I’d like to correct an error in the book that was politely pointed out to me during the course of my radio interview with Reality Check Radio.
The proper name for the political party of Democrats is the Democratic Party, and not the “Democrat Party” — a term that I mistakenly used in the book.
The term was used during the chapter on the letters submitted by then DNC Chairman Nancy Pelosi, regarding the certification of Barack Obama and Joe Biden as that party’s candidates.
It’s been brought to my attention that some Democrats, at least, regard the latter as a bit of a pejorative term. No such use was intended on my part, and I apologize for any offense.
That no ill will was intended can perhaps be seen in the fact that I consistently used the phrase “Democratic National Convention.” What actually happened, now that I reconstruct it, is that I pulled the Party phrase from the article on the letters that I was using as my source material.
As I recall, I did glance at the DNC’s letters to make sure they said substantially what was reported — but I obviously didn’t examine them carefully enough to catch the fact that while the letters themselves used the correct phrase “Democratic Party,” the article twice misquoted what the letters said, and instead used the words “Democrat Party.”
I do also recall wanting to use the proper terms for the Party and the Convention. As I read what I understood at the time to be the phrasing of the official letters, I concluded, incorrectly, that since the official letter from the party used the term “Democrat Party,” then so should I.
In any event, no slight was intended. I do apologize for the error, and will do my best to use the right phrase in the future. And should I fail to do so, do feel free to bring my attention to it.
Sincerely,
John Woodman
Author
Thank you very much – this is a pet peeve of mine and Rush Limbaugh & co. have done an enormous amount to spread this juvenile slur to the point were most people don’t even realize that they are doing it (like you). I applaud you for taking the effort to formally apologize.
This is quite interesting. I’ve always called the the Democratic party the “Democratic party,” but sometimes I’ve wondered if it wasn’t properly named the “Democrat party.” Thank-you for this information.
April 2012: Having reached firm conclusions on the birther movement (see my various most recent and wrap-up posts), I’m moving on, and to facilitate that I’m closing comment sections of this blog as I do so.
My feeling is that the things that need to be said have already been said.
That said, if you feel you have a comment to some post here that’s really, REALLY important and ought to be added to the site, email it to me. If I agree, I’ll add it.
Sincerely,
John Woodman