# The Democrat Party **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 13, 2010, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democrat-party/560521 "2010-11-13T02:49:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2010, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democrat-party/560521/41 "2010-11-13T21:20:05Z")
Referring to the “Democrat” Party is a bit of childish needling wordplay that’s cropped up among Republicans in the last few years. Far less common but equally childish\* is the Democratic (or anti-Republican) tactic of referring to the G.O.P. as “Pubbies”. It’s like mocking someone on a message board you don’t like or agree with, by calling them an altered version of their username. Please knock it off. \*Alright, it _sounds_ even more childish. But let’s not split hairs. ---
**Author:** ![sleeping](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/839c29/32.png) [@sleeping](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleeping)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2010, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democrat-party/560521/42 "2010-11-13T21:55:54Z")
Maybe it’s because progressives have little use for the Democratic Party, but I could care less about the pronunciation and suffixation conservatives use when referring to the Democrats. It does bother me when they use terms like “Demoncrat” and “Dimocrat,” but mostly because the names are just so puerile and retarded. The “-rat” thing is subtle enough not to sound affected, I suppose. “Dem” and “Pub” are fairly standard and neutral abbreviations, in my view. And, much in accordance with the euphemism treadmill, derogatory names can become neutral. For example, I now use “Tea Party” and “teabagger” interchangeably; they do not differ in emotional resonance. Some people might still use “teabagger” deliberately (to precipitate offense), but in general it’s become used because “Tea Partier” is too unwieldy. (Of course, I don’t have a positive opinion of the Tea Party movement, but that has no bearing on what I choose to call them.) ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2010, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democrat-party/560521/43 "2010-11-13T22:11:59Z")
> [@LonesomePolecat](#): > > No, sorry, tea baggers is just rude and juvenile. Nor is it funny that they were unaware of its use as an obscure sexual term when they used it unless you never matured beyond the age of thirteen or fourteen. (a) It’s hardly an “obscure” term – most people I know had heard of it prior to its adoption by the Tea Party, and we’re hardly a bunch of deviants. (b) I can see why Tea Partiers don’t think it’s funny, but you don’t have to be a 13 year old to find their unintentional adoption of a sexual act as their de facto label to be hilarious. No different really than when you hear that “Pepsi” actually means “frog anus soup” in Swahili – it’s funny to pretty much everyone except Pepsi. It does help with the comedy factor though that the Tea Party is composed almost entirely of semi-retarded children who don’t have the common sense to run a Pizza Hut, let alone the U.S. government. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2010, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democrat-party/560521/44 "2010-11-13T22:21:27Z")
I have to be honest - I could easily have said “Democrat party”, because it would never have occured to me that this was a slur of any kind. I would just be searching for the proper English. I still don’t understand how it’s a slur. If you vote Republican, you vote for the Republican party. If you vote Democrat, you vote for the Democrat party. How are these usages different, and why is one a slur and the other isn’t? It gets doubly confusing because in other countries, “Democratic” is simply an adjective for decribing elements of a Democracy. We might say, “the politcies of my country are determined in democratic fashion”, or “We elect our leaders through a democratic process.” In that sense, it almost seems wrong to me to refer to Democrats as being in the “Democratic party”, because both Republicans and Democrats belong to democratic parties. If anything, it seems to me that by Democrats insisting that they are the ‘Democratic party’, they’re actually trying to hijack normal usage and make it sound like the Democrats are truly the only party that believes in democracy. In any event, is this something new? Or is this a slur that only the left talks about? Because I read a lot of American political content, and outside of this board I had never heard that “Democrat party” was a slur of any kind. I don’t even get why it would be. “Teabagger” is obvious, since it associates the party with a sexual practice, which has a certain kind of appeal to juvenile minds looking to snigger at something. But what is offensive about ‘Democrat Party’, and why? ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2010, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democrat-party/560521/45 "2010-11-13T23:21:28Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > I have to be honest - I could easily have said “Democrat party”, because it would never have occured to me that this was a slur of any kind. I would just be searching for the proper English. I still don’t understand how it’s a slur. > > If you vote Republican, you vote for the Republican party. > If you vote Democrat, you vote for the Democrat party. > > How are these usages different, and why is one a slur and the other isn’t? > > It gets doubly confusing because in other countries, “Democratic” is simply an adjective for decribing elements of a Democracy. We might say, “the politcies of my country are determined in democratic fashion”, or “We elect our leaders through a democratic process.” > > In that sense, it almost seems wrong to me to refer to Democrats as being in the “Democratic party”, because both Republicans and Democrats belong to democratic parties. > > If anything, it seems to me that by Democrats insisting that they are the ‘Democratic party’, they’re actually trying to hijack normal usage and make it sound like the Democrats are truly the only party that believes in democracy. > > In any event, is this something new? Or is this a slur that only the left talks about? Because I read a lot of American political content, and outside of this board I had never heard that “Democrat party” was a slur of any kind. I don’t even get why it would be. “Teabagger” is obvious, since it associates the party with a sexual practice, which has a certain kind of appeal to juvenile minds looking to snigger at something. But what is offensive about ‘Democrat Party’, and why? DemocRAT is what it means. > **[Mark Kirk R-IL to miss part of lame-duck session (until Dec - two new RATS...](https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2622710/posts)** It’s like calling Obama, 0bama, bammy or zero. It’s what small minded Republicans do as a visceral dig. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2010, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democrat-party/560521/46 "2010-11-13T23:30:00Z")
I have never before considered that “Democrat” and “Democratic” were even remotely offensive in reference to that particular political party, its members, or its voting supporters. And I don’t intend to start now, because the idea is cocksuckingly stupid. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2010, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democrat-party/560521/47 "2010-11-13T23:35:49Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > If anything, it seems to me that by Democrats insisting that they are the ‘Democratic party’, they’re actually trying to hijack normal usage and make it sound like the Democrats are truly the only party that believes in democracy. No more than the Republicans are trying to make it seem like they are the only ones who believe in the republic or republican government. Unless you actually think they want an oligarchy or aristocracy. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2010, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democrat-party/560521/48 "2010-11-13T23:36:08Z")
Oh damn. Here I was feeling slightly guilty because I forgot to mention that I saw no problem with Sam’s use of the phrase “vote Democrat”. But he truly would have to have been totally unexposed in recent times to talk radio, other right-wing outlets and pronouncements by various Republican politicians not to notice that lots of these folks have started insistently referring to the “Democrat” Party, when it’s previously been referred to by everyone (friend and foe alike) as the Democratic Party. And since Sam is very much up on all the memes and spin of American politics, one wonders how this particular tactic escaped his notice. Maybe I should just start referring to all our knowledgeable, down-to-earth friends north of the border as “Canadjuns”. It probably wouldn’t annoy any of you and if it did, so what? ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2010, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democrat-party/560521/49 "2010-11-13T23:42:58Z")
> [@Lobohan](#): > > DemocRAT is what it means. > > [Mark Kirk R-IL to miss part of lame-duck session (until Dec - two new RATS will be seated)](http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2622710/posts) > > It’s like calling Obama, 0bama, bammy or zero. It’s what small minded Republicans do as a visceral dig. Oh for God’s sake. Are you kidding me? After spending years on this board listening to people on the right being called “Pubbies”, “Repugnicans”, “Tighty Righties”, “Bushistas”, “The forces of darkness”, “Tea Baggers”, “Rednecks”, and any number of other slurs, I have to worry about you getting your panties in a twist because I use the _actual name_ of the Democrats, which happens to have the word ‘rat’ in it? Jesus. Man up and grow a pair. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2010, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democrat-party/560521/50 "2010-11-13T23:47:38Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Oh for God’s sake. Are you kidding me? > > After spending years on this board listening to people on the right being called “Pubbies”, “Repugnicans”, “Tighty Righties”, “Bushistas”, “The forces of darkness”, “Tea Baggers”, “Rednecks”, and any number of other slurs, I have to worry about you getting your panties in a twist because I use the _actual name_ of the Democrats, which happens to have the word ‘rat’ in it? > > Jesus. Man up and grow a pair. I’m sorry bitch, I thought you wanted to understand and fight your ignorance. But of course I don’t know why I thought that, since you obviously don’t care about living in ignorance, you’re a fucking Austrian Economics booster after all. In any case, do you have any examples of major elected officials on the left using “Pubbies”? ---
**Author:** ![gladtobeblazed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85f322/32.png) [@gladtobeblazed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gladtobeblazed)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2010, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democrat-party/560521/51 "2010-11-13T23:54:46Z")
Then why are we allowed to use the term “Democrat” at all? Do we have to say “Democratic party member” instead? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2010, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democrat-party/560521/52 "2010-11-13T23:55:30Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Oh damn. Here I was feeling slightly guilty because I forgot to mention that I saw no problem with Sam’s use of the phrase “vote Democrat”. > > But he truly would have to have been totally unexposed in recent times to talk radio, other right-wing outlets and pronouncements by various Republican politicians not to notice that lots of these folks have started insistently referring to the “Democrat” Party, when it’s previously been referred to by everyone (friend and foe alike) as the Democratic Party. > > And since Sam is very much up on all the memes and spin of American politics, one wonders how this particular tactic escaped his notice. I don’t really care if you believe me or not. It would never have occured to me that any of those usages are offensive. And I would think that after 20,000 posts on this board, where I have never as far as I can recall resorted to the kind of childish name-calling you’re talking about, I would have earned the benefit of the doubt. And you know why I don’t? Because when I hear _other_ people use words like ‘Tea Bagger’, “Repugnican’ or 'Dimmicrat”, my personal estimation of their IQ and level of knowledge is downgraded substantially. I’d rather have needles stuck in my eyes than be associated with that kind of low-brow political dialogue. I wouldn’t let my 13 year old daughter get away with that kind of lazy, insulting language. I’d rather she learn to take her opponent’s arguments apart with a rapier than simply beat them over the head with a club. > [@](#): > > Maybe I should just start referring to all our knowledgeable, down-to-earth friends north of the border as “Canadjuns”. It probably wouldn’t annoy any of you and if it did, so what? You do whatever you think you need to do. I’ll evaluate your posts accordingly. ---
**Author:** ![LonesomePolecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e57/32.png) [@LonesomePolecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonesomePolecat)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2010, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democrat-party/560521/53 "2010-11-13T23:58:57Z")
> [@Giraffe](#): > > (a) It’s hardly an “obscure” term – most people I know had heard of it prior to its adoption by the Tea Party, and we’re hardly a bunch of deviants. Have you considered the possibility that you and your friends are not representative of the general population? And exactly how did you determine that most of the people you know had heard of it prior to the emergence of the Tea Party? > [@Giraffe](#): > > (b) I can see why Tea Partiers don’t think it’s funny, but you don’t have to be a 13 year old to find their unintentional adoption of a sexual act as their de facto label to be hilarious. No different really than when you hear that “Pepsi” actually means “frog anus soup” in Swahili – it’s funny to pretty much everyone except Pepsi. But like any joke, sometime between the second and the millionth repetition it becomes tiresome, especially if it wasn’t very funny in the first place, and even more especially when it’s used constantly and maliciously. It also makes the one using the term sound like an idiot. Ask a gay woman what she thinks of the old “I’m a lesbian trapped in a man’s body” foolishness sometime. > [@Giraffe](#): > > It does help with the comedy factor though that the Tea Party is composed almost entirely of semi-retarded children who don’t have the common sense to run a Pizza Hut, let alone the U.S. government. You need to do some fact checking. [A poll conducted by the New York Times and CBS news](http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/15/us/politics/15poll.html?_r=1) found that tea partiers were on average wealthier and more educated than the general public. But I’ve noticed that progs never let facts get in the way. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2010, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democrat-party/560521/54 "2010-11-14T00:02:37Z")
