First check out these definitions, from Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, of a Democracy and a Republic... (www.m-w.com)
de*moc*ra*cy
1 a : government by the people; especially : rule of the majority b : a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections
2 : a political unit that has a democratic government
3 capitalized : the principles and policies of the Democratic party in the U.S.
4 : the common people especially when constituting the source of political authority
5 : the absence of hereditary or arbitrary class distinctions or privileges
re*pub*lic
1 a (1) : a government having a chief of state who is not a monarch and who in modern times is usually a president (2) : a political unit (as a nation) having such a form of government b (1) : a government in which supreme power resides in a body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by elected officers and representatives responsible to them and governing according to law (2) : a political unit (as a nation) having such a form of government c : a usually specified republican government of a political unit <the French Fourth Republic>
2 : a body of persons freely engaged in a specified activity <the republic of letters>
3 : a constituent political and territorial unit of the former nations of Czechoslovakia, the U.S.S.R., or Yugoslavia
4 : capitalized : the principles and policies of the Republican party in the U.S.
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Now disregard the conservative and liberal labels we've given the parties mentioned above.
(Because believe it or not there is such a thing as a conservative Democrat)
A Republican, by definition, is in favor of a purely representative institution that make the decisions for the people.
A Democrat, by definition, is in favor of people alone having the power to make their own decisions. (aka freedom, liberty & choice)
Here is my question for both Democrats and Republicans.......
How can one of the major factors perceived to be Republican, downsizing the representational influence on our lives, (aka. big government), be perceived to be Republican, when a Republic relies on the constellation of a ruling body?
How can any truely Republican policy downsize the body it relies on? My answer: The policy may look like it gives power to the people, but if you look at it closely enough it's really giving the other bodies in power a bigger benefit. Politically or economically.
Look at Bush's Social Security reform, an estimated $4 billion in fees would be given to corporate america per year over the next 75 years. That's an 8.7% bonus! But since Corporations are the equivilent of a republic in the economic sector the workers would rely on the "ruling body" to "trickle" the benefits on to them. Some corporate "dictators" may even see this as an opportunity to cut jobs.
By definition, The only reason Democrats may feel the need to create plans that build a central acting body is to work towards "the absence of hereditary or arbitrary class distinctions or privileges."
If we had more corporations that acted like a democracy rather than a republic, or god forbid a dictatorship (see: WalMart), we wouldn't need community programs.
By the way, I hope you didn't miss the fact that the only examples of a Republic the definition could only come up with were three "former" nations...
Hmmm...