Pelosi's First Order of Business: Tell Bush It's the DemocratIC Party

[NightOwwl]

I'm serious. Don't let him get away with this shit any longer. And make sure you correct him in a public forum, so if he continues to use the term in a derogatory manner it will reflect poorly on him.

[bluestateguy]

1. I have done this with people before in public settings

and they have meekly apologized, and promised to pronounce it correctly. They do for a few days, but then they're back to saying "Democrat Party" within a week again.

[checks-n-balances]

68. YES, and she needs to make it part of ongoing PUBLIC DEBATE!!

The "Republic" Party has been manipulating & framing public policy debate, especially thanks to Luntz & Gingrich in the 1990s and since the neocon government takeover this century.

ANYTHING WE WANT TO GET CHANGED NEEDS TO BE WITNESSED BY THE AMERICAN PUBLIC THEMSELVES.

One of the best things that can happen is if our leaders can go to work as myth-busters and tearing down the lies that have been told about Democratic policies and just the way we look at life in general. I'm especially talking about the BS GOP talking points coming forth from callers on C-Span, stupid questions from members of the Corporate Media, etc.

Imagine how many lies & misconceptions could have been nipped in the bud if Gore, Kerry, and many decent public servants had PUBLICALLY challenged the crap leveled at them in recent years!

[Kerrytravelers]

2. Thank you!

[NightOwwl]

3. You are welcome. n/t

[Captain Hilts]

4. Pelosi needs to give him an 'or else' threat in reference to this. What's it worth to him? find out

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

5. I think this is VERY IMPORTANT also. Really.

[The Deacon]

6. I'm Glad I'm Not The Only One That Cringes When Someone Does That

But Bush isn't the only one making that mistake - virtually every Talking Head does it too. Maybe we should start referring in public to the "Publican" Party.

[drm604]

8. "Republan"

If they want to drop in "ic" than so should we.

[drm604]

60. I meant to say "drop an 'ic' ". n/t

[NightOwwl]

9. Or the "Puke" Party...

perhaps.

[Captain Hilts]

15. The Guardian, of all papers, also does it. They should stop it. nt

[blue sky at night]

7. funny, he gets it right when........

speaking of the middle east in twenty years.

[roguenkatz]

10. Perhaps if you put it to him this way...

It's just like when we say you are an alcoholIC!

[libnnc]

13. coffee all over my computer screen...

Thats good...:spray: :rofl:

[immoderate]

11. I think "Republic Party" would be the equivalent.

--IMM

[tinfoilinfor2005]

52. Yes. Everytime he says democrat party

she should say, "Oh? As opposed to the republic party?"

[bleever]

12. "Say my name!"

Hold him down til he says it right.

:rofl:

[Demoiselle]

14. Trouble is...we do it too.

I've stopped bothering to count the number of posts here that refer to the Democrat party or the Democrat agenda.
And then of course, there's the media...Almost all of them do it as far as I can tell.
I'm old enough to remember when the Repukes first started this nonense (30 years ago?) and it still makes me wince whenever I hear it.
So anyway...let's correct it here, first, shall we?

[Captain Hilts]

16. AGREED! I HATE seeing people here us it. It's a perjorative. nt

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

17. Link some. It's not that common here.

[City Lights]

25. It's more common than it should be.

I'm not going to spend my time searching the archives for you, but here's one example from last week:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=2654691

[Cerridwen]

18. I could give you a big kiss!

As a matter of fact, I think I will...

:*

Okay, so maybe it's a little kiss. :D

[Hand]

19. Heh. He used "DemocratIC" in his radio address today. nt

[NightOwwl]

24. Ah ha!

Maybe she's already said something to him!

[Kingofalldems]

20. You know when Bush is talking to freepers

He says 'Democrat party'. When he's playing statesman he uses the proper term.

[TroglodyteScholar]

21. Can anyone explain how this is offensive/how exactly it is a pejorative?

I understand that it's wrong, in it's essence, but how is this really an issue? Do you get offended if someone calls you a Democrat? If not, what magically makes the word so terrible when it's used to describe the whole party?

You've got to realize that we're not dealing with the brightest people here -- perhaps they have a hard time keeping up with two different words because they only have a single word, "Republican," to describe both themselves as individuals AND their party as a whole.

