In a Gramscian move calling our Republic a Democracy and convincing people that they're the same thing was the beginning of things. There is no "semantics" in the non-violent political overthrow of a government, which is exactly what has been happening for years.
As long as nobody in the public eye recognizes the Republic that we are things won't change.
Who is Antonio Gramsci? You Better Learn!!!
Why There Is A Culture War
Gramsci and Tocqueville in America
Power, in Gramsci’s observation, is exercised by privileged groups or classes in two ways: through domination, force, or coercion; and through something called "hegemony," which means the ideological supremacy of a system of values that supports the class or group interests of the predominant classes or groups. Subordinate groups, he argued, are influenced to internalize the value systems and world views of the privileged groups and, thus, to consent to their own marginalization.
It does look like he laid out the whole game plan of the western left. The distinction between democracy and republic isn't something we think about a lot in Canada -- now I see why it matters.