Stop Calling Them Republicans. Start Calling Them What They Are.

Democrats need to implement a simple but powerful messaging strategy to help them regain control of the national narrative and set themselves up for a big win in November: Stop publicly referring to the GOP as the “Republican” party, and start calling them what they have become: the Authoritarian party.?

All elected Democrats (and candidates) must do this not just once, but all the time — in every interview, in all public statements, all tweets and every press release, from now on. When the public starts hearing the GOP referred to as the “Authoritarian party” on a regular, ongoing basis, the meme will stick, because it is reinforced daily by GOP words and actions.

The term “authoritarian” means the following: (1) “…concentrates power in the hands of a leader or a small elite that is not constitutionally responsible to the body of the people,” (2) “…exercises power arbitrarily and without regard to existing bodies of law," and finally (3) “exercising complete or almost complete control over the will of another or of others.”

Since the 2020 election, when the Republican party publicly stated that its official platform was no longer about specific policies, but rather a promise that it would continue to enthusiastically support Donald Trump, it has rapidly devolved into a shameless, right-wing, anti-democracy power-grab. It has has even gone so far as to hold its annual CPAC conference overseas, in Hungary, where Trump, Tucker Carlson and other GOP leaders paid homage to authoritarian President Victor Orban, in apparent adoration of the way Orban has led Hungary from fledgling democracy to far-right authoritarian regime.?

Whether we’re talking about the recently accelerated war on women’s reproductive rights, or its bulwark against any meaningful climate-change policies, or its continued devotion to the gun lobby in the face of daily horrific mass-shootings, or its attempts to illegally (and violently) overthrow our duly elected government; with rare exceptions (Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger being the most notable two), authoritarian GOP leadership now dictates every move of the “party.” They are the ones who are RINO (Republican In Name Only).?

Why give these “Republicans” the benefit of pretending to be a legitimate political party when they no longer are? If “old school,” so-called “normal” Republicans want to indicate to voters that they are not part of the Authoritarian cult that the GOP has become, then they can identify themselves with a new name, a new meme — the “New Republicans.” This will give them a way to distinguish themselves from full-time authoritarians like Trump, DeSantis, Jordan, Hawley, Cruz, McConnell and a multitude of other like-minded toadies who now insist that if elections are to be held, they need to be subject to partisan modification of rules and outcomes, anytime the authoritarian candidates lose. It is a dystopian alternative to actual democracy. It is a worldview where individual liberty and human rights have no guarantee and the moral imperatives of a small minority are to be imposed upon the vast majority of citizens, in classic authoritarian style.?

One might hesitate, perhaps with some justification, to throw all Republicans under the authoritarian bus, yet the numbers are what they are. Even to this day, 147 GOP lawmakers (more than half) have continued, either directly or indirectly, to support the Big Lie that the 2020 election was somehow “stolen” from Donald Trump. This has become part of their justification for draconian modifications to state election rules nationwide, as well as for other extreme-right positions that have little in common with what Republicans used to stand for, once upon a time, or what the vast majority of Americans agree upon today. The sooner the Democrats start referring to Republicans as what they actually are, the sooner voters will respect the Democrats, willing to fight hard for our democracy.??

Some might argue that boycotting the word “Republican” in favor of “Authoritarian” is divisive and/or hyperbolic. It isn’t, but if that’s the defense, so what? The GOP continually refers to Democrats as “radical liberals,” “socialists,” “Communists,” “baby-eaters” and even “pedophiles.” While these accusations are lies, they are highly divisive and hyperbolic, and have unfortunately proven effective at animating the worst of the GOP’s supposed base. These attacks on Democrats (and even non-loyal members of their own party) are constantly echoed by authoritarian media personalities like Tucker Carlson, propaganda outlets outlets like FOX, OAN, NewsMax and various right-wing bloggers.

So why should the Democrats pull any punches, especially after warning voters that the upcoming general elections may be the last stand for our democracy? If the situation is really as grave as they say, is this not the time for Democrats to be as forceful as possible in defense of our democracy? If not now, when?

Refusing to publicly and privately call them “Republicans,” and instead substituting the word “Authoritarians,” certainly fits as a truthful descriptor, and a meme worth spreading far and wide. Why should this dangerous group of right-wing extremists benefit from being associated with what used to be a legitimate political party? Why should they be granted “cover,” by hiding behind the Republican brand??If there are still a few or more Republicans with integrity, then it is time for them to distance themselves publicly from the party that used to be. Let them call themselves the “New Republicans,” at least for the time being. Democrats can also refer to these presumably non-authoritarians as “New Republicans,” once they claim the label for themselves.

As the word “Republican” begins to disappear from the lips of Democrats across the country, both pundits and mass-media will have no choice but to acknowledge this powerful messaging shift by Democrats. The Authoritarians will cry foul, on cue, but will be unable to avoid the consequences of being truthfully (and regularly) called out for what they really are, and the dangers they represent.

The Republican party we all knew is dead, having abandoned whatever integrity it might once have laid claim to, at least for the time being. Liz Cheney, Adam Kinzinger and a handful of other members of the GOP are showing, by example, what integrity looks like. But their party has rejected them. This leaves the Democratic party in a unique position to take advantage of the moment, by abandoning the word “Republican” in every public instance, and by defending their new messaging as wholly descriptive, appropriate to the moment, and in defense of our democracy’s continued existence.

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Richard Lang is the CEO of Democrasoft, Inc., author of Virtual Country: Strategy for 21st Century Democracy, and co-founder of the Advisory Vote initiative.