So is it officially "Democrat" vs "Democratic"

[Fla Dem]

Back when Gingrich was Speaker of the House, or maybe even before, he started the practice of referring to the Democratic Party as the Democrat Party. Whenever the title of Democratic should have been used, he would use Democrat, like Democrat House, or Democrat Representative, Democrat vote etc. He obviously used the term in disrespect of the Democratic Party. Since then it has continued to be used by Republicans. There was a lot of push back at the time, but over the years not so much. Democrats still used Democratic.

Lately, I've been hearing others, not necessarily Republicans use the term incorrectly, like msnbc commentators, or guests. In fact not too long ago I heard Joy Reid correct one of her guests saying,"It's Democratic sir, not Democrat."

Well today listening to Alex Witt, Jim Messina, who served as White House Deputy Chief of Staff under President Obama, was on talking about the election. He referred to the Democratic voter as the Democrat voter. So is this now accepted as the official way we describe all things Democratic?

[Laelth]

1. It dates back to Nixon, at least.

Nothing is “official” about this usage, but we may as well pretend that there’s nothing particularly derogatory about it, despite the fact that it was originally used in a derogatory fashion.

Might as well embrace it at this point.



-Laelth

[Fla Dem]

27. Did not realize it went back that far. First became aware when there was controversary with Gingrich

And I don't view the name Democrat to be derogatory, just used inappropriately to diminish us. I certainly won't embrace the incorrect usage. I guess not get disturbed when it's used, but I will continue to correct when I'm in a position to do so.

[TheBlackAdder]

53. You know, like how GWB would mispronounce Sadam and other names on purpose. Let's embrace it.

.

The best way to shut those MFers up is to take away their power.

If they think saying Democrat hurts, remove it. Like a 6-year-old name caller, they use it until it's not effective.


====


Just like Protesters should fly the American Flag too, so it's not just the GOP fascists flying them.

Just like how the LGBTQ parages should fly the Yellow Gadsden Flag in quantity to co-opt the homophobe GOPers.


After a while, they will lose their flag power and symbolism.

.

[Totally Tunsie]

63. Kinda' like how Chump calls Kamala "Ka MA la".

I've heard him use the correct pronunciation, but lately he's purposely being ignorant.

[johnp3907]

2. Nope.

As a member of the Democratic Party I’m a Democrat voter.

[Trumpocalypse]

7. No

When used as an adjective the proper word is democratic. Only when used as a pronoun is it democrat. So you are a democrat but a democratic voter.

[Fla Dem]

28. +1000

[Hassin Bin Sober]

10. Yep. I'm a Democrat. I'm not a Democratic.

I get what some repigs do by calling it “the Democrat Party” and, yes, it is annoying.

Someone here tried to call me out for using “The College Democrats.” Well, since that was literally the name of the group I was like

[underpants]

3. It originated with Joe McCarthy

Who’s legal adviser was none other than Roy Cohn.

It’s repeated now by Republicans because they seem to think it’s funny. Talk radio made it a thing with them. Newt saying it back then was probably on the advise of Frank Luntz.

[Poiuyt]

50. I also heard that Frank Luntz was behind this latest usage of democrat as an adjective

Saying "Democratic" sounds too good. Who could be against doing things the democratic way?

[a kennedy]

4. It will ALWAYS be Democratic to me.

[DonaldsRump]

5. Ok. I'm dumb, I confess

What is the difference? I always tell people "I'm a Democrat". Is that wrong?

I truly don't know. Help!

[Trumpocalypse]

8. No you are a democrat

but also a democratic voters. All depends on the usage.

[CentralMass]

9. The party has been called the Democratic Party since 1848 when it was formed.

Calling it the Democrat Parry is a slight.

[DonaldsRump]

17. No issues with that

but I don't think it's wrong if I say, for example, "Joe Biden is a great Democrat", is it? Of course, I would add "Joe is the Democratic Party nominee for President."

Aren't both correct?

[Fla Dem]

23. Yes, those are both correct. But you would not say Joe is the Democrat party nominee.

[DonaldsRump]

24. Ok. Got it.

Is the basic rule then that Democrat is used as a noun and Democratic is the only correct adjective?

See, I need really simple rules and then I'm fine!

[Leith]

26. This really isn't difficult

It's the difference between a noun and an adjective.

Democratic: adjective
Democrat: noun

Let's take the White House squatter as an example. Would you say "He's a horrible." ?*
Or would you say "He's a horrible monster." ?

It's the same thing:
"Democratic voter" where the adjective is demonstrated.
"The voter is a Democrat." This demonstrates a noun.

It's really disheartening when one of our own follows the bastardization of the English language by following rethug propaganda.**


* Punctuation mark moved to clarify the point.
** No irony at all. When they earn the respect to be treated as normal, intelligent adults, I will use the name of their cult correctly again.

