The troubling case of Sen. Mike Lee v. Democracy


When Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) said "we're not a democracy," he really meant it.
CNN reported on Friday that Lee worked in 2020 to overturn President Biden's election by having GOP-led state legislatures in a few key swing states approve "alternate" slates of electors — to compete with the Biden electors those states' voters had approved — in order to throw the presidency back to Donald Trump. Lee ultimately voted to certify Biden's election, but that was long after he texted White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, urging Trump to keep fighting for a lost cause.
"If a very small handful of states were to have their legislatures appoint alternative slates of delegates, there could be a path," Lee texted Meadows on Dec. 8, 2020. He continued to make that case in texts leading up to the cusp of the Jan. 6 insurrection — and even told Meadows he had personally called state legislators — cloaking it all, of course, in the drapery of Constitutional fidelity.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"I know only that this will end badly for the president unless we have the Constitution on our side," Lee wrote on Jan. 3. "And unless these states submit new slates of Trump electors pursuant to state law, we do not."
It did end badly, as we now know.
Lee's newly revealed exhortations are unsurprising. Just a month before the election, the senator sparked controversy with a simple, declarative tweet:
"Power is not found in mere majorities, but in carefully balanced power," Lee later wrote. In fact, "we're a republic, not a democracy" is an old saw among conservatives, not just a Trump-era rationalization. From a strictly technical point of view, it's even correct. American citizens don't directly gather in community buildings to hash out political decisions, and not every policy our government pursues is approved by plebiscite.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
But (and it feels ridiculous to have to explain something so obvious) the United States is, or has been, a republic with democratic characteristics. Voters pick their leaders to do the work of governance. Majorities don't have untrammeled power, but they do have a pretty big say. That's why many Americans use "democracy" as a shorthand to describe our system.
In that context — and in view of Trump's entirely foreseeable refusal to abide by the 2020 election results — Lee's tweet seemed at the time less a true statement of political fact and more like a threat. His proposal would have replaced the will of state and national electorates with the judgment of a few GOP-gerrymandered state legislatures.
From his texts to Meadows, it's clear the senator would have portrayed such an act as a continuation of Constitutional practices. In truth, such a change would've been a radical, revolutionary departure from America's electoral traditions. Lee knows that. Which means that when he said "we're not a democracy," all he really meant was that Democratic presidential victories shouldn't count.
Joel Mathis is a writer with 30 years of newspaper and online journalism experience. His work also regularly appears in National Geographic and The Kansas City Star. His awards include best online commentary at the Online News Association and (twice) at the City and Regional Magazine Association.
-
August 10 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons include a global plastics problem, GOP enthusiasm over tariffs, and more
-
5 thin-skinned cartoons about shooting the messenger
Cartoons Artists take on unfavorable weather, a look in the mirror, and more
-
Is Trump's new peacemaking model working in DR Congo?
Talking Point Truce brokered by the US president in June is holding, but foundations of a long-term peace have let to be laid
-
What does occupying Gaza accomplish for Israel?
Talking Points Risking a 'strategic dead-end' in the fight against Hamas
-
Ghislaine Maxwell: angling for a Trump pardon
Talking Point Convicted sex trafficker's testimony could shed new light on president's links to Jeffrey Epstein
-
Does depopulation threaten humanity?
Talking Points Falling birth rates could create a 'smaller, sadder, poorer future'
-
Gavin Newsom mulls California redistricting to counter Texas gerrymandering
TALKING POINTS A controversial plan has become a major flashpoint among Democrats struggling for traction in the Trump era
-
The Supreme Court and Congress have Planned Parenthood in their crosshairs
Talking Points Trump's budget bill and the court's ruling threaten abortion access
-
The last words and final moments of 40 presidents
The Explainer Some are eloquent quotes worthy of the holders of the highest office in the nation, and others... aren't
-
Controversial GOP plan to sell millions of federal acres hits major roadblock
IN THE SPOTLIGHT Republican Sen. Mike Lee says he'll revisit legislation to sell millions of acres of federally held land to create 'freedom zones' of single family homes
-
How Zohran Mamdani's NYC mayoral run will change the Democratic Party
Talking Points The candidate poses a challenge to the party's 'dinosaur wing'