Lobbying groups like to use the phrase “Americans for X” in order to imply a broad base of support for whatever it is they are pushing, for instance, “Americans for Free Hamburgers on Tuesday”. That’s propaganda, of course, but it is at least plausible in the sense that those in favor of free hamburgers on Tuesday may have no other common affiliation than being Americans, and so can best be identified groupwise as simply “Americans.”
Today I read about an organization called Americans for a Republican Majority. If one were in favor of a Republican majority, then wouldn’t that make one a Republican, not just an American? The phraseology implies that there are Americans who are not Republicans but are in favor of a Republican majority, which is patently ridiculous. As if this group of supporters of a Republican majority is so diverse, so vast, that it can only be properly identified as “Americans”. As if there’s a grassroots campaign by a wide spectrum of ordinary citizens with no particular party affiliation to help Republicans get elected. It makes about as much sense as the Buffalo Bills Fan Club calling itself “Americans in Favor of Buffalo Winning the Super Bowl.”
It’s fucking stupid and it reeks of astroturf and doublespeak.
Lobbying groups like to use the phrase “Americans for X” in order to imply a broad base of support for whatever it is they are pushing, for instance, “Americans for Free Hamburgers on Tuesday”. That’s propaganda, of course, but it is at least plausible in the sense that those in favor of free hamburgers on Tuesday may have no other common affiliation than being Americans, and so can best be identified groupwise as simply “Americans.”
Today I read about an organization called Americans for a Republican Majority. If one were in favor of a Republican majority, then wouldn’t that make one a Republican, not just an American? The phraseology implies that there are Americans who are not Republicans but are in favor of a Republican majority, which is patently ridiculous. As if this group of supporters of a Republican majority is so diverse, so vast, that it can only be properly identified as “Americans”. As if there’s a grassroots campaign by a wide spectrum of ordinary citizens with no particular party affiliation to help Republicans get elected. It makes about as much sense as the Buffalo Bills Fan Club calling itself “Americans in Favor of Buffalo Winning the Super Bowl.”
It’s fucking stupid and it reeks of astroturf and doublespeak.
What would you suggest? “Republicans for a Republican Majority”? I’d imagine the idea is to drum up support for new members. To convert new members, you have to seek out non-members, in this case non-Republicans, and get them to see your side of the equation. Their pool is derived from Americans, so their name makes perfect sense.
Well, there probably are people who aren’t republicans, but campaign for a republican majority, as the only viable alternative to a democrat government, for instance.
But yes, I doubt that’s what this organisation is.
Hey, I heard about another group like this once. Let’s see, what was it called…
Oh yeah, THE REPUBLICAN MOTHERFUCKING PARTY!!!
For the love of Elvis, that doesn’t call for a seperate lobbying group. What the hell are they gonna lobby? “Hey, Republican congresspeople, we’d really like it if you, you know, like won a lot of seats or something.”
laigle, you should do a search on the difference between a PAC and a political party. I’m not a Republican, but I can think of a lot of things this group could lobby for, starting with a stronger GOP presence in urban voter registration drives.
This is no more significant than a group called the “Democratic Leadership Council”. You would, after all, think that the Democratic Party would provide leadership.
The name of the organization should describe its membership, not the group it seeks to influence. Otherwise, the National Organization for Women would be called Male Chauvinist Pigs.
The members are Americans, but since they are also Republicans, and the group of Republicans is a subgroup of the group of Americans, in this context conventional use of the language demands that the members be described as “Republicans.” “Republicans for a Republican Majority” would be a dumb-sounding but honest improvement.
A plain reading of “Americans for a Republican Majority” clearly implies that there are non-Republican Americans who want a Republican majority. Anyone who takes five seconds to think about the phrase can see the nonsense, but I suppose these people are clever enough to realize that most people won’t stop to parse it.
Precisely Shade the Republicans don’t need Republican members as they allready have them, what they need is non-republican members and better yet members who vote democrat since such would be +1 for them and -1 for the opponents. They should therefore form a “Democrats for a Republican Majority” organization, but that would get no members. Instead they need to focus on minorities, but not very small minorities as that would be too small a gain for the expenditure.
“Major Minorties for a Republican Majority” would be the organization of choice.
No, the name of an organization should describe its mission, which this does. Is the American Red Cross describing a large group of maroon crucifixes? No.
Blah, blah, blah, blah. Seriously, what’s the problem here? Are you just pissed that a political organization you don’t agree with would have the audacity to recruit members? Can you not comprehend that there would be a particular focus of the GOP that wants to improve its standing? What are they doing that hundreds of other PACs aren’t?
Maybe it’s just a bunch of conservative guys who want a really good reason to form a collection of musical groups, collectively known as the “ARM bands”.
I didn’t say anything about politics, and I believe I understand the purpose of the group quite well. I am just calling them on their stupid fucking name, that’s all.
That’s nothing. The multimillion dollar corporations sponsoring this anti-labor initiative in Washington State decided to name themselves “Workers Against Job Killing Rules.”
Their commercials are hilarious: “If these rules stand, companies will leave the state! Jobs will disappear! Children will lose school lunches! Hospitals will shut down! Divorce will go up! Prisons will close and rapists will live on your porch! Angry bees will build nests in your refrigerator! Sunspots will get worse! The dead will rise! Trees will uproot themselves and stalk our neighborhoods in a murderous rage! And… your beer is gonna go all skunky.–gasp– Vote Yes, before it’s too late!”
I’m exaggerating only a little. They’re not even trying to make it a secret how much money they’re throwing at this thing. Anybody with half a brain could look at the campaign and wonder how and why “workers” have this much dough to spend on blanket marketing, but evidently brains are in short supply these days.
I’m gonna sponsor an initiative where everybody in the state gives me ten dollars, and I’m gonna call my organization “Proud Americans Who Think Puppies Are Effin’ Cute And Who Want To Kick Osama Bin Laden In The Nads, Praise Jesus.”
