My friend Anne sent me a link to a Wall Street Journal article by Peggy Noonan entitled “A Republic, Not a Mood.” Noonan quotes Ronald Reagan late in his presidency: “You don’t become president of the United States. You are given temporary custody of an institution called the presidency which belongs to our people.” He said he thought the presidency was “a sacred trust.”
Noonan points out that Trump governs by his “moods.” The weightiest decisions depend on the President’s mood, how he feels personally at any given time, and people around him try to anticipate those moods.
Noonan explains that we live in a “democratic republic,” and both words are essential. Democratic is the adjective; republic is the noun. “In a democratic republic the people choose [their] representatives through elections with broad suffrage. The republic brings with it constitutional limits, separations of power.”
Trump, of course, understands none of this. Nor do his followers. In a recent poll over 90% favor the war against Iran. Note–these are not Republicans; these are MAGA. MAGA is a cult made up of people who have no idea what a “democratic republic” involves. Many of them are in Congress. One of them is my Congressman, Ryan Mackenzie.
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