# Democrat vs. Democratic **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [October 29, 2023, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrat-vs-democratic/992270 "2023-10-29T15:57:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2023, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrat-vs-democratic/992270/21 "2023-10-29T17:34:34Z")
“Democratic Party” is unusual is that the name of the party is not the same as the name of a member of the party. Members of the Republican Party are Republicans. Members of the Libertarian Party are Libertarians. Members of the Green Party are Greens. I suspect 95% of the people who say “Democrat Party” are unconsciously trying to make it fit the same schema as other political parties, and not trying to make some subtle insult. I’m pretty sure the remaining 5% only started using it as a deliberate insult after they saw Democrats flipping their lid over the former usage. I find it basically impossible to believe that any Republican ever had the idea, _ab nihilio_, “I’m going to insult Democrats by using the noun form for their party instead of the adjectival! MUA-HA-HA-HA!” Anyway, speaking as someone who’s voted Democratic in every presidential and congressional election since 1994, I find complaints about “Democrat Party” just _incredibly_ cringe. Calling it a slur… I just don’t have time to spam enough 🙄 to do that claim justice. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2023, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrat-vs-democratic/992270/22 "2023-10-29T17:36:43Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > I suspect 95% of the people who say “Democrat Party” are unconsciously trying to make it fit the same schema as other political parties, and not trying to make some subtle insult. I’m pretty sure the remaining 5% only started using it as a deliberate insult after they saw Democrats flipping their lid over the former usage. I listen to right wing radio now and then, and I’d say you need to reverse your percentages. It can’t be a coincidence that every person I hear use the term “Democrat Party” also considers every member of the party to be actively seeking to destroy all that is good in America. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2023, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrat-vs-democratic/992270/23 "2023-10-29T17:39:26Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Calling it a slur… I just don’t have time to spam enough 🙄 to do that claim justice. Epithet, not slur: > **[Democrat Party (epithet)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democrat_Party_(epithet))** > > Democrat Party is an epithet and pejorative for the Democratic Party of the United States, often used in a disparaging fashion by the party's opponents. While use of the term started out as non-hostile, it has grown in its negative use since the 1940s, in particular by members of the Republican Party—in party platforms, partisan speeches, and press releases—as well as by conservative commentators and third party politicians. > United Press International reported in August 1984 that the term Demo... ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2023, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrat-vs-democratic/992270/24 "2023-10-29T17:39:47Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Calling it a slur… I just don’t have time to spam enough 🙄 to do that claim justice. To me it is akin to calling you “Dick” when your name is “Richard.” Playground bullshit but annoying. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2023, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrat-vs-democratic/992270/25 "2023-10-29T17:41:07Z")
This is how I feel – it’s minor league “being a jerk”, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2023, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrat-vs-democratic/992270/26 "2023-10-29T17:42:40Z")
I have found that the people who meltdown about “Democrat” are often quite eager to sneak in “niggardly” to trigger a reaction so they can lecture others about its non-racist etymology. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2023, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrat-vs-democratic/992270/27 "2023-10-29T17:51:21Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Epithet, not slur: The quote in the OP and at least two other posters in this thread referred to it as a slur. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2023, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrat-vs-democratic/992270/28 "2023-10-29T17:53:38Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > To me it is akin to calling you “Dick” when your name is “Richard.” Playground bullshit but annoying. Even that is giving this “insult” too much credit. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2023, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrat-vs-democratic/992270/29 "2023-10-29T18:02:50Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > Nevertheless, if the members are called Democrats, it would not be a _grammatical_ error to talk about a Democrat politician or a Democrat senator. As a local U.S. _cultural_ matter, it may be seen as a slur or disrespectful. There was a TV show or a movie where someone talks about a ‘Jew lawyer’ instead of a ‘Jewish lawyer’. If nouns can be deemed adjectives, the former would be A-OK… even though it is an ethnic slur. Now, the character shouldn’t have mentioned the lawyer’s ethnicity either way, and ISTR he was ‘praising’ Jewish lawyers because he thought they were the best. But his phrasing was still derogatory even if he didn’t mean it that way. In the case of ‘Democrat’ vs ‘Democratic’, the noun usage is intended as a slur. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2023, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrat-vs-democratic/992270/30 "2023-10-29T18:07:08Z")
