How to Kill a Republic

You don’t kill a republic by storming its gates. You kill it from within—slowly, confidently and always in the name of saving it. In "How To Kill a Republic," David Harsanyi delivers searing examinations of the most urgent political and cultural breakdowns of our time. Drawing from over two decades of experience in the realm of political commentary, he exposes how those who claim to be defenders of democracy are often its most effective saboteurs. In this collection of columns dating back to 2022, Harsanyi charts how the foundations of the American republic are being eroded by a political class eager to control speech, redefine constitutional norms and smother dissent in the name of “progress.” He dissects how the left’s obsession with moral authority has turned cultural debates—on abortion, gender identity, climate change—into tests of loyalty rather than subjects for deliberation. Never swayed by party lines, Harsanyi calls out Democrats for their growing authoritarian reflexes but also skewers Republicans who have traded their beliefs for political gain. Through it all, he exerts his unapologetic commitment to the founding ideals of the American experiment: limited government, individual liberty and objective truth.