‘A republic, if you can keep it.” Benjamin Franklin’s 1787 quip about the government Americans would have is probably the most popular Founding-era wisdom still with us. Maybe not for long. As if to prove Franklin’s insight about the tendency of republics to self-destruct, a District of Columbia panel has identified Franklin, among other Founders, as a “person of concern,” and recommended his name be removed from D.C. property. The astonishing proposals come from a Washington, D.C., government committee formed by Mayor Muriel...

Source: Wall Street Journal September 01, 2020 22:52 UTC