# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2010, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democrat-party/560521/81 "2010-11-14T05:04:46Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > [Democrat Party (epithet) - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democrat_Party_(phrase)) It is a slur and is attended to be one. Uh…so you’re arguing for the precise and proper use of language, and then use attended instead of intended? 😃 I seriously don’t get the problem with Democrat Party vs Democratic Party, but in all honesty I don’t care. But the geese are fucking Canadian, not Canada Geese. Do you hear people insist that it’s the America Bald Eagle? An Africa Lion? Siberia Tiger? India Elephant? No you fucking don’t, not even assholes insist on using the country name in the animal’s moniker rather than the forms that mean “come from country X.” It’s a CanadIAN goose, God dammit. ---
**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, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democrat-party/560521/82 "2010-11-14T05:15:37Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > I just think it’s a trivial thing to worry about, and the outrage some people are expressing over it strikes me as being a bit manufactured. If it only were an occasional honest mistake, we Democrats wouldn’t care. But the fact that senior elected officials on the right – people who know enough about politics to know the real name of the opposition party – repeatedly make the same “mistake” suggests that it’s a deliberate slight. If someone insists on calling you “Pete” long after you’ve made it clear that you prefer “Peter”, it’s disrespectful. I hate having to push back so hard on this, but the alternative is allowing the Republican Party to unilaterally decide what the Democratic Party is to be called. There are even plenty of people who have come forward in this thread to express confusion about what the real name of the Democratic Party is, even though its name has been the same for over 100 years and the name “Democrat Party” has never been used by anyone but the opposition. And believe me, the idea that this is a fight that Democrats even have to have is intensely frustrating to me. We shouldn’t HAVE to repeatedly tell Republicans to call our party by its real name. ---
**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, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democrat-party/560521/83 "2010-11-14T05:47:09Z")
> [@gladtobeblazed](#): > > Then why are we allowed to use the term “Democrat” at all? Do we have to say “Democratic party member” instead? 😕 “Democratic” is the adjectival form of the noun “Democrat”. So “Democrat” is completely fine when referring to a member of the party. It’s just incorrect to use as a modifier. In America we fly the American flag, not the “America Flag”. In our nation we sing the national anthem, not the “nation anthem”. If you can keep those straight, you should have no trouble with “Democrat” and “Democratic”. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2010, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democrat-party/560521/84 "2010-11-14T05:58:53Z")
Gotta weigh in with the “no-big-deal” crowd, here. Insofar as I ever noticed it, calling the Democratic Party the “Democrat Party” just sounds to me like a minor linguistic ignorance, like calling the grocery chain “Krogers”, or pronouncing _mayonnaise_ “MAN-ayes”. And for the record, I am a life-long _Democrat_ (noun); I support the _Democratic_ (adjective modifying the noun: ) Party. ---
**Author:** ![gladtobeblazed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85f322/32.png) [@gladtobeblazed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gladtobeblazed)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2010, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democrat-party/560521/85 "2010-11-14T06:56:17Z")
> [@The\_Hamster\_King](#): > > “Democratic” is the adjectival form of the noun “Democrat”. So “Democrat” is completely fine when referring to a member of the party. It’s just incorrect to use as a modifier. > > In America we fly the American flag, not the “America Flag”. In our nation we sing the national anthem, not the “nation anthem”. If you can keep those straight, you should have no trouble with “Democrat” and “Democratic”. I understand that. What I didn’t understand was how “Democrat” could be a slur when referring to the party, but not to the individual members. Your explanation above makes sense. To be honest, I know a lot of Republicans, but I’ve never known them to use the term “Democrat Party” as an intentional slur. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2010, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democrat-party/560521/86 "2010-11-14T07:06:35Z")
> [@LonesomePolecat](#): > > 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? … How else can you explain this, “_Tea bag the liberal Dems before they tea bag you_”? (A sign, apparently, mass produced by [Free Republic](http://washingtonindependent.com/31868/scenes-from-the-new-american-tea-party).) Lets break that down, “_Tea bag the liberal dems …_” this refers to the mailing of tea bags as an act of protest, correct? “_… before they tea bag you_” and this refers to what exactly? A mailing of tea bags by elected officials to random Americans? If you’ve got some innocent explanation for this part, I’m all ears. This is what happened, The protest act was planned with full knowledge of what the phrase meant by the planners. Protesters started to refer to themselves as “tea baggers”. People, most notably [Rachel Maddow and Ana Marie Cox](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/09/rachel-maddow-ana-marie-c_n_185445.html) et al., who were aware of the sexual meaning found it incredibly funny. [del]Tea baggers[/del] Tea Partiers didn’t enjoy being a punchline. [del]Tea baggers[/del] Tea Partiers get mad at the wrong people (as, IMHO, usual). This is exactly like being the victim of the “pull the chair out from underneath you just as you sit down” gag and being pissed off at everyone who’s laughing while ignoring the guy with your chair in their hands. Don’t enjoy being a punchline? Take it up with the folks who set you up to be one. > [@LonesomePolecat](#): > > … 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 … Sorry, but that’s what makes it funny. OYMV, but in my social circles, you do something stupid and you’ll never be allowed to forget it. Whine when it’s brought up? You just granted the incident an extension of its lifespan. CMC fnord! ---
