Near the beginning of the State of the Union address the other night, President Bush spoke these words:“Some in this chamber are new to the House and the Senate, and I congratulate the Democrat majority.”There was extended applause at the time.
But soon after the speech was over, the president was accused of snubbing the Democrats with this remark. It seems there those who think it was disrespectful for him to use the adjective “Democrat” instead of “Democratic.”
Huh? I don’t get it. What’s the difference?
The missing “ic” actually got coverage in the Washington Post. White House spokesman Tony Snow says people are making a mountain out of a molehill. The president himself addressed the "ic-ky" subject in NPR interview over the weekend, saying he meant no slight and didn't even realize he had said it.
Can someone please explain the semantics at work here? Seriously. I’m hoping one of my friends from the left can shed light on why this is a big deal.
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3 comments:
Hey Chris...Are you refering to me? If you are then continue reading my comment.
You should know me by now. I make up my own opinions. I don't make my opinions based on what the left wing is crying about that day..It seams you are confusing me with Limbaugh listeners. They listen to him and then preach his word without thinking about what he is saying. I'm not like that. My opinions are left, but I make them based on my upbringing and what I believe is right.
As for Dubya screwing up in his speach...I don't take offense to it. He is just being stupid again. I'm surprised he passed 1st grade!!
Hi Chris,
I'm not that far left of center, and I was not offended by W.'s use of the term Democrat (I vaguely remember it being in the news a while ago), but I think I can shed some light on what the Offended were thinking from a communication standpoint.
I was just reading somewhere that the term Liberal has become derogatory only in the past thirty years or so, an effort carried out by those on the Right, of course (I'm not saying that's wrong -- that's just politics). By constantly pairing the term with "bleeding heart" or, more recently, criticizing the "liberal media," (e.g., Does Rush ever refer to the media without the word liberal in front of it?) it takes on a negative connotation even when used in other contexts.
Another example: Even though they mean the same thing, I think there's a difference between "Jew" and "Jewish person." The negative connotation likely results from countless bigots' use of the former and not the latter.
Those who complained about "Democrat" probably feel that the GOP are trying to "liberal-ize" the term Democrat. And if indeed they are, that's just politics.
Yeah, that makes sense I suppose. I just hadn't realized that the term "Democrat" had any sort of connotation besides what it was. It was the first I heard it used that way and I probably wouldn't have picked up on it at all if people hadn't made a stink about it.
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