The Dumbest Political Flex in America: ‘We’re a Republic!’
- Graham E. Whitaker
- Jul 16, 2025
- 3 min read
Updated: Jul 18, 2025
In so many social media conversations these days, someone inevitably sneers, “We’re not a democracy. We’re a constitutional republic.”
And they say it like it ends the conversation.
But this smug soundbite isn’t the civics slam dunk people think it is. In fact, it’s not even correct. It’s a lazy, inaccurate statement that shows a fundamental misunderstanding of American government and the Constitution itself.
It’s also been weaponized—used to excuse minority rule, voter suppression, and authoritarian creep. So let’s dismantle it, piece by piece.
We Are a Constitutional Republic
and
a Democracy
These terms aren’t opposites. They describe different aspects of our system.
A republic is a government where power is held by elected representatives.
A constitutional republic means those representatives are bound by a governing document—in our case, the U.S. Constitution.
A democracy is any system where the people have ultimate political power—typically through elections.
The United States is a representative democracy operating as a constitutional republic. Those things are not contradictory. In fact, they’re complementary.
As conservative legal scholar Larry Diamond of Stanford’s Hoover Institution explains:
“Democracy is not just direct democracy; it also includes representative democracy, and a constitutional republic can absolutely be a democracy.”
(Source: Stanford Democracy and Rule of Law Center)
The Founders Knew This—and Said So
In Federalist No. 39, James Madison defined the U.S. government as one which:
“derives all its powers directly or indirectly from the great body of the people.”
That is—by definition—a representative democracy.
Yes, Madison also criticized direct democracy in Federalist No. 10, but only because he believed representative democracy would better protect minority rights and resist mob rule. He wasn’t anti-democracy. He was designing a more stable democracy.
As historian Joseph J. Ellis puts it in American Creation:
“The framers created a representative democracy based on popular sovereignty.”
What the Constitution Actually Says
The phrase “constitutional republic” doesn’t appear in the Constitution. Neither does “not a democracy.”
Here’s what it does say:
Article IV, Section 4:
“The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government.”
This doesn’t mean “not a democracy.” It means the federal government must ensure states don’t slip into monarchy, dictatorship, or theocracy. The phrase “Republican Form of Government” was a rejection of hereditary rule—not of democratic participation.
Harvard constitutional law professor Laurence Tribe clarifies:
“We are a representative democracy operating under a constitutional framework—a constitutional republic that is also democratic.”
(Source: Harvard Law School Faculty Profile)
Why This Phrase Is So Misused
The misuse of “We’re not a democracy” has a long and ugly history.
It was pushed hard during the Jim Crow era to justify rolling back civil rights and limiting who could vote. Later, it was repurposed by Cold War anti-communists who feared “the mob.” Today, it’s often deployed to defend voter suppression, extreme gerrymandering, and minority rule.
As historian Heather Cox Richardson explains in How the South Won the Civil War:
“The phrase ‘constitutional republic’ has become a modern right-wing talking point to justify anti-democratic behavior.”
And that’s the problem. People use it not to clarify anything—but to dismiss the idea that the majority of people should have a meaningful say in how this country is run.
If You Say This, You’re Not Defending the Constitution—You’re Distorting It
When someone says “We’re not a democracy,” they’re usually trying to:
Sound smarter than they are, or
Justify keeping power out of the hands of people they disagree with.
But saying this doesn’t make you a patriot. It makes you a useful idiot for authoritarianism.
Because if you don’t believe in democracy—real democracy—then you don’t believe in the American experiment. The Founders weren’t perfect, but they believed in one revolutionary principle: that power comes from the people.
And if that still scares you, the problem isn’t with democracy. It’s with you.
Sources and References
U.S. Constitution – National Archives
https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/constitution-transcript
Federalist Papers Nos. 10 and 39 – Library of Congress
Joseph J. Ellis, American Creation – Penguin Random House
Heather Cox Richardson, How the South Won the Civil War – Oxford University Press
https://global.oup.com/academic/product/how-the-south-won-the-civil-war-9780190900908
Larry Diamond, Stanford Hoover Institution –
Laurence Tribe, Harvard Law School –
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