Republic faced with grave threat

During the constitutional debate of 1787-89, there was a consensus as to three criteria of republicanism. The lack of any would render a government nonrepublican.

The first of these criteria was popular rule, broadly understood. The Founding Fathers believed that for government to be republican, political decisions had to be made by a majority (or in some cases a plurality of voting citizens). The citizenry might act either directly or through elected representatives. Either way, republican government was accountable to the citizenry.

The second required element was that there be no monarch. The participants of the constitutional debates believed that even constitutional monarchy was inconsistent with republican government.

The third criteria was the rule of law, a concept deemed fundamental to a free state.

If any of the criteria are violated or marginalized, our republic will crash and burn. Here are just a few of the violations of the third and fundamentally required criteria of a republic:

• open borders and sanctuary cities that allowing illegal individuals to avoid the law

• acts of sedition, or attempting to overthrow the president or government of the United States.

• congressmen and senators accepting “dark money” from organizations or persons that advocate the overthrow of our republic.

As a republic, we are reaching a point of no return. We are either a republic of law or we will be ruled without law, which is chaos.