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Comment by amznthrwaway | Hacker News Reader

Yes, but Republicans consistently use the term 'Democrat' instead of 'Democratic' because they don't want to imply that Democrats have a connection to the concept of Democracy.

It's a shibboleth; folks who instinctively say "Democrat" are reliably far-right.

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I'm not saying you are making things up, but that makes no sense to me. I don't think any Republicans I know are aware of that tactic, use that tactic, or would even think it's effective.

Start paying closer attention. You'll see it all the time from Republican officials and conservative media personalities.

There's an well-sourced Wikipedia article covering the of “Democrat” as an adjective in place of “Democratic”, including its history and Republicans citing their justification for it: https://en.m. wikipedia.org/wiki/Democrat_Party_(epithet)

Your link is broken, so here it is with some quotes:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democrat_Party_(epithet):

> The term Democrat Party is an epithet for the Democratic Party of the United States,[2][3][4] used disparagingly by the party's opponents.[5] United Press International reported in August 1984 that the term had been employed "in recent years by some right-wing Republicans" because the party name implied that the Democrats were "the only true adherents of democracy."[6]...

> [Conservative] Political commentator William Safire wrote in 1993 that the Democrat of Democrat Party "does conveniently rhyme with autocrat, plutocrat, and worst of all, bureaucrat".[9]...

> Journalist Ruth Marcus stated that Republicans likely only continue to employ the term because Democrats dislike it,[2] and Hertzberg calls use of the term "a minor irritation" and also "the partisan equivalent of flashing a gang sign".[10]

That is just so...weak. I acknowledge the historical origins, but is anyone really bothered by this? "Democrat" is obviously a demonym for those in the Democratic Party, so shortening it to the "Democrat Party" (i.e. the party of the "Democrats") seems perfectly reasonable. I mean, it does lend itself to silly orthographic puns like "DemocRAT" etc., but by itself doesn't really seem particularly offensive.

Adopting a disparaging name for a group of people that you don't like is a means of dehumanizing them.

True, I just find it odd that this is seen as (or was ever intended to be) disparaging, rather than a mere grammatical variation.

Heck, before it was adopted as the name of the party, Democratic was also a disparaging epithet conjured by the faction’s opponents (though not one involving torturing grammar, because that's not how Federalists rolled.)

To be fair, Democracy had (up until that point) a rather tumultuous history.

And even in the modern day, it is often the case that self-styled "Democratic" institutions are measurably worse than their counterparts. For example, compare the "People's Democratic Republic of Korea" to South Korea, or the "Democratic Republic of Congo" to the mere "Republic of Congo".

It’s because “democratic” is only an adjective while “republican” can also be a noun. Does it make sense to say “The democratics oppose this legislation?” No.

Before you all downvote this, check Webster dictionary if you don’t believe me.

>but Republicans consistently use the term 'Democrat' instead of 'Democratic' because they don't want to imply that Democrats have a connection to the concept of Democracy.

I've never heard that. I thought it was a synonym like 'GOP'. The question is, who cares?

>It's a shibboleth; folks who instinctively say "Democrat" are reliably far-right.

Sure.

Did you make a throwaway account just to put this out? You have nothing else to contribute, correct?

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