It's Democrat_ic_, not "Democrat"! Cripes, even our own are saying it

[ProfessorPlum]

Ben Stein's "Democrat Doctor" is just one small example of this creeping blight on our political discourse. It rings so horribly in my ears - I can't believe every Democrat (used here properly as a noun, not an adjective) - that hears it doesn't correct it immediately.

Get it right, dammit - and demand others do too.

[ironman202]

1. here here!!!

makes my ears bleed. An typical of their 13 y.o. mentality. "Heehee, democrat sounds like demo-crap, heeheeeheee."

[Catherine Vincent]

21. That's "hear! hear!"

:-)

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

2. Was he describing the doctor as being a Democrat or being democratic?

My doctor is a Democrat, how democratic he is, I have no idea.

[ProfessorPlum]

5. Here's the link to the video

http://mediamatters.org/items/200507270001

"I just had a very thorough exam of my prostate by a Democrat doctor"

It sounds to me like saying "Jew doctor" - the same level of disgust.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

7. Having a prostate exam doesn't usually endear the doc to the patient.

At least, not to me. I don't care if he's a combo of Jesus and Mother Theresa.

Perhaps I'm a shade biased here, I'm facing a prostate exam next week from my Democrat doctor. As far as I know, he didn't take a vote on it.

[ProfessorPlum]

14. You either mean your Democrat-doctor, or your Democratic doctor

I think.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

19. Well, he's not all that democratic about it.

And, frankly, his politics don't interest me that much.

[Raksha]

28. Come to think of it--YOU'RE RIGHT!!!

Re >>"I just had a very thorough exam of my prostate by a Democrat doctor"

It sounds to me like saying "Jew doctor" - the same level of disgust.<<

No wonder I find "Democrat doctor," etc. so offensive. It's like saying "Jew doctor." Somehow, it just never quite rose to the level of conscious awareness.

[PinkTiger]

3. With all due respect, Professor, you are wrong.

The adjective "Democratic" is not suitable. It implies something totally different than a doctor who is a Democrat.
So in this case, Democrat Doctor makes sense, is understood, and doesn't confuse things.

We say "so and so is a Republican," or "so and so is a Democrat."
We don't say democratic unless we are talking about a type of government.
Or, if we are talking about the Democratic Party.

You need the "party" part to make this work.

So I guess you could say Democratic Party Doctor.
But then, what does this mean?
Does this mean a doctor for the party?

Hmmmm.

Verrrry interrresting.

[ProfessorPlum]

9. "Democratic" is the proper adjective form

You are thinking of "democratic", small d, which talks about the system of government.

Notice how in "Democratic Party", which you typed above, Democratic is the adjective.

There are Democratic candidates, Democratic National Conventions, Democratic primaries, etc.

You might argue that Stein was trying to make a compound noun, like saying "my idiot-neighbor". But this is just one of a million examples, and not an outlier, I believe.

[Shakespeare]

10. Sorry, but YOU are wrong.

The adjectival form of democrat is democratic. It has nothing to do with party v. individual references.

[T Wolf]

11. No. No. No.

Democrat is a noun. When refering to an individual, it is only correctly used when saying "they are A Democrat."

When using an adjective, the only proper term is DemocratIC. In the phrase "Democrat doctor" it is being used as an anjective and therefore should be DemocratIC.

Grammar really is simple.

[ProfessorPlum]

17. Must be why you are on "Democrat Underground"

.

[mattclearing]

31. Democrat is not an adjective.

Your post makes no sense.

[FreedomAngel82]

4. That's one thing that bugs me too

When people say "democrat" instead of "democratic" when talking about the party. I mean duh! A democrat is the person. :eyes:

[Stephanie]

6. Ben Stein is no Democrat

So it's no wonder he refuses to say Democratic. It's such a petty and ridiculous little dig, from petty and ridiculous little people.

[Shakespeare]

8. He was a speechwriter for Nixon.

And is an obsequious little asshole.

[ProfessorPlum]

12. I have no illusions about Stein's poor judgment in leadership

I just couldn't think of an example of a Democrat saying it recently. But I know I've heard it.

[Shakespeare]

13. THANK YOU. As a former English teacher, this one drives me CRAZY.

It has its origins around 1990 and comes from Gingrich and his cronies; it's a deliberate attempt to diminish democrats, and they couldn't care less that it's grammatically incorrect.

I wish somebody would get the word to Randi Rhodes, because she does this CONSTANTLY (and this causes me to scream at the radio, which is not healthy).

[ProfessorPlum]

15. Thank you too, RR must be where I've heard it from "our side"

but I couldn't think of it.

My suggestion is that Democrats and progressives start using the adjective "gop" (rhymes with 'cop') to indicate all things Republican.