I can't bitch about it anyway, because I never call them Republicans. It's always Repugnicans or Rethuglicans. It's funny because it's true. :D :D :D

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

23. Here is the point of why this is important: the whole REASON they do this,

is to denigrate Democrats.

BTW the NOUN is "Democrat", the ADJECTIVE is "Democratic".

By applying, on purpose, the "Democrat Senator/Democrat initiative" etc. label, it's the bully's way of rubbing your face in the dirt and saying, whatcha gonna do?

So far, nothing.

As others have posted, what is required is for all Democratic officeholders to call out Republican officeholders and media personalities, PUBLICLY and IMMEDIATELY, when they do this, and correct them, so that if these people CONTINUE to do this it is a poor reflection on them.

It is IMPORTANT.

[TroglodyteScholar]

33. I stil lsee nothing proving it's offensive except...

...for the fact that it offends you.

[NYC Liberal]

36. It's not just a wrong usage

Right-wingers DELIBERATELY use "Democrat Party" as a pejorative. Its whole PURPOSE is to be offensive. It was started by ol' Newt back in 1994...maybe before though.

But it's definitely a right-wing usage that, unfortunately, some Democrats have themselves picked up.

[TroglodyteScholar]

40. It's not that I'm missing the point...

...it's that, regardless of what those big-bad-bullies' intentions are, it's simply NOT OFFENSIVE. Well, maybe on the same level that "freedom fries" is offensive -- that is to say, offensively fucking stupid. How can so many of us remain SO thin-skinned after the past dozen years?

To get all worked up about such a ridiculous thing is to behave exactly the opposite of how a strong, unapologetic Democrat should. I'm a Democrat, and I'll say for the record that I don't give a shit WHAT they call us, because THEY DO NOT DEFINE who we are. But to respond to this nonsense with "you guuuuuuuys, quit CALLING us that! waaah!!!" reinforces the misperceptions of us that Rethugs love to promote. It plays into their hands when you guys get all weepy over this garbage.

If that doesn't convince you, look at it this way: we never even succeeded getting them to stop calling black people niggers. What makes anyone think we can change their vocabulary in this instance?

[NYC Liberal]

53. And how many members of Congress go around calling people "niggers" in public nowadays?

Do I think that we should wage a huge campaign to try to stop people (or at least politicians) from calling the Democratic Party the "Democrat" Party? No. I think it's a waste of time. But merely pointing out the error (or intentional error) is something we <b>should</b> do. Why should we allow our Party to be renamed by those who aren't even members of it?

The reason it is used is not simply to be annoying or to get under the skin of Democrats; it is used to emphasize the "RAT" of "Democrat." That's why, on right-wing message boards, you'll see it written as "DemocRAT."

So, no - I'm not getting "worked up" about it, but I do think it's something that's become too pervasive. Just like the "Al Gore invented the internet" myth. Yeah, it's a stupid little myth, but because it doesn't seem like too big of a deal, people believe it and it creates an image.

[TroglodyteScholar]

64. I'm with you...

I never intended to imply that just mentioning it is a problem. I just couldn't keep from getting a mental image of some of these guys upthread getting all redfaced and working the forehead vein. What I'm trying to say is...if anyone here feels gravely wounded when Rethugs (or anyone else) call our party the DemocRAT Party, maybe you're a bit too tender to be into politics.

[Stephanie]

71. It started around the same time they aired that ad

It was subliminal so the letter flashed across the screen winding up with RAT.

democrat
demo
c
RAT

Something like that. It's grade school stuff but I just want to beat the crap out of them for doing it.

I mean really, it just proves they are too STUPID to use proper grammar, but it's been part of their "framing" playbook for a few years now, a way of demeaning and belittling us to our faces. It's disgusting and the president of the united states shouldn't be participating in it. But he is a petty little man, so it's no surprise.

[City Lights]

37. So using bad grammar doesn't offend you.

Good for you.

I see you are a resident of Georgia. Does that make you a Georgia, or a Georgian? You live in America, so are you an America or an American?

[TroglodyteScholar]

44. If someone called me a Georgia, I'd probably laugh a bit and ask if they were foreign...

Bad grammar offends the copy editor in me, but it shouldn't be a political issue. When I encounter someone whose grammar is appalling, it generally helps me decide how seriously to take the person.

