Changes

'''Democrat Party''' is the grammatically correct term for the [[Democratic Party]].  The party is not "democratic", and proper nouns like "Democrat" are not properly converted into adjectives by adding "ic" as a suffix.  It is not the "Republicanic Party," or the "Libertarianic Party", or a "Smith-ic Wedding."  Many Democrats strongly dislike the term, perhaps because they prefer the illusion that their party is somehow more "democratic" than other parties.

 

'''Democrat Party''' is a phrase used in the U.S. by Republican and by other Democrats to refer to the Democratic Party.  Many Democrats strongly dislike the term and believe Republicans use it to ridicule them as not true practitioners of democracy inside the party.

 

The debate is the use of the proper noun "Democrat" as an adjective, in place of the established adjective for the party, "Democratic." Thus "Kerry is a Democratic Senator" or "Senator Kerry is a Democrat," is standard American usage, while "Kerry is a Democrat Senator" is controversial.

Many liberals object to the term. ''New Yorker Magazine'' commentator [[Hendrik Hertzberg]] wrote: "There’s no great mystery about the motives behind this deliberate misnaming. 'Democrat Party' is a slur, or intended to be - a handy way to express contempt. Aesthetic judgments are subjective, of course, but 'Democrat Party' is jarring verging on ugly."<ref> Hertzberg (2006)</ref>

==History of usage==

==History of usage==

Another corresponding noun-as-adjective response has also begun to circulate on the Internet: "The Republicans Party."<ref> [http://www.commondreams.org/views04/1018-02.htm][http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/10/28/112436.php][http://www.ironweedfilms.com/node/525]</ref>  Members of the Democratic Underground have proposed that "Republicon Party" be used as a counter to the Republican adoption of Democrat Party as a putdown.<ref>[http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x3190412 Democratic Underground thread]</ref>

Another corresponding noun-as-adjective response has also begun to circulate on the Internet: "The Republicans Party."<ref> [http://www.commondreams.org/views04/1018-02.htm][http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/10/28/112436.php][http://www.ironweedfilms.com/node/525]</ref>  Members of the Democratic Underground have proposed that "Republicon Party" be used as a counter to the Republican adoption of Democrat Party as a putdown.<ref>[http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x3190412 Democratic Underground thread]</ref>

==References==

==References==