          The same legal precedent applies in this case as well. There isn’t any way (currently, anyhow) for states to redraw their boundaries, so even if allowing the eastern Oregon fascists to join Idaho is the morally-correct action (which is not a position I endorse, just presenting the reasoning) they don’t have a legal method of doing so.

    • BrianTheeBiscuiteer@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      6 months ago

      I asked him what he meant by that distinction.

      “We have a constitution that lays down the laws for us. As a republic, the individual is protected. So the minority can be protected. It’s not just majority rules.”

      Agreed, so we let homosexual couples get married, pregnant women make their own health care decisions, treat transgendered people with respect, and take measures to prevent at-risk individuals from getting a deadly virus.

    • Eatspancakes84@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      6 months ago

      The US is both a constitutional Republic and a democracy . In fact, the democratic part is included in the constitution.

    • Lucidlethargy@sh.itjust.works
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      edit-2
      6 months ago

      These people support the electoral college because it benefits them almost exclusively. They don’t care about democracy.