[smirkymonkey]

59. Thank you, Leith.

This really is very simple. Even the dumbest republican should be able to understand it.

They do, but they pretend not to because they enjoy insulting us every chance they get. They mislabel us simply out of spite and nothing else.

[elleng]

13. No actual difference,

but some (many) make it one; I do not.

[Chili]

29. I'm thinking it was during - or just before - Gingrich

They called us DemocRATs - get it? Emphasis on RAT. That was the "joke."

And yeah, let's go back before that. What was his name who did the "rat-f*cking" for Nixon? Segretti - that was it. From All the President's Men. Woodward again (and Bernstein).

[DonaldsRump]

31. I remember getting dragged to a Republican fundraiser in the South in the Spring of 1994

(gee, I sound old!)

Anyway, I sat next to a friendly old lady who explained to me that I was a rat because I was a "Dem-oc-RAT" and that the Republican party was all about self-initiative since it ends with "I CAN", as in "Republ-ICAN".

Needless to say, I was not convinced.

[Chili]

43. yes, and even my explanation wasn't clear

The Democ-RAT party - you rarely hear a republican say Democratic party any more.

Yes, in the 90's - I used to work for a big corporation back then, and the obnoxious smugness of the white men during that time with their bully Reaganomic politics spewed loudly in the lunchroom made me start taking a lunch tray to my desk. Ugly.

It's why I'll never say Democrat party.

[DonaldsRump]

52. And I remember W's subliminal

or "subliminable", as he used to pronounce) tv ad that quickly spun the word "DEMOCRATS" and flashed "RATS" on the screen for an imperceptible moment. I think this was brought before the FEC, but nothing was ever done.

Good heavens: W, Gingrich, Trump....what a disaster these Republican'ts are (see, I made my own funny! )

Seriously, I finally realized why they viscerally hated President Clinton so much in the 1990s. It is the same reason they hated JFK, BHO, and HRC: they were incredibly smart and talented leaders of which their party has no one even remotely comparable. W and Trump are the best they can do in the last 28 years.

[Chili]

68. yep, JFK, BHO, and the Clintons

Every one of them with brilliant intellects. Repubs can't stand that, the less brains they have, the more they hate them. And with Obama, it's why Trump loathes him so deeply, and Hillary too.

[DonaldsRump]

32. Donald Segretti was the principal rat**cker

But pretty much all the President's men did this. Apparently, many of Nixon's closest aids went to the University of Southern California, and this method of winning college elections was learned by them as College Republicans.

[Chili]

46. yes yes, USC nastiness

Young college republicans inherited that attitude, reveled in it, and brought that nastiness right along with them when they started working for House, Senate and presidential campaigns. It has exploded since then.

[dware]

62. I've also heard the term "demonrats" used by the RWNJ's.

I just laugh when I hear it, they have no clue what's about to come down on their heads.

[Chili]

67. "demonrats"

That's not even clever. That must've come from the deplorables themselves.

[chowder66]

34. It's like people saying they are a Republic instead of a Republican.

[DonaldsRump]

35. Except now they are Reputincans n/t

[chowder66]

37. Shorter version Assholes.

[DonaldsRump]

38. Roger that n/t

[CentralMass]

6. No, and f'k them

[Sogo]

11. My reaction has always been,

"I'm not offended by Democrat.....What's the big deal?"

[elleng]

15. Ditto

[Fla Dem]

39. I'm not offended by the name Democrat, I am a proud Democrat and a member of the Democratic Party.

Both terms should be used appropriately. As many have posted here, the Repubics have misused the term Democrat for years to denigrate and demean all Democrats.

[Cosmo Blues]

12. I think the difference is

Singular and plural, it's a voter who is a Democrat, those are democratic voters, okay that doesn't always work, yeah let's just embrace it. Growing up, queer was a derogatory term, I still think it was a shock PR Ploy for the tv show Queer Eye For The Straight Guy, now it seems to be acceptable although I don't know the difference between gay and queer and I still don't use it

[CrispyQ]

14. Probably.

We've let the right frame the debate for over four decades now. It started in the 80s when Reagan demonized the word liberal. When the right wing media got on board, we ran as fast and as far as we could from the word and started calling ourselves progressives. Since then, their side has built a media empire that blankets rural America with lies and disinformation, and hate and division, and we've let it go entirely unchallenged. When Trump is gone, we still have 63 million angry, ignorant Americans to deal with. I don't know if they can find someone worse than Trump, but I wouldn't bet against it.

[bullimiami]

16. I could care less. A long as they don't call me republican.

[LAS14]

18. I've long thought we should just start using Democrat and take their weapon away. nt

[FakeNoose]

19. No it's Democratic - as in Democratic Party, Democratic Candidate

Democratic is an adjective - always.

