Please do not use "Democrat" as an adjective on DU.

[MineralMan]

That usage was promoted by Newt Gingrich as a minimizing agitprop strategy back in the 1990s.

Democrat is a noun. Democratic is an adjective.

Democrats vote. Democratic voters vote. Democrat voters do not exist.

There is no Democrat Party. Democrat is a noun. The correct form is Democratic Party.

There are no Democrat legislators. There are Democratic legislators, Congress members and Senators. Democrat is a noun, not an adjective.

There has never been a Democrat President. There have been several Democratic Presidents.

This rule should be strictly followed by Democrats when referring to other Democrats. We need to get it right, each time and every time. Otherwise Newt Gingrich wins.

Democrat is a noun. Democratic is an adjective.

[Agnosticsherbet]

1. Very well written. I'be been fighting this for long time.

[IndianaDave]

108. So have I --

Since many - but not all - speakers use it as an insult. But regardless of their motives, it is substandard English, and should be corrected by the listener every time, to help people recognize that it is unacceptable in every situation. If people use it consistently after being corrected, I think we can assume that it's OK to change Party names to suit ourselves. For instance, I think it would be more fun to drop a letter (how about the L ?) from the term "Republican," and - considering their current leader - begin referring to them as "Repubicans," with the emphasis on "pubic." I suspect they would notice the difference pretty quickly, and might be more responsive to keeping all the letters in political party names. Just a thought.

[Hekate]

2. Thank you

[Dem2]

3. Yeah when I see Republicans or somebody talking about the Democrat Party

I think "childish moron" and switch the channel

[Ccarmona]

45. I agree

This was the doing of that dirtbag "pollster" Frank Luntz. He recommended that the Repugs use this terminology as a method to demean the status of the Democratic Party after testing it with his focus groups.

[nikto]

132. Those are not actually "Republicans" ...

Those folks are Repugs.

[RKP5637]

4. YESSSSSSSSSSSSSS! Thank you!!! Far too often I see that mistake.

[msanthrope]

9. Don't assume it's a mistake. nt

[RKP5637]

29. Good point, now I get it! Thanks! n/t

[certainot]

166. and sometimes trolls are such idiots they use the term on liberal blogs

[SFnomad]

90. That is correct, because if you correct them, some will say ...

There is nothing "democratic" in the "Democrat Party".

[tavernier]

96. Dubya delighted in doing it.

Horses ass.

[Eleanors38]

102. Not a mistake. This is MSM compliance to GOP re-labeling. First instance I saw of this...

was long ago in mid-50s newsreel footage of Joseph McCarthy using "Democrat" Party.

To be sure, the Democratic Party has to push back. It almost never does, so the re-labeling and consequential degration sticks in the voters' minds.

[RKP5637]

117. Thanks! n/t

[misterhighwasted]

5. Yup, Newt. Nothing like demeaning someone's worth by mispronouncing their name.

He knew what he was doing.

Great post. Thanks

[Ardoewaan]

6. oops

ok, will take it into account.

[BlueCaliDem]

7. Thank you, MM! eom

[freemay20]

8. Well

Their you go again, talking about they're grammer, there heads must be spinning.

[MineralMan]

12. Grammar matters. It truly does.

Newt Gingrich wants people to use Democrat as an adjective. It was part of his strategy to diminish the Democratic Party. Today, Republicans consistently use Democrat as an adjective, just for that reason.

Democrats should know better, and most do. It's a tell for people who come here to troll, quite frankly. It can be a typo, but should be corrected when called out.

We do not want to help the Republicans in their attempt to diminish our party.

[tblue37]

68. While I agree with you about the use of "Democrat" vs. "Democratic" as a way of

demeaning and needling Democrats, I have to take issue with what seems to be a sweeping insistence that if a word is a noun it cannot be used as an adjective. Nouns often do serve as adjectives, and when they do we call them nouns of attribution or attributive nouns.

Examples:

picnic table
house party
foot stool
stool pigeon
cake walk (now usually written as cakewalk)
war story
loss leader
telephone tag

I will say, though, that native speakers of English normally do recognize when a noun is being properly used as an attributive noun and when it is not. I cannot offhand think of any phrase in which "Democrat" could be properly used as an adjective. (Maybe someone else can, but I sure can't at the moment.)