Let's try it this way: you tell me the benefit of acting out the "whiny Democrat" stereotype that the Repugs so love to cite? How is it to our advantage to lend credence to that stereotypes by insisting on being such big pink pussies? IT'S A WORD. It does not HURT. It can not win or lose a war; it can not stop or foster a genocide. But to get sidetracked on such nonsense certainly can distract people whose time would be much better spent pondering things that ACTUALLY MATTER.

[City Lights]

47. I don't equate correcting someone with "acting out the whiny Democrat

stereotype."

Words got us into an illegal war. junior claimed that history will view his war as "just a comma." The chimp's administration refer to our dead as "just a number." Words do matter.

You hit the nail on the head when you said if someone called you a Georgia you'd probably laugh at them. That's exactly how this should be handled. When someone uses the noun in place of the adjective, the Democrat should laugh and correct them. It doesn't have to be made into a federal case to make a point.

If you don't want to correct someone using the word incorrectly, then don't.

[TroglodyteScholar]

48. The "whiny" thing was supported by messages throughout this thread...

...people talking about what an IMPORTANT (all caps) issue this is. How can ANYONE think this is any more than an annoyance? The Dems do have IMPORTANT (all caps) things to address...education, middle class taxes, minimum wage, IRAQ, port security, etc, etc, etc. This gripe about semantics simply doesn't make the list. Them labeling us the "Democrat" party only has the effect that we ALLOW it to. Why do we always insist on battling their petty terminology and tactics when we could be so much more effective by simply not acknowledging them? If the ADULTS (being us) are running things now, it couldn't hurt to behave accordingly.

[shanti]

39. it's "in your face" disrespect

of a large number of american citizens. you bet, i take offense! :grr:

[TroglodyteScholar]

41. How can you STILL be upset by their disrespect, "in your face" or not?

THEY DO NOT RESPECT YOU. You can't MAKE them respect you. All you can do, and I think we can do this consistently, is out-smart them.

WHY does ANYONE here care what the Republicans think of us or how they treat us? THEY ARE SLEAZY and I think most of us accept that. My mother always used to tell me, whenever someone said something that rubbed me..."Consider the source." You can NOT force those people to respect you, so why waste your time and energy?

[libodem]

45. It's hard to explain

I was going to post something similar but when I tried to explain what I meant, it didn't make sense either. You know it when you hear it. Some how when someone like Limbaugh, refers to the Democrat candidate or party, I feel it. It's as if we don't deserve the time, effort or respect to finish the last syllable. I posted someplace and called them Republics and when I was going to go on and call attention to it and explain why, the explanation was lost in the translation. Sometimes Democrat is appropriate as in the singular...I'm a democrat but not as a plural Democrat party. I know this isn't very clear but I know when I feel snubbed by someone using our name as a dig. It's kinda like when Limbaugh calls Hesbolla...Hesbos, because we are lumped together in same disrespect category, to him.

[TroglodyteScholar]

49. I understand how it could rub someone, but it is not as big of a deal as some believe...

We don't NEED their respect...and if we're waiting and expecting to get it, we'll be sorely disappointed.

If it's really so important to gain their respect, we're going to have to do it the old fashioned way -- by being better than them at everything we do. But I'm not going to get hung up on whether these assholes have any repsect for me or my party. I mean, they don't have MY respect.

When you're on the playground and a bully runs up and calls you a poopyhead, are you going to throw a tantrum about how you are NOT, in fact, a poopyhead? Or are you going to shake your head and ignore it because he's so pathetic that he NEEDS to call you names for some sad validation of his miserable existence?

Just sayin...

[City Lights]

51. Ignoring it hasn't worked.

Some of the presstitutes have caught on, as have some unenlightened DUers. I guess when you don't tell the bully you're not a poopyhead, and it catches on to where your classmates, teachers and principal refer to you as a poopyhead, you have no one to blame but yourself.

[TroglodyteScholar]

55. Still, my point is that of someone you don't respect is calling you poopyhead...

...then what's the point of getting offended?

I'm not arguing against correcting someone, I'm arguing that it's trivial, and that it's immature to treat it otherwise.

[NightOwwl]

50. You explained it very well.

Much better than I could have.

[uppityperson]

54. I call it the Democrat party, also democrat and democratic

it is a shortcut. That is all. What is important is ending the Occupation of Iraq.

