# RESOLVED: Using the term "democrat party" should be a bannable offense **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [September 9, 2020, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-using-the-term-democrat-party-should-be-a-bannable-offense/920174 "2020-09-09T14:50:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2020, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-using-the-term-democrat-party-should-be-a-bannable-offense/920174/202 "2020-10-15T23:04:26Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > That’s because “leftist” isn’t the opposite to “right-wing”. What’s wrong with “left-wing” or “progressive” or “liberal”? Nothing. Though I’ve certainly seen all of those used as perjoratives occasionally. > [@RitterSport](#): > > To my ears, “leftist” means Castro or the Sandanistas (or, whoever they fought against, I never figured out which was which). I’m more used to the right yelling ‘Communist!’ or at least ‘Socialist!’ when they want to make comparisons to Castro etc. But it’s possible I’m just behind the times on this one. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2020, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-using-the-term-democrat-party-should-be-a-bannable-offense/920174/203 "2020-10-15T23:17:30Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > “Leftist” is the equivalent of “right-wing” and neither is IMO pejorative. > > The equivalent of “fascist” would be more like “Leninist”. “Marxist” is the correct pejorative. ---
**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 15, 2020, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-using-the-term-democrat-party-should-be-a-bannable-offense/920174/204 "2020-10-15T23:30:33Z")
Urban Dictionary, which is a terrible cite, defines [Leftist](https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Leftist) as: > A person belonging to the political left and usually identifying with the radical, anti capitalist, or revolutionary sectors of left politics. Includes anarchists, marxists, communists, socialists, and all other explicitly radical left ideologies. So, while I won’t defend Urban Dictionary as a cite, I will say that that definition comports with my own understanding of “leftist”. I’m left-wing (progressive, liberal, whatever), but I’m not leftist. The Democratic Party is center-left, but not leftist. Even Bernie Sanders isn’t leftist by that definition, and I would agree that he’s not “leftist”. ---
**Author:** ![Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aji_de_gallina/32/260_2.png) [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2020, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-using-the-term-democrat-party-should-be-a-bannable-offense/920174/205 "2020-10-16T00:31:54Z")
As a point of reference, not getting in the slur discussion, in Spanish we say “Partido **Demócrata** ” and never “Partido **Democrático** ”, but, interestingly, DPRK is “República Popular **Democrática** de Corea”. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2020, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-using-the-term-democrat-party-should-be-a-bannable-offense/920174/206 "2020-10-16T01:32:32Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > I’m left-wing (progressive, liberal, whatever), but I’m not leftist. To me they’re synonymous [shrug]. And I’m on the left. But then I don’t consider “Marxist” a pejorative either. I mean as long as they actually are one. No genuine Marxist (and I’ve known many, including family members) hates being referred to as a Marxist. They refer to themselves as Marxists 😉. If you call me a Marxist I’m not going to be offended, I’m going to be amused and a little confused. Because I clearly am not a Marxist. Neither is Barack Obama for that matter. I’m not at all sure there are any groups that proudly refer to themselves as fascist these days. ---
**Author:** ![yarblek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/71e660/32.png) [@yarblek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yarblek)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2020, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-using-the-term-democrat-party-should-be-a-bannable-offense/920174/207 "2020-10-16T03:46:06Z")
I will submit to everyone the term ‘[tankie](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tankie)’ as the closest contemporary left-wing equivalent to the right-wing fascist. You’re welcome. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2020, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-using-the-term-democrat-party-should-be-a-bannable-offense/920174/208 "2020-10-19T00:12:11Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > For once I have to agree with Velocity. Someone called me out for using the term Repugnant Party. I have no problem with suspending everybody who uses dumb names like that. I’ve probably done it before in a fit of pique, but I have since come around to noticing how it obliterates substantive discussion. Repugnicans, Klinton, Demon-Rats, Rethugnicans, Obummer, every 4th-grade insult that rhymes with “Trump”. Including and especially “tRump”… what do you really think you’re doing there? Bring out the bipartisan banhammer with extreme prejudice. ---
**Author:** ![snoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@snoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snoe)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2020, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-using-the-term-democrat-party-should-be-a-bannable-offense/920174/209 "2020-10-22T13:55:42Z")
[Here’s a 2006 _New Yorker_ piece](http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2006/08/07/the-ic-factor) on the slur and its history. Much already-covered ground from this thread, but a reminder that this issue is not new or confined to Extremely Online people. It’s also, as is usual for Hertzberg, a lovely bit of writing. > What is the name of a certain political party in the United States—not the one which controls the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the federal government but the other one, which doesn’t? The question is a small one, to be sure: a minor irritation, a wee gnat compared to such red-clawed, sharp-toothed horrors as the health-care mess and the budget deficit, to say nothing of Iraq and Lebanon. But it has been around longer than any of them, and, annoyingly, it won’t go away. Anyhoo, something Hertzberg mentions and I haven’t seen here is the aesthetic component. “Democrat,” with its big fat RAT ending\*, is not so pretty when used as an adjective. Don’t ask me why, ask a poet — but it’s true. “She’s a Democrat” — fine. “I’m sick of funding your Democrat wars” — ugly, and intentionally so. \*which brings to mind this 2000 kerfuffle, where the slur was at least semi-plausibly denied: [Gore Campaign Calls 'RAT' Ad 'Bizarre' - ABC News](https://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=95789&page=1) ---
**Author:** ![GnuMe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f17d59/32.png) [@GnuMe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GnuMe)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2020, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-using-the-term-democrat-party-should-be-a-bannable-offense/920174/210 "2020-10-31T18:35:06Z")
I can’t believe this thread is still here. Seems like the Mods should take a clear position and then shut it down. While it is though, I’d like to mention my personal history with the term. Before I had any idea that “rat” was the thing, I used “Democrat” rather than “Democratic”. The reason was that alot of people think that democracy is the be all and end all of fairness in politics. As such, I didn’t like the idea that the other party is the only one that believes in democracy when it applies. ---
