dem·o·crat (dĕm‘ə-krăt‘)
n.
- An advocate of democracy.
- One who believes in social equality or discounts distinctions in rank.
- Democrat A member of the Democratic Party.
[French démocrate, back-formation from démocratie, democracy. See democracy.]
dem·o·crat·ic (dĕm‘ə-krăt‘ĭk)
adj.
- Of, characterized by, or advocating democracy: democratic government; a democratic union.
- Of or for the people in general; popular: a democratic movement; democratic art forms.
- Believing in or practicing social equality: “a proper democratic scorn for bloated dukes and lords” (George du Maurier).
- Democratic Of, relating to, or characteristic of the Democratic Party.
democratically dem‘o·crat‘i·cal·ly adv.
Note the difference. Democrat is a noun. Democratic is an adjective. Now, do I need to define nouns and adjectives as well?
Exactly MB.
I don’t want Republicans to stop being ignorant or rude. The fact that they are ignorant and rude makes them easier to defeat.
Posted by The Richmond Democrat | Monday, November 27, 2006, 4:32 pmA ha…liberals call people “insane” while accusing them of being rude.
How does hypocrisy taste?
Posted by Insider | Monday, November 27, 2006, 5:37 pmJust keep twisting, Insider. Unless, of course, you’d like to be relevant – then you should really stop.
Posted by MB | Monday, November 27, 2006, 5:48 pmShhh. You’re giving him ideas.
Posted by Waldo Jaquith | Monday, November 27, 2006, 5:58 pmLifted from another discussion on this topic…
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Calling it the “Democrat” party instead of it’s actual name “Democratic Party” is a propaganda tactic that started with Joe McCarthy because he wanted to deny any association with Democats and the generic ‘democratic’ process. Just a clumsy piece of agitprop that is carried out to this day by the New McCarthyites.
Even Bill Buckley–who, agree with him or not–has a pretty clear grasp of language and a good ear loathes this clumsy term. He agrees with your take, PG:
“I have an aversion to ‘Democrat’ as an adjective. Dear Joe McCarthy used to do that, and received a rebuke from this at-the-time 24-year-old. It has the effect of injecting politics into language, and that should be avoided. Granted there are diffculties, as when one desires to describe a “democratic” politician, and is jolted by possible ambiguity. But English does that to us all the time, and it’s our job to get the correct meaning transmitted without contorting the language.”
The incorrect usage was also recommended by Newt Gingrich (later supported by the focus group research of Frank Luntz) in his wonderfully-titled, 1990 memo, “Language as Key Mechanism of Control.” You know the joke around here about “getting the memo”? In this case, the memo actually exists. Righties, apparently, love to be “controlled.”
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I personally called Lt. Governor Bill Bolling on this issue at the Blogging Conference in Martinsville. Basically, it comes down to this, as long as Republicans could be trusted, as long as the American people could put the faith of God in the Republican party, as long as Republicans could be counted upon to be holy, strong and good, Republicans could be as rotten in politics as they wanted. Using language to “control” the debate is just how things get done downtown.
Now, however, the American people know that the Republicans in power are failures. They have weakened America militarily, socially, economically, and morally.
As long as the Republican party was the party of success, they could be as rude as they wanted. Now, it just isn’t going to work for them.
So I say, “Go for it”. Keep heaping your fear and derision upon the opposition (Republican translation “devils”, Democratic translation “opposition”). Keep proving your ignorance and fear (and bad grammar) by calling us the “Democrat [sic] Party”.
We’ll keep calling you the Minority Party.
In America decency matters.
Posted by Josh Chernila | Monday, November 27, 2006, 6:23 pmYawn…Joe McCarthy? Is that the best ya got?
Democrats….
Posted by Insider | Monday, November 27, 2006, 6:36 pmInsider… you just keep making my points. Just keep thinking minority.
Posted by Josh Chernila | Monday, November 27, 2006, 7:00 pmI would be THRILLED if people used adverbs but we seem to losing all of them. We are told to drive slow or drive careful rather than what they should be, drive slowLY or drive carefulLY. Whose idea was it to drop adverbs? It grates on me every time.
If democrats insist on everyone using the language that they consider politically correct, then I figure we can call them democrats.
Posted by Jane Oldham | Tuesday, November 28, 2006, 12:54 amJack,
You are correct. We’re the stupid party, democrats are the evil party.
Posted by Jane Oldham | Tuesday, November 28, 2006, 12:55 amJosh…why?
The only way Democrats win elections is to pretend they are like us.
Gun control? Promising not to raise taxes? You won the Senate race in Pennsylvania by running a Democrat who thinks Roe v. Wade should be overturned.
Minority? Democrats gained the majority by running a lot of candidates talking Republican issues.
Fact: Democrats won fewer seats in two midterm elections under Bush than the Republicans won in two midterms under Clinton.
Read into this year’s elections all you want. When you try to implement the Democrat platform with candidates who spent a year running away from it, you’ll see how popular you are.
Posted by Insider | Tuesday, November 28, 2006, 5:49 am“Insider”
I do hope you continue to misunderstand the changing fundimentals and continue to lose elections. America might not survive another Republican Majority.
Posted by Josh Chernila | Tuesday, November 28, 2006, 8:55 amIt comes down to respect. It’s a fundimental American virtue. We respect our allies as well as our opponents, and that’s how we win and grow as a nation. The Republican elites in Washington and Richmond started out disrespecting their opposition and have now moved on to disrespecting the entire country and ultimately, themselves.
Posted by Josh Chernila | Tuesday, November 28, 2006, 10:30 amah, yes. The Democrats were full of respect this year. In fact, every name they called George Allen was just bursting with respect.
Posted by Insider | Tuesday, November 28, 2006, 10:42 amThe minority party has taken great delight in slandering the Democratic Party because they are rude, childish, vindicdive, small minded and untimately irrelevant.
It’s not a matter of being “politically correct” it’s a matter of speaking English properly. You remember, English, the language EVERYONE should be speaking.
You lost get over it and grow up.
Posted by Withheld for fear of radical violent right wing reprisal | Tuesday, November 28, 2006, 12:12 pmIn fact, every name they called George Allen was just bursting with respect.
Whatever those names were, they were surely better than the names that George Allen called people.
Posted by Waldo Jaquith | Tuesday, November 28, 2006, 12:49 pm