[Redneck Socialist]

85. Well, stop it. It's irritating

Don't adopt republican language.

[kestrel91316]

26. Democrat is a noun. Democratic is an adjective, used as a

modifier of the word "Party" in Democratic Party.

Republican is both a noun and adjective. Republic is of course a noun but not the one that refers to a person of a particular stripe.

Just more weirdness in the English language, but that's the way it is. The Republicans had best get used to it. "Democrat" Party is a deliberate misuse of the word and calling us by a name other than what we call ourselves. Just plain rude. The OFFICIAL NAME of our party is the DEMOCRATIC PARTY.

I am unclear what is so difficult about this for some people...........

Have I mentioned yet today how much I hate these people?

[TroglodyteScholar]

35. Again...we all know these people aren't good with grammar

They just don't care enough to get it right. Why should they?

Seriously...if this particular idiosyncracy is causing anyone hurt feelings or anger, I think it's time to take a step back. They've as good as called us cowards consistently for the past 5 years, but I don't see a thread about that...and that IS offensive.

I think our party--whether you describe it with an adjective (like an educated person) or with a noun (like a moran)--has much bigger fish to fry.

This is SUCH a non-issue it's not even funny. Please, please get over it and spend your energy on something that matters.

[NightOwwl]

42. The term democratic brings to mind democracy, which means when

the word is spoken it will have a positive effect whether one is a Republican or Democrat. This is why the Republican talking heads substitute DemocRAT for Democratic...they don't want people to think in positive terms when it comes to our party. As one of the posters said, it is infantile for the President to use this terminology, and he needs to stop this shit now!

[AspenRose]

56. Exactly

Newt 'focused-grouped' that word along with many others. Wish someone could post or link to Newt's little grammar-and-propaganda spheel.

That's why they say 'Democrat' instead of 'Democratic'. I heard Thom Hartmann talking about this ages ago.

[kestrel91316]

69. No. It's a very obvious, important signal of their CONTEMPT for us, so

I will continue to correct it when I see it (if I think it's a RWer doing it deliberately).

[dalaigh lllama]

77. I tend to agree with you

I don't get that excited by someone saying Democrat Party, but then I don't believe I've ever heard anyone using the term with the inflection noted upthread that would give it the offensive sound so many here have condemned. I'd probably try to handle it the same way you said you would if someone called you a "Georgia" instead of a "Georgian" -- mild surprise followed by a gently presented correction, colored with just a wee tinge of amusement and condescension. I've always found it never pays to let wannabe bullies know they've gotten under your skin.

[kiahzero]

38. For the same reason that "Jew" in place of "Jewish" is offensive.

Or "Jap" in place of "Japanese" is offensive.

[TroglodyteScholar]

43. Those are racial slurs...

You may notice, by the vast differences among our party's membership, that we are not a race.

People keep on talking about bullying, but how is the best way to deal with a bully? Don't give him the satisfaction of a reaction when he's trying to push your buttons. So simple.

[Vorta]

57. I think the operative was "in place of"

The word Jew is not inherently offensive. However if you were to substitute it where 'Jewish' would be the only appropriate form, then it would give offense. Obviously, when used as a verb it's always offensive.

[Vorta]

58. mispost

[TroglodyteScholar]

61. I've never heard Jew used as a verb...

...I suppose I'll count myself lucky.

"It's a Jew custom" clearly sounds terrible to me, like it can only have been preceded with "they're drinking Christian babies' blood." But "It's a Democrat custom" doesn't bug me a bit. I dunno, guess I just can't get over how trivial it seems.

[Vorta]

62. It has been used as a verb for bartering, negotiating, or cheating.

[Vorta]

63. And it's encouraging that you have never heard it.

[Raksha]

87. EXACTLY! "Jewish boy" isn't offensive.

OTOH "Jew boy" is extremely offensive. It's the same thing with "Democratic Party" vs. "Democrat Party." It's deliberately offensive and that's why they do it.

