Maverick Philosopher

Footnotes to Plato from the foothills of the Superstition Mountains

What do Democrats Mean by ‘Democracy’?

The Dems are always going on about 'our democracy,' their noble defense of it, and the Republicans' nefarious assault upon it.  But they never tell us what they mean by 'democracy.' One is left to speculate.  Here is David Brooks commenting on the recent gerrymandering/redistricting contretemps:

I understand the argument. But let's do a little ethical experiment here. You're in World War I. The Germans use mustard gas on civilians, and it helps them. Do you then decide, 'Okay, we're going to use mustard gas on civilians?' What Trump ordered Abbott to do in Texas is mustard gas on our democracy. (emphasis added)

One gets the distinct impression that for Democrats, 'democracy' means our party, the Democrat party.  Accordingly, to defend and preserve democracy is to defend, preserve, and enhance the power of the Democrat party by any and all means necessary including gerrymandering.  After all, they are (in their own eyes) wonderful people; so whatever they do must be wonderful too. But when we do unto them what they have long done unto us, we are despicable 'fascists' out to destroy 'democracy.'  

'Fascist' is the pejorative counterpart of the Dem's honorific 'democracy.' 'Fascist' is the Left's favorite F-word, although, thanks to Hunter Biden and others,  the F-word itself may be coming to occupy the top slot in the depredatory Left's deprecatory lingo.  Hunter and the benighted Beto O'Rourke seem incapable these days of uttering  a sentence free of F-bomb ornamentation. 

I should think that both the pejorative and the honorific, as used by the Dems, ought to enter retirement.  For they know too little history to know what 'fascist' means, and their actions show that there is little that is democratic about them.  Or do you think the coup against Joe Biden and his replacement on the 2024 Dem ticket by Kamala Harris was a democratic action? Quite the contrary!

The subversion of language is the mother of all subversion. The contemporary Dems are a pack of subversives out to destroy our republic. And yes, it is a republic, not a democracy , even when the word is used responsibly. It is a constitutionally-based republic and is democratic only to the extent that the people have a say in who shall represent them.  

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Bill Vallicella

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16 responses to “What do Democrats Mean by ‘Democracy’?”

  1. Joe Odegaard Avatar
    Joe Odegaard

    One could argue, according to the U.S. Constitution, Article IV, Section 4, that promoting “Democracy” is unconstitutional. Perhaps a state such as California could be demoted back to a territory by the Federal Gov’t, and lose all its reps and senators.

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  2. Vlastimil Avatar
    Vlastimil

    also, I guess this is also common usage:
    racist = you don’t want (enough) to be around non-white people — or to pretend that you do
    fascist = you like muscles and uniforms and don’t believe in voting – or “democracy” (as explained in this post)
    Nazi = plus you don’t like Jews being so influential

    Reply
  3. Michael Brazier Avatar
    Michael Brazier

    It’s linguistic drift in action. Back in the Cold War everyone knew that “democracy” meant the people chose who ruled them and “dictatorship” meant they didn’t, and as the former was preferred over the latter “democracy” was what you called a good government. The current crew of Democrats still remember that “democracy” is what you call a good government, but have forgotten why – and to them, a good government is one where wise technocrats make all the important decisions, guided by the best information and moral understanding, and the benighted, ignorant people just accept the experts’ advice. Now that the people are constantly pointing out that the experts actually can’t be trusted with sharp objects and certainly shouldn’t be making important decisions, the Democrats see that their notion of good government is being called into question. Thus “our democracy is under attack!” “Democracy” means good government, good government is technocratic, therefore rejecting technocracy is rejecting “democracy”.
    I know that isn’t far removed from “democracy is when the Democratic Party holds power”, but there is a shade of difference. The Left is advocating a clear political idea – rule by professional experts – and not just saying “my clique ought to be running things”. They just can’t say what they mean in plain English, even to themselves, because the political idea they’re arguing for is about as popular as influenza or the common cold.

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  4. BV Avatar
    BV

    Joe,
    There is no precedent for a state being demoted to a territory. But there is a first time for everything. This ought to be publicly discussed by people wiser in these matters than we are.
    Art IV, sec 4 does say that the U. S. “shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican form of government. . .”
    It also states that it should protect each of them against invasion and against domestic violence.
    Here are the makings of an argument against sanctuary jurisdictions and also an argument for federal crackdown on states such as Californicatio where domestic violence is rampant.
    Another question that really ought to be publicly discussed is whether the Democrat Part in its currect depredatory and destructive form should be outlawed.
    There is no precedent for this either if I am not mistaken. But I think the CPUSA may have come close to being outlawed in the ’50s. Is there an historian in the house?

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  5. BV Avatar
    BV

    Ironically, lefties are now interested in states’ rights . . .

    Reply
  6. BV Avatar
    BV

    Vlastimil,
    Good examples. In each of these cases, no attempt is made by our political enemies to explain, let alone explicitly define, such terms as ‘racist,’ ‘fascist,’ and ‘Nazi.’ It is more conducive to their deceptive purposes to use them as semantic bludgeons in the manner of the chucklephuck Rosie O’Donnell and her ilk. An up-and-comer here is Jasmine Crockett. Her name invites parody but I shall resist temptation.
    If I point out that blacks, who are 13% of the U.S. population, are overrepresented in TV ads while white Southerners and country folk are underrepresented I will be called a racist even though I merely speak the truth.
    Or if I state the truth that Jews as a group are sharp about money, I will be called an anti-semite even though there is nothing anti-Jew or anti-Israel about the repetition of that well-grounded stereotype.

