Originally posted by Brain Walrus:
Main Entry: de·moc·ra·cy
Pronunciation: \di-ˈmä-krə-sē\
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural de·moc·ra·cies
Etymology: Middle French democratie, from Late Latin democratia, from Greek dēmokratia, from dēmos + -kratia -cracy
Date: 1576
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
3capitalized : the principles and policies of the Democratic party in the United States <from emancipation Republicanism to New Deal Democracyâ?? C. M. Roberts>
4: the common people especially when constituting the source of political authority
5: the absence of hereditary or arbitrary class distinctions or privileges
It may be the best system, but it's still not a democracy is it? As long as the popular vote does not decide, then it will never be a democracy...
i might note that except for the election of president, we do live in a representative democracy, as evidenced by the U.S. Congress and state legislatures. Perhaps this definition will help you understand the basics of our form of government-
American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition - Federalism
A system of government in which power is divided between a national (federal) government and various regional governments. As defined by the United States Constitution, federalism is a fundamental aspect of American government, whereby the states are not merely regional representatives of the federal government, but are granted independent powers and responsibilities. With their own legislative branch, executive branch, and judicial branch, states are empowered to pass, enforce, and interpret laws, provided they do not violate the Constitution. This arrangement not only allows state governments to respond directly to the interests of their local populations, but also serves to check the power of the federal government. Whereas the federal government determines foreign policy, with exclusive power to make treaties, declare war, and control imports and exports, the states have exclusive power to ratify the Constitution. Most governmental responsibilities, however, are shared by state and federal governments: both levels are involved in such public policy issues as taxation, business regulation, environmental protection, and civil rights.
under said federalist system of government, power vested with the states include holding and operating elections, not the federal government. the electoral college is there to allow for each state to have a say in the election of the president, and not the population centers, which could otherwise dominate the vote.
we could go back and forth over whether the electoral college is a quaint relic of the 18th century and their concerns about a popular vote for president, but it's there, and it means every state has a vote, and that state represents the people that live there.
