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When it comes to Republicans spouting the belief that the United States is a republic, and not a democracy, itâs time to put them on mute.
Thatâs according to The New Abnormal co-host Andy Levy, who discusses the issue while delving into the RNCâs announcement last week that it, along with the Trump campaign, had filed suit against the Nevada Secretary of State for allowing mail-in ballots to be counted up to four days after the election.
âThey hate democracy, they do not want a democracy,â Levy says of the RNC. âYou hear it all the time. One of their favorite things to say is, âAmericaâs not a democracy, itâs a republic,â which is ahistoric garbage.â
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In 2020, for example, Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) scored considerable attention for posting on Twitter: âWeâre not a democracy.â In 2022, then-GOP candidate for the Arizona state legislature, Selina Bliss, said: âWe are a constitutional republic. We are not a democracy.â
Levy explains: âWe are a representative democracy. The founding fathers were quite clear on that they all believed that we were a democracy, but they [Republicans] love to say that because we donât vote directly on every issue, that instead elective representatives do that, that weâre not a democracy. And itâs garbage. The minute you hear someone say thatâand theyâre always a Republicanâthe minute you hear someone say that, you can absolutely tune them out because they are lying to you.â
Then, Ruth Ben-Ghiat, author of the book, Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present, talks about the recent Time magazine interview with Donald Trump and the rise of fascism in America.
âItâs very sobering,â Ghait says of the Time piece. âIt was an interview that allowed Trump the space to tell us exactly what the vision is and those who think that heâs just out of it or lazy or just a clown, should all read that piece because he has a very particular vision of what he wants.â
Plus! Weâre joined by author Arthur Goldwag. He tells us all about his new book, The Politics of Fear: The Peculiar Persistence of American Paranoia, which documents Americaâs long history of susceptibility to conspiracy theories.
Listen to this full episode of The New Abnormal on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon and Stitcher.