As it happens, though, the Republican jerks have spread that usage so insistently, so far and wide, and for so many years that it is beginning to sound normal to non-jerk people who are not aware of its purpose.

The fact that some people on this board who are not actually trolls nevertheless use the "Democrat Party/voter" formulation just shows how effective the GOP's relentless propaganda efforts are.

[Maraya1969]

83. I try and point out their poor grasp on the English language when I see someone purposely do this

[certainot]

170. unfortunately it will be used by half the country and many in the media

until dems and liberals stop giving the 1200 radio stations that say it all day a free speech free ride.

[Blanks]

183. I'm not sure I agree that it's a tell...

I grew up in Idaho, and lived in Kansas for quite a long time. People write the way the people around them talk. I've been told a time or two (around here) that it is 'the democratic party'.

The thing is the word democratic has a meaning, it is a type of system. Sure, a follow on definition mentions the party, and it is in standard usage that way too, but when I was in school, in Idaho we had the democrats and the republicans.

Until one is around folks talking politics all the time, it just doesn't seem like correct usage (because of the first definition). I just don't think it's a dead giveaway that a person is a troll just because they refer to it as the democrat party.

I've stopped doing it, but it took me a while.

[Ligyron]

35. ...and it's "their" not "they're"

[Lochloosa]

39. I think the poster was making a funny...

[SFnomad]

91. Yes, because if you'll notice, the poster got all three of their/there/they're wong. n/t

[Eleanors38]

104. "There's revolution in th'air."

[Still Blue in PDX]

167. And it's grammar, not grammer. Funneeee! nt

[Lochloosa]

37. There you go again...

just saying.

Oh wait....

[maddiemom]

59. Their heads...

[Doitnow]

129. Such an easy reminder for all

The word, "their," has "heir" in it, therefore signifies ownership. their heads
The word, "they're," has an apostrophe which means a letter is missing, they are talking.
The word, "there," has here in it, which indicates a place. there you go again

Corrected sentence------There you go again, talking about their grammar, their heads must be spinning.

Hope this helps.

[freemay20]

160. Amazing

I believe we may need to teach something along with correct grammar - a little thing called sarcasm. Gheez people.

[ProudProgressiveNow]

11. +1000

[sheshe2]

16. Yup!

Thank you, MM.

[progressoid]

20. And the (so called liberal) media is guilty of it too.

Even people who aren't aren't Fox news watchers have become infected by it.

While canvasing, I often meet Democrats who parrot this error.

[stuffmatters]

50. Rachel Maddow often says "Democrat Voter" & I want to scream

It's completely sickening. And she, of all media people, should know. Probably been hanging too much with those "reasonable" (i.e. polite RWers) Repugs like Steve Schmidt and Nicolle Wallace.

Anyone who uses Democrat as an adjective hates the idea that our party is the Democratic Party and we're Democratic voters because we stand for Democracy.
Unlike the Republican Party which requires counter democracy tactics like voter suppression, voter id,gerrymandering, Citizens United.
to survive.

[thejoker123]

58. In all seriousness...

Like .002% of the population would even understand the distinction or have some negative effect to people saying democrat or democratic. This is really wonkish in the weeds stuff for hard core liberals.

Don't get me wrong, I don't have any problem with this or any post correcting the matter. I just wouldn't worry too much about it, as I think it literally has zero effect on Democratic Party itself.

[pnwmom]

75. It matters because the party name "Democratic" refers to our democratic ideals.

We want to remind people of that every time we refer to the Democratic party or a Democratic candidate.

Gingrich, the historian, knows it matters and that's why he lead the charge to take the name away from us. We shouldn't let him.

[thejoker123]

128. Point taken

[Cakes488]

78. I agree...this is the least thing that I care about or is on my mind.

[jcgoldie]

21. Usually when I read "Democrat Party"

I suspect the author is a wolf in sheep's clothing. It's a slip of the vernacular that gives away the true intentions of some folks.

