Ruth Marcus has written a whole column on the right's affection for dropping the "ic" off "Democratic." Scoundrels though they be, this particular grievance, which bursts forth every so often, seems remarkably minor. Do we have any actual data showing that the term hurts Democrats? Particularly given that, in fact, the proper plural for Democratic people is "Democrats?" I'm not doubting that the right's intentions are malicious, but this bit of schoolyard-style word manipulation seems far below anything that will actually impinge on the electorate's preferences and sensibilities. Lakoff taught us that words matter, but surely they don't all matter enough to actually dispute?
Meanwhile, there's only one proper response to partisans so complete that they actually make a point of dropping the "ic," and it's here.
