Last updated: 28 April 2001
While Bush mangles the language he is also adept at giving new
meaning to words we thought everyone understood. The far
right has done a masterful job in the last two decades of
redefining some of the key terms in political conversation, a
tradition that Bush apparently intends to extend and build upon.
We invite your contributions to [email protected], and
in the meantime here are our favorites:
bipartisanship: Sometimes also seen as "spirit of compromise."
Willingness by Congressional Democratic leaders to support,
accept or fail to oppose public policy proposals from President
Bush and the Republican Congressional leaders despite the
mutual understanding that the proposals are not supported by a
clear majority of the American people. When used by
Republican leaders this term is synonymous with capitulation.
big government: Any attempt by a duly constituted public
authority to regulate or put limits on the power of private
corporations or make them responsible for the consequences of
their actions, with the exception of the gaming or entertainment
industries.
compassionate conservativism: Consists of smiling while
cheating women, minorities and the working class out of their
share of the nation's productive output. Replaces the term
friendly fascism.
class warfare: Epithet used by Republicans to insult and
delegitimize observations by Democrats and others of the
horrendous and worstening problem of social stratification in the
U.S.
conservative: Once widely understood as one who adheres to
traditional methods or views, Republicans now use this word to
cover a broad range of social agendas, including; consolidation
of wealth in the hands of a few; intolerance of all
religious traditions except certain sects of Christianity; military
budgets that are inappropriately large for peacetime.
death tax: New Republican term used to replace the traditional
term "estate tax," one of the traditional mechanisms in a
democracy to ensure that a self-perpetuating aristocracy is
unable to establish itself then capture and subvert democratic
institutions. Fully 98% of the U.S. population is unaffected by
the estate tax, which primarily burdens the 200 families in the
U.S. with a net worth greater than $1 billion.
deregulation: Formerly meant clearing away legal and other
obstacles for the purpose of establishing a competitive
marketplace, now used to mean the the transition from de
jure legal impediments to competition to de
facto impediments such as unregulated and uncontrolled
monopolies.
discrimination: Classic whine by white males when they have
been told they have to share their money and power with
women, minorities, and the poor.
election: When used by Democrats it means a consultation with
the citizens of a democracy to determine the people they wish to
represent them in public office for a fixed period of time. When
used by Republicans it means the opportunity to acquire power
by any means whatsoever, including but not limited to mimicking
the language democracy as cover for violating its essential
underlying principles of one person, one vote.
fair and balanced: Republican term meaning archconservative
news source serving as a tool of corporate interests while
masquerading as impartial. Examples include Fox News, the
Washington Times, the Wall Street Journal, etc.
fairness: The goal of any form of justice, but especially in the
area of taxation, that provides overwhelming benefit to
Republican constituencies.
faith-based: Euphemism for "religious," used as part of an
attempt to circumvent the Constitution's Bill of Rights whose first
ten words are "Congress shall make no law respecting an
establishment of religion..."
family values: Republican code phrase that attempts to justify
homophobia, bigotry, and various other forms of intolerance and
fear. Also used to justify tax policies that favor the one-third
of
U.S. households comprised of families with children over the
two-thirds of U.S. households that are either not traditional
families or contain no children.
free enterprise: Formerly meant marketplace competition. Now
used to mean absolute license for big businesses and
multinational conglomerates to dump toxins in our air and water,
and deadly bacteria in our food; to steal from the most helpless
by forcing excessive overtime while fraudulently cutting salaries
so that profits are protected but paychecks diminish. Notice that
the profits gained on the backs of the poor go to launch a
propaganda campaign that extol the magnamity of these
oligolopists by presenting a false picture of their alleged
involvement in alleviating poverty, crime, and human
exploitation.
free speech: Originally meant the right of the people in a
democracy to express and to listen to the widest possible range
of opinions, increasingly used to mean the right of the well-off,
the working wealthy and the leisure class to use financial power
to amplify their voices in order to effectively make conservative,
status quo positions appear to be expressions of mainstream
political thought.
full disclosure: Once widely understood as telling the
unvarnished truth, then modified by Nixon's secret team of
"plumbers" to mean 'elements selected from the truth to suit
our purposes' and now further defined by the Republicans to
mean only the residual traces of truth that the "scrubbers"
cannot make disappear from government offices, Web sites,
and other archives. Under the new disclosure rules making it
impossible to be caught telling a lie is the same as telling the
truth. Note: These rules do not apply to Democrats and other
non-Republicans, who are still expected to reveal intimate
details of their lives or face prosecution, even if the purpose of
the disclosure is to embarrass people who have commited no
crime.
get over it: Warning to the listener that questioning the
legitmacy of George W. Bush's claim to the presidency will not be
tolerated as topic for American citizens to discuss. As a threat
it
recognizes the vulnerability of the Bush regime to the growing
popularity of the observation that Bush won fewer votes than his
opponent in Florida as well as nationwide. Please note, you may
also hear this idea expressed as "Stop your whining" and/or
"Deal with it."
