"From the gut (and the heart)" Editorials by Paul Olivier  DEMOCRATS VERSUS DEMOCRATIC.  While the question: "why are there democrats and republicans?" finds its answers in the American history, it can also be viewed at the present. For example, the statement of Hillary, that she would support changing of the electoral college provisions in the Constitution, the claim by Algore of having received the popular majority, Lieberman's denial that the elected legislature of Florida would have the right to chose the electors for Florida for the presidency and that that would be a Constitutional crisis, are some of the clear examples that in the view of the democratic upper echelon that the US Constitution is flawed. The common ignorance of laws in general and complicated historical jurisprudence concerning the US and States constitutions invites the Democrat demagogues to ever bolder distortions, if not conscience lies. We could the last days have learned a lot from the experts about the provisions of the Constitution and the relative independence of the State constitutions from the Federal Constitution. That is if one listens with an open mind. Can we expect this from the general public? I suggest we have reason to doubt that. This is where the democrats are always ready to make use of, to promote their idea in the mind of the lesser educated, that the US is a "democracy". (Would that be a reason to continue poor public education?) And who would deny that the US is a democracy? It is however a much better constructed political system put together by conscientious people with foresight, for God fearing people as the people at that time of the Framers were. What they constructed was and is a federation of states into a republic, according democratic methods making decisions on local level to be represented on stepped up, successive levels of  government, to finally completing this chain on Federal level, while people still can feel as being one people. It preserves  local, relative autonomy, for States, Counties, Municipalities and other smaller entities, such as Boroughs, School boards down to family units. This is the way the people from the grassroots level up govern themselves through their representatives. If, as Democrats would like, the steps in between would be eliminated the representation for the minorities would be totally subjugated to the centralized power of the "popular majority" and any local preferences would be impossible, because of the non differentiating legislating power of power hungry manipulating politicians as is already to be observed in past and particular in the present. This is why Democratic politicians as Hillary, Gore and so many others, promoting abolishing the electoral college and/or supporting the "popular vote" concept. Both and either these factors would get the Democrats in power forever. This is why those who contend for the leadership of the Democrats are a danger to Democracy and the United States Republic. Paul Olivier, 12/03/2000 Email CLEAR-INFO Your Comments