    Reply
  7. BV Avatar
    BV

    Michael.
    Yes. The contrast democracy vs. dictatorship is germane. Democracy is good because it is the opposite of dictatorship, which is bad. This also explains why the Dems call Trump a dictator even though is no more dictatorial than Biden and the other POTUSes who issued executive orders. What is an EO if not a diktat?
    >>Thus “our democracy is under attack!” “Democracy” means good government, good government is technocratic, therefore rejecting technocracy is rejecting “democracy”.<< Linguistic drift, or as I prefer to say, subversion of language for a partisan purpose. (The confusion of 'partisan' with 'political' is a topic for later.) >>The Left is advocating a clear political idea – rule by professional experts – and not just saying “my clique ought to be running things”. They just can’t say what they mean in plain English, even to themselves, because the political idea they’re arguing for is about as popular as influenza or the common cold.<< I take your point. David Brooks and people like him think they know better what is good for the rubes of flyover country. And this despite the fact that Brooks and his ilk embrace absurdities, e.g., that biological males would be allowed to compete in women's sporting events. The problem is not primamrily that this is an 80-20 or 90-10 issue, but that it is indeed a metaphysical and moral absurdity.

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  8. Joe Odegaard Avatar
    Joe Odegaard

    Hi Bro Bill
    Brother Inky remarked to me, not long ago, that he was in communication with a legal-type, who said that he thought the breach of Article IV, Section 4, by certain states like California and New York, was “actionable.” Perhaps Brother Inky can point us further in that direction.
    — Bro Catacomb.

    Reply
  9. Joe Odegaard Avatar
    Joe Odegaard

    Democrats thin khat paper ballots destroy “democracy.”
    Link:
    https://www.breitbart.com/pre-viral/2025/08/19/transgender-democrat-rep-sarah-mcbride-accuses-president-trump-all-out-assault-american-democracy/

    Reply
  10. Michael Brazier Avatar
    Michael Brazier

    “But I think the CPUSA may have come close to being outlawed in the ’50s.”
    If so, it would’ve been on the grounds that the CPUSA were in fact unregistered agents of a foreign power, and conspiring to overthrow the USA’s government. Regrettably, those grounds don’t apply to the modern Democrats – they have fellow travelers in other countries, but they’re wholly native in origin and backing; and bad as they are, they’re not actually trying to overthrow the government, not while they still run most of it.

    Reply
  11. BV Avatar
    BV

    Michael,
    Good comment. My point was not that the Dems should be outlawed because they are unregistered agents of a foreign power. They should be outlawed because they reject America’s founding principles and values.
    There is a sense in which the Dems ARE trying to overthrow the gov’t: they are trying to fundamentally transform it, in Obama’s phrase. They oppose limited gov’t, free markets, and many of the rights protected by the Constitution and its amendments, e.g., 2A rights.

    Reply
  12. BV Avatar
    BV

    Bro Joe,
    Thanks for the link where we read:
    >>Democrat Rep. Sarah McBride (D-DE), a man who identifies as a woman, claimed President Trump is waging an “all-out assault” against “American democracy” because he wants to get rid of mail-in ballots and voting machines.<< This is febrile Orwellian mendacity of the first magnitude. Mail-in ballots (except in special cases such as American servicemen abroad) and voting machines aid and abet voter fraud, and are a big part of the Left's "all-out assault" on our democratic republic. So, contrary to what Brazier says, the Dems are trying to overthrow the gov't as she was founded to be.

    Reply
  13. Joe Odegaard Avatar
    Joe Odegaard

    This article, referencing Lincoln, and the Civil War, shows the danger we face now:
    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/08/mr-president-look-lincoln-act-arrests-tribunals-war/

    Reply
  14. Joe Odegaard Avatar
    Joe Odegaard

    The Chairman of the Democratic Party National. Committee make the following statement:
    “Yes, you have a fascist in the White House, and that requires us — we cannot be the only one playing by the rules with a hand tied behind our backs. That old playbook, the norms that used to have guardrails on our democracy and protect all of us in this country, that doesn’t exist anymore. We’ve got to throw that playbook out the window because the Republicans have. We cannot be the only party that’s playing by the rules anymore. That’s why I said this isn’t your grandfather’s Democratic Party, where you bring a pencil to a knife fight. We are bringing a bazooka to a knife fight.”
    Link:
    https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2025/08/19/dnc-chair-shut-down-government-over-guard-in-d-c-dems-shouldnt-play-by-rules-anymore/
    Brother Bills’ question: “Another question that really ought to be publicly discussed is whether the Democrat Part in its current depredatory and destructive form should be outlawed,”
    Is hereby shown to be quite pertinent.

    Reply
  15. Joe Odegaard Avatar
    Joe Odegaard

    Here is the Left calling people “untermenschen.” (sp) This stuff is not to be ignored.
    Link
    https://www.breitbart.com/entertainment/2025/08/20/comedian-dave-foley-rants-about-maga-sub-breed-with-cnn-host-michael-ian-black-trump-supporters-hate-whoever-theyre-told-to-hate-and-support-fascism/

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  16. BV Avatar
    BV

    On the upside, your governor the noisome Newsom is digging his own political grave.

    Reply

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