[stepnw1f]

65. Because the INTENT of the word, "Democrat" is to Demean Democrats

GOP strategists christen "Democrat Party" -- and the media comply

Summary: Several media figures, including news reporters, echoed Republicans by employing the word "Democrat" as an adjective to refer to things or people of, or relating to, the Democratic Party.

snip

"The ungrammatical conversion of the noun "Democrat" to an adjective was the brainchild of Republican partisans, presumably an attempt to deny the opposing party the claim to being "democratic" -- or in the words of New Yorker magazine senior editor Hendrik Hertzberg, "to deny the enemy the positive connotations of its chosen appellation." In the early 1990s, apparently due largely to the urging of then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA) and Republican pollster Frank Luntz, the use of the word "Democrat" as an adjective became near-universal among Republicans."

http://mediamatters.org/items/200608160005

You see... Republicans hate the fact that our name resembles the word "DEMOCRACY". Our name has a special ring to it.....

[montieg]

81. As I recall Newt Gingrich wrote some kind of screed

back in the 90's as an instruction book for republics to use EVERY time they got in front of a microphone. The name was something like "Language is the key to control" or something like that. It had a whole list of words to use negatively about Dems and positively about Repubs. Real shitty. It was among the earliest in a whole effort to demonize anything liberal/progressive/Democratic.

[City Lights]

22. I agree. And the correction should be framed around the bipartisanship

argument. Explain the difference to him in public. And every time a Democrat is speaking on television, she or he should publicly correct whoever uses the noun in place of the adjective. Embarrass them.

[Crunchy Frog]

27. High ranking Democrats should flat out refuse to do any

joint appearances with him until he agrees to address them respectfully. This infantile name-calling shit has got to stop, and he HAS to be called out on it.

[Crunchy Frog]

28. I'm recommending this, and encourage other to do so as well.

We need to get this out there.

[frustrated_lefty]

29. I think they're afraid to have him use words with

more than 8 letters. Hell, look at what he did with "subliminal."

[buddysmellgood]

30. Yeah right. Let's get lost in a petty argument about nothing as our first order

of business.

[tammywammy]

31. That's pretty much what I think as well. n/t

[NightOwwl]

34. Six words that would take all of six seconds.

"It's the Democratic Party Mr. President."

It's not like this would take away from other orders of business.

[bleever]

32. From the list of people who need to STFU:

The devilish wordsmiths who think it's strategic and clever to refer to the Democratic Party as the "Democrat Party" need to stop it. Shut the f*** up. The official name of the party is the Democratic Party, with the "ic" at the end. Yeah, I know. Newt Gingrich and Frank Luntz invented the idea of saying "Democrat Party" or "the Democrat leadership" or "the Democrat voters" in order to emphasize the "rat" syllable, leaving a rat-like subliminal hint in the minds of listeners. President Bush, in his so-called "conciliatory" press conference Wednesday, used this incorrect pronunciation several times.

"And while the ballots are still being counted in the Senate, it is clear the Democrat Party had a good night last night, and I congratulate them on their victories."

"This morning I spoke with Republican and Democrat leadership in the House and Senate."

"...we'll begin consultations with the Democrat leadership starting Thursday and Friday."

"...and now work with Democrat leaders in the Congress because they control the committees and they control the flow of bills."

"We got some tax cuts passed with Democrat votes."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bob-cesca/time-for-a-big-ol-cup-of_b_33857.html

[MoonRiver]

46. He used to pronounce it correctly.

I think he has a severe learning disability and language disorder, but the fact that he has been known to pronounce it correctly indicates the mispronunciation is deliberate. Probably one of Rove's more stupid suggestions.
:eyes:

[DocSavage]

70. My brother, a real conservative

does this all the time. Democrat for everything. I asked him why once and he told me that after being called a racist, nazi, homophobe, Repug, Neocon he figured that if he could take it the democrat should too. I personally think he has a point.

[Vorta]

59. Bob Dole actually gave some pathetic defense for doing this when a talk show host called him on it.

[OnionPatch]

66. This really is a putdown

I thought I heard it was Frank Luntz that polled it and people responded more negatively to "Democrat party" than "Democratic party" so the talking point went out. And yes, I agree that they should be corrected when they use it. It's done purposefully and they shouldn't be allowed to get away with it. It doesn't need to be corrected in a whiny way, just a matter of fact, "By the way, that's DemocratIC party, thanks."

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

67. If media people or Democratic pols started referring to Republicans as

"Repubs" and were corrected, even angrily, by the Republicans, I wouldn't consider them whiny, and I'd respect them for doing it, and I'd respect them less if they didn't say anything.

