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We should use the name "Democratic Party" instead of "Democrat Party." While it may not seem like a big difference, using the correct legal name shows an effort to speak respectfully and restore civility, which is necessary in politics.

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Not too long ago, I had a prominent Republican speak in my class. He repeatedly referred to the Democrat Party. Finally, I politely asked if the actual name wasnt the Democratic Party. He looked a little confused at my question and then went on using his term.

So, was he right? Is it Democrat or Democratic? Many people who watch Fox News, listen to Glenn Beck or Sean Hannity, or overhear a group of ardent Republicans may think it is the former. But the real name is the Democratic Party, not the Democrat Party. Democrat is a noun and is properly used to describe a member of the party; i.e., a person who belongs to the Democratic Party is termed a Democrat. Yet, Democratic is an adjective. Thats why Democrat Party doesnt make sense grammatically. "Democratic Party does.

I realize the purpose of the common misusage by many Republicans today has nothing to do with grammatical accuracy. Rather, the reason many Republicans use the term Democrat Party is political. These Republicans began using the term as an epithet because they wanted to counter the claim of Democrats that they belonged to a party that was democratic. The Democrat party removes the democratic claim of the Democratic Party that it represents the common people while Republicans are elitists.

Not surprisingly, the term has become an irritant to Democrats who simply would like the partys name to be used properly. To Democrats, calling a political party by a different name than its actual one is another example of incivility. It becomes an insult not to be called properly.

Even worse, Democrats often remind Republicans who use the term that it is inaccurate. Yet, many Republicans continue to do it all the same. For talk show hosts it becomes a way to further anger Democrats and stir up the Republican base. For other Republicans, it becomes a symbol of Republican-ness. Using the term the Democrats wish to call themselves rather than the epithet Republicans have devised can be seen as too accommodating to the enemy.

In fairness, many Republicans may not realize the difference between Democratic and Democrat and have simply picked up the language they hear from their favorite radio talk show host or the commentators on Fox News. They use the term without understanding that it gives offense. It has become mere habit.

Nevertheless, it is time for Republicans to drop the practice of saying the Democrat Party and use the legal and actual name of the Democratic Party. Even if they dont think it accurately describes the party, they should target the issue positions of Democrats they dont like rather than the name.

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Richard Davis: Using correct party name restores civility, respect

General News of Wednesday, 14 January 2015

Source: Starrfmonline.com

Late Prime Minister of Ghana, Prof Kofi Abrefa Busia was never a democrat, Professor Agyeman Badu Akosa, President of the Kwame Nkrumah Foundation has asserted in an interview with Bernard Nassara Saibu on Starr Today.

Prof Akosas comment follows a description of the Prime Minister of the second republic as a democrat and visionary leader by the main opposition New Patriotic Partys General Secretary Kwabena Agyepong when he spoke to Kafui Dey on the Morning Starr on Tuesday, January 13, 2015 while remembering the 43rd anniversary of Busias overthrow by Colonel I K Acheampong in a military coup in 1972.

According to Agyepong, the ousting of Prof Busia was totally unnecessary: we were in a democratic dispensation; everything was going on smoothly.

He was not one to trample on the rights of Ghanaians. He was just being realistic with the strength of our currencyhe felt that as a country we should be truthful about our economic circumstances, and he was taking pragmatic decisions and some didnt like it and they felt that just devaluing the currency was reducing the purchasing power of the ordinary Ghanaian and the soldiers took advantage of it and launched a coup, Agyepong said.

According to him: It wasnt a popular coup. There was no general outpouring into the streets to celebrate his overthrow. Anybody, who was in this country, will attest to that.

Prof Busia spent only 27 months in Office as Prime Minister in Ghanas second Republican dispensation under President Edward Akufo-Addo, father of the NPPs current Flag-bearer Nana Akufo-Addo.

The country at the time adopted the Westminster system of governance of which Busias Progress Party (PP) a progeny of the UP tradition, and forebear of the current Dankwa-Busia-Dombo tradition of the current NPP had the majority in Parliament.

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Busia was never a democrat nor visionary leader Akosa

Chris Van Hollen, the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee, unveiled his proposed tax cuts on Monday at the Center for American Progress Action Fund.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

But if you're in the top 1% of earners -- meaning you make at least $435,000 -- you'd be footing the bill.

Representative Chris Van Hollen, the leading Democrat on the House Budget Committee, estimates his proposal would provide $1.2 trillion in tax cuts over a decade.

The plan, which is not part of any bill yet, has not been officially analyzed. But Van Hollen said his proposals wouldn't add to the deficit because he would pay for them by curbing tax breaks for the rich and taxing financial trades.

