“Democrat” is a NOUN
… Is the use of Democrat as an adjective by Republican talking heads grammatically incorrect? Is it malevolent? Does it have a strategic value? (factcheck.org)
Pet Peeve: Democrat vs. Democratic Party
My longest running pet peeve has to do with the weird way “democrat” vs. “democratic” party has been used by mainstream Republicans as well as right wing activists. It appears that it has permeated the language of conservatives on the Hill and in the press. It has become ubiquitous as a conscious slight by the GOP and conservative pundits for many years now. In fact there are probably some political newbies who have never known about the “Democratic” Party. What do they do when they hit the voting booth?
I finally googled trying to find out if I was hearing things and was just paranoid… Here is what I found:
The first thing I discovered is that of course I am way behind the times. (like I’m so smart and observant) Hendrick Hertzberg first wrote an excellent article about the “ic” factor as far back as 2006 for the New Yorker and then ABC looked at the issue further in 2007!
White House correspondent Ann Compton blogs: When President Bush offered his very public compliments to the new leaders of Congress at the start of his State of the Union address, the intention was to move past politics. “Some in this chamber are new to the House and the Senate,” he began. “And I congratulate the Democrat majority.” There was extended applause. And then came the complaints from Democrats, bloggers, and a few pundits who considered his pronunciation “Democrat” instead of “Democratic” to be disrespectful. A day later the Washington Post gave the flap front-page treatment in its Style section. Press Secretary Tony Snow insists it was anything but a slight. “I want to thank everybody for making three mountains out of a molehill,” Snow told his morning briefing. “When we asked him about it, he said, ‘What?’ ‘What, oh, I didn’t mean anything by it.’ “
The advanced text of the address was written “democratic,” and Snow accused reporters of picking a fight that doesn’t exist. “He spends an entire speech about reaching out and working together. And a few people who apparently haven’t gotten the message run out and they complain the letters ‘ic’ were missing from ‘Democratic.’ That looks like an exercise in looking for offense rather than looking for a way to work together,” Snow added. The Washington Post story pointed out that conservative radio talker Rush Limbaugh often uses the adjective “Democrat” as an intentional dig.
Snow appeared surprised when told the official White House schedule this week also drops the “-ic” in announcing the highly unusual invitation for the President to address the House Democratic Caucus this coming weekend. That was not intentional, either.
More recently, President Trump and his cohorts in the GOP and on Fox News apparently don’t think twice about the usage of “democrat” as a descriptive pejorative and it appears its usage has been purposely normalized. This February 2019 broadcast transcript from Hear and Now on WBUR is the last press or public reference I found related to the widespread use of “democrat”. The transcript discusses Trump’s usage as well as its use by none other than-Joseph McCarthy.
Bottom Line:
The bottom line is that “democrat” appears to be used in order to suggest that the “democrat” party is somehow not “democrat-ic” enough.
Democrat Party” is a political epithet used in the United States instead of “Democratic Party” when talking about the Democratic Party. The term has been principally used by conservative commentators and members of the Republican Party in party platforms, partisan speeches and press releases since the 1930s. The explicit goal is to dissociate the name of the rival party from the concept of democracy. (daily writings tip)
other sources:
http://nstockdale.blogspot.com/2005/01/democrat-vs-democratic.html
http://commonsensej.blogspot.com/2009/09/democrat-vs-democratic-and-other.html
