In spirit of the upcoming election as well as the upcoming holiday of Thanksgiving I'd like to give thanks to a specific subset of the blogosphere. This is a message of thanks to all the people who this election cycle who have used the terms "Demoncrat" and "Rethuglican." I would never have realized that the Democratic Party were spawn of satan without seeing the incredibly original and clever wordplay contained in the word "Demoncrat" repeated over and over. And I would never have realized that every single person who votes Republican is obviously a corrupt, racist criminal if not for having seen the amazing coinage "Rethuglican" over and over.
When I see a comment in a blog or see a blog post that uses one of these terms, I know immediately to pay attention. I know that the comment will be the product of clear and careful thinking with a good attention to shades of gray. I know that the writer must be a great wordsmith and master of the English language, more skilled and knowledgeable than William Safire. The only thing that could make me pay more attention would be if the comment were written in all caps.
You have helped make dialogue in this country more nuanced, well-reasoned and calm. You have heightened political discourse to levels undreamed of by past generations. Without your repetition of these terms we would be a terribly divided nation with no appreciation that reasonable people can disagree. Thank you.
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