[awoke_in_2003]

140. When I read it...

I generally stop right there- there will nothing worthwhile following it.

[Coyotl]

162. ^^ Winner ^^

[TheBlackAdder]

22. Every once in a while, I screw that up. It's so easy to do, and then fall into that rut. Thanks.

.


I should tape it next to my monitor.


.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

23. This is the result of Conservative Think Tanks....

After Newt came up with his "word list" their focus groups found "Democratic" tested positive while "DemocRAT" (emphasis on RAT) tested negative so....

The word went out.

Since then I've actually heard allies say it wrong.

[TheBlackAdder]

26. It could be. You hear that shit so often, that it becomes part of the normal vernacular.

[NoGoodNamesLeft]

24. The only grammar mistake that drives me bonkers is when someone uses women

To describe ONE woman. It really chafe's my bum when I see that. That one is so easy to get right but so many people still screw it up.

[barbtries]

41. my personal pet peeve:

loser being spelled looser. it happens so often that i don't comment on it much at all, but it always catches my eye and it BUGS me.

[geardaddy]

77. That would be "chafes my bum"

not "chafe's my bum"

[NoGoodNamesLeft]

106. lol...I missed a typo!

Immediately after I hit enter I noticed a typo and fixed it. Then I saw a second typo and went and fixed that one. I don't know how I missed that apostrophe...and that is the worst typo of all! lol

[geardaddy]

124. LOL

I do that all the time!

[moose65]

92. I hate that one, too!

But for me, the worst is when someone doesn't know the difference between "then" and "than." That one drives me absolutely bananas! It's a losing (not "loosing&quot battle, though. Every time I see it I want to reply with "Fill in the blank: I'd rather be hugged ____ eaten."

[Coyotl]

163. Worst possible punctuation gaffe, forget the comma, "I'm sorry I love you"

When you want to say "I'm sorry, I love you"

Punctuation saves lives: Let's eat, grandpa" versus "Let's eat grandpa."

Grammar police know their shit, not know they're shit.

[Blanks]

178. Should of, instead of should've...

It doesn't occur around here (if it does I haven't seen it), but my redneck family and friends just don't seem to know any better, so I see it on Facebook.

It takes a while for normal breathing to resume after I'm exposed to it.

[MoonRiver]

25. I always call out rightwing assholes, who use this term, on their bad grammar.

They present themselves as uneducated ignoramuses, and need to be identified as such.

[SalviaBlue]

171. My dad, who is rabidly right wing,

insisted on using the term "DemocRAT party". I corrected him and reminded him of the history of the term, but he said he could use any term he wanted. So I said, OK, but if you call us the DemocRAT party, I will call the republicans the ASSHOLE party. He used the proper term for the rest of that conversation.

[MoonRiver]

190. That's a good one!

I would never have been able to confront my dad like that, but, then again, he and my mom left the Repuke Party when the Christian conservatives took over.

[PatSeg]

27. It drives me nuts

I know what the republicans intention was and is, but it only makes them look illiterate.

A few weeks ago I saw Congressman Emanuel Cleaver on TV and the republican guest referred to the "Democrat" party. In response to the person, Cleaver said, "First, Democrat party is poor grammar......" Then he went on to make his point about what the man had said.

I wish more people would call republicans out on this. I've seen Chris Matthews bring it up a few times, but he finally gave up. It is just a political tactic, but a very dumb one.

[Augiedog]

30. Not only have right wingers been using democrat as an adjective, they have been using it as a

pejorative. The hostility in their bones is going to eat them alive, just not soon enough. Won't be long before they try to use it as a verb. As in, "voters democrated us in the election and now we've lost not only the presidency and the senate, but we lost the house too. On top of that that we've lost our souls to a perverted sexual predator who now runs us like a cheap pack of pussy grabbers, jeez I hate being democrated ". Well I guess once in awhile being "democrated" has possibilities.

[calimary]

31. THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

YES, I'M SHOUTING!!!!!!!!

But I actually do feel sorry for all those idiots out there who never learned the difference between a noun and an adjective. Maybe they ditched school in third grade that day?