The Progs? Isn’t that the band that orignally recorded “Wild Thing”? ---
**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:** [November 14, 2010, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democrat-party/560521/55 "2010-11-14T00:04:56Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > But he truly would have to have been totally unexposed in recent times to talk radio, other right-wing outlets and pronouncements by various Republican politicians not to notice that lots of these folks have started insistently referring to the “Democrat” Party, when it’s previously been referred to by everyone (friend and foe alike) as the Democratic Party. Well, I don’t listen to right-wing talk radio or other outlets much either ( except sometimes for a few minutes at shift change at work ), but I think I otherwise stay weakly abreast of political trends in the United States. This is literally the first time I have ever heard of this. And I’m afraid I’m still in the camp with **Cisco** and others that just don’t get it. I mean, sure - _Demoncrat_, _Dimocrat_, or _Repugnican_ from the other side. I agree that is all pure retarded partisan jackassery. But _DemocRAT_? Really? People are actually offended by that? Democrat Party, Democratic Party - makes no difference to me. And from high on top my ever-so-high horse, I’m going to insist it should make no difference to anybody :). ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2010, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democrat-party/560521/56 "2010-11-14T00:13:13Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > Well, I don’t listen to right-wing talk radio or other outlets much either ( except sometimes for a few minutes at shift change at work ), but I think I otherwise stay weakly abreast of political trends in the United States. This is literally the first time I have ever heard of this. And I’m afraid I’m still in the camp with **Cisco** and others that just don’t get it. > > I mean, sure - _Demoncrat_, _Dimocrat_, or _Repugnican_ from the other side. I agree that is all pure retarded partisan jackassery. But _DemocRAT_? Really? People are actually offended by that? > > Democrat Party, Democratic Party - makes no difference to me. And from high on top my ever-so-high horse, I’m going to insist it should make no difference to anybody :). I don’t really disagree entirely. I think it isn’t a problem when the mistake is made out of ignorance, like Sam did above. But I’ve seen a fair number of right-wing head-talkers put an awful lot of derision in that third syllable. It isn’t something imagined either, it’s a shout-out to the freeper set. The link I posted above has it right there. I would say it depends on the context. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2010, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democrat-party/560521/57 "2010-11-14T00:33:29Z")
> [@gladtobeblazed](#): > > Then why are we allowed to use the term “Democrat” at all? Do we have to say “Democratic party member” instead? 😕 It’s a free country. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2010, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democrat-party/560521/58 "2010-11-14T00:35:22Z")
> [@boytyperanma](#): > > Even if it was their own ignorance that brought the term to to forefront, I think they’ve made it pretty clear that they do not wish to be called ‘teabaggers’ So it is disrespectful and rude to keep calling them such. Of course it is. I didn’t say it wasn’t. But _Chessic_ is saying “my side” [sic] has to stop before he considers the complaint valid. Fat chance. They were using the slur before the word Teabagger, and will continue to use it afterward. ---
**Author:** ![MOIDALIZE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@MOIDALIZE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MOIDALIZE)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2010, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democrat-party/560521/59 "2010-11-14T01:30:21Z")
Republicans? More like the REPOOPIEHEADS!!! ---
**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:** [November 14, 2010, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democrat-party/560521/60 "2010-11-14T01:33:39Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > Democrat Party, Democratic Party - makes no difference to me. And from high on top my ever-so-high horse, I’m going to insist it should make no difference to anybody. Whatever you say, **Tourmaline**. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democrat-party/560521.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democrat-party/560521.md?page=4)