Oh, holy shit: 2.25M votes, now!

[ProfessorPlum]

43. are you talking about federalism? Because "states" have nothing to do with the word republic

I point you to

re·pub·lic
rəˈpəblik/
noun
a state in which supreme power is held by the people and their elected representatives, and which has an elected or nominated president rather than a monarch.
archaic

and also

https://www.1215.org/lawnotes/lawnotes/repvsdem.htm

which points out that

A republic and a democracy are identical in every aspect except one. In a republic the sovereignty is in each individual person. In a democracy the sovereignty is in the group.

Republic. That form of government in which the powers of sovereignty are vested in the people and are exercised by the people, either directly, or through representatives chosen by the people, to whome those powers are specially delegated. [NOTE: The word "people" may be either plural or singular. In a republic the group only has advisory powers; the sovereign individual is free to reject the majority group-think. USA/exception: if 100% of a jury convicts, then the individual loses sovereignty and is subject to group-think as in a democracy.]

Democracy. That form of government in which the sovereign power resides in and is exercised by the whole body of free citizens directly or indirectly through a system of representation, as distinguished from a monarchy, aristocracy, or oligarchy. [NOTE: In a pure democracy, 51% beats 49%. In other words, the minority has no rights. The minority only has those privileges granted by the dictatorship of the majority.]

so, the difference is really about power being vested in individual people, or "the people" as a whole, not whether states have power and how much power they have. Each state in our system is also a republic.

As to your claim about the EC and cities getting all the attention, I point you to this excellent video:

Please watch that, and then join me in working to abolish the Electoral College. It is an anti-democratic stain on our country.