Monday, March 8, 2010

Feasting On Word Salad


I'm reprinting below an entire post from one of the best political blogs, Washington Monthly. (Happily, it also links to another, Talking Points Memo, about which the same can be said. Both are partisan, but serious and factual journalism, with in-depth reporting on many issues.) Amusing, it is. And entirely accurate, it would seem.



UPDATING OUR POLITICAL DICTIONARIES.... Josh Marshall had a very short itemthe other day that I've been meaning to mention. He was helping readers understand the new political "lexicon."

"Jamming it through": to vote on a bill.

It got me thinking about how we should all update our understandings of political terms that had fairly straightforward definitions up until fairly recently.

"Obstructionism," for example, only refers to Democratic minorities opposing Republican proposals.

"Tyranny" is found when an elected Democratic majority passes legislation that Republicans don't like.

"Reconciliation" describes a Senate process that Republicans are allowed to use to overcome Democratic "obstructionism."

"Terrorism" refers to acts of political violence committed by people who aren't white guys.

"Bipartisanship" is found when Democrats agree to pass Republican legislation.

"Big government" describes a dangerous phenomenon to be avoided, except in cases relating reproductive rights or gays.

"Treason" refers to Democrats criticizing a Republican administration during a war.

"Patriotism" refers to Republicans criticizing a Democratic administration during a war.

"Fiscal responsibility" is a national priority related to keeping our budget in check, which only applies when Republicans are in the minority.

"Parliamentarian" is a seemingly independent official on the Hill who Senate Republicans are allowed to fire when the GOP disapproves of his/her rulings.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Comments back, moderated. Preference given for those who stay on topic.

Popular posts