> Not to mention that the United States _is not_ a democracy and never has been: it is a representative republic and that is an extremely important distinction.

> Not to mention that the United States _is not_ a democracy and never has been: it is a representative republic and that is an extremely important distinction. That's not an important distinction - it's misguided pedantry. The US is a republic and a (representative) democracy. Those terms are not mutually exclusive.