Our Founding Fathers had some very specific ideas on how the United States should be organized. The Constitution is the reflection of those ideas. People who have read and understood the Constitution, as well as the documents from the same time period that inform us as to how the Founders were thinking – such as the Federalist Papers – come away knowing that the United States is set up as it is, a constitutional republic.
But then, there are people who know and understand the Constitution – and then there is MSNBC/”The Nation” blowhard Elie Mystal, who appears to have no idea what the Constitution says. He recently took to X to prove this, and boy howdy, he succeeded.
“We are not the greatest democracy on Earth. We are not even a true democracy because of the Electoral College.”@ElieNYC explains how Donald Trump may be planning to “steal the election” even if he loses the popular vote. pic.twitter.com/mOuXON5BHA
— Democracy Now! (@democracynow) November 1, 2024
Do not start with me with this “constitutional republic” crap again. I have heard that argument and explained to you why it is no justification anti-democratic practices like the Electoral College. https://t.co/uNnbDYEkJk
— Elie Mystal (@ElieNYC) November 1, 2024
It’s difficult to know where to begin. To say that Elie Mystal is a constitutional illiterate is to engage in one of recent history’s most massive understatements. To listen to Mystal or read any of his bloviations, one comes away with the opinion that not only has Elie Mystal not read the Constitution, but he likely has never been within shouting distance of even a copy of that venerable governing document.
And what’s more, he’s proud of it.
“We are not the greatest democracy on Earth. We are not even a true democracy because of the Electoral College.”@ElieNYC explains how Donald Trump may be planning to “steal the election” even if he loses the popular vote. pic.twitter.com/mOuXON5BHA
— Democracy Now! (@democracynow) November 1, 2024
A couple of things that we might point out to Elie Mystal – which he will ignore, but the exercise is still work undertaking:
1) The words “democrat,” “democracy” and “democratic” appear nowhere in the Constitution.
2) The selection of electors by the states to elect the president – the words “Electoral College” again, appear nowhere in the Constitution – were put in place by design to ensure that one, two, or five major population centers would not dominate national politics. This is the same reason the Senate is set up as it is so that each sovereign state has an equal say in national affairs. In the Senate, Alaska (pop. 733,000) has the same voice as California (pop. 39 million).
3) The federal government has democratic institutions, such as the House of Representatives, but the primary governing power was originally intended to be the states, which is why each state is equally represented in the Senate and why states select a slate of electors to elect the president.
That’s how a republic works. That’s not how a democracy works. And that’s OK, because no matter how much Elie Mystal balls up his fists, scrunches his eyes shut, and shrieks really loud, “BUT MUH DEMOCRACY,” the fact will remain that the United States is and always has been a Constitutional Republic.
Here’s an example of the fierce – and knowledgable – blowback Mystal got on X.
“We are not even a true democracy because of the Electoral College”
Might I refer you to Article 4, Section 4 of the US Constitution…
Section. 4.
The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them…— John Tammes (@john_tammes) November 1, 2024
I couldn’t have put it any better than that.
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The nation was set up like this for a reason, and for the most part, it’s worked pretty well. Young folks today may be bemused that, but before the 16th Amendment allowed Washington to impose an income tax, the only interaction most people ever had with the federal government was when they went to the post office. Outside of tax returns, this stayed the case until the Depression started the current runaway growth of the federal super-state.
Our Founders, some of the wisest men in history, set this nation up the way they did for reasons that Elie Mystal is clearly incapable of assimilating. It’s worked pretty well for nearly two and a half centuries. I think it has some life left in it yet – as long as we keep people like Elie Mystal from being actually involved in governance instead of just contributing to global warming by running his yap.
