Code words in the names of interest groups that reveal their political slant

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e.g., "Family" = social conservative

― Curt1s St3ph3ns, Thursday, 8 December 2005 21:47 (nineteen years ago)

"Heritage" - paleo-con/'bring back robber barons'

― Erick Dampier is better than Shaq (miloaukerman), Thursday, 8 December 2005 21:49 (nineteen years ago)

'concerned citizens' - 'keep the darkies and/or poor out'

― Erick Dampier is better than Shaq (miloaukerman), Thursday, 8 December 2005 21:50 (nineteen years ago)

"taxpayers" - "decrease the surplus population"

― Erick Dampier is better than Shaq (miloaukerman), Thursday, 8 December 2005 21:51 (nineteen years ago)

'consumer freedom' = laissez faire corporate utopia

― ooooh, Thursday, 8 December 2005 21:52 (nineteen years ago)

'america' = we are further left than most americans but have clumsily attempted to reclaim patriotism from republicans

― ooooh, Thursday, 8 December 2005 21:52 (nineteen years ago)

See also "American" (right) versus "International" (left) versus "Global" (business). And the standard conservative habit of trying to sound like exactly what you're not ("Women" = anti-feminist, "Environment" = pro-business, etc.).

― nabisco (nabisco), Thursday, 8 December 2005 21:54 (nineteen years ago)

"Sons of" / "Daughters of" / "Southern" when not followed by "Poverty Law Center" = chills

"Urban"

― nabisco (nabisco), Thursday, 8 December 2005 21:55 (nineteen years ago)

"Enterprise" = rightwinger anti-tax but pro-subsidy

And the standard conservative habit of trying to sound like exactly what you're not

also, deliberately naming your rightwing group after a left-leaning one to muddy the waters

"Progress for America" vs "Center for American Progress"
"MoveOn.org" vs "Moving America Forward"

― kingfish trampycakes (kingfish 2.0), Thursday, 8 December 2005 21:59 (nineteen years ago)

"Rifle" = People that like guns.

― giboyeux (skowly), Thursday, 8 December 2005 22:01 (nineteen years ago)

I guess I will admit that conservative groups are sometimes forced to try to sound like progressive ones. Once you have the "National Organization for Women," what the right-wing counterpart supposed to call itself -- "National Organization for Everything is Fine with Women, Shut Up Your Complaining Already?" A lot of them have no real advocacy to name themselves around, apart from counter-advocacy to someone else's advocacy.

― nabisco (nabisco), Thursday, 8 December 2005 22:07 (nineteen years ago)

organization w/ "individual" in its name somewhere = almost always some libertarian/laissez-faire organization.

"constitution-in-exile" = getting rid of the legal vestiges of the New Deal and the Civil Rights movement.

― Eisbär (llamasfur), Thursday, 8 December 2005 22:49 (nineteen years ago)

anything with "values" in its name = bible-thumpers

― thor heyerdahl (Jody Beth Rosen), Thursday, 8 December 2005 22:59 (nineteen years ago)

"focus" = intrude

― andy --, Thursday, 8 December 2005 23:26 (nineteen years ago)

"our endangered values" - #1 on nytimes bestseller list, by one... jimmy carter.

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Thursday, 8 December 2005 23:34 (nineteen years ago)

nabisco, my dad was once director of "southerners... for economic justice"

(i don't think they had the ellipse)

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Thursday, 8 December 2005 23:35 (nineteen years ago)

"justice," "fairness," "responsible," or "social" usually denotes left-leaning

(but "tax" always trumps these words, of course)

― kingfish trampycakes (kingfish 2.0), Thursday, 8 December 2005 23:43 (nineteen years ago)

It slips by the distinction between "Southern" and "Southerners," maybe? Ha, no, I felt guilty there because I'm sure there are loads of fine things starting in "Southern" (e.g. the PovLawCent), but there seems to be this formulation of putting some ideological "Southern" in front of things that don't have to do with geographical division. So like beyond Southern Partisan I would probably have some unfair knee-jerk freakout upon seeing theoretical entities called, like, "Southern People's Union" or "Southern Juror" or a double-whammy "Southern Heritage Fund," or something.

I guess I knee-jerk when the thing doesn't seem like it's referring to, you know, location. Like I'd assume "Southern Bookseller" was just regional, whereas "League of Southern Voters" seems to imply that it's about certain interests Southern voters have that other voters might not. (Which could also be true and innocuous but makes me knee-jerk wary anyway!)

― nabisco (nabisco), Thursday, 8 December 2005 23:50 (nineteen years ago)

"community" = the sort of people you don't want in your backyard

― thor heyerdahl (Jody Beth Rosen), Thursday, 8 December 2005 23:51 (nineteen years ago)

(nature) conservation = we want to maintain populations so we can still hunt them

― Kim (Kim), Friday, 9 December 2005 00:20 (nineteen years ago)

the word 'facts' in a website address = astroturfing.

― Christine 'Green Leafy Dragon' Indigo (cindigo), Friday, 9 December 2005 04:19 (nineteen years ago)

"episode IV"

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Friday, 9 December 2005 04:20 (nineteen years ago)

"for truth" = conservative and probably narrowly-purposed, targeted PAC not intended for the long run.

― *Jazz Douchebag* Berman (Hurting), Friday, 9 December 2005 04:34 (nineteen years ago)

"Independent" = just as biased and one-sided as everyone else.

― Hello Sunshine (Hello Sunshine), Friday, 9 December 2005 09:51 (nineteen years ago)

'countryside' - One or more of the following...

-guffawing toffs wishing to preserve their god-given right to terrorize little beasties
-Middle England green belt fetishizing Nimbies anxious about their houses getting devalued by orrible new-builds.
-nuke or fossil fuels lobby renewables-bashing.

Add 'heritage' to the above to create the Nazi party - land and blood, y'know?

yours, a disillusioned environmentalist.

― anglican daemon void, Monday, 12 December 2005 14:09 (nineteen years ago)

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