Sen. Mike Lee hates democracy

[Hindsight was 2020]

https://mobile.twitter.com/SenMikeLee/status/1314089207875371008
https://mobile.twitter.com/SenMikeLee/status/1314009246305079296

[25 Abril/Aprile Sempre!]

I would like to know what "rank democracy" is.

[brucejoel99]

I would like to know what "rank democracy" is.

The lower castes having enough of a say to result in the upper castes being at-risk of losing their position.

[Kevin Graham]

I would like to know what "rank democracy" is.

Sound like he for bringing back the 3/5th compromise.

[Brittain33]

Didn’t he seize his senate seat and send Bennett packing through a convention rather than a primary? That may affect his views.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

Didn’t he seize his senate seat and send Bennett packing through a convention rather than a primary? That may affect his views.

You could have just said he's a Senator.  People who think democracy is completely and always good don't like the Senate.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

I remember many Republican posters (including Never Trumpers) pulling "we're a republic, not a democracy" talking point in defense of the electoral college after 2016.

Is Wulfric managing Lee's twitter account?

[Tokugawa Sexgod Ieyasu]

Wait. Lee "worries about the excessive accumulation of power in the hands of the few", therefore he thinks America should be less democratic? How the hell does he think non-democratic systems of government work that they give less power to "the few" than democracy does?

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

Also, it's not really that surprising, given Lee is in favor of repealing the 17th Amendment.

[Beet]

I mean, this has been a John Birch Society talking point for decades, but he's not wrong. America is more like a two party oligarchy where people are given the illusion of choice from within a very narrow lens, but in a practical sense, certain things never change no matter who gets in.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

Wait. Lee "worries about the excessive accumulation of power in the hands of the few", therefore he thinks America should be less democratic? How the hell does he think non-democratic systems of government work that they give less power to "the few" than democracy does?

"The voters cannot be trusted, because it leads to the excessive accumulation of power in the hands of the few."

To be fair, that "excessive accumulation of power in the hands of the few" is an actual, serious problem poisoning the American politics, but it's not because of the people voting. It's an institutional problem.

[Tokugawa Sexgod Ieyasu]

Anyway, I avoided coming to this conclusion for a long time because I don't want to encourage myself to be an alarmist, but between this, Bill Barr's behavior as Attorney General, and some of Pence's debate answers last night, it's becoming clearer and clearer that certain elements within the GOP are deliberately laying the ideological and rhetorical groundwork for transforming America into a hybrid regime.

[The sturm und drang years]

At least Chancellor Palpatine knew how to pretend.

[Trends Are Fake]

By far the worst member of my state's congressional delegation. Every time he's in the news it serves as an embarrassment to the people who voted him in.

[afleitch]

We are at the point at which a functioning democracy has ceased to be useful for the wealthy and influential, hence the millions upon millions invested over the past few years in disinformation campaigns and online hustlers stoking fears about 'campus sjws' and the useful idiots in the mainstream press bleating on about cancel culture. All to distract people while actual democratic norms are being chipped away at.

Trump, whether he wins or loses is just the first. Be fearful of a competent demagogue.

[Calthrina950]

By far the worst member of my state's congressional delegation. Every time he's in the news it serves as an embarrassment to the people who voted him in.

Didn't Lee get into office in the first place by successfully primarying his predecessor Bob Bennett, who was regarded as a more establishment-friendly, moderate Republican?

[Stranger in a strange land]

I would like to know what "rank democracy" is.

The lower castes having enough of a say to result in the upper castes being at-risk of losing their position.

It's what Tankies refer to as "bourgeois democracy" and what fascists refer to as (((degeneracy))).

[Trends Are Fake]

By far the worst member of my state's congressional delegation. Every time he's in the news it serves as an embarrassment to the people who voted him in.

Didn't Lee get into office in the first place by successfully primarying his predecessor Bob Bennett, who was regarded as a more establishment-friendly, moderate Republican?

Didn’t he seize his senate seat and send Bennett packing through a convention rather than a primary? That may affect his views.

Slightly more complicated than either of these questions. The way the Utah GOP worked is that they have a convention vote and if no candidate gets above a certain threshold (60%?) then there's a primary. Lee got second at the convention, Bennett got 3rd, a failed house candidate (Tim Bridgewater) from years earlier got 1st. Lee won the subsequent runoff primary against Bridgewater. I believe since then, the law's been changed to allow candidates to force appearing on primary ballots via signatures (a change the state GOP has fought tooth and nail against).

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

Wait. Lee "worries about the excessive accumulation of power in the hands of the few", therefore he thinks America should be less democratic? How the hell does he think non-democratic systems of government work that they give less power to "the few" than democracy does?

Majorities have often in history voted for those who promise to concentrate power in their own hands in order to act on behalf of the majority's interests.

[Tokugawa Sexgod Ieyasu]

Wait. Lee "worries about the excessive accumulation of power in the hands of the few", therefore he thinks America should be less democratic? How the hell does he think non-democratic systems of government work that they give less power to "the few" than democracy does?

Majorities have often in history voted for those who promise to concentrate power in their own hands in order to act on behalf of the majority's interests.

Yes, but the alternative is minorities arrogating and wielding power themselves. A polity is either ruled by the majority, in which case what you're suggesting is a perennial risk, or ruled by some minority or another, in which case it's a definitionally present reality.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

Wait. Lee "worries about the excessive accumulation of power in the hands of the few", therefore he thinks America should be less democratic? How the hell does he think non-democratic systems of government work that they give less power to "the few" than democracy does?

Majorities have often in history voted for those who promise to concentrate power in their own hands in order to act on behalf of the majority's interests.

Yes, but the alternative is minorities arrogating and wielding power themselves. A polity is either ruled by the majority, in which case what you're suggesting is a perennial risk, or ruled by some minority or another, in which case it's a definitionally present reality.

The idea of the US Constitution was to allow for representing majorities and minorities alike through various mechanisms so they could balance against each other and no faction big or small could dominate completely.  People can argue whether it works, but that's the idea.

[sparkey]

Asserting that America is a constitutional republic rather than a democracy is basically just arguing that constitutional protections of rights, and restrictions on powers, take precedence over democratic majorities, which is obviously true about the United States by design. The Left should embrace this if they want any legs to stand on when arguing that abortion rights, gay marriage rights, etc. should not be put up for a vote.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

Anyway, I avoided coming to this conclusion for a long time because I don't want to encourage myself to be an alarmist, but between this, Bill Barr's behavior as Attorney General, and some of Pence's debate answers last night, it's becoming clearer and clearer that certain elements within the GOP are deliberately laying the ideological and rhetorical groundwork for transforming America into a hybrid regime.

The legacy of Lee Kuan Yew and other "giants" continues to have a poisonous effect on the world.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

Asserting that America is a constitutional republic rather than a democracy is basically just arguing that constitutional protections of rights, and restrictions on powers, take precedence over democratic majorities, which is obviously true about the United States by design. The Left should embrace this if they want any legs to stand on when arguing that abortion rights, gay marriage rights, etc. should not be put up for a vote.

Except the GOP actively works to undermine such protection of rights.

[sparkey]

Asserting that America is a constitutional republic rather than a democracy is basically just arguing that constitutional protections of rights, and restrictions on powers, take precedence over democratic majorities, which is obviously true about the United States by design. The Left should embrace this if they want any legs to stand on when arguing that abortion rights, gay marriage rights, etc. should not be put up for a vote.

Except the GOP actively works to undermine such protection of rights.

Why is that an "except..."? They do and Constitutional protections are the best tool to fight that.