A constitutional republic is a form of representative democracy. You do not understand because you misunderstand.

A constitutional republic is where the people delegate certain powers, enumerated in a constitution, to the government. The Constitution of the United States defines three branches of government, the Legislative, Judicial and Executive. Ideally each branch serves to check the unrestrained power of the other branches (or two branches check the unrestrained power of the third.) That's what makes the revelations about mass logging of emails by the NSA, part of the Executive branch, so important.

> A constitutional republic is a form of representative democracy.

This is not generally true in the abstract, but the specific form of most Constitutional republics, including the US, is basically representative democracy, though sometimes (as in the US) with skewed voting power, and democratic values (coupled with fear of the volatility and excesses of direct or unconstrained democracy) was fairly central to the founding ideology of the United States.

No part of the US federal government is representative at this point. The Senate isn't by design, the house isn't because it's been capped, the presidency isn't by design.

" A constitutional republic is a form of representative democracy. "

Read this over and over until you believe you can simply change the meaning of words

I've found that people who attempt to make this argument have an agenda. Here is an article that references several founders using both terms.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/201...

The difference I see.

All democratic governments today allow decisions to be made even over the dissent of a minority of voters.

Whereas the (Republic) Constitution and the Bill of Rights protect (or are supposed to protect) the individual rights.

The individual being the smallest minority.

This is the difference I see. It is a small difference with a huge impact.

John Locke

[Civic power] can have no right except as this is derived from the individual right of each man to protect himself and his property. The legislative and executive power used by government to protect property is nothing except the natural power of each man resigned into the hands of the community…and it is justified merely because it is a better way of protecting natural right than the self-help to which each man is naturally entitled.[1]:532

Because a democracy and a republic are not mutually exclusive, unless you are talking about direct democracy specifically.

China is a republic but not a democracy. Canada is a democracy and not a republic.