[SunSeeker]

32. K & R

[central scrutinizer]

33. I bet that many of the instances of "Democrat" here on DU

Are the result of auto filling coupled with failure to proofread before posting.

[ffr]

34. Or EVER! It just sounds ignant.

You tell 'em, Chris!


Thx MM!

[barbtries]

36. why does it seem as if the right always manages to insert this kind of shit

into the vernacular? i mean i am very aware and have caught myself doing it.

other example that drives me nuts: pro-life. no. NONONONONO - anti-abortion is what you mean; i am pro life and i am pro choice. but i hear the "pro-life" being used on TYT and everywhere else, when what they mean is anti-abortion fanatics trying to put an end to planned parenthood.

must be that liberal media aargh.

[WcoastO]

38. The "liberal" media.......

needs to call-out/correct the GOPers when they use the word incorrectly........but they never do. I listen to Inskeep et. al. on NPR ignore the incorrect usage all the time.

[Mira]

40. Thank you very much for this post

It is one of my idiosycracies to not allow it being used incorrectly around me.
I think it was coined because it rhymes with "rat"

I hate it.

[DemonGoddess]

43. K&R!

[retrowire]

44. I like proper grammar. nt

[90-percent]

46. The Great Keith Olbermann to GWB

during the Bush Dark Ages of the beginning of the 21st Century;

"....and it's DEM-O-CRA-TIC. Show some respect!"

I got a good radar on this and it gets set off every time I hear a talking head referring to "The Democrat Party".

A pejorative slur I think invented by Rush and Breitbart and Frank Luntz; treasonous propagandists all.

-90% Jimmy

[luvmybluestate]

53. when i used to watch tweety, i did hear him call rethugs out on this n/t

[PatSeg]

176. Yes

I remember he used to do that frequently and even asked occasionally, "Why do you say that?" I think he finally gave up though, as I haven't heard him do it in a long time.

[bucolic_frolic]

47. Gingrich is an obscenity

so there

[mcar]

48. Thank you

[stonecutter357]

49. I Fixed It.

Thanks MineralMan.

[George II]

51. Actually, from what I read the adjective term "Democrat" first surfaced in the 1930s....

.....but it didn't catch on. It was revived again by Joseph McCarthy and his cronies in the early 1950s, and from what I recall it stuck that time and has been used ever since.

Thanks for bringing up the issue, though. It grates me to hear republicans use that term, it's like there's a republican rule book and saying "Democrat Congressman", etc., is Rule #1.

A few years ago, Chris Matthews called out Darryl Issa on it. After listening to Issa say "Democrat" three or four times, Matthews finally blew his top and lectured him, saying in effect, "it's the Democratic Party, the the Democrat Party, why do you people insist on intentionally mispronouncing their name?". He reduced Issa to babbling, and he sheepishly muttered something back to Matthews.

It was a beautiful thing to watch, but it doesn't get done often enough.

[TonyPDX]

86. You are correct:

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

[George II]

112. That's a good article, thank you. I've seen several write ups of it over the years, and they all...

...pretty much agree that the usage became routine in the early 1950s thanks to Senator McCarthy and his buddies, and it's lasted ever since.

It was also during that period that the republicans added "under God" to the Pledge of Allegiance. Although I'm religious and go to church every week, when reciting the Pledge I always skip over that.

I'm sure glad I wasn't around (actually I was, three or four years old) during that period.

[luvmybluestate]

52. democrat, intended to rhyme with "rat." they were well aware.

[blockquo

[GWC58]

54. I hate it when some

asshole says "the Democrat Party." Pisses me off, big time! 😡

[FailureToCommunicate]

55. When used here on DU, it's a 'tell'...

You have to wonder to which "newz" media they listen.

Thanks for the reminder,MM.

[iwillalwayswonderwhy]

56. I joined DU in 2004

I distinctly remember being corrected for saying "Democrat Party", and I never did it again. I believe that if a person uses it continuously, after being told why they shouldn't, then that can be considered a tell. But done once, may just mean that their Southern Georgia grandpa said Democrat Party, and the poster may have heard it this way her entire life. Like my grandpa did. Long before Newt came to power.

