Democrats urged to ditch ‘extreme’ jargon that alienates voters in memo

A blunt memo circulated Friday urges Democrats to ditch “elitist” jargon that is alienating to voters if they want to defeat President Donald Trump’s agenda.

In the message titled, “Was It Something I Said?,” Democratic think tank Third Way warned Democratic officials against using language packed with progressive framing, labeling such terms as “therapy-speak,” “seminar room language,” and “organizer jargon,” among others.

The memo highlighted 44 words and phrases seen as divisive, including “privilege,” “safe space,” “existential threat,” “the unhoused,” “birthing person,” “Latinx,” and “incarcerated people.” 

Third Way argues these terms make Democrats appear like radical “enforcers of wokeness” to the average American.

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Third Way stressed it is not policing language. The group even admitted using some of these terms in its own papers. However, it urged Democratic officials to reflect before using such terms.

“Before you draft your angry tweet thread, think about conversations with persuadable voters in your own life—especially friends, family, and co-workers—and consider whether the use of the language above would help or hurt your case,” the Third Way memo said. 

The group argued that these terms raise red flags for many Americans, not because they are bigoted, but because they fear cancellation for speaking freely around liberals who use these terms.

Matt Bennett, Third Way’s executive vice president of public affairs, told Fox News Digital the memo was intended for “everyone in Democratic politics who has a public-facing role.”

A banner declaring, “Hate Has No Home Here,” is attached to a metal crowd control barricade at a Pride rally. (John Senter/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

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“When elected officials, candidates, and high-profile spokespeople use this kind of language, it is deeply alienating. And while it might be well-intentioned, by empowering the right, it ends up hurting the very people it’s intended to shield,” he said.

The group adds its messaging push stems from frustration with what they view as “damaging, self-defeating language being weaponized against our allies.”

“Even after the terrible losses in November, too many on the left have not gotten the message that they live in a bubble and that folks outside of that bubble think that kind of language is somewhere between silly and offensive,” Bennett added.

The memo aligns with broader concerns raised by prominent Democrats since the November election.

Former Democratic Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel warned in June that Democrats needed to stop worrying about identity politics and become a big-tent party again if they wanted to win elections.

“Why do Democrats have a problem?” he told “The Bulwark” host Tim Miller. “Because we’re punks, and we not only talk like punks, we talk down to people, we get caught up in a set of issues that aren’t relevant.”

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On “Inside Politics” on Friday, CNN’s John King said that Third Way had a point about Democratic messaging resonating with voters.

“A lot of people used to be Democrats who are now Trump voters,” King said. “They do think the Democratic Party speaks a different language.”

King said politicians and journalists should talk about things that are relevant to most of America, not just those in “New York or San Francisco.”

“But I do think people in middle America think that the elitists have lost their way and speak a language that they don’t understand,” he continued.