Jonathan Bernstein, Columnist

Yes, Mike Lee, America Is a Democracy

A tiresome trope — democracy or republic? — is once again salient. But there’s no doubt that the U.S. is ruled by the people.

October 8, 2020 at 11:52 AM UTC

By Jonathan Bernstein

Jonathan Bernstein is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering politics. A former professor of political science at the University of Texas at San Antonio, he wrote A Plain Blog About Politics.

Come on.
Photographer: Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg

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At some point during the vice-presidential debate — my wrap is here if you missed it — Utah Senator Mike Lee tweeted out, “We’re not a democracy.” Man, oh, man, do I hate this one. I’ve argued before that this is one of America’s great crank ideas. But let me try again.