The progressive dictionary that's costing Democrats votes

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Democrats and liberals are getting a linguistic wake-up call: stop talking like ivory tower academics. That's the message from a center-left think tank, which warns that the party's vocabulary is creating an ever-widening chasm between Democrats and everyday voters.

A memo from Third Way acknowledges that the intent behind many of these words springs from a desire to be more inclusive and empathetic. However, when voters hear these terms, the result is the opposite.

"The effect of this language is to sound like the extreme, divisive, elitist, and obfuscatory, enforcers of wokeness. To please the few, we have alienated the many—especially on culture issues, where our language sounds superior, haughty and arrogant," the memo reads.

"In reality, most Democrats do not run or govern on wildly out-of-touch social positions. But voters would be excused to believe we do because of the words that come out of our mouths—words which sound like we are hiding behind unfamiliar phrases to mask extreme intent."

The syntax they suggest avoiding is broken down into six categories including "therapy speak," to "seminar room language," and "gender/orientation correctness."

Under "therapy speak," they say words like "privilege," "othering," and "holding space" tell voters, "I'm more empathetic to you, and you are callous to hurting other's feelings."

The "gender/orientation correctness" category is full of the kinds of phrases that conservatives have used to mock and attack liberals and so-called "woke ideology." They include "birthing person," "cisgender," and "pregnant people."

This linguistic course correction may ruffle progressive feathers, but Third Way argues that the current vocabulary is doing something far worse: turning potential allies into skeptical outsiders.

"Recognize that much of the language above is a red flag for a sizable segment of the American public. It is not because they are bigots, but because they fear cancellation, doxing, or trouble with HR if they make a mistake. Or they simply don’t understand what these terms mean and become distrustful of those who use them. So instead, they keep quiet. They don’t join the conversation, they leave it."

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