# Democrat-ic **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 10, 2017, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrat-ic/788568 "2017-06-10T03:25:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Okrahoma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90db22/32.png) [@Okrahoma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Okrahoma)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2017, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrat-ic/788568/1 "2017-06-10T03:25:34Z")
Just saw this: [https://apnews.com/6b71a926cb624a209851b41ac616b184](https://apnews.com/6b71a926cb624a209851b41ac616b184) _“INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Twelve employees of a Democrat-linked group focused on mobilizing black voters in Indiana are accused of submitting fake or fraudulent voter registration applications ahead of last year’s general election in order to meet quotas, according to charging documents filed Friday.”_ Now I know just how much of a fingers-on-a-blackboard using “Democrat” as an adjective is for a lot of Democrats, weirdly enough. This is AP though, that has (I presume) copy editors, the AP Press Stylebook etc. Apparently there is no free access to AP Stylebook out there - I wonder, if anyone has such access, do they say anything in it about this “Democrat”-ic thing? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2017, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrat-ic/788568/2 "2017-06-10T03:57:13Z")
A member of the Democratic party is a Democrat, hence “Democrat-linked.” I really don’t give a shit about this Democratic Party vs. Democrat Party crap, but “Democrat-linked” is the correct construction there. “Democratic-linked” is wrong, since a member of the Democratic party is not a Democratic. So, either “Democrat-linked,” or “Democratic Party-linked.” “Democrat” is not being used as an adjective there. It’s a noun. ---
**Author:** ![Okrahoma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90db22/32.png) [@Okrahoma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Okrahoma)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2017, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrat-ic/788568/3 "2017-06-10T04:04:24Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > A member of the Democratic party is a Democrat, hence “Democrat-linked.” I really don’t give a shit about this Democratic Party vs. Democrat Party crap, but “Democrat-linked” is the correct construction there. “Democratic-linked” is wrong, since a member of the Democratic party is not a Democratic. So, either “Democrat-linked,” or “Democratic Party-linked.” “Democrat” is not being used as an adjective there. It’s a noun. I disagree. There is no indication in the article that the organization is linked to any single member of the Democratic party. It _was_ linked to the Democratic party, though: “The Indiana Voter Registration Project’s effort to register primarily black voters was overseen by Patriot Majority USA, which has ties to the Democratic Party, including Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid and former President Bill Clinton.” ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2017, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrat-ic/788568/4 "2017-06-10T04:05:26Z")
And, yes, the _phrase_ “Democrat-linked” functions as an adjective, but its components are a noun + past participle. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2017, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrat-ic/788568/5 "2017-06-10T04:09:03Z")
> [@Okrahoma](#): > > I disagree. See, the thing is **pulykamell** has on multiple occasions demonstrated his knowledge of the construction and use of the English language. You…have not… Gonna have to go with **puly** on this one. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2017, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrat-ic/788568/6 "2017-06-10T04:15:12Z")
I’m really confused as to what the issue is here. We read about “Democrat-sponsored bills” and “Republican-sponsored bills” all the time. Is the thesis that it should be “Democratic Party-sponsored bills” and “Republican Party-sponsored bills” or something? It’s the exact same construction. ---
**Author:** ![igor\_frankensteen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/839c29/32.png) [@igor\_frankensteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/igor_frankensteen)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2017, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrat-ic/788568/7 "2017-06-10T04:29:14Z")
I guess what all this is really pointing out, is that we should change to calling them the “Republican Party,” and the “Democrat Party.” Yes? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2017, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrat-ic/788568/8 "2017-06-10T04:34:46Z")
> [@igor\_frankensteen](#): > > I guess what all this is really pointing out, is that we should change to calling them the “Republican Party,” and the “Democrat Party.” Yes? Or we can call Democrats “Democratics” I suppose. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2017, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrat-ic/788568/9 "2017-06-10T04:49:19Z")
Given that the GQ answer was given in the first response, I’m closing this. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Okrahoma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90db22/32.png) [@Okrahoma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Okrahoma)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2017, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrat-ic/788568/10 "2017-06-10T04:53:21Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I’m really confused as to what the issue is here. We read about “Democrat-sponsored bills” and “Republican-sponsored bills” all the time. Let’s see: [“Democratic-sponsored bill”](https://www.google.com/search?q=%22demoratic-sponsored%22&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8#q=%22democratic-sponsored+bill%22) returns 10,700 results [“Democrat-sponsored bill”](https://www.google.com/search?q=%22demoratic-sponsored%22&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8#q=%22democrat-sponsored+bill%22) returns 2,540 results ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2017, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrat-ic/788568/11 "2017-06-10T05:01:59Z")
I think the real issue is “concern” from a Republican partisan highlighting an article that seeds doubt on the Democratic Party. YMMV.