Opinion : Letter to the Editor: A Republic . . . if you can keep it . . .

Dear Editor,

Election season again and the typical words flying around about saving the Democracy. I'm sure they're heartfelt - but terribly misplaced. We do not now, nor have we ever, had a Democracy. We are a Constitutional Republic. And it is that fact that has enabled our nation to endure for the past 248 years. Let me say a few words on what it means to be a Constitutional Republic and then a few more on how our political parties decide and proclaim what they stand for are and wish to enact if elected.

A Republic is - a government in which supreme power resides in a body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by elected officers and representatives responsible to them and governing according to law (Merriam-Webster Dictionary).

Our Republic is guided by the Constitution. While it outlines our form of government and the duties and responsibilities of each different segment to me the most important are the "Bill of Rights" - in particularly the First Amendment - freedom of speak our minds, Second Amendment - right to defend ourselves against a tyrannical government and the Tenth Amendment that states - "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." - meaning that the government is constrained in their actions and can only do what is explicitly listed in the Constitution and that THE PEOPLE are in control of the country, not those that sit in Washington DC.

To facilitate the voice of the people, our nation is divided into 50 states and each state is divided into smaller geographic regions called counties. Within those counties the people represent their individual positions through the participation in political parties. Your individual voice is as large as you choose to make it, up to and including become a Supervisor, Councilman, Mayor, Governor, State Representative or Senator, US Representative, US Senator or even the President of the United States. But it begins with the County and your parties' goals and desires for their constituents. This is the beauty of our system, its power and its strength. And it's the core strength of the individual citizen working through like-minded people.

Much has been made of the Heritage Foundations working document called Project 2025 . . . all 900+ pages of it. There are some determined to hang this boat anchor around the neck of Donald Trump and the Republican party. Sadly, for them, all have disavowed this particular behemoth of verbal diarrhea. Here's a clue . . . if you cannot clearly and concisely explain your position in a single page - don't bother printing it because NO ONE is going to read and digest a 900+ page document. And if you cannot be clear enough to state your major goals in a single page - you will never muster the support needed to get them passed.

This is the beauty of County party conventions. County party delegates come together to hammer out what is important to their constituents in their county, and they hammer out a county platform that details them concerns and desires. Here the idea that is clear and simple will win the day. The state convention then takes all the county platforms and molds them into a Party Platform for the state. States then meet in a National convention and mold all these platforms into a single Party Platform that began in small towns across America and this year will end with Platforms being written in Milwaukee and Chicago. For the Republicans, this has been done. You can find it here . . . Republican_Party_Platform_2024.pdf (ballotpedia.s3.amazonaws.com) . Twenty Specific goals are defined - from securing our borders to bringing unity to our nation. They take up a single page. These are expanded on with methods to accomplish them with an additional 15 pages being added. 16 Pages - NOT 900+. That is what Candidate Trump and the Republican Party have signed their name to. That is what you should read and see if they fit with your individual goals and ideals or not.

When I search for the Democrats 2024 Platform I am greeted with a page filled with promises . . . DNC Releases 2024 Party Platform Draft, Outlining Historic Record and Bold Agenda for President Biden and Vice President Harris to Finish the Job - Democrats

Yet, when I follow the link to the actual platform (Where We Stand at the top of the page), I am greeted with a 91-page document entitled "2020 Democratic Party Platform". Well, President Biden is moving a bit slow of late, I'm sure the platform will catch up in Chicago next month.

The advantage to this approach to governance is that it IS NOT EASY, IT IS NOT FAST! And that was the goal of the founders, to slow the process down and make it deliberate enough to ensure each citizen that wishes to participate in their governance - can.

Democracies have been called "Tyrannies of the Majority". And our individual states have been called "Laboratories of Democracy". Meaning that individual states can experiment, within the confines of their borders and within the guidelines of the Constitution, on how they want themselves to be governed. We, as fellow states, can then observe, take a look at how their decisions worked for them and then choose to follow suit or not. In today's America we seem to have settled into "Red States" - meaning primarily Republican and conservative majorities and "Blue States" - meaning primarily leftist and Democrat majorities. Some generalities have bubbled out of observing Blue states. Taxes are higher, crime in their major cities - think NYC, Chicago, Portland, LA, San Francisco to name a few - is simply off the chart. Police forces are being "reimagined" and their citizens and corporations are fleeing to the safety of "Red States". The value to the country of this process is that we can observe this Red and Blue experiment to see which serves our nation better. For me, the answer is obvious.

Our nation is a marvel. The fact that you can have as loud or soft a voice as you choose is unique. And that we freely allow multiple experiments in governance to be conducted in tandem is unique on the planet.

This coming November 5th, you will choose the next State Representatives and Senators. You will choose the next Congressional Representatives and Senators to represent Iowa in our nation's Capital. And you will choose the next President of the United States to lead our nation. Your vote helps determine who represents us, what their platform will be and who will lead the nation and our Constitutional Republic. Find out what each party has signed their name to, do your best to ignore the propaganda of the parties and focus on the individual Party's leadership's written word and the actual choices the parties have made in the past, and then make your choice come November 5th.

Cause that's how our Republic works!

Bill Keller