Republic. Next stupid question?
Actually with the passage of the Seventeenth Amendment, we became a democracy. We are no longer a republic due to the fact that the 17th Amendment shifted the election of senators directly to the population much like the house, and it moved the powers away from state capitals as a check and balance on a large Federal bureaucracy. We essentially have very strong political parties and power Brokers that control all of what goes on in the government with the state capitals being effectively removed from the conversation. Lobbyists party Chiefs and big money run Washington DC as a result of the 17th Amendment. And it’s fueled by the 16th Amendment
Prior to the passage of the 17th Amendment who your governor was your local house rep in your local state center mattered every 6 years because they voted on your behalf and recommended an individual from your state serve in the senate in Washington DC. Our founding fathers knew that political parties would have way too much influence in Washington DC. Time to repeal those amendments to get our Republic back till then we have a democracy. And historically democracies Never End very well for the citizens. Take a look at the French Revolution