Give folks the benefit of a doubt. Once.

[maddiemom]

57. Thank you, MineralMan!

I, too, have tried to call this out whenever I've encountered it. It was always annoying, but to be expected from the Repuglicans. When some Democrats cluelessly began picking up the habit, it was infuriating.

[frazzled]

126. I have called it out here too

Indeed, not very long ago I called out a (suspicious) adjectival use of Democrat in a post ... and I got a whole bunch of angry blowback replies telling me that I was wrong, and that "many Democrats" also use the term adjectivally. Invasion of the body snatchers?

I was beginning to think that I was the crazy one. But I know I'm not.

[NurseJackie]

60. Whenever I see that, I automatically assume that it's a troll or disruptor...

... but, after the Democratic primaries, I'm less trusting than I used to be.

[Initech]

61. It drives me crazy when republicans call us the "Democrat Party".

Like it's meant to be an insult. First off if you do that and think it's funny, you fail at humor. Second you also fail at English. It's Democrat-IC party.

[ellennelle]

62. thx so much

this has been going on for many years, and - like everything else they do - the republicans just keep at it till it sticks.

like telling that lie over and over and over, till everyone thinks it's true.

plus, they do it just to get a dig in; a real FU move. repugnant.

and yes, i railed on rachel back before i stopped watching her when her website still easily took comments.

but, horror or horrors, i've even heard amy goodman slip and say that before!

that's how damn insidious it is!!

so, my friends, we should all make a pact right here and now to call out, subtly and gently, each and every time we hear someone do that.

just, you know, to be clear about the language. and all that.

if someone objects, it's easy enough to point out that hey, it's just bad grammar, and they sound ignorant making that error. if they persist, we can point out that they are then sounding intentionally provocative. see where it goes from there.....

[bluegopher]

63. Stupid democratics

[NastyRiffraff]

64. Yes! Thank you, MM

Words matter. Grammar and usage matter. But the use of "Democrat" as an adjective has been more than a simple grammatical mistake; it's a deliberate insult to a party and all the people in it.

Sure, there are people who use "Democrat" as a simple mistake, understandable because they hear it misused endlessly. Those people are usually glad to correct their mistake when it's pointed out to them. Those who use it as an insult just smirk and sneer.

[David__77]

65. I get what you're saying. I don't see it as a problem.

I know that some people who are pro-right wing use "Democrat senators" and the like as a way to deny that they are small-D "democratic" or for some other reason, or no reason at all. I don't really see it as a problem. Someone who's a Democrat is an adherent to the Democratic Party, which, itself, is a party of Democrats.

[pnwmom]

76. Gingrich did this because he doesn't want our party, and not his,

to refer in its name to our democratic ideals. The word "democrat" doesn't remind people of that, out of context.

[Skittles]

87. it is promoted by ignorant, rightwing hacks

so yes, it is a problem

[lillypaddle]

66. YESSSSS!

I've heard it wrong so much that sometimes I have to stop and really think (god forbid). It's like those words that aren't really words but have been used so much, they wind up in the dictionary.

Thanks for the post, Mineralman

[ColesCountyDem]

67. Thank you!

[gademocrat7]

69. Thank you,Mineral Man

[Auggie]

70. And PHOTOSHOP is not a verb

[CaliforniaPeggy]

72. It is too! So. There!

[Auggie]

93. My Dear CaliforniaPeggy ...

you're the best!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

121. My dear Auggie...

Aw...thank you.

[Odin2005]

159. Any noun can be verbed in English.

It's a completely normal part of the English language.

[Coyotl]

165. Today it is. Usage dictates. I use it a lot as a verb.

Has this been photoshopped?

[Auggie]

168. Wrong!

[JDC]

71. With the help of Frank Luntz as a wordplay strategy

It really is pathetic that this has turned out to be the only strategy of the Republic (sic) Party, not policy. I believe that they are seeing the fruits of their labor play out right now and getting ready to get the ass kicking of a lifetime at the polls.

Rush the bloviator pushes this hard.

