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i will let James Madison make the point by showing you from the federalist 10
The other point of difference is, the greater number of citizens and extent of territory which may be brought within the compass of republican than of democratic government; and it is this circumstance principally which renders factious combinations less to be dreaded in the former than in the latter.
Madison says that if we have a republican form of government, then our government will have less factious combinations [special interest groups who control government]to deal with.
BUT if our government is democratic in its FORM, then these factious combinations will be dreaded,[ feared], because they cease control of the the government.
by having the 17th we have moved away from a republican form of government to a more democratic form of government, and allowed factious conditions [special interests] to enter it and take control.
by removing the 17th, we return to a republican form and make it very difficult for factions[special interest] to control the federal government
What is it that you think is so different between a "republic" and a "democracy". And, stop repeating what Madison said more than 200 years ago that is highly irrelevant today. The "Americans" of which he was a member (very uneducated) are not the Americans of today. We have evolved. (I hope.)
Here's some help:
*Democracy - government by the people; a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system.
*Republic - a state/nation in which the supreme power rests in the body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by representatives chosen directly or indirectly by them.
There is very little difference in the above two definitions, and they certainly do not contradict one another.
Moreover, I have great respect for ALL the founding fathers, who put their lives on the line. (With a particular penchant for Jefferson.)
But, people like you carry them as baggage and bring them out whenever one trifles with the present system of governance in the US, which needs serious change. (Particularly as regards the Electoral College and gerrymandering being outlawed.)
It must be updated to keep up with the times. Thinking back more than two-hundred years when confronted with present problems is always wise but never foolproof in terms of changes that inevitably must be made for a country to move on.
To cope with the future, we need to foresee/understand that future. And it is certainly not in the distant past that we will find much relevance ...
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