A republic and a democracy are identical in every aspect except one. In a republic the sovereignty is in each individual person. In a democracy the sovereignty is in the group.
We are in theory a republic, but that is not always the case. I agree that the distinction gets blurry in actual practice.
It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion. It is by the beans of Java that thoughts acquire speed, the hands acquire shakes, the shakes become a warning.
-Kujako-
"Laws should be made of iron, not of pudding."
“A good act does not wash out the bad, nor a bad act the good. Each should have its own reward.”
- King Stannis Baratheon
To highlight the difference another way, Obama was elected President today. While we the people voted last year, the REAL election (by the electoral college) was held today. Seems they voted the way we asked them to however.
It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion. It is by the beans of Java that thoughts acquire speed, the hands acquire shakes, the shakes become a warning.
-Kujako-
A major problem with a democracy and our republic is that eventually the people discover they can vote themselves free stuff by taking it from others or from future generations with debt. The other problem is that the majority can force their ideology upon the minority, meaning they can tell people what they can and can not do whether those actions harm others or not. Sadly, both of these scenarios have come to pass with a vengeance, just as many founders predicted they would.
It is obviously an idiocracy.
Democracy is just a buzzword they use to make people think they actually have power anymore.
I like sandwiches
They're a necessary aspect of any social system whatsoever, really.. our ancestors had been banding together out of common interest (survival) for long before the human race even came into being. Political parties or no, people with a common goal will pool their efforts to achieve said goal. Forming a party is merely a way to organize and fund their efforts.
The power of an incumbent? I fail to see how a single incumbent has a great deal more political power than any other congressman. The primary problem with a lack of term limits is the focus that congressmen put on appeasing special interests groups and the majority, as well as diverting time and energy to fundraising and political campaigns, as opposed to doing their job and running the country as an impartial representative of the people.