CotW: The Democratic Party by Any Other Name Would Not…

I made the mistake of watching too many people talk about the bipartisan health care this week and it put me in a foul mood. So I decided to run this column that I wrote awhile ago, and had initially thought, “Nah, too bitter.” If you don’t like it, blame the parade of talking heads claiming, “It’s a trap,” after months of complaining that the President wouldn’t talk to them.

I don’t know how many of you are familiar with this, but some Republicans do this thing lately where they call the Democratic Party here in the United States by another name: the Democrat party. Yup, they drop the “ic.” Why? Umm…well, I can’t say for certain.  Just because I’m white, come from a fairly upper middle class background, and attend church every weekend does not mean I am Republican, you know. I mean, it’s close, sure, but it is no guarantee.

Anyway, they do this enough that it has its own Wikipedia entry. Reviewing it tells me that it has been in use since 1890, but that the current emphasis started in 2001 with President George W Bush taking office and the dominance of the legislative branch by the Republican Party. If you look in the discussion section you’ll note there are 38 separate threads about the term “Democrat Party” going on. There aren’t even that many in the discussion of the Brendan Loy Wikipedia entry and that s#!+ is contentious in there.

So clearly, people have some strong feelings about this. But not me, for large measure. When Chris Matthews lambasted Representative Darrell Issa (R-CA) for using it a year ago, I rolled my eyes and wondered why he even bothered. When people suggested that Democrats start referring to the Republican Party of the Republic Party or the Publican Party I wept for such lame, lame ideas. I thought spending any time on it at all was as a waste. Obviously, people who use it only do so to get a rise out of Democrats so why give it to them?

Which, of course, begs the questions (yes, I use “begs the question”…suck on that grammar fans!) why the hell I am writing about it then.

Well, I still think it is a waste of time to try and argue people down from using it or coming up with some similar rejoinder. That hasn’t changed. But, a few weeks back, I got annoyed enough that I decided, what the heck? I’m not going to argue with anyone about it, I’m not going to try to change anyone’s mind, I’m not going to try and strike back in a similarly silly way, I’m just going to write down my thoughts on it. This came in the wake of driving home. Flipping around the wasteland that is radio today, I happened to stop on NPR because, hey, falling asleep while driving sound like a great idea at the time. At that moment former Representative Keith Armey (R-TX) was talking about the Republicans’ prospects to gain seats in the House and Senate (Oh, and news media…I’m no pundit, but let me spoil it now for you: It’s going to happen. There, now you don’t have to run anymore of these “expert” pieces for at least three more months). In the span of a block, about five minutes driving time, he used the expression “Democrat Party” at least four times. Probably more. And I thought, “huh…that’s not accident, no slip of the tongue…that’s totally on purpose.” And, yeah, I kind of already knew that, but this moment kind of vividly brought it home for me.

So here’s my problem: it’s childish. Beyond, really. It is the sort of thing you’d do to a classmate in third grade. You know his last name is Snelly, but you keep “accidentally” calling him Smelly. Actually, no, it is like knowing a classmate’s name is Brooke, but you keep calling her Book because you did it once and she asked you not to. There’s not even an insult there, you just know it bugs her and that’s all the motivation you need.

I mean, if they called the Democratic Party something like the Tax and Spend Party or the Abortions for Everyone Party or the Really Weak on National Defense to the Point of Basically Being Friends with the Enemy Party, at least that would be commentary on an issue. Sure, it is overly simplified and/or a gross misrepresentation, but hey, what in politics isn’t? At least it represents an attempt to pay some kind of lip service to an issue.

Instead, there are prominent Republicans who choose to use the term “Democrat Party” and that bothers me. Not because the term is all that offensive. It isn’t. What it is is childish. And I don’t feel like it is too much to ask the people that are guiding our country to act with some measure of maturity.

To anyone I made have offended with this a.) you should look into why you are so sensitive and b.) here’s a picture of an adorable pile of cuteness. SHAR PEIS!!!!

You probably can't handle this much delectableness all at once so take a break after a few minutes and come back later.

Forgiven?