"Sometime, over 200 years ago, some folks here in America created a democracy at the barrel of a gun."
Actually we created a Republic. No offense intended. Tis a shame that fact is lost on 98% of Americans.
Natch, none taken. For those that know this fact quite well, its just convenient to use the same terms used by the 98%, especially in this case, when its the wordage used by my sinator (yep, i'm a baystater).