[Chicago1980]

73. Didn't the use of the word 'Democrat',

start with Joe McCarthy?

[Lunabell]

74. I am glad you made this post.

This irks me entirely.

[geardaddy]

79. K & R

It really is tell for me. When I hear it, I immediately think Fox News viewer.

[wysi]

80. I couldn't agree more

It's a big tell.

[Gothmog]

81. This is one of my pet peeves also

[Helen Borg]

84. Nailed it!

[arthritisR_US]

85. I sure hope you don't mind but I copy and

pasted your OP into a reply on FB where I had to address this. I put it in quotations and attributed it to you as well as stipulating this site.

[MineralMan]

134. Thanks. Everyone is welcome to copy

and paste anything I post here. I'm glad you found it useful.

[arthritisR_US]

136. This chap is continuously disrespectful and carries on as if it

is nothing and that we have always been referred to as such. Your post was spot on and I thank you profusely!

[Nay]

88. Agreed. This sort of shitty Newt tactic enrages me. When I hear acquaintances use it,

I see that the corruption has been spread far and wide, just like any crappy, snot-nosed propaganda trick does in Red World. Let's at least stop it at our doors.

[William769]

89. Kick & recommended.

[lakeguy]

94. yes!

i logged in just to rec this post.

this should be a sticky somewhere. so tired of seeing that here and elsewhere.

[The Green Manalishi]

95. It is one of the things that allows me to

discount anything following it.

The only reasons it would be used is in ignorance or attack.

[Ms. Toad]

97. This is a silly battle to pick,

And will alienate many of the Democrats I grew up with who used "Democrat" as an adjective, decades before Gingrich grabbed hold of it, and who see fixating on the distinction as elitist.

I have 3 post-secondary degrees, but that doesn't make me any more progressive or a better Democrat than the Democrats in the small rural town I grew up in, some of whom were forced to drop out of school in their middle school years in order to put food on the table and who couldn't tell the difference between a noun and an adjective if you paid them.

Given my history, and personal relationships with people who have poured heart and soul into peace and social justice work, but who may not be able to express themselves as articulately as you, it is one of my pet peeves when people are attacked here as right wing for no reason other than they don't talk gud English.

[OnDoutside]

105. This is a hobby horse of OPer unfortunately. Great post btw.

[Eleanors38]

107. Respectfully, the GOP is in da bidness of re-labeling. They have succeeded with "Democrat" Party.

They re-label, we occasionally whine about it. But it sticks.

[Tarc]

116. The origins are really irrelevant, what matters is that right-wingnuts have co-opted the word

and turned it into a pejorative.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

145. I agree...

It comes off as "you're not smart enough to be a democrat if you don't say this and that" and I think that is the kind of thing that drives people away from our party. I think this is very nit-picky. I was not an English major and I'm not one of the grammar police. I studied programming and engineering. I'm not in idiot, but maybe in the many years I've been posting on this site I have improperly used the word democrat. I don't know. There are many good people out there that aren't so great at grammar, but they still have some awesome skills in other areas.

[Divine Discontent]

153. yes, my one lil pushback on this good OP, is the fact that many people

aren't great spellers, or don't talk exactly like the way most of us talk - and there's not a dang thang wrong with that.

So, I would push some caution with the folks I've seen lash out at fellow DUers for their opinions, or how they say them. Not everyone thinks of things the same as everyone else, and they don't mean to disparage us by saying the wrong word.

But, I support who the OP is absolutely against, the Republican MSM and it's partisan backers who use "Democrat Party" to be a-holes.

[Ms. Toad]

154. If you peruse this thread,

it's pretty clear that a large portion of those posting in this thread believe that using the "wrong" word signifies that you are a troll. That's the connection I'm pushing back against. Too much elitism.

Presumably, most of the people on DU - to whom the post was directed - are not the Republican MSM or its partisan backers - using the wrong word to be a-holes.

[MadDAsHell]

174. If we listed all the characteristics the DU paranoids think are "troll-like," there'd be noone left

[Ms. Toad]

185. I agree, and I find it troubling

when, by and large, threads suggesting people use such "troll-like" behavior as an acid test - or denounce anyone who engages in it draw accolades rather than criticism

[bitterross]

98. So Right! THANK YOU. /nt

[oberliner]

99. Why not?

Who cares? What's the difference?

