In his recent commentary on the GOP tax plan being rushed through Congress, Boris Epshteyn falls back on fallacious reasoning and loaded language to defend legislation that his unpopular with just about everyone except lobbyists.
We know they are necessary to fund the government, pay for our national defense and vital infrastructure. However, does anyone actually want to pay more taxes? If you listen to certain folks from the Democrat Party, and members of the media, you would think so.
First, “Democrat.” This is a long-standing cutesy label used
by those who are criticizing the Democratic party. It is not, as some have suggested, to include
the word “rat” in the adjective. Rather,
it is a convoluted way to avoid using a word that has rhetorical resonance in
American political discourse: democratic.
We take pride in our “democratic” institutions. We believe in having a “democratic” government. We hope that countries ruled by totalitarian
regimes are replaced by a “democratic” system of rule by the people.
The word in its small-“d” variety carries quite a wallop in
our political discourse—one much greater than small-“r” “republican.” So, to avoid semiotic bleedover (i.e. the
positive connotations of small-d “democratic” being associated with big-D “Democratic,”
this grammatically suspect shell game is perpetrated on listeners.
