what can you guys tell me about this term "Democrat Party"...

[k_jerome]

when was it coined and who coined it? What is the history of this crap?

[Generic Brad]

1. It's a derogatory term the Republics like to use

[951-Riverside]

2. Candy Crowley?

[Skittles]

3. here

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democrat_Party

[Kire]

11. "Senator Joe Lieberman...has used the term as well."

Fuck that guy.

[Skittles]

13. I saw that

f***ing repuke

[Dogmudgeon]

17. Definitive .. thanks!

(And that's kickin' some ass!)

--p!

[MannyGoldstein]

4. Apparently It's Been Used On And Off For Many Years

I read about this somewhere - it's always been used to annoy Democrats.

[ThomCat]

5. I've only heard it in recent years

but it might go back as farther. What I've heard is that the Rove ran some focus groups to determine how people react to political language and determined that people react positively to the word Democratic, but less postively to the word Democrat.

So he gave orders to the neocons to always refer to us as the Democrat party. Rush Limbaugh started using it, and Sean Hannity, and all the the evil talking heads.

Anyone who calls us the Democrat party is a republican who spends time listening to those evil talking heads and fox news. That's where they pick it up.

[Davis_X_Machina]

6. It really took off...

...as part of Gingrich's 'Language, a Mechanism of Control' schtick in the early nineties. Bob Dole made it famous withi his crack about 'Democrat wars', during the '96 campaign.

[Strawman]

7. It either comes from Lee Atwater or Frank Luntz I think

We're a bunch of "rats."

I guess in their fascist fantasies, dehumanizing us by repeating this kind of connotative langauge is step one. Repealing habeus corpus is a later step...

[ashling]

8. They've been doing it as long as

I can remember - I remember Ragand and Goldwater spitting this word out at the 1964 Republican convention ... and I'm sure they used it before that. Its their way of talking down their nose to anybody they think tey're better than (and that's everybody)

But what is so insideous is that they've even got
democrats using it. That has got to stop.

[Kire]

9. According to the New Yorker

"The history of “Democrat Party” is hard to pin down with any precision, though etymologists have traced its use to as far back as the Harding Administration. According to William Safire, it got a boost in 1940 from Harold Stassen, the Republican Convention keynoter that year, who used it to signify disapproval of such less than fully democratic Democratic machine bosses as Frank Hague of Jersey City and Tom Pendergast of Kansas City. Senator Joseph McCarthy made it a regular part of his arsenal of insults, which served to dampen its popularity for a while. There was another spike in 1976, when grumpy, growly Bob Dole denounced “Democrat wars” (those were the days!) in his Vice-Presidential debate with Walter Mondale. Growth has been steady for the last couple of decades, and today we find ourselves in a golden age of anti-“ic”-ism."

http://www.newyorker.com/talk/content/articles/060807ta_talk_hertzberg

[Dogmudgeon]

15. Excellent link ... thanks!

I posted my own recollection of the Great Publican Adjective Shift below.

Now ... if you can get us a toe by 3 PM ... with nail polish ... preferably from a Publican ...

:evilgrin:

--p!

[TygrBright]

10. Current incarnation is probably traceable to Newt, but...

...the reference to Dems as "rats" goes back much further (see: "ratf***ing; Committee To Re-Elect the President (CREEP); plumbers; Nixon, et. al.)

Calling names and playing name-twisting games is a common manifestation of feelings of inadequacy and hostility among those lacking both imagination and intellectual capacity.

Sort of a capsule description of a large segment of the GOP, isn't that?

reflectively,
Bright

[lutefisk]

12. A WH reporter really needs to correct Bush when he uses it

I would love to see that at a press conference. Would Junior thank the reporter for pointing out the error?

I think Junior Bush has only started using "Democrat Party" fairly recently- I'm impressed that he can remember to use it.

[Dogmudgeon]

14. The first time I noticed it -- the middle 1970s

It was mainly being used by Libertarians, who, as the hipster Rightists, are typically a couple of years ahead of the curve on such things. They would call Jimmy Carter "the Democrat President" and refer to "the Democrat Congress".

Possibly, the term was in earlier use just among Republicans themselves, but it really took hold in the early neo-Con years, which were also the first years that David Nolan's Libertarian Party really began to flourish.

IIRC, in the 1990s Newt Gingrich also encouraged its use in his essays on political rhetoric, which are likewise well worth finding and reading. You may not agree with Newt's politics, but his insights are invaluable for any group who would govern.

--p!

[Trajan]

16. A silly red herring ....

Everyone gets all worked up about while they stop talking about real issues and real problems ....

[potone]

18. Why don't we give them a taste of their own medicine?

Let's start calling them the Republicrat party until they start calling us by our proper name.

[Kire]

19. More like Republican't

It doesn't matter, that's like calling white people honky in retaliation for being called the N word.

[Chipper Chat]

21. Or "ReFLUBrican party"

as per the last election.

[valerief]

24. I think the Repubic Party would work very nicely. nt

[JDPriestly]

20. It's a grammatical error used by ignorant people (Republicans)

who like to snub their noses at well educated people (Democrats).

The word "Democrat" is a noun. "Democratic" is an adjective.

The word "Republican" can be used as both a noun and an adjective. Can you imagine what a hard time the average Republican would have if he had to differentiate between the noun and adjective forms of the name of his party? That is just too much to expect.

[gardenista]

22. JOSEPH McCARTHY!!!

THAT is why it is such a slur.

[gardenista]

23. Grrrrrr.... and Joseph Lie-berman!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democrat_Party_(phrase)

[Cobalt-60]

26. Indeed

Ive seen some newsreels featuring tail gunner Joe using the term.

[Cobalt-60]

27. I cant think of anything worse to call them than...

Republicans!
Seriously, these guys have made the word into an insult! Let's not grant them the boon of a fresh, new name.

[bluedogyellowdog]

28. Excellent idea!

"Republican" itself is an insult, dirty word, and derogatory. Call them Rethuglicans, Repugs, Repukes, but even when you call them Republicans it's an insult. Make them squirm, dodge, and triangulate to get out from any association with Republicans or The Republican Party. Make them run from the word. Much the same way as they did with "liberal".

Only in this case, we have very good grounds to do so.

Use "Republican" liberally to refer to the sickest, most vile elements in society: rapists, child molestors, nazi skinheads, serial murderers, whacko religious fundamentalists who beat their children and keep their wives pregnant and barefoot, anthrax letter mailers, federal building bombers, and wannabe mercenaries with "kill em all let God sort em out" t-shirts. Also use "Republican" liberally to refer to the corrupt, uber-privileged, snob set who are sent by their rich parents to snooty prep schools, get Yale scholarships, are selected for Skull & Bones membership, sit on interlocking corporate boards of directors, and enjoy stab the little guy in the back as a matter of course.

I'm not just being flippant here. The rich old-money snobs make up the Republican Party leadership, and sicko antisocial behavior is exactly where the beliefs held by the Republican Party's base inherently lead if not held in check.

[SaveOurDemocracy]

25. "Repubs" ...

Just use that simple slang shortcut. It diminishes them, and will have steam comong out of their ears. It's not name-calling, just an abbreviated version ... like they use.