Let’s make it easy on ourselves. There’s the Democrat Party, The Republic Party, and the Libertar Party. The Dems, the Reps, and the Libs. See how long that lasts. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2023, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrat-vs-democratic/992270/31 "2023-10-29T18:11:37Z")
On the narrow grammatical issue, I think what tends to happen is that when a proper noun is exactly the same as a common noun, we tend to want to follow the grammatical intuition associated with the common noun: democrat \> democratic principle Democrat \> Democratic senator But as the proper noun diverges from the common noun, our intuition weakens: Liberal Democrat \> Liberal Democrat(ic?) MP Consider also the following hypothetical parties. **Save America Party** **Wonderful America Party** **America Party** What would we call senators from these parties, would the adjectival form follow the America (nation) \> American grammatical pattern? The first one would clearly be a “Save America senator”, since “Save American senator” does not follow any coherent grammatical intuition. I suppose we might say “Wonderful American senator”, since the risk of confusion with generically wonderful American senators is probably low. But I think “Wonderful America senator” to indicate party affiliation would probably be preferred. In the third case, there would be a clear need to disambiguate a generic American senator from a member of the America Party, so I think the preferred adjectival form would be “America senator”. ( So there’s a parallel argument that maybe in principle “Democrat senator” is a _better_ adjective to indicate party affiliation. But it’s a weak argument unless we ever reach a point where we have a frequent need to distinguish those who believe in democratic principles. ) ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2023, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrat-vs-democratic/992270/32 "2023-10-29T18:17:25Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > Consider also the following hypothetical parties. > **Save America Party** > **Wonderful America Party** > **America Party** If I were in the second, I’d prefer being called _either_ a “Wonderful America” or a “Wonderful American” way more than I would like being called a “WAP”. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2023, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrat-vs-democratic/992270/33 "2023-10-29T18:23:02Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > What would we call senators from these parties… Whatever they wanted to be called. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2023, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrat-vs-democratic/992270/34 "2023-10-29T18:28:15Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Whatever they wanted to be called. Thank you for your thoughtful contribution on how our grammatical intuition works with proper nouns. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2023, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrat-vs-democratic/992270/35 "2023-10-29T18:29:15Z")
How else would you have it? ---
**Author:** ![SunUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SunUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunUp)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2023, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrat-vs-democratic/992270/36 "2023-10-29T18:54:39Z")
Republicans like to use the term because they can put a little emphasis on the “RAT” at the end. Unfortunately, most Republicans wouldn’t get it if you started referring to their party as the “Publican” party - their Bible versions probably translate it as “tax collectors”. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2023, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrat-vs-democratic/992270/37 "2023-10-29T18:57:07Z")
> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > Somebody who says “Democrat Party” may or may not be. Somewhat who insists on calling it The Democrat Party after they have been told it is officially called The Democratic Party is doing it to belittle and insult. ---
**Author:** ![slicedalone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slicedalone/32/12515_2.png) [@slicedalone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slicedalone)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2023, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrat-vs-democratic/992270/38 "2023-10-29T19:21:11Z")
The users of “Democrat Party” are deciding for themselves that “democratic” imputes a virtue to that party that it does not have, so they are doing us all a favor by truncating the adjective “democratic” and making up a new adjective “democrat” to replace it. Imagine if they truncated the word from the other end, and started referring to the party as the “Emocratic Party,” meaning that Dems are all weepy and emotional and immature. That would be precisely the same sort of thing as “Democrat Party,” just a little more overtly hostile. ---
**Author:** ![Sylvanz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Sylvanz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sylvanz)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2023, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrat-vs-democratic/992270/39 "2023-10-29T20:00:58Z")
Seriously? 🙄 ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2023, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/democrat-vs-democratic/992270/40 "2023-10-29T20:03:24Z")
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