DeLay Fairly Screams "Rat"
Published by BG on Tuesday, May 15, 2007 at 8:36 AM.Tom DeLay: Bush needs GOP revival - Politico.com
The Democrat takeover in Congress provides the president with an opportunity to recover his standing with the American people and his command over the national agenda.
The Democrat overreach has already begun. In their first four months in control of Congress, Democrat leaders have taken no fewer than three separate positions on the war.
I don't care if it is an op-ed, if you fancy yourself a journalistic operation of any sort, you take care to make sure that what you print is, at bare minimum, grammatically sound. Of course Tom DeLay is going to be biased, that's not the point. It's letting him make his arguments using intentionally incorrect grammar designed to be subtly degrading to the opposition that's irritating.
The “Ic” Factor: The New Yorker
The American Heritage College Dictionary, for example, defines the noun “Democratic Party” as “One of the two major US political parties, owing its origin to a split in the Democratic-Republican Party under Andrew Jackson in 1828.” (It defines “Democrat n” as “A Democratic Party member” and “Democratic adj” as “Of, relating to, or characteristic of the Democratic Party,” but gives no definition for—indeed, makes no mention of—“Democrat Party n” or “Democrat adj”.)
[snip]
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. It fairly screams “rat.” At a slightly higher level of sophistication, it’s an attempt to deny the enemy the positive connotations of its chosen appellation.
I'd expect the usage of "Democrat Party" and "Democrat Congress" on Redstate.com or Drudge. The Politico was supposed to be something different, however, and I'm disappointed in the editorial staff for allowing DeLay his third-grader taunts in what is supposed to be a journalistic endeavor:
The Politico's Mission Statement - Politico.com
There is a difference, however, between voice and advocacy. That's one traditional journalism ideal we fully embrace. There is more need than ever for reporting that presents the news fairly, not through an ideological prism. One of the most distressing features of public life recently has been the demise of shared facts. Warring partisans -- many of whom take their news from sources that cater to and amplify their existing opinions -- live in separate zones of reality. In such a climate, every news story is viewed as either weapon or shield in a nonstop ideological war. Our answer to this will be journalism that insists on the primacy of facts over ideology.
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