"The full experiment of a government, democratical, but representative, was
and is still reserved for us. The introduction of this new principle of
REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY has rendered useless almost everything written
before on the structure of government; and, in a great measure, relieves our
regret, if the political writings of Aristotle, or of any other ancient,
have been lost, or are unfaithfully rendered or explained to us. --
Jefferson, letter to Isaac H. Tiffany, 1816

"I consider the war as made for just causes [War of 1812 -- ed.] , and its
dispensation as providential, inasmuch as it has exercised our patriotism
and submission to order, has planted and invigorated among us arts of urgent
necessity, has manifested the strong and the weak parts of our republican
institutions, and the excellence of a REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY compared
with the misrule of kings, has rallied the opinions of mankind to the
natural rights of expatriation... -- Jefferson, letter to Mr. Wendover.
Washington ed. vi, 444.
(M. 1815)"

Shall I go on?g

It really boils down to one question: What do you mean by a republic? It's
really a good question, and the answer cuts through all of this nonsense
quoting.



Don't you think the problem these guys have is they don't understand the
meaning of the word democracy? It seems that they have got the idea that
democracy means only one thing, a direct democracy. I guess they never
learned that under the overarching term "democracy" there are
considerably more than only one kind. They must have gone to
"government" schools.

Hawke