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Letters to the Editor

U.S. a republic, not a democracy

An American Flag blows in the breeze as veterans share stories around pieces of machinery used in combat as local veterans and supporters of the military gathered Wednesday at the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.
An American Flag blows in the breeze as veterans share stories around pieces of machinery used in combat as local veterans and supporters of the military gathered Wednesday at the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Zack Wittman zwittman@bradenton.com

The latest in the litany of letters calling for the abolishment of the Electoral College is from Steve Scott of Sarasota (Letters, “Elect president by popular vote,” Dec. 29). Multiple times, Mr. Scott refers to our system of government as a democracy and states “this is not how a democracy should work.”

Mr. Scott is correct, that is not how things work in a pure democracy, but we are not a democracy, we are a republic! If Mr. Scott would take a moment to recite our “Pledge of Allegiance,” the first line would explain it: “... and to the REPUBLIC for which it stands”!

Tom Durante

Bradenton

This story was originally published December 31, 2016 at 3:45 AM with the headline "U.S. a republic, not a democracy."

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