It is a party that is comprised of Democrats.

Never really understood why people got worked up about this.

[rtracey]

100. Hmmmmm

yes thank you for the english lesson, and it is well taken, but I want us to concentrate on getting our Democrat elected president, so lets get out the vote......

[HAB911]

101. Their never going to learn there lessons

your going to have to teach you're lessons better, its difficult to no the difference but keep up the good work! LOL

[tallahasseedem]

109. That's how I spot trolls...

Dead giveaway!

[OnDoutside]

113. Well as someone who committed the mortal sin today, you'll kill a lot of innocents with that crude

judgement ! As I'm in Europe, Democrat/Democratic is interchangeable to me, and without issue, though I tend to recoil from the bullying of the OP just because of over sensitivity.

[Nitram]

179. Outside, you sound like a typical American.

"I don't care what the connotation is in your country, I'm going to use the language any way I want to."

[OnDoutside]

186. No, all I'm saying is

When you're starting to be as intolerant of others as a Republican, you should know something is wrong.

[Nitram]

187. It is not intolerant to expect people to use the correct name for your party rather than...

...one coined by the other party to demean them. the name of the party is the Democratic Party, not the Democrat Party. The fact is, conservatives resent the fact that the name seems to imply that Democrats are more democratic than they are.

[betsuni]

188. Exactly. I finally figured out the name-implies-Democrats-are-more-democratic thing

after years of asking my right-wing relatives why they insisted on using the wrong name for the Democratic Party when I knew for a fact they never did before Rush Limbaugh or whomever started using it.

[MadDAsHell]

173. Or people who just don't let Necons decide what language is unacceptable?

By making "Democrat" a cuss word, you're saying it's ok that Newt did this and we should accept it.

But I guess if you want to make it about a troll-hunt, have at it...

[OnDoutside]

184. +1 Well said.

[JackHughes]

111. Republicanists and the Democrat Party

Right-wingers have been using "Democrat Party" since the McCarthy era. They use the term because they think it gives them a slight rhetorical benefit in their total political war.

Democrats should respond in kind by referring to Republicans as "Republicanists."

That "-ists" suffix carries much worse rhetorical baggage than their silly "Democrat Party" nonsense.

[OnDoutside]

114. Why not just call them Fascists ?

Reps that is, before I'm jumped all over !

[Puzzler]

118. 100% agreement...

i think the majority of the GOP know the correct usage. To the best of my knowledge the term "Democrat Party" was originally a somewhat old-fashioned Southern US slang. I strongly suspect that the continued misuse of something this simple serves two purposes:

1) To deliberately not acknowledge the "other party"... and...

2) Code speak to a particular racist demographic of theirs.

The GOP have NEVER in my adult life ever, ever, accepted the legitimacy of a Democratic Presidency. NEVER! The deliberate and widespread misuse of the actual party name is part of it.

-P

[left-of-center2012]

119. I also thought it stupid ...

The people who refer to 'the Democrat Party' never refer to 'the Republic Party'.

[The Wizard]

120. Goes back to the fifties

Tail Gunner Joe McCarthy started it as a way to marginalize Democrats and the Democratic Party. That term is a dead giveaway that you're dealing with a Publican troll.

[mdbl]

122. Gingrich is just an Ahole

what would you expect from such an awful person?

[cry baby]

123. Amen!! nt

[OldRedneck]

125. Republicans . . .

Republicans REFUSE to use the term "Democratic" properly.

I read and comment on a couple of republican websites in Virginia. They will die and go to hell before they say "the Democratic Party" -- it's always "the Democrat Party." I have stopped correcting them because they think it's funny. It's childish.

[yortsed snacilbuper]

131. They sound ignorant.

[Stand and Fight]

127. Thank you!

When I first starting lurking on this site almost 14 years ago this was one sure fire way to spot a FReeper. No self-respecting Democrat would ever refer to our party as the ""Democrat Party" anymore than Republicans would refer to their cadre of deplorables as the "Republic Party".

