Political code words

created by mattbw

(idea) by mattbw (2 wk) (print) ? (I like it!) 2 C!s Wed Aug 02 2000 at 15:07:44

Rather than espouse unpalatable or politically incorrect views, politicians sometimes speak in code. Code words may be innocuous but are intended to resonate with the target audience, and convey the actual message. Examples of Code Words

Big Government : The speaker has ideas about eliminating some government arm, particularly involving social programs, but not the military industrial complex
Family Values : The speaker is against feminism, abortion, the childless and homosexuality, and really wants the women's vote
Bureaucracy : The speaker is referring to Incompetent Government Institutions (it does not refer to incompetent, yet monied, business monopolies)
Balanced Budget : The speaker thinks that being able to make interest payments on the monstrous national debt is a good idea
Freedom Fighter : Anti communist rebel guerilla
Tough on crime : The speaker favors long term incarceration (and possibly the death penalty) over prevention and rehabilitation
Soft Money (The rich corporate overclass that really tells the corrupt politicians what to do)

Many codewords are used to discredit by placing a person in a caricatured group (the relevant caricature is in brackets). The original meaning of the group is usually innocuous, or even positive.

Feminist (Man hating ivory tower loony bin, as opposed to "person who thinks women should be treated equally")
Religious Right (Right wing Christians who want to control everyone else's behavior, as opposed to "person who has a religious motivation")
Liberal (Wants to waste your money on touchy feely stuff, as opposed to "social innovator")
Conservative (Wants to lock up anyone who disagrees, as opposed to "prudent fiscal planner")

I'm only scratching the surface here and have tried to select a balance of liberal and conservative code words, but ended up with more of the latter. Any more?

printable version
chaos

Air Farce	Operation Infinite Justice	Politically Incorrect	Teen Lust Industrial Complex
Quick change artist	Official Secrets Act	HUMINT	family values
Gay Niggers from Outer Space	doublespeak	Charlie	gay code
Whose Line is it Anyway?	Security Clearance	welfare state	Death penalty
Liberal	BaByliss Rapide 2000	Religious Political Extremists	The Flushing System
code word	Crips	Norway	pejorative

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