Half the Answer #32: The Language of Democrats and Republicans

Trent and Caitlin speak with political science professor Lindsey Cormack about her analysis of the DCInbox database of political communications, focusing especially on the memo from Third Way advising Democrats to avoid certain words that make them sound out of touch, elitist, or insincere. Where did these words come from? And do Democratic politicians actually use words like “heteronormative” and “postmodernism”?

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Resources:

DCInbox database: https://www.dcinbox.com/

Lindsey’s analysis: https://dcinboxinsights.substack.com/p/was-it-something-the-democrats-said?r=53lhp&utm_campaign=post&triedRedirect=true

Third Way memo: https://www.thirdway.org/memo/was-it-something-i-said

Politico coverage: https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/22/democrats-woke-language-blacklist-00519421

Lindsey’s book: https://howtoraiseacitizen.com/

Caitlin’s introduction resources: https://vpc.org/publications/cease-fire-a-comprehensive-strategy-to-reduce-firearms-violence/a-brief-history-of-firearms-law/

https://www.thirdway.org/memo/how-to-embrace-commonsense-gun-safety-legislation

https://www.thirdway.org/about/staff/jonathan-cowan