Democrat v. Democratic

Local, National, Politics 1 Minute

dem·o·crat (dĕm‘ə-krăt‘) pronunciation
n.

    1. An advocate of democracy.
    2. One who believes in social equality or discounts distinctions in rank.
  2. Democrat A member of the Democratic Party.

[French démocrate, back-formation from démocratie, democracy. See democracy.]

dem·o·crat·ic (dĕm‘ə-krăt‘ĭk) pronunciation
adj.

  1. Of, characterized by, or advocating democracy: democratic government; a democratic union.
  2. Of or for the people in general; popular: a democratic movement; democratic art forms.
  3. Believing in or practicing social equality: “a proper democratic scorn for bloated dukes and lords” (George du Maurier).
  4. 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?

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43 thoughts on “Democrat v. Democratic”

  1. I understand proper English and all, but I really do not understand the hypersensitivity of many Democrats about the labeling of their party as either Democrat or Democratic.

    Much better things to worry about IMO.

  3. I always call it the “Republic Party” until the Republic Party stops calling the Democratic Party the Democrat Party. Maybe they will now, since their renaming did not really work out all that well this election.

  4. A great New Yorker article on the history of Democrat v. Democratic.

    What is the name of a certain political party in the United States—not the one which controls the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the federal government but the other one, which doesn’t? The question is a small one, to be sure: a minor irritation, a wee gnat compared to such red-clawed, sharp-toothed horrors as the health-care mess and the budget deficit, to say nothing of Iraq and Lebanon. But it has been around longer than any of them, and, annoyingly, it won’t go away.

  9. It’s this kind of rudeness that loses elections for Republicans. I say let them continue to be rude. One reason why George Allen lost is that the illusion that he’s a nice guy fell apart and people saw through it. “Macaca” was just an extreme manifestation of the general rudeness and lack of couth displayed by the Right.

    The deliberate mispronunciation of our party’s name is nothing more than Republicans being rude. If they want to be rude in public in front of cameras, that’s fine with me. The media and the general public both pick up on this lack of basic manners and it costs the Republicans, especially here in the South where people put a premium on manners.

    Bad manners and failed policy ensured our victory in 2006. If the Republican Party will simply cling to its bad manners and negative advertising, we can expand the Democratic control of Congress and recapture the General Assembly.

  11. Well, technically a noun can modify a noun. So that in and of itself is not what makes democrat party incorrect.

    Until a year or so ago I never knew that “democrat party” was an insult. I always thought members of the republican party were called republicans, and members of the democrat party were called democrats.

    Yes, the adjective form is most often used for political parties – libertarian, socialist, communist, but not always – ie, the constitution party.

    I actually make an effort now to say democratic party, but sometimes I still slip and may write democrat party, not intending it as an insult. But I do think that if one knows fully well that the actual, official name is Democratic party, then to consistently call it Democrat party is being intentionally insulting. I liken it to the kind of person who willingly chooses to misprounce another’s given name – childish and lacking in class.

  12. I think every Democratic blog in Virginia should replace their anti-spam software with a simple, one-question field: “The two major political parties are the Republican Party and the _______ Party.” If the blank is filled in with anything other than “Democratic,” the comment is rejected.

    People would learn real quick that way.

  14. Hey “Richmond Democratic”

    The rudest things I saw and heard during this campaign were by Webb supporters.

    Heck, I’d call the person who yelled out “No More Macaca” during Webb’s victory speech pretty rude.

    Compared to that, saying “the Democrat Party” doesn’t seem so rude to me.

    Jeezz…..y’all are control freaks.

  15. Shockingly, Insider is doing a fantastic job of illustrating just what I meant when I said a “certain sort” tend to get it wrong. The solution to dealing with him, I suspect, is the same solution most of the saner folks have adopted with the GOP itself – they’re just not meant to be taken seriously.

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