GOP GRAMMATICAL RULES…. For quite some time now, Republicans have taken pleasure in calling the Democratic Party the “Democrat Party.” Apparently, using poor grammar is entertaining to Republicans, and has been for years. In 1996, the GOP platform excised references to the “Democratic Party” altogether.
This year, at long last, there’s a sense of progress.
For years now, the GOP has gone after “Democrat schemes,” “Democrat presidents,” “Democrat Congresses” — all phrases from the 1996 Republican platform, repeated many times since. Twenty years earlier, Bob Dole famously declared that all wars of the 20th century were “Democrat wars.”
On Tuesday, members of the Republican platform committee meeting in Minneapolis voted down a proposal to call the opposition the “Democrat Party” in the 2008 platform. Instead, they’ll go with the proper Democratic Party.
“We probably should use what the actual name is,” said Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, the panel’s chairman. “At least in writing.”
Talk about your soft bigotry of low expectations. When Republicans decide to use proper grammar, and recognize the actual name of their rival, this is not only an unusual development, it comes as something of a relief to Democrats.
But notice that Barbour thinks Republicans should “probably” use Democrats’ “actual name.” I guess Dems are supposed to consider this a magnanimous gesture?