good science: When used by a Republican, means any exercise
of scientific method and analytic reason that can be interpreted
in such a way as to reinforce the policy objectives of business
interests and their allies/apologists in government. This
replaces the former use of the term which meant rigorous,
methodical, verifiable and repeatable methods for determining
objective empirical truth without regard for its political
consequences.
illegal vote: Any ballot in which the voter did not precisely follow
the exact requirements as set forth in the voting
instructions, and in the case where the voting instructions were
erroneous or unclear any vote for a non-Republican. Note: this
rule does not apply to military ballots. (See related term, legal
vote.)
legal vote: Any ballot in which a Republican's name can be
interpreted as having been indicated by the voter. (See related
term, illegal vote.)
less government: Code phrase for policies that give big
corporations and wealthy individuals license to employ
unscrupulous business practices, produce dangerous products,
pollute the air and water, and monopolize the market,
all with total impunity by allowing the business to write the laws.
liberal: Once commonly used to mean"one who is open
minded," Republicans have successfully redefined this word to
mean dangerous, irresponsible and unpatriotic fanatic.
liberal media: Epithet used to attempt to further discredit
professional journalists who, as a result of their educational
background and the broadening effects of travel, tend to be less
narrowminded than the average parochial politician. Only
invoked on the rare occasion that a non-conservative political
perspective expressed by a journalist manages to slip past the
self-censorship of the news media's corporate owners.
middle class: When used by a Republican this term refers to the
7% of the U.S. population that earns more than $125,000/year.
national defense: Formerly referred to the policies, programs
and funding necessary to secure our borders and defend the
nation from attack. Now commonly used as a rationale for
continuing to fund missle defense and other military programs
of proven inability to function except as means to subsidize
Republican campaign contributors using government funds.
non-partisan: A term frequently invoked by President Bush to
instruct his political opponents to roll over and play dead so that
the Republican or "nonpartisan" approach to public policy can
prevail. See also: Partisan.
partisan: In common Republican usage is now defined as any
mean-spirited, illegitmate and unpatriotic attempt by
non-Republicans to question the current administration's goals
or methods, or to call for debate, or to ask for consideration of
alternatives.
patriot: Anyone proud to be a Christian, god-fearing Republican,
who believes strongly in the immutability of the status quo. See
traitor.
perjury: The crime of lying while under oath. Formerly applied
uniformly to all citizens, now only applies to Democrats and
other non-Republicans.
pro-family: Policies designed to keep women -- other than the
daughters resulting from the marriage of two Republicans -- in a
state of economic dependency upon men and under the control
of abusive husbands.
property rights: Laws designed to protect the interests of the
oil, timber, mining and livestock industries and enable them to
exploit public lands to secure private profits.
pushers: Dealers of physiologically addictive and mind-altering
drugs known to cause disease and death, subject to criminal
prosecution unless the substance in question is tobacco or
alcohol, in which case the perpetrator should be given influence
and authority within the highest echalons of the Republican
Party.
routine military operation: A sneak attack by an overwhelmingly
superior force.
rule of law: Subversion of the Constitution, laws and institutions
of the United States in order to achieve, justify and maintain
unified control of the U.S. government by a single political party.
special interest: Formerly this phrase was reserved for economic
interests who sought special privilege. In common Republican
usage however it has come to mean any citizen or group of
citizens who petition their government to respond to their
concerns.
states rights: Doctrine for legitimizing racist, sexist and
homophobic reactionary forces fighting a rearguard action
against the ineluctible forces of democracy that over time make
the U.S. increasingly accepting of full citizenship for racial and
ethnic minorities, women and homosexuals.
strict constructionist: Doctrine adopted by conservative judicial
activists to justify reactionary attempts to roll back progress on
civil rights, women's rights, protection of the environment, and
the defense of citizens from arbitrary government actions, while
simultaneously claiming to be "above politics."
support: Republican euphemism for "is opposed to but unable
to publicly say so due to the overwhelming popular support," as
in "George W. Bush supports campaign finance reform."
Usually appears in a phrase containing the word but, as in
"Bush supports environmental protection but not effective
measures to limit industrial emissions."
traitor: Godless humanists who may either be domestic
enemies of the state (Democrats) or foreign enemies
(Communists), and who continuously question the legitimacy of
the Bush presidency even after patriots have clearly instructed
them to "Get Over It." (Please see Get Over It.)
unconstitutional: Any action that is not favorable to the
Republican agenda.
unifier: A person who, after seeing the results of a divided
election, vows to bring the people together in a common political
agenda, then appoints the most extremist cabinet members and
sets out an extremely conservative agenda, forgetting his earlier
vows. See also: hypocrite.
welfare reform: Forced reintroduction of uneducated and
unskilled workers into the job force to exert downward pressure
on wage demands, undercut job training programs and ensure
that corporate lobbyists continue to call for an easing of
immigration restrictions rather than for improved education and
training for American citizens.