Under his plan, the percentage of tax filers who end up owing no federal taxes would "almost certainly" increase, said Roberton Williams, a fellow at the Tax Policy Center.

But Van Hollen's proposals have virtually no chance of becoming law in a Republican-controlled House and Senate.

"For Democrats, the calculation is strictly political," Greg Valliere, chief political strategist for the Potomac Research Group, wrote in a note.

Related: Top 1%: What they made, what they paid

Here is some of what Van Hollen's proposal would create:

See the rest here:
A Democratic plan for big middle class tax breaks

PROVIDENCE, R.I. U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse said Monday that he is introducing three bills designed to generate $310 billion over 10 years by closing tax loopholes.

The Rhode Island Democrat said tax reform is one area in the new Republican-controlled Senate where there's an opportunity for "significant bipartisan progress."

"I wanted to make sure that we were trying to keep that conversation as fair as possible for regular taxpayers because regular taxpayers don't have the resources to hire lobbyists to go out and create special provisions for them in the tax code," he said. "Some of the special provisions that exist in the tax code are real stinkers, and absolutely we need to get rid of them."

Whitehouse wants to raise taxes on some wealthy individuals and collect more revenue from corporations doing business overseas that take advantage of the loopholes. Republicans want to lower individual and corporate tax rates and have generally favored reducing taxes on corporations' overseas assets and profits.

Whitehouse said some of the revenue from his proposals could be used to lower the overall corporate tax rate, which he thinks could help garner Republican votes. He hopes to get the bills integrated into a larger tax reform package and thinks Republicans will work with him since they'll need support from Democrats to pass their tax reform proposals.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky has said he would cooperate with the president wherever possible on issues such as tax reform and trade.

Whitehouse said he's re-introducing legislation to pass the so-called Buffett rule that sets minimum tax rates for people making over $1 million. He said it's offensive that some very wealthy individuals pay a lower tax rate than "regular people," and it's emblematic of what's wrong with the tax system. Another bill would stop U.S. companies that manufacture goods overseas and import them from deferring the payment of federal income taxes. Similar measures failed previously.

The third proposal is a set of measures championed by retired Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan to stop multinational corporations from paying less in taxes by moving assets and profits through offshore subsidies. Levin asked Whitehouse to re-introduce the legislation.

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Rhode Island Democrat says he's introducing 3 bills to generate $310B by closing tax loopholes

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) Stuck on the sidelines of Alison Lundergan Grimes' U.S. Senate campaign for most of last year, Democrat Jack Conway took center stage Monday as he officially launched his campaign for governor with a rally in Frankfort followed by a three-day tour of eastern Kentucky.

Conway officially filed his candidacy papers Monday morning in the cramped Secretary of State's office, joking with running mate state Rep. Sannie Overly that this was her "last chance" as the pages were signed. But with nearly $1 million in the bank and no other obvious Democratic challenger on the horizon, Conway said he will run a campaign shaped by the lessons he has learned.

"You can ask me, 'Did you vote for Obama?' The answer is yes and then I sued him," Conway said, a reference to his lawsuit challenging the Environmental Protection Agency's coal regulations and a subtle rebuke of Grimes' famous refusal to say whether she voted for Obama during her failed Senate campaign last year.

This will be Conway's fifth major election in Kentucky, a resume that includes two successful runs for Attorney General and failed bids for the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. His high-profile failures have some Democrats fretting about his ability to become governor, an office Democrats need to hold to or risk losing ground to the state's rapidly growing Republican Party.

Conway seemed to answer those critics with his campaign rollout on Monday, featuring emotional testimony from a woman who lost her daughter to a prescription drug overdose and then joined Conway to travel the state for a program to educate students about the dangers of drugs.

"We have cried together in auditoriums all across this commonwealth," Karen Shay told the crowd of about 100 people at the Kentucky History Center on a rainy Monday morning.

In a 20-minute speech, Conway said he pictured a governor as "a big judge executive," a reference to the top elected official in each of the state's 120 counties.

"(Kentuckians) want responses," Conway said. "And when they feel forgotten in the corridors of Washington, they want the doorways to Frankfort to be open."

Conway pledged to create a new cabinet official that would act as a liaison between small business owners and the state officials that regulate them. He promised to review the state's business tax incentives to create opportunities for companies to operate in concert with the state's public colleges and universities. And he said he would be dedicated to reforming Kentucky's preschool and early childhood education, although he did not get into specifics.

Republicans will have at least a three-way primary, with Agriculture Commissioner Jamie Comer, former Louisville Metro Councilman Hal Heiner and former state Supreme Court Justice Will T. Scott all vying for the nomination. But Conway could be the only major Democrat in the May 19th primary.

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Democrat Conway formally files for Kentucky governor's race