[Raine]

72. Yeah, I'm sick of the disrespect

and now that we're in control they better start showing us some respect and and using the real name of our party is a good way to start!

[DeepBlueC]

73. what other words end in "crat"? Anything "good"?

Off the top of my head I come up with plutocrat, autocrat, aristocrat ... I really can't think of one that does not have some kind of either pejorative or otherwise undesirable implication.

[whopis01]

84. how about those words ending in 'cratic'?

Anything good there?

Off the top of my head I come up with plutocratic, autocratic, aristocratic...

[DeepBlueC]

86. democratic

and that is a word that the Republicans want to own, as in the "democratic values" they are supposedly exporting. The adjective gets used quite a lot by Republicans and I think they would prefer not to call up any association with their opposition. Democrat is a word pretty much confined to the a member of the party and if you get rid of the adjectival form you can strip the opposition of its positive connotations. They are not doing it because they are stupid. This is canny, and conniving, and it is part of the propaganda war.

[kentuck]

74. I think he should be called on it...

in public.

[UofAWildcatJoanne]

75. This SHOULD be a priority!

Gosh! I know how aggravating it is to hear "The Democrat Party"...I wonder: is he saying that on purpose, or is he really that dumb?!?

Maybe we should come up with a derogatory name for the "Repuke" party? Hmm...lol

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

76. Of course it's on purpose. The same reason ALL the other Republicans do it, and

their allies like Limbaugh, Hannity, O'Reilly, Coulter etc.

[UofAWildcatJoanne]

78. So...they're smart BUT act stupid?!?

Why would anybody want to act stupid? Uhh...nevermind. Don't answer that. I should know: they're Republicans...a bunch of liars.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

79. It's not to act stupid. The purpose is to denigrate, by calling the party

and its members by other than their proper name and showing disrespect.

[UofAWildcatJoanne]

80. True...but I bet their excuse once someone calls them out on it...

will be that they "didn't know".

[DeepBlueC]

82. here is the message behind the new adjective

The suggestion is that the word "democrat" should be thought of in a list of words including "aristocrat," "plutocrat," "autocrat". The word "democratic" has good associations and in fact the Republicans want to claim THAT word as exclusively their own. They are exporting "democratic" values, engineering (ha) "democratic" elections. In order to capture the meaning of that word for their own use they have to excise it as a reference to the opposing domestic party. That is my view of why they do it. And words DO shape thinking; it has always been so. It seemed to work far longer than I would have expected, although vote fraud helped for them as well. And, lately, you would have thought that the word "freedom" belonged to the Republicans too. I think it worked for them for a while ... The Big Lie bolstered by The Big Scare. The facts that seemed apparent to us took quite a while to penetrate the miasma of rhetoric, and that alone says a great deal about the power of words.

[DeepBlueC]

83. it is part of a propaganda war. Email TV networks about it!

I emailed CNN a few days ago when I heard Suzanne Malveaux make this mistake. And, believe me, now that the Dems are in the ascendancy, you will see that they will be more attentive to stated objections. So that is my advice, state your objections to the networks, not once, but every time you hear the word used in error. You can not do much about invited guests at first, but you can influence the grammatical House Style which every newspaper has and presumably every TV network as well. These are choices they make and the Republicans have been exerting their influence on these choices for years and we have to push back. If there is enough of it, even the guests will start to look like exactly who they are when they use it.

Remember, the purpose is to strip our party fromn any mental association with the "democratic values" that the Republicans have been working hard to own for themselves. The associations they prefer to make are those with the family of words like "aristocrat" "plutocrat" "autocrat" "technocrat". Not one of those gives put any warm and fuzzy feelings and in fact I can't think of any really postive word that does. Can anyone else think of one? I'm sure there must be some, but none popped into my mind. Whereas "democratic" stirs up distinctly positive associations. That's why they are trying to alter the words associated with out party in common usage. You can bet that there were focus groups galore to guide them. To those who think it does not matter, I say they would not persist so diligently if they did not think it did. People know it is "wrong". They also know that if they use it often enough, at every level from the talk radio blowhard to the President of the United States, it will become standard English and EVERY news anchor will be using it ALL the time. Distinguished conservative journals allow it, BECAUSE THEY KNOW WHY IT IS DONE. It is looked at as something other than a grammatical error. Journalists and editors, believe me, know the difference and will never say they "didn't know" if called on it.