Thursday
Aug212008
Democrat vs. Democratic
I wonder about this.
Why is it considered a slur to use Democrat as an adjective? For example, "The Democrat plan is to ..." vs. "The Democratic plan is to..."
Oddly enough, do my ear or my mind, Democrat does sound harsh and evil, but I can't put my finger on why.
Just wondering...
Why is it considered a slur to use Democrat as an adjective? For example, "The Democrat plan is to ..." vs. "The Democratic plan is to..."
Oddly enough, do my ear or my mind, Democrat does sound harsh and evil, but I can't put my finger on why.
Just wondering...
Thursday, August 21, 2008 at 8:02AM 
Reader Comments (1)
I think the harshness comes from the fact that other adjectives ending in "-crat" generally carry negative connotations. E.g., bureaucrat, plutocrat, autocrat, technocrat. I suppose aristocrat can be used in a neutral sense, but it very often isn't. Can't think of any others at the moment. Are there any that are really considered complimentary?