Democrat is a noun - always.

They are not interchangeable.

[ancianita]

22. But I'm still never ever saying Democrat Party.

[FakeNoose]

60. Of course you wouldn't

"Democratic" is an adjective. The only correct way to say it is "Democratic Party."

Also the only correct way is to say "Republican Party."
You don't hear anyone say "Republic Party," do you?

[ancianita]

65. Nope.

Of course we wouldn't say "Republic Party," because we're not like them with their politics of spite, namecalling and corrupt games.

[ancianita]

20. I reject what shows their ignorance of party norms. I don't know about everyone else, but

I will never, ever accept it.

It's another of the already established ways that Republicans insult people (Obummer), women (KaMAla), party (Democrat Party), and place names to show their passive aggressive contempt.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democrat_Party_(epithet)

Someone needs to talk to Witt and Messina.

[Fla Dem]

33. Thank you. It is their passive aggressiveness contempt and they know it every time they use it.

It's like the bully who keeps calling you names and you just take it to avoid confrontation.

[Budi]

21. I am a Democrat. A member of the Democratic Party.

Simple.

It is ignorance of correct grammer that lends itself to misusing the 2 terms that define a set of basic conditions necessary for a just society of any race, gender, creed.
That is the Democratic Party of which I am a lifetime member. I am therefore a Democrat. Believing in a Democracy as a fair & just method of governance.

It is also, in that ignorance, a slight or mockery when misused, whether intentional or not.

Democrats are collectively the Democratic Party & our societal belief of governance is Democracy.

[TreasonousBastard]

25. It's grammar-- which no one uses correctly any more...

Democrat is a noun. "I am a Democrat." Could be a member of the Democratic Party, or espousing democratic theories of government.

Democratic is an adjective. "That is a democratic proposition.'' Could again be either about the party or political theory.

Since Republican is both, they are understandably confused, not being bright enough to understand the uses, or the subtle differences in the language.

Just be thankful that we don't have Latin grammar rules.

[LiberalBrooke]

30. I always think they are just using bad grammar.

I am a Democrat. I belong to the Democratic Party. That is proper grammar. They make themselves sound ignorant and uneducated by saying it wrong.

[ancianita]

42. It's not that. It's contempt.

[xraymike79]

36. Semantics

I think it's lost its negative connotations by now. Perhaps 'Repugs' should be how we respond.

[Fla Dem]

40. Actually, I was thinking Repubics.

[Kali]

48. I started to say welcome to DU

but you have been here since 2011!!?? how does one remember passwords that long?

well, welcome to posting, anyway!

[G_j]

41. FT!

nope

[Hekate]

44. No, thank you

[Boogiemack]

45. Call me anything but Republican or a Trumper. nt

[Glorfindel]

47. "So is it officially "Democrat" vs "Democratic" - not while I've got breath

in my body. The rePukes can say whatever they like, but it will never be correct.

[Greybnk48]

49. In the late 90's the Republicons ran a subliminal ad that ended with a flashing "RATS."

Anyone remember that? I think they were ordered to pull it because subliminal ads are illegal.

Edit: After doing some searching, apparently the GOP has done this multiple times. Here's one example:


https://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=95789&page=1

[Boogiemack]

51. In a sentence:

We have more important things to worry about.

[Klaralven]

54. Is a fund raiser attended by Democrats with entertainment and refreshments a Democrat Party?

[LuckyCharms]

55. I always will correct people when "Democrat" is used improperly.

I haven't read this thread, only the OP, so I apologize if I repeat what has already been said:

"I am a Democrat" is fine.

"He votes Democrat" is not fine.

"The Democrat Party" is not fine.

[Cornus]

56. I just view it as a reflection of their own ignorance

They don't know when to use an adjective vs a noun.

[MineralMan]

57. Both. Democrat is a noun. Democratic is an adjective.

Joe Biden is a Democrat. He is the Democratic Party candidate for President in 2020.

[Karma13612]

58. I am a Democrat

Who plans on voting Democratic in a very democratic election.

I also plan on voting for all Democratic candidates, as they all affiliate with Democrats.

I was talking to my Democratic Gov who is a Democrat, and he shared with me that he is casting his vote for a Democrat.

May the Democrats win, and we will have Democratic majority in the WH, the Senate and the House.

Yay!!

Not sure, but I hope I got this right?

[intrepidity]

61. Embrace it and it loses power nt

[Fla Dem]

64. It's already pretty much become accepted, and that what irritates me.

It's one thing for Republicans to use it, I've accepted that, but for news anchors, commentators and especially Democratic commentators to misuse Democrat, that's what bothers me.

[intrepidity]

66. i understand

drives me nuts too, but i try to not let it show