Republic vs. democracy

A quote by V. I. Lenin:

"Democracy is indispensable to socialism"

And "A Communist is a socialist with your gun."

A quote from the book "TRAGEDY AND HOPE"
by Carroll Quigley on page 1247:

"The chief problem of American political life for a long time has been how to make the two Congressional parties more national and international.  The argument that the two parties should represent opposed ideals and policies, one, perhaps, of the Right and the other of the Left, is a foolish idea acceptable only to doctrinaire and academic thinkers. Instead, the two parties should be almost identical, so that the American people can "throw the rascals out" at any election without leading to any profound or extensive shift in policy...."