**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, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democrat-party/560521/87 "2010-11-14T07:33:23Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > … but in my social circles, you do something stupid and you’ll never be allowed to forget it… Another reason to prefer the company of hippies. Short term memory issues. ---
**Author:** ![boytyperanma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@boytyperanma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boytyperanma)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2010, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democrat-party/560521/88 "2010-11-14T07:59:45Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > OYMV, but in my social circles, you do something stupid and you’ll never be allowed to forget it. > Whine when it’s brought up? You just granted the incident an extension of its lifespan. Because you hang out in obnoxious social circles doesn’t mean it isn’t rude and disrespectful to call people by names they don’t wish to be called by. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2010, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democrat-party/560521/89 "2010-11-14T08:15:05Z")
Democrats urge people to “Vote Democrat” all the time. [Cite](http://images.google.com/images?as_q=&hl=en&btnG=Google+Search&as_epq=vote+democrat&as_oq=&as_eq=&imgtype=&imgsz=&imgw=&imgh=&imgar=&as_filetype=&imgc=&as_sitesearch=&as_rights=&safe=off&as_st=y&biw=1000&bih=740) _“DemocRAT”!_ 😃 😃 😃 That’s gotta be in the top five, at least, of the most stupid things I’ve ever heard on this board. (And coming from a poster who can hardly make a political post without calling someone else a moron. :D) I thought the conceit was supposed to be that conservatives didn’t like referring to the Democratic party or its candidates as such because it supposedly makes them sound more “democratic” - and thus more “American” - in the eyes of the voters. Still, as the link above shows, Democrats themselves use the term “Vote Democrat” all the time. ---
**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, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democrat-party/560521/90 "2010-11-14T09:08:22Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > Democrats urge people to “Vote Democrat” all the time. > > [Cite](http://images.google.com/images?as_q=&hl=en&btnG=Google+Search&as_epq=vote+democrat&as_oq=&as_eq=&imgtype=&imgsz=&imgw=&imgh=&imgar=&as_filetype=&imgc=&as_sitesearch=&as_rights=&safe=off&as_st=y&biw=1000&bih=740) > > _“DemocRAT”!_ 😃 😃 😃 That’s gotta be in the top five, at least, of the most stupid things I’ve ever heard on this board. (And coming from a poster who can hardly make a political post without calling someone else a moron. :D) > > I thought the conceit was supposed to be that conservatives didn’t like referring to the Democratic party or its candidates as such because it supposedly makes them sound more “democratic” - and thus more “American” - in the eyes of the voters. > > Still, as the link above shows, Democrats themselves use the term “Vote Democrat” all the time. Do you even know how dim you are? I really wonder, do you see people making good decisions and having success around you and just stand mystified by it all? Just wondering. 😃 ---
**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, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democrat-party/560521/91 "2010-11-14T14:33:15Z")
> [@boytyperanma](#): > > Because you hang out in obnoxious social circles doesn’t mean it isn’t rude and disrespectful to call people by names they don’t wish to be called by. Now I must come in and confess. I occasionally call them teabaggers myself. However, I do it in the full knowledge that it is offensive. I use it on purpose in order to be rude. However, the defenders of the term Democrat Party try to have it both ways: they want to use their own deprecatory term for the Democratic Party while at the same time batting their doe eyes and saying “who, me? Who could _possibly_ take offense at being addressed by something other than their real name” in all seriousness. ---
**Author:** ![LonesomePolecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e57/32.png) [@LonesomePolecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonesomePolecat)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2010, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democrat-party/560521/92 "2010-11-14T14:37:52Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > How else can you explain this, “_Tea bag the liberal Dems before they tea bag you_”? (A sign, apparently, mass produced by [Free Republic](http://washingtonindependent.com/31868/scenes-from-the-new-american-tea-party).) > > Lets break that down, > “_Tea bag the liberal dems …_” this refers to the mailing of tea bags as an act of protest, correct? > “_… before they tea bag you_” and this refers to what exactly? A mailing of tea bags by elected officials to random Americans? If you’ve got some innocent explanation for this part, I’m all ears. And if you’ve got some proof that the sign is actually a sexual reference, instead of your half-baked speculation, I’m all ears. > [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > This is what happened, > The protest act was planned with full knowledge of what the phrase meant by the planners Again, this is just speculation on your part, and not established fact. (snip) > [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > This is exactly like being the victim of the “pull the chair out from underneath