Why Are Democrat States Called 'Blue'?

[Cecilie1200]

http://www.usmessageboard.com/educa...-democrat-states-called-blue.html#post1885288

Democratic, you spelled it wrong

OK, you got me on a technicality...the accurate name is Democratic.

And I'll plead guilty to using the pejorative. You know where I'm coming from.

So I gave you a rep.

Technically:
Now that this has come up:

The Republican Party is the party of Republicans (plural not possessive); the first part of the name labels a member as a Republican
The Democrat Party is the party of Democrats; the first part of the name labels a member as a Democrat


So why is it “pejorative" to say "Democrat ....?" There is no judgment in the term Democrat, unless one is sensitive that there is an insinuation that members may not actually fit the adjective (small d) "democratic".

As a matter of fact, Federalists in the 1790s used "Democratic Party" as a term of ridicule

Just askin...and no offense intended. I try to always say “Democratic” because there seems to be a great deal of sensitivity the other way.

FYI and otherwise irrelevant - since the sensitivity might come from having others determine the name - It is a fact that down through history names have been given by others. Greece was named by Rome (Graeci), as was Britain (Britania), Germany (Germania), and other geographical regions around the Mediterranean Sea. On the other hand Italy’s name was given it by the Greeks and adopted by the Romans.

Peace . . .

Democrats now want to use the grammatically incorrect "Democratic" because they're trying to psychologically lay claim to the associations we have to that word, ie. they want people to associate being democratic with their party.

It IS grammatically incorrect, by the way. If you wouldn't say something was "Republicanian", then you shouldn't be saying "Democratic" in the same sense.

 

[American Horse]

As to why blue states are Blue.... High taxes, lousy education systems, union control over the political process... They would make anyplace feel blue.

And self styled "blue bloods" which is just another term for elites; those who look down their judgemental noses at lesser peasants.

 

[☭proletarian☭]

Why Are Democrat States Called 'Blue'?

Blue - as in "true blue".

Red - like "blood".

Or blue as in "sad and depressed", and red as in "courageous".

 

[Cold Fusion38]

“One of the most irritating things about the presidential election is the constant use of the term “red state” to describe those conservative states that tend to vote Republican and “blue state” to describe those liberal states that tend to vote Democrat. The red state blue state descriptions are inaccurate, unhistorical and confusing as red has long been the color identified with the left and blue the color of the right

The color blue has long been associated with political conservatism. Blue is the color associated with Britain’s Conservative or Tory Party a party which according to Oxford historian Maurice Woods dates back to 1660 as the party or faction loyal to King Charles II. Phrase Finder credits the term “true blue” a term often used to describe conservatives to a color fast cloth made in Coventry England in the late Middle Ages. The term later morphed into a metaphor for political loyalty in the late 17th century.

The historical association of the color red with the political left does not go back as far as the history of the identification of the color blue with the right, but the association has been stronger. Red was first used as a color to signify the political left by revolutionaries during the French Revolution in the late 18th century according to 19th century Scottish historian Thomas Carlyle.

It was later used by revolutionaries in the wave of revolutions that swept Europe in 1848. The most known association was with the Soviet Communists during Russian Revolution in 1917. In the civil war that followed the revolution, the forces supporting the Soviet regime were known as the Reds, and the counter-revolutionaries were known as the Whites.

Since that time, the color red has been used to signify other movements or regimes that were either left-wing or Communist, such as the Peoples’ Republic of China, which was long known in this country as Red China.

According to the Washington Post as well as MSNBC’s web site it was the host of NBC’s, Tim Russert of “Meet the Press” fame who started using the terms “blue state” and “red state” to signify respectively states that vote Democratic and Republican. The use of these terms has taken off since that time and is now widely used to describe Democrats and Republicans. This is unfortunate because it runs so counter to the historical understanding of the political symbolism of the two colors”.
The Daily Utah Chronicle - Republicans historically blue and democrats red


Prior to the election of 2000, red stood for Democrats and blue for Republicans. Reagan’s ‘lake’ in 1980 turned blue.

But sensitivity to the graphic association with the communist-socialist end of the spectrum appears to have been a cause for discomfort for Democrats and their lap dogs in the main stream press, and so an exercise in prestidigitation became necessary.

Since the reversal defies logic, the original must have been a bit too close to the truth.

Because on average they get less money from the Federal gov't (in the red) than Red states do.

 

[Bfgrn]

Why Are Democrat States Called 'Blue'?

It's like accounting...blue are assets, red means a negative value or below zero

 

[Charles Stucker]

I know my brown eyes would turn blue iif I had to live around too many Democrats.