# Liberals, Progressives, or Democrats, can we get over 'The Democrat Party?' **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 24, 2014, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberals-progressives-or-democrats-can-we-get-over-the-democrat-party/689186 "2014-05-24T16:00:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2014, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberals-progressives-or-democrats-can-we-get-over-the-democrat-party/689186/21 "2014-05-24T17:51:43Z")
> [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](#): > > Yes, childish taunting is intended to be derogatory. But it only matters to you because you let it matter. You show that you, too, are a child if you make a BFD of it. We are supposed to be superior to them, and a mark of a truly superior person (or one who thinks he is) is that he does not react to childish taunts. At most, roll your eyes–to yourself, not with that insipid smiley–and say, “Well, bless your heart.” To yourself. Relish your superiority. If you get angry he wins because he has brought you down to his level. I am not suggesting we turn our cheeks to other insults, like “libtard.” No–wait. “Libtard” is so lame that one can only laugh at it and the people who use it, and laughter is a hell of a weapon. But “Democrat Party?” Pretty weak sauce for an insult when most people don’t know it’s supposed to be insulting. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2014, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberals-progressives-or-democrats-can-we-get-over-the-democrat-party/689186/22 "2014-05-24T18:22:25Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > It’s not offensive. Really. Even if Ann Coulter spits it out like Rush Limbaugh’s jism, It’s just a word that some benighted souls use because they, like me, cannot see how it can be offensive, and a few use to get our goats because there is _always_ somebody who gets offended by it and derails a thread. Quit feeding the trolls and let the ignorant stay ignorant until they pick up the correct spelling by continued exposure. Sure thing, **dropzo**. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2014, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberals-progressives-or-democrats-can-we-get-over-the-democrat-party/689186/23 "2014-05-24T18:25:33Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > But it only matters to you because you let it matter. You show that you, too, are a child if you make a BFD of it. We are supposed to be superior to them, and a mark of a truly superior person (or one who thinks he is) is that he does not react to childish taunts. At most, roll your eyes–to yourself, not with that insipid smiley–and say, “Well, bless your heart.” To yourself. Relish your superiority. If you get angry he wins because he has brought you down to his level. That would work. If you (plural) were, actually, in any way “superior”. You aren’t. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2014, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberals-progressives-or-democrats-can-we-get-over-the-democrat-party/689186/24 "2014-05-24T18:29:00Z")
Well, bless your heart. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2014, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberals-progressives-or-democrats-can-we-get-over-the-democrat-party/689186/25 "2014-05-24T18:43:01Z")
If someone doesn’t even know the NAME of the political party they’re talking about, that’s pretty strong evidence that they’re an ill-informed boob. It’s like someone complaining about the President who keeps calling him Bill Obama. In such cases it’s a public service to set them straight. Fighting ignorance and all that. Of course, some people like to use the wrong names for things just to be childish. Those people deserve to be called out on it, because its a dickish thing to do. In short, whether its out of ignorance or dickishness, there’s no good reason to let “Democrat Party” slide. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2014, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberals-progressives-or-democrats-can-we-get-over-the-democrat-party/689186/26 "2014-05-24T18:46:10Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > But it only matters to you because you let it matter. You show that you, too, are a child if you make a BFD of it. If someone is acting like a childish dick, it is not childish to point out that they’re acting like a childish dick. Why are you so timid? ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2014, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberals-progressives-or-democrats-can-we-get-over-the-democrat-party/689186/27 "2014-05-24T18:48:37Z")
Not timid. Just better than them. :rolleyes: Choose your battles. This one isn’t worth your–well, my–time and effort. ETA: Everybody else knows they are childish dicks. Pointing it out is redundant. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2014, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberals-progressives-or-democrats-can-we-get-over-the-democrat-party/689186/28 "2014-05-24T18:53:18Z")
Either, you let it pass and look weak, or you call them on it and look petty. I’ll look petty, thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2014, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberals-progressives-or-democrats-can-we-get-over-the-democrat-party/689186/29 "2014-05-24T18:53:47Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Not timid. Just better than them. :rolleyes: When you let someone get away with being a dick, you are not in any way proving your superiority. What you’re proving is that you’ll hold them to a lower standard of conduct and let them get away with being a dick. That just encourages them to keep doing it. If you don’t think it’s worth the time to argue about, that’s a valid point and I’d say live and let live. But don’t tell yourself you’re being the better person. You’re not. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2014, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberals-progressives-or-democrats-can-we-get-over-the-democrat-party/689186/30 "2014-05-24T18:57:30Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Not timid. Just better than them. Yeah, “rising above it” doesn’t mean crap in politics. If someone says something stupid, use it to embarrass them. If someone says something dickish, make them eat their words. The high-minded nonsense you favor doesn’t win elections. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2014, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberals-progressives-or-democrats-can-we-get-over-the-democrat-party/689186/31 "2014-05-24T18:59:27Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > When you let someone get away with being a dick, you are not in any way proving your superiority. In fact, you’re just showing how weak and timid you are. “Walk all over me, I don’t care … I’m too dainty to shove back.” ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2014, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberals-progressives-or-democrats-can-we-get-over-the-democrat-party/689186/32 "2014-05-24T19:27:50Z")
