To: pocotrader who wrote (1267553 ) 10/8/2020 2:55:05 PM From: pocotrader Read Replies (3) | Respond to of 1575653 Republican senator says 'democracy isn't the objective' of US system Mike Lee makes inflammatory declaration in morning tweet Lee claimed US ‘is not a democracy’ during Wednesday debate A top Republican senator has said that “democracy isn’t the objective” of America’s political system, sparking widespread outrage at a time when his party has been accused by Democrats of plotting voter suppression and questioning a peaceful transition of power in November’s election. The Utah senator Mike Lee made the inflammatory declaration in an early morning tweet following Wednesday’s vice-presidential debate. “Democracy isn’t the objective; liberty, peace, and prospefity are. We want the human condition to flourish. Rank democracy can thwart that,” he wrote , misspelling prosperity. It followed a series of tweets he made during the debate between Mike Pence and Kamala Harris in which Lee claimed “We’re not a democracy” and questioned its role in US government. Lee, who is among a swath of Republicans who recently tested positive for coronavirus, wrote : ‘The word “democracy” appears nowhere in the Constitution, perhaps because our form of government is not a democracy. It’s a constitutional republic. To me it matters. It should matter to anyone who worries about the excessive accumulation of power in the hands of the few.’ He added : “Government is the official use of coercive force–nothing more and nothing less. The Constitution protects us by limiting the use of government force.” His democracy tweet immediately prompted alarm, including from a number of former government officials. Frank Figliuzzi, former FBI assistant director, tweeted : “‘Democracy isn’t the objective’. Our suspicions are confirmed.” Walter Shaub, former director of the US office of government ethics, said : “People of my grandfather’s generation knew what to do about fascists. Now a member of Congress is urging us to join them. I wonder what made you hate America so much.”