you just as you sit down” gag and being pissed off at everyone who’s laughing while ignoring the guy with your chair in their hands. And it would be reasonable to be pissed off at everyone who’s laughing, because they are laughing at an assault on your dignity. Inasmuch as the vast majority of tea partiers never referred to themselves as teabaggers, you can’t reasonably accuse them of setting themselves up. > [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > Sorry, but that’s what makes it funny. > OYMV, but in my social circles, you do something stupid and you’ll never be allowed to forget it. > Whine when it’s brought up? You just granted the incident an extension of its lifespan. > > CMC fnord! Such lovely friends you have. In my social circles, such disrespect is liable to get you a punch in the mouth. Give it up, boy. Taunting them with the phrase “teabagger” doesn’t make you look clever and superior. It just makes you look childish, spiteful and stupid. You might as well be chanting “Poopyhead, poopyhead, poopyhead!” ---
**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 14, 2010, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democrat-party/560521/93 "2010-11-14T16:21:31Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Frankly, this entire thread makes me want to throw up a little. This is partisanship at its absolute trivial worst. And these remarks are manufactured partisan outrage over alleged partisanship at its partisan worst. :rolleyes::eek::(😕🙂 Chill, Sam. It’ll be a mark of maturity if you don’t go along with the silly word games, blustering protest not withstanding. ---
**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, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democrat-party/560521/94 "2010-11-14T22:19:24Z")
> [@gladtobeblazed](#): > > To be honest, I know a lot of Republicans, but I’ve never known them to use the term “Democrat Party” as an intentional slur. Probably because its use has become so ubiquitous in certain right-wing circles that they don’t even realize that they’re not using the real name of the party. It’s like Ebonics … if that’s how you grow up talking, you don’t realize that most English speakers don’t pronounce “ask” as “ax”. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2010, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democrat-party/560521/95 "2010-11-14T22:40:58Z")
Wait. If “Democrat” is immature by trying to disassociate them with the connotations of “democratic”, isn’t it immature to call yourself the “Democratic” party in the first place, as if the other parties _aren’t_? ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democrat-party/560521/96 "2010-11-15T00:53:16Z")
> [@The\_Hamster\_King](#): > > Probably because its use has become so ubiquitous in certain right-wing circles that they don’t even realize that they’re not using the real name of the party. It’s like Ebonics … if that’s how you grow up talking, you don’t realize that most English speakers don’t pronounce “ask” as “ax”. So the fact that Democrats don’t know how to properly use the name of their own party is the Republicans’ fault now? ---
**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 15, 2010, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democrat-party/560521/97 "2010-11-15T01:01:12Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > So the fact that Democrats don’t know how to properly use the name of their own party is the Republicans’ fault now? The fact that you can’t follow a simple discussion is probably your fault. Reread the thread plz. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democrat-party/560521/98 "2010-11-15T01:28:31Z")
> [@Pierrot\_Le\_Fou](#): > > It is the same principle. A person does not vote Democrat. A person votes Democratic. See, this is the very basic of the argument. I disagree with that. There is no hard/fast answer, some people do different things. As a Brit, I would say I vote Social Democrat when voting for the Social Democratic Party as an example (before the 80s there was a Social Democratic Party, later part of the SDP/Liberal Alliance which eventually evolved into the Liberal Democrats). Actually, many that is part of it. One votes for the Social Democrats or for the Social Democratic Party. Or even one votes Social Democrat or **for** the Social Democratic Party. It all depends on what form of the name you use, whether the word “party” is sued and as to whether the word "for " is used. So in essence, I think you view is unnecessarily anal and I’d question why you feel the point (and distinction) has to be made. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democrat-party/560521/99 "2010-11-15T01:37:34Z")
> [@Lobohan](#): > > In any case, do you have any examples of major elected officials on the left using “Pubbies”? I’d love to be called a Pubbie and I am way, way to the left of the Democrats. It just sounds awesome, like you’re down the pub all the time. to me that is ace. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democrat-party/560521/100 "2010-11-15T01:43:14Z")
> [@LonesomePolecat](#): > > 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? Personally I can’t remember where I heard it first, but apparently it was mentioned in John Waters’ “Pecker” which I know I have seen (Christina Ricci had hit 18 and it didn’t feel wrong to lust) and, frankly, in certain social groups it wouldn’t be unlikely for large amounts to have seen that film and /or told others about it. > **[BB Exclusive: John Waters on the Origins of Teabagging.](https://boingboing.net/2009/04/17/bb-exclusive-john-wa.html)** > > There's been a lot of talk of "teabagging" lately. Conservative anti-tax advocates in the United States have been organizing "tea party" protests, fashioned after the colonial-era protests of British rule.… I’m sure I have seen in mentioned in other films as well. I can’t be arsed too Google “teabagging movie” too often. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democrat-party/560521.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democrat-party/560521.md?page=6)