Examples:
* Our gop President really sucks.
* All the gop apologists are out sucking Rove's butt.
* Where did all of these gop morons come from?

Thanks for your service to students.

[T Wolf]

16. I like it.

I get in trouble when I use my usual "pukes" or "rethugs."

[DeepModem Mom]

18. Using "Democrat" as an adjective means the wingnuts won!

Thanks, Professor.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

22. Won what? A silly word game?

[DeepModem Mom]

38. No -- the whole Orwellian attempt to change our political language.

THEY decided to change the word that describes OUR party, just as they've demonized the word "liberal" and glorified the word "conservative," a word they have succeeded in substituting in our political language for what used to be "extremist" (that Tom DeLay, and even George W. Bush, are described as "conservative" is an outrage).

And that doesn't even get into the outright dishonesty of trickery like "Clear Skies Act," and "pro-life," etc.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

20. Ever hear the phrase, "Making a mountain out of a molehill."

Seems apt here.

[K-W]

23. Go read 1984 and tell me if language tampering is a molehill.

Subtle propaganda is still propaganda. I wonder why you want us to ignore it.

[Karmadillo]

24. Democrat or Democratic Party, they still would vote to give Big Brother

authority to use force against Oceana.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

32. Because it's dumb and they're are far more important things to deal with.

I have read "1984" several times. And, it could be used on both sides of the silly argument.

Is the Democratic Party really democratic? Are the candidates selected democratically? Or, are they selected by the moneybags that pay for their advertising?

Consider the Democratic Leadership Council. Is it "democratic"? Does it lead Democrats? Does the Democratic National Committee elect it's members democratically? I've been a Democrat for 40 years. I have never been asked by the "Democratic" party to vote for members of either the Committee or the Council.

Makes me wonder what Orwell (the Anarchist) would think of this argument.

"I wonder why you want us to ignore it."

Because I'm an FBI agent..or, was it CIA?
Karl Rove is my brother-in-law.
GWBoobya and me are real tight.

or,

Because, I think it's a silly waste of time, considering that we're watching people die because of Republican and Democrat(ic) politicians' ambitions and they're about to seat an unambiguous chauvinist and racist on the Supreme Court.

or, because I don't hold either of the corporate parties in great esteem.

[K-W]

34. I really dont see where you are coming from.

First off, Democratic (as in party) is not the same as the word democratic. So dont know why you keep conflating the two.

And your silly waste of time point might make sense if this werent an online forum.

[ProfessorPlum]

35. Um, you seem to arguing that "democratic" isn't a correct

description for the party. That's why it's capitalized - to distinguish Democratic from democratic. But that's not what I'm talking about.

Getting jerks like Mehlman to say Democratic rather than Democrat has nothing to do with what you are talking about. I just want them to use the proper name.

[ProfessorPlum]

25. you seem to be spending an awful lot of time on a thread

you don't think is important.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

33. So?

[ProfessorPlum]

36. My, you've certainly got a big chip on your shoulder

who peed on your cornflakes?

[ibegurpard]

29. Evidently it's not too much of a molehill for the right-wing

to make a concerted strategy to get incorrect grammar into the public discourse. Why? Because they don't like the fact that little-d democratic (as in government-type) could be associated with big-D Democratic (as in the party) because of the happy accident of being homonyms. So they embarked on this not-so-subtle campaign to change the word.

[K-W]

30. And its just one side of a larger effort to control the word democracy.

Which is quite a tall mountain indeed.

[qanda]

26. Ken Mehlmann does it ALL the time

And he knows he's saying it wrong. And you're right, I never hear anyone correct him.

[K-W]

27. The real significance of this is what it tells us about society.

Republican control has reached the point where they can just change the name of thier opponants and not only does nobody point it out, but it spreads.

[Raksha]

37. Part of the effectiveness of this smear campaign...

...is that it SEEMS like such a petty little thing, nobody bothers to correct them. Hell, 99% of the time *I* don't bother to correct them. The key to its effectiveness is that they make it ubiquitous. They do it ALL the time, and you'd better believe it's deliberate. Repetition, repetition, repetition--catapult the propaganda! The constant drip of water, the microscopic little dig to diminish us, repeated over and over again.

And now--even our own are doing it, which is a signal that they won. It may be too late, but from now on I'm gonna start calling them on it and letting them know it is NOT all right.

[ProfessorPlum]

39. That is an excellent point.

they have the media echo chamber nearly cornered.

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

40. i've noticed it's seeping in

no longer used only by limbaugh, but the 'official' gop guys like mehlmen are doing it, too

i still don't get it, either. what's it supposed to prove. that you can't speak proper english?

[Shakespeare]

41. Post #28 gives an excellent example why.

It's meant to be perjorative and diminishing.