[PasadenaTrudy]

130. The NM Democratic party

just used it in a tweet...Yeah yeah, I know, not on DU.

[Raster]

137. And Newt Gingrich is a skeevy, past-his-prime ASSHOLE...

...That's a noun.

[catbyte]

138. Thank you. One of my biggest pet peeves.

[Nitram]

139. Abso-fucking-lutely. The team was designed by the right wing as an insult to the Democratic Party.

And we Democrats are too well-mannered and civil to do the same to Republicans in public. Otherwise we'd be calling them Repubs. We are better than that.

[jimlup]

142. Yes once Gingrich started doing it

Republicans took it on as a way of belittling the opposition. They never pass up an opportunity to belittle their opponents.

[SleeplessinSoCal]

143. People get hypnotized. It's why trump repeats his lies at least 3 times per sound bite.

My own Democratic brother took the bait and I pointed it out in a text last week. It's a minor annoyance, but persistent.

[The Wielding Truth]

144. MineralMan. You have earned my eternal appreciation. I have been on this since I first heard the

RightWing call our Party, the "Demo-Rat party". I feel as if I have been fighting this all by myself for many years. Every time I hear it I feel the slight and then I think that it maybe just the laziness on their part and they just can't say that extra syllable or maybe they just aren't literate and can't read our party name. Thank you, MineralMan. I know that I have someone fighting with me.

I also think that Our President Barack Obama has been an excellent president and I really admire Hillary and i have confidence in her abilities.

[lupinella]

146. K&R n/t

[annabanana]

147. DAMN Mineral Man.. Why warn them? That was a really really easy way

to spot infiltrators and trolls

[czarjak]

149. Rushbo likes it...

[wncHillsupport]

151. To those who say it doesn't matter...

It does matter. It is renaming the Democratic Party by opponents. It is not friendly. It is deliberate. It is a slur. It is disrespectful.

And if Rachel uses it, as in 'Democrat voter', I think we all should send her Starbuck's message about it. It is unconscionable that MSNBC hosts allow Republicans to get away with it.

I am guessing/hoping Starbuck won't mind if I crib his message on the topic.

[Rex]

152. I am lazy and just use Dem and Rep. However talking about it I always say Democratic.

Though I do have some more colorful names for conservatives.

[WiffenPoof]

156. This one drives me crazy...

When someone uses the term "er-regardless" or "ir-regardless".

[One of the 99]

157. K&R nt

[Esse Quam Videri]

158. Michael Steele (former head of GOP) has got to be one of the largest culprits of this

I listen to Steele and Ungar every day on my way home from work (POTUS on SiriusXM) and I don't think there's a day that goes by where he doesn't use Democrat instead of Democratic. It actually sounds so weird that it makes him sound less intelligent.

[harun]

161. Thanks, good post.

[DownriverDem]

164. Totally Agree

On the Norman Goldman radio show (I stream it through WCPT Chicago Progressive Talk radio from 6-9 Eastern time) he corrects callers all the time on the use of Democrat and Democratic.

I feel the same about folks us call women girls. I was a girl. I am now a woman. I don't like being call a girl at my age.

[PatSeg]

177. I wish more host would do that

There are a lot of slurs that they wouldn't allow without commenting. Plus it makes Americans look really stupid.

[meow2u3]

169. AMERICANS should not use "Democrat" as an adjective on DU

Foreigners who use Democrat as an adjective should be assumed not to know better and we should educate them that it's a slur.

[MadDAsHell]

172. So you're letting Newt Gingrich frame the terms?

Why can't we just tell Newt to fuck off and say what we want to say?

[MineralMan]

175. Why not speak grammatically? Why settle for poor grammar?

"Democrat" is a noun. "Democratic" is an adjective. Why not simply get it right?

[Nitram]

180. Why not display some good manners and call the party by it's real name?

Instead of the term coined by right wingers to demean the party because it makes us sound more democratic than them.

[MineralMan]

182. Exactly.

[SalviaBlue]

181. K&R

[betsuni]

189. K&R