‘Democracy Isn’t the Objective’: Republican US Senator Draws Democrats’ Ire
Republican U.S. Senator Mike Lee came under fire from Democrats on Thursday for tweeting “democracy isn’t the objective” after the debate between Vice President Mike Pence and Democratic vice presidential candidate…
Republican U.S. Senator Mike lee came under fire from Democrats on Thursday for tweeting “democracy isn’t the objective” after the debate between Vice President Mike Pence and Democratic vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
Prominent Democrats called his Twitter post a sign of creeping authoritarian tendencies in President Donald Trump’s party. It was not immediately clear what prompted the tweet.
Lee, a conservative who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee and has tested positive for COVID-19, tweeted several times during the vice presidential debate at the University of Utah after welcoming Pence and Harris to his home state.
“We’re not a democracy,” Lee tweeted at one point. Then, in the early hours of Thursday, came a longer message that drew the most criticism: “Democracy isn’t the objective; liberty, peace, and prospefity (sic) are. We want the human condition to flourish. Rank democracy can thwart that.”
Democrats quickly tied Lee’s remarks to the November election, in which Republicans are in danger of losing their U.S. Senate majority as well as the White House.
“Dear @SenMikeLee: I note that you were elected by the people of your state. America is a representative democracy. That means we are also a democracy,” Democratic Representative Ted Lieu replied on Twitter.
“But I sure hope you can get the @GOP to adopt your view as a campaign slogan. It’s a real winner,” he added.
Neera Tanden, a former Obama administration official who advised Democrat Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign, tweeted: “Mike lee coming out against democracy. If this isn’t a warning about authoritarianism, I don’t know what is.”