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Republicrat
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<h2 id="usage">Usage</h2> <h3>Insult towards moderates</h3> <p>Republicans have often portrayed themselves to be pro-business and aggressive on foreign policy; Democrats have tended to campaign on more liberal social policies and a more important role for government-funded social programs. Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines it as "a member of the Democratic party esp. in the <a href="/facts/Southern_United_States/ppnGuAtB">southern states</a> who supports to a large extent the policy and measures of the Republican party".<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a> <a href="/facts/Oxford_Dictionaries_(website)/kfecTBwv">Oxford Dictionaries</a> defines the term as "[a] person whose political philosophy is a blend of policies and principles from both the Republican and Democratic parties".<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a> </p><p>The term is sometimes used in a pejorative sense by members of one party to attack members of their party who are either centrist or who have what they perceive to be the wrong ideology. Liberal Democrats have disparaged conservative and centrist members of the party, such as Senator <a href="/facts/Joe_Lieberman/l6eM3lhe">Joe Lieberman</a>, as Republicrats. Likewise, Republican politicians such as <a href="/facts/George_W._Bush/mYSgM515">George W. Bush</a>, <a href="/facts/Mitt_Romney/yh2KKjsu">Mitt Romney</a>, <a href="/facts/Newt_Gingrich/unJylQrc">Newt Gingrich</a>, and <a href="/facts/Arnold_Schwarzenegger/VwLVtykG">Arnold Schwarzenegger</a> have been called "Republicrats" due to their liberal stances on various political issues. Another term used by liberal Democrats to describe conservative and centrist members of their party is "<a href="/facts/Democrat_in_Name_Only/HEqR2P9M">Democrat in Name Only</a>" or "DINO"; a conservative Republican term for liberal and centrist Republicans is "<a href="/facts/Republican_in_Name_Only/tRuK2qrh">Republican in Name Only</a>" or "RINO". </p> <h3>Argument that Democrats and Republicans are interchangeable</h3> <p>Another usage of the term puts the words together in order to voice the opinion that the two mainstream American political parties are so ideologically similar as to be interchangeable. This usage often expresses the sentiment of ordinary citizens who see all politicians as serving the same special interests and make little distinction between the two parties. Earl Killian's U.S. political glossary defines the term as "a portmanteau of the words 'Republican' and 'Democrat' ... used to symbolize the one-party nature of U.S. politics, when it comes to issues on which the dominant parties of the <a href="/facts/Two-party_system/qL4usvQF">two-party system</a> agree ... . In this view ... Republicrats is then the name of the single U.S. political party, and the Republicans and Democrats are seen as factions of this <a href="/facts/One-party_system/bTmHoaGu">one-party system</a>, rather than as true independent parties."<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12"><sup>12</sup></a> An example of this view comes from <a href="/facts/Noam_Chomsky/3rtpzlER">Noam Chomsky</a>: "The United States effectively has a one-party system, the business party, with two factions, Republicans and Democrats."<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13"><sup>13</sup></a> </p><p>Some commentators, such as <a href="/facts/Right-wing_politics/CVoubHMm">right-wing</a> talk radio host <a href="/facts/Michael_Savage_(commentator)/8SgeVzYd">Michael Savage</a> and <a href="/facts/Left-wing_politics/JUcz1kvS">left-wing</a> activist <a href="/facts/Ralph_Nader/CMlYBNxC">Ralph Nader</a>, who have both used the terms, have opined on how it is often hard to tell the parties apart, leading to the term's popularity. This was a view shared on the left by the <a href="/facts/Green_Party_(United_States)/qG9jzWQR">Green Party</a> during the <a href="/facts/2000_United_States_presidential_election/VvudLd5N">2000 United States presidential election</a>, for whom Nader ran, whose <a href="/facts/Bumper_sticker/oBfXNCXl">bumper stickers</a> read: "<a href="/facts/George_W._Bush/mYSgM515">Bush</a> and <a href="/facts/Al_Gore/d7zSAghl">Gore</a> make me want to Ralph." Former <a href="/facts/Dead_Kennedys/oTj5MlRQ">Dead Kennedys</a> vocalist and Green Party member <a href="/facts/Jello_Biafra/0yGsYfGq">Jello Biafra</a> has used the term during interviews. </p><p>In 2004, boxing promoter <a href="/facts/Don_King/WWKJeeKW">Don King</a> told <a href="/facts/Larry_King/yBs8VG0u">Larry King</a> he was a Republicrat. He defined it as being for "whoever's going to be doing something or the upward mobility of America, black and white alike".<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14"><sup>14</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="equivalent-terms-in-other-countries">Equivalent terms in other countries</h2> <p>An equivalent term used in the <a href="/facts/United_Kingdom/kuPAILt2">United Kingdom</a> is Lib-Lab-Con or LibLabCon, a pejorative <a href="/facts/Portmanteau/d124JEbz">portmanteau</a> referring to the three main political parties (the <a href="/facts/Liberal_Democrats_(UK)/rzGyr41m">Liberal Democrats</a>, the <a href="/facts/Labour_Party_(UK)/jr0wYRdF">Labour Party</a>, and the <a href="/facts/Conservative_Party_(UK)/0LPlRq1a">Conservative Party</a>). </p><p>An equivalent term used in <a href="/facts/Canada/cWWFM8oc">Canada</a> is Lib-NDP-Con or LibNDPCon, a pejorative portmanteau referring to the three main political parties (the <a href="/facts/Liberal_Party_(Canada)/4NcQ9pNu">Liberal Party</a>, the <a href="/facts/New_Democratic_Party/L1XRJrFX">New Democratic Party</a>, and the <a href="/facts/Conservative_Party_(Canada)/ByvP8qqp">Conservative Party</a>). </p><p>An equivalent term used in <a href="/facts/Australia/qLHpbppq">Australia</a> is Lib-Lab-Nat, a pejorative portmanteau referring to the three main political parties (the <a