More things that annoy me
The Republican Party refers to itself as the GOP, which stands for "Grand Old Party." The implication, I assume, is that the Republican Party represents the oldest, most traditional part of American politics. This confuses me, because, well, it doesn't.
The Democratic Party sometimes claims to be the party of Thomas Jefferson, which really isn't true: the Federalist Party died and the Democratic-Republicans splintered into the Democrats and the Whigs. It's fair to say that Andrew Jackson was the first Democratic president, in 1828, while the Republican party wasn't founded until 1854.
So why does all this bother me? Well, it's just one example of Republican half-truthery. They don't come out and say that they're the party of the Founders; they just imply it, and then the press supports the implication by repeating that stupid nickname over and over.
Admittedly, they're all politicians, Republican and Democrat (and a lot of third-party types, too) which means truth is not always high on the priority list, but if I'm going to get what's on the cover, I'd prefer the cover wasn't half-lies and misdirection.
The Democratic Party sometimes claims to be the party of Thomas Jefferson, which really isn't true: the Federalist Party died and the Democratic-Republicans splintered into the Democrats and the Whigs. It's fair to say that Andrew Jackson was the first Democratic president, in 1828, while the Republican party wasn't founded until 1854.
So why does all this bother me? Well, it's just one example of Republican half-truthery. They don't come out and say that they're the party of the Founders; they just imply it, and then the press supports the implication by repeating that stupid nickname over and over.
Admittedly, they're all politicians, Republican and Democrat (and a lot of third-party types, too) which means truth is not always high on the priority list, but if I'm going to get what's on the cover, I'd prefer the cover wasn't half-lies and misdirection.