"Democrat" as adjective started with Joe McCarthy

[mothra1orbit]

http://www.pensitoreview.com/2007/01/31/mccarthyism-useage-of-democrat-party-was-popularized-by-joe-mccarthy/

Thank you, TonyPDX.

[still_one]

1. Anyone who utilizes that phraseology continuously in a dialog knows exactly

what they are doing, since it is readily pointed out to them that we are the DEMOCRATIC party, and if they refuse to accept that, then they are completely disingenuous

[ananda]

2. Well if they say Democrat for Democratic, then...

... by logic, they have to say "Republic" for Republican.

[still_one]

3. True, though I have a much better acronym for the republican party

[NurseJackie]

5. And those who argue it's "no big deal" also know exactly what they are doing. And...

... it's not just being contrary for its own sake. There's something else going on. I'll just leave it at that.

[still_one]

7. As usual Jackie, you hit the nail on the head

[3catwoman3]

4. Reason enough...

...to eschew its use.

[Cyrano]

8. They've turned "liberal" into a dirty word. Now trying same with "Democrat"

[Jim Lane]

9. No, it started well before McCarthy

There are instances from the nineteenth century, according to the Wikipedia account of the history of the usage. At that time it seems to have been more of a casual mistake. It later became deliberate:

William Safire studied the partisan use of "Democrat Party" as epithet since the 1940 presidential campaign of Republican Wendell Willkie. Minnesota Governor Harold Stassen, Willkie's campaign manager, explained to Safire his motivation for using the term: Stassen said that because the Democratic Party was at that time partly controlled by undemocratic city bosses—"by Hague in New Jersey, Pendergast in Missouri and Kelly-Nash in Chicago, [it] should not be called a 'Democratic Party.' It should be called the 'Democrat Party.'"[16]
. . . .
In 1996, the wording throughout the Republican party platform was changed from "Democratic Party" to "Democrat Party": Republican leaders "explained they wanted to make the subtle point that the Democratic Party had become elitist".[19]

To be fair to the Rethuglicans -- uh, pardon me, the Republicans -- it should be noted that some within their ranks have dissented. For example, in 1984 Jack Kemp said that using the phrase in the GOP platform would be "an insult to our Democratic friends" and the proposal was dropped.

There actually is a Democrat Party -- in Thailand. So when Republicans think they can't discuss issues without invoking some foreign country, you have to ask: Why do they hate America?