href="/facts/Liberal_Party_of_Australia/st2oeqFy">Liberal Party</a>, the <a href="/facts/Australian_Labor_Party/NMNKMoko">Labor Party</a> and the <a href="/facts/National_Party_of_Australia/kKArRAnn">National Party</a>). </p><p>All three of these epithets suggest that there are no real differences between the three major parties in the UK, Canada, or Australia, each of which is effectively a single-party system. </p> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Bipartisanship_in_US_politics/cLSHMEyE">Bipartisanship in US politics</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Boll_weevil_(politics)/XNPMvNvb">Boll weevil (politics)</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Duverger%27s_law/0HE2WJWm">Duverger's law</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Problem_Solvers_Caucus/xrgEgQoc">Problem Solvers Caucus</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Rockefeller_Republican/3CWwlCsu">Rockefeller Republican</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Southern_Democrats/oqJ6Yk3n">Southern Democrats</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Third_party_(United_States)/t9hEIBr9">Third party (United States)</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Two-party_system/qL4usvQF">Two-party system</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Uniparty/nFVIL3TA">Uniparty</a></li></ul> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> Look up <i>Republicrat</i> in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. <ul><li><a href="/facts/Sean_Masterson/LQPfEM5g">Sean Masterson</a>'s <a href="https://archive.today/20130129085026/http://republicrats.msn.com/"><i>Republicrats</i> parody website</a></li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>McFedries, Paul (2004), "The art and science of politics", in McFedries, Paul (ed.), Word spy: the word lover's guide to modern culture, New York: Broadway Books, p. 362, ISBN 9780767914666. <a href="9780767914666" target="_blank">9780767914666</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Grant Barrett (2006). "Demopublican". The Oxford Dictionary of American Political Slang. Oxford University Press US. pp. 91. ISBN 9780195304473. <a href="9780195304473" target="_blank">9780195304473</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Pound, Louise (2007), "Illustrative lists of English blends", in Pound, Louise (ed.), Blends — their relation to English word formation, Read Books, p. 45, ISBN 9781406723595. <a href="9781406723595" target="_blank">9781406723595</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>McFedries, Paul (2004), "The art and science of politics", in McFedries, Paul (ed.), Word spy: the word lover's guide to modern culture, New York: Broadway Books, p. 362, ISBN 9780767914666. <a href="9780767914666" target="_blank">9780767914666</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>Grant Barrett (2006). "Repubocrat". The Oxford Dictionary of American Political Slang. Oxford University Press US. pp. 224. ISBN 9780195304473. <a href="9780195304473" target="_blank">9780195304473</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>McFedries, Paul (2004), "The art and science of politics", in McFedries, Paul (ed.), Word spy: the word lover's guide to modern culture, New York: Broadway Books, p. 362, ISBN 9780767914666. <a href="9780767914666" target="_blank">9780767914666</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>McFedries, Paul (2004), "The art and science of politics", in McFedries, Paul (ed.), Word spy: the word lover's guide to modern culture, New York: Broadway Books, p. 362, ISBN 9780767914666. <a href="9780767914666" target="_blank">9780767914666</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>McFedries, Paul (2004), "The art and science of politics", in McFedries, Paul (ed.), Word spy: the word lover's guide to modern culture, New York: Broadway Books, p. 362, ISBN 9780767914666. <a href="9780767914666" target="_blank">9780767914666</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>Mendelberg, Tali (2001), "The norm of racial inequality, electoral strategy, and explicit appeals", in Mendelberg, Tali (ed.), The race card: campaign strategy, implicit messages, and the norm of equality, Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, p. 53 ISBN 9780691070711 <a href="/wiki/The_Race_Card:_Campaign_Strategy,_Implicit_Messages,_and_the_Norm_of_Equality" target="_blank">/wiki/The_Race_Card:_Campaign_Strategy,_Implicit_Messages,_and_the_Norm_of_Equality</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>"Republocrat (definition)". Merriam Webster. <a href="http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/republocrat" target="_blank">http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/republocrat</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>"Republicrat (definition)". Oxford Dictionaries. Archived from the original on July 20, 2012. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120720074313/http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/Republicrat" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20120720074313/http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/Republicrat</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:12"><p>"Republicrat (definition)". Killian. <a href="http://www.killian.com/earl/glossary.html#republicrat" target="_blank">http://www.killian.com/earl/glossary.html#republicrat</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:13"><p>Chomsky, Noam (10 October 2008). "Anti-Democratic Nature of US Capitalism Is Being Exposed". Common Dreams. Retrieved 18 October 2024. <a href="/wiki/Noam_Chomsky" target="_blank">/wiki/Noam_Chomsky</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:14"><p>"Don King interview with Larry King". CNN. 31 August 2004. Archived from the original on 11 March 2012. <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/08/31/5.questions.king/index.html" target="_blank">https://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/08/31/5.questions.king/index.html</a> <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>