**Author:** ![Kron](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kron/32/12444_2.png) [@Kron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kron)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2020, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-using-the-term-democrat-party-should-be-a-bannable-offense/920174/211 "2020-10-31T19:12:29Z")
> [@GnuMe](#): > > I didn’t like the idea that the other party is the only one that believes in democracy when it applies. And then 2016-2020 happened, and… ---
**Author:** ![GnuMe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f17d59/32.png) [@GnuMe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GnuMe)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2020, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-using-the-term-democrat-party-should-be-a-bannable-offense/920174/212 "2020-11-04T20:38:26Z")
Case in point: > [@Kron](#): > > And then 2016-2020 happened ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2020, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-using-the-term-democrat-party-should-be-a-bannable-offense/920174/213 "2020-11-06T17:56:38Z")
As someone who once accidentally said “Democrat Party” while working phones for the Dems, nah. Also, I am back! :waves: ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2020, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-using-the-term-democrat-party-should-be-a-bannable-offense/920174/214 "2020-11-06T18:21:23Z")
> [@GnuMe](#): > > Case in point: > > > [@Kron](#): > > > > And then 2016-2020 happened I mean, it DID happen. ---
**Author:** ![Kron](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kron/32/12444_2.png) [@Kron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kron)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2020, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-using-the-term-democrat-party-should-be-a-bannable-offense/920174/215 "2020-11-06T18:33:27Z")
Welcome back! ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2020, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-using-the-term-democrat-party-should-be-a-bannable-offense/920174/216 "2020-11-07T03:21:30Z")
I never realized, until this thread, that “democrat party” was a slur. I would have guessed that maybe all the people who seem to have lost their adverbs, are now losing adjectives too. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2020, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-using-the-term-democrat-party-should-be-a-bannable-offense/920174/217 "2020-11-07T03:26:01Z")
It is mostly a slur in context. And to many of us, it is no big deal. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2020, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-using-the-term-democrat-party-should-be-a-bannable-offense/920174/218 "2020-11-07T14:59:46Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > But then I don’t consider “Marxist” a pejorative either. I mean as long as they actually are one. No genuine Marxist (and I’ve known many, including family members) hates being referred to as a Marxist. They refer to themselves as Marxists 😉. > > If you call me a Marxist I’m not going to be offended, I’m going to be amused and a little confused. Because I clearly am not a Marxist. Neither is Barack Obama for that matter. Yeah, this is one of those slurs that really just shows someone is ignorant about the left, when it’s used. I had some explicitly Marxist professors in college (they’re the ones who assigned us lots of readings from John Locke and Adam Smith), and I’ve known a few other avowed Marxists over the years, and I still know more than my share of self-identified anarchists, and I have some acquaintances who love to talk about guillotines, and there are a few key points. First the most power any anarchist has, in my experience, is being in charge of the till at the anarchist bookstore. These are not people with influence on US politics, and the wiser ones realize that. Second, the ones who talk about guillotines are all talk. Third, actual Marxists fucking HATE the Democratic Party. Calling Democrats “Marxist” is like calling Evangelicals “Satanist.” It’s just plain ignorant. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2020, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-using-the-term-democrat-party-should-be-a-bannable-offense/920174/219 "2020-11-08T02:18:33Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > _ **Democrat Party** _ is an [epithet](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epithet) for the [Democratic Party of the United States](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Party_(United_States)), used in a disparaging fashion by the party’s opponents. While the term has been used in a non-hostile way, it has grown in its negative use since the 1940s, in particular by members of the [Republican Party](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_Party_(United_States))—in party platforms, partisan speeches, and press releases—as well as by [conservative](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservatism_in_the_United_States) commentators. Huh. I thought it was the actual name of the party… ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2021, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-using-the-term-democrat-party-should-be-a-bannable-offense/920174/220 "2021-03-03T13:59:55Z")
What’s in an adjective? ‘Democrat Party’ label on the rise: [Columbia Basin Herald](https://columbiabasinherald.com/news/2021/mar/01/whats-in-an-adjective-democrat-party-label-2/) ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2021, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-using-the-term-democrat-party-should-be-a-bannable-offense/920174/221 "2021-03-03T14:32:14Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > First the most power any anarchist has, in my experience, is being in charge of the till at the anarchist bookstore. These are not people with influence on US politics, and the wiser ones realize that. You’re not differentiating between power and influence. > [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Second, the ones who talk about guillotines are all talk. Similar here. Talk itself has influence. (I imagine you probably agree with this, when it’s talk that you disagree with.) > [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Third, actual Marxists fucking HATE the Democratic Party. Calling Democrats “Marxist” is like calling Evangelicals “Satanist.” It’s just plain ignorant. It’s not ignorant. It’s a bit of hyperbole. No one is intending to convey the message that there’s zero difference between Democrats and hard-core Marxists. Only that they share many attitudes and ideologies, and this may not be apparent to many people who object to these attitudes when expressed forcefully by Marxists but fail to notice when expressed subtly by Democrats. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-using-the-term-democrat-party-should-be-a-bannable-offense/920174.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-using-the-term-democrat-party-should-be-a-bannable-offense/920174.md?page=12)