> [@Llama\_Llogophile](#): > > All that said, I’m actually glad that idiots like Michelle Bachmann who, thinking they’re being clever and witty, say “Democrat Party”. It’s like a reverse dog whistle. It alerts everyone else that she’s not a person to be taken seriously. Yep. It doesn’t hurt or offend me. It just identifies people I won’t generally bother to listen to. It’s like “Feminazi” or similar terms. If people want to put themselves into an irrelevant group by using a term, I’m not going to stop them. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2014, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberals-progressives-or-democrats-can-we-get-over-the-democrat-party/689186/33 "2014-05-24T19:40:01Z")
> [@The\_Hamster\_King](#): > > Yeah, “rising above it” doesn’t mean crap in politics. If someone says something stupid, use it to embarrass them. If someone says something dickish, make them eat their words. The high-minded nonsense you favor doesn’t win elections. You fight what they are saying, not their epithets. Showing how stupid their ideas are is far more effective than showing how stupid they, as individuals, are. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2014, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberals-progressives-or-democrats-can-we-get-over-the-democrat-party/689186/34 "2014-05-24T19:47:05Z")
A person who thinks he’s making points with “Democrat Party” is really stupid. Unless you react, because then he has hit a sore point and gets the points you wanted to deny him. Remember that only a small group thinks it’s supposed to be insulting. Most people wonder why you are making such a big deal out of what seems like a tiny thing, and start to think you are the one who is stupid or nuts. It’s not good if you have to link to Wikipedia to explain your anger. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2014, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberals-progressives-or-democrats-can-we-get-over-the-democrat-party/689186/35 "2014-05-24T19:49:43Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > A person who thinks he’s making points with “Democrat Party” is really stupid. Yep. Someone who uses it deliberately, knowing it’s not the real name, is just an idiot. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2014, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberals-progressives-or-democrats-can-we-get-over-the-democrat-party/689186/36 "2014-05-24T19:51:52Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > You fight what they are saying, not their epithets. Showing how stupid their ideas are is far more effective than showing how stupid they, as individuals, are. You do BOTH. And pointing out that your opponent is a childish tool (or bone-achingly dim) is a great way to undermine their arguments. People who use the phrase “Democrat Party” are clueless fools. Pointing out that they’re clueless fools is a win. And what matters in politics is WINNING, not being better or nobler than your opponent. The Republicans have won plenty of elections not by being better or nobler but by being willing to stick it to the Democrats any way they can. That means that we have to be willing to stick them right back. When some says “Democrat Party”, that’s an opening. They let their guard down. Take that opening and pop them right in the snoot. They made a stupid gaffe. USE IT. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2014, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberals-progressives-or-democrats-can-we-get-over-the-democrat-party/689186/37 "2014-05-24T19:58:45Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Why should they roll over _yet again_ to their enemies? The Democrats already let the Right frame the debate far too much. And this is exactly why the Right is able to frame the debate. Because you guys let them. They invent a non-issue and you respond as if it’s real. Conservatives divert you into trivia and you fall for it. And while you’re righteously insisting on being called the Democratic Party, you’re missing the main point - you’ve accepted that being called the Democrat Party is an insult. You lost the argument by agreeing the argument existed. The moment conservatives started this nonsense, Democrats should have jumped on it. They should have said, “We’re proud to be the Democrat Party or the Democratic Party. They’re both fine names with noble histories.” Instead, you idiots agreed that your name was an insult and fell back to asking people not to use it against you. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2014, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberals-progressives-or-democrats-can-we-get-over-the-democrat-party/689186/38 "2014-05-24T20:00:10Z")
It’s like if you’re talking to someone about NATO and they keep calling it the “North American Treaty Organization”. If they’re too ignorant to know what the name of the group is, it’s pretty clear their opinion is worthless. So you use it to score a point. “Why are we listening to you? You don’t even know what NATO means!” You embarrass them with it, force them on the defensive, make them defend their credentials, shame them into silence. You USE IT. “Democrat Party” is a weapon we’ve been handed. Of course I’m going to use it. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2014, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberals-progressives-or-democrats-can-we-get-over-the-democrat-party/689186/39 "2014-05-24T20:02:30Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > “We’re proud to be the Democrat Party or the Democratic Party. They’re both fine names with noble histories.” No, you say “Haw! Democrat Party? Where did you learn American history? Russia? Come back when you learn the proper names for things!” ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2014, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberals-progressives-or-democrats-can-we-get-over-the-democrat-party/689186/40 "2014-05-24T20:10:38Z")
> [@The\_Hamster\_King](#): > > It’s like if you’re talking to someone about NATO and they keep calling it the “North American Treaty Organization”. If they’re too ignorant to know what the name of the group is, it’s pretty clear their opinion is worthless. So you use it to score a point. “Why are we listening to you? You don’t even know what NATO means!” You embarrass them with it, force them on the defensive, make them defend their credentials, shame them into silence. You USE IT. > > “Democrat Party” is a weapon we’ve been handed. Of course I’m going to use it. You can’t put someone on the defensive when they are doing the thing they are doing on purpose. You can point it out, of course. Give them the chance to correct. Put them on notice that their usage paints them as an idiot. And that’s it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberals-progressives-or-democrats-can-we-get-over-the-democrat-party/689186.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberals-progressives-or-democrats-can-we-get-over-the-democrat-party/689186.md?page=3)