Unfortunately, I did not get to ask John McCain my question during today's blogger conference call. It concerns word choice and may sound insignificant to some, but I think says something important about McCain's strategic outlook.
During a question about last night's Democratic debate, McCain described Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton's answers on Iraq to be "almost Orwellian." However, during the same answer, he referred to the Democratic Party as the "Democrat Party." It's a two-letter subtraction that Democrats have described as a "smear" by Republicans who have previously used it, including President Bush, Tom DeLay and several other prominent Republicans. The obvious intended effect is to disassociate the neutral semantic use of "Democratic," which one assumes conjures positive feelings, from alignment with the Democratic Party.
Unfortunately, the questionable word choice occurred midway through the conference call, far too late for my trigger finger *1 request to reach the front of the pack before the call ended. McCain even shut-down his handlers, taking an additional question after they tried to cut things off. But again, unfortunately, I wasn't the guy picked to ask.
Still, I'm very curious if this word choice was intentional, and if so, what does McCain believe is its desired effect?
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Comments
Those in the GOP who wish to signify that they are true kool-aid drinkers from the right wing trough use "Democrat Party" as an inside signal to one another.
Posted by: gevan
| February 24, 2008 12:06 AM
This derogatory label has been in use by various GOP factions for most if not all my adult life. I can recall knuckle draggers from Joe McCarthy to Rush Limbaugh using it. The previous poster is right...it's a signal to others.
Posted by: airmandave
| February 25, 2008 11:25 AM
You need to exercise more caution, gevan. Those who know the secret signals monitor websites like these for security breaches such as yours. No doubt, you will find yourself waking up in Guantanamo.
Gee, airmandave, such a derogatory label - Democrat instead of Democratic. Such slander, such viciousness, such cruelty! Why couldn't Republicans use more sensitive terms like your flippant "knuckle draggers" or all those gentle accusations about Republicans being "racist" or "sexist" or "homophobe" or "war-mongering "or "imperialist". I know, I know. When you use such terms, it is "speaking truth to power". When Republicans call them as they see them, they are liars and divisive and insensitive (and those are only the names fit for polite society).
Oh, and airmandave, have you noticed that under Democrat Party rules, the delegates "pledged" to the primary winner are not bound by party rules or anything else to actually vote for the winning candidate at the national convention? And let's not talk about your 'super delegates", shall we? Clearly, the Democrat Party is not very democratic afterall.
Posted by: JmK
| February 25, 2008 1:24 PM
Look. It's this simple. The term "Democrat Party" is used by many Republicans because they think it makes Democrats sound worse: they focus tested it in the '90s; based on the results, Newt Gingrich passed the word, and the "Dittoheads" et al (Rush Limbaugh's own term, not mine) fell into line.
But parties, like people, have the right to their own names. I don't call the Republican Party the "Republic Party." Republicans should call the Democratic Party what it wants to be called. Just like you would in your personal life. Simple human decency. Too much too expect, I realize. But it's worth recalling occasionally that if some of these folks behaved in their personal lives with the same 24x7 viciousness they bring to their politics, their families would throw them out in the rain and lock the door.
Posted by: bcamarda
| February 26, 2008 5:50 PM
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