Schiff on GOP Lawmaker’s Claim ‘We’re Not a Democracy’: ‘That’s Music To Putin’s Ears’

After a top Republican lawmaker suggested the United States is “not a democracy,” he received push back from Democrats.

Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) claimed in a tweet this week, “We’re not a democracy,” following the vice-presidential debate. He also tweeted, “Democracy isn’t the objective; liberty, peace, and prospefity are. We want the human condition to flourish. Rank democracy can thwart that.”

During Friday’s interview on “Real Time with 👤Bill Maher,” the host 👤Bill Maher pointed to Lee’s remarks and noted, “The Founding Fathers were afraid of direct democracy, that is true. But for a senator saying we’re not a democracy, it’s not the objective, that’s pretty dangerous talk, especially at this moment with this president.”

“Absolutely, absolutely,” Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) responded, adding, “It’s all the more astonishing because we see around the world a real challenge to democracy.”

Schiff added, “So to have a Republican senator say, “Yeah, you know, rank democracy isn’t such a good thing,’ that’s music to Putin’s ears, I’m sure. But in terms of the attacks on our own institutions… those kind of comments are just dangerous.”

Watch Schiff’s interview below:

Maher also noted that he believes the U.S. Constitution “needs a page one rewrite.” Schiff later added, “Who would you trust to draft a new Constitution, Mike Lee, Mitch McConnell, any of those jokers? I certainly wouldn’t.”

“I don’t have any confidence frankly that we could improve upon the work product of the Framers with the crowd that we have today, so I like it in theory but I think we’re better off focusing on discrete amendments to the Constitution,” Schiff added.

Schiff was not the only Democratic lawmaker to respond to Lee’s comments. Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) previously tweeted, “I note that you were elected by the people of your state. America is a representative democracy. That means we are also a democracy.”

Lee explained his tweets to the Washington Examiner, “I get why people use the term. I also understand why a lot of people would think of it as either a non-issue or not something to be concerned about, but as I think about it, I think it’s a big deal, because in many ways, the whole idea of having a constitution itself, particularly a constitution that establishes a constitutional republic like ours, is materially different and distinct from a democracy.”

He also said, “In a democracy, when society decides, ‘Hey, let’s have a national church. Everybody has to go to that church.’ If you’ve got a majority for that, it’s gonna be the law. In a constitutional republic like ours, it operates according to elections, and in that respect … you have democratic forces at play. But to think of it as a democracy, and to refer to it obsessively as ‘our democracy’ sends the wrong message.”