Over the next many months, American politics will be a hot topic. Regardless of whether you watch CNN or Fox News, you might be confused by some of the terminology. With the help of both my dad and my husband, I’ve put together a handy list of words or phrases that political pundits, journalists, and politicians like to use.
According to Twitter: there is no more real news to tell
All lives matter: I don’t understand context
Assault weapon or military-grade weapon: a gun that looks scary
Bipartisan: ignoring all the Independents
Common-sense legislation: what the lobbyists pay me to think
Draconian cuts: when an annual budget increases by a smaller percentage than in previous years; a cut only to the rate of budget growth, not to the actual budget itself
Endorsing: when I publicly support a political candidate I may or may not despise because I have no other choice
Gerrymandering: making sure your vote doesn’t matter
Green energy: energy companies that gave us plenty of green
Hitler, Nazi, Somalia, free country: words that indicate I’ve lost the argument
Kabuki theatre (political theatre): when politicians do something to make a point rather than change anything
Legislating from the bench: when I disagree with a Supreme Court decision
Loopholes: legal benefits we want, but we wish the other side would stop using
Obstructionist: someone who won’t play my game
Polling results say: highly-biased polls carefully worded to get a specific result say
Pandering: caring about the interests of anyone other than white, middle-class, Christian, heterosexual men
SJW (social justice warrior): feminists
Think of the children: an emotional plea to get what I want that has nothing to do with children
Too PC: I’m annoyed that I can no longer say whatever I want without repercussions
Traditional American values: white, Protestant, middle-class, heterosexual interests
Traditional marriage: marriage between one man and one woman, completely ignoring all the alternate marriages throughout history
Unconstitutional: anything I disagree with
Unprecedented: I’m ignoring when this happened before
Wasting your vote: voting for whoever doesn’t win
Watching the sausage being made: the behind-the-scenes process of passing legislation is messy
When men were men and women were women: when gender discrimination was legal and normalized
I know I missed a few terms! What would you add to this list? Do you agree or disagree with any of my definitions? Share your comments below!
