Republicrat or Demopublican (also Repubocrat, Demican, Democan, and Republocrat) are

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordspolitical parties in the United States, the Republican Party and the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

, collectively. These derogatory names first appeared in the 1872 U.S. presidential election. The terms have several meanings. One use is to insult politicians that the speaker believes are too moderate or centrist. This use is similar to saying that a Republican is a " Republican in Name Only" (RINO) or a Democrat is a " Democrat in Name Only" (DINO). Another use is to indicate that the two major parties are essentially interchangeable from the speaker's perspective because neither major party supports the changes that the speaker wants to see. This often carries an unspoken implication that the U.S. is in spirit a dominant-party system.

Usage

Insult towards moderates

Republicans have often portrayed themselves to be pro-business and aggressive on foreign policy; Democrats have tended to campaign on more liberal social policies and a more important role for government-funded social programs. Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines it as "a member of the Democratic party esp. in the southern states who supports to a large extent the policy and measures of the Republican party".

Oxford Dictionaries Oxford dictionary may refer to any dictionary published by Oxford University Press, particularly: Historical dictionaries * ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') * ''Shorter Oxford English Dictionary'', abridgement of the ''OED'' Single-volume d ...

defines the term as " person whose political philosophy is a blend of policies and principles from both the Republican and Democratic parties". The term is sometimes used in a pejorative sense by members of one party to attack members of their party who are either centrist or who have what they perceive to be the wrong ideology. The term Republicrat is commonly used by liberal Democrats to attack conservative and centrist members of the party, such as Senator

Joe Lieberman Joseph Isadore Lieberman (; born February 24, 1942) is an American politician, lobbyist, and attorney who served as a United States senator from Connecticut from 1989 to 2013. A former member of the Democratic Party, he was its nominee for V ...

. On the Republican side,

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusett ...

, and Newt Gingrich are common examples of Republicrats due to their liberal stances on various political issues. Another term used by liberal Democrats to describe conservative and centrist members of their party is " Democrat In Name Only" or "DINO"; a conservative Republican term for liberal and centrist Republicans is " Republican In Name Only" or "RINO".

Argument that Democrats and Republicans are interchangeable

Another usage of the term puts the words together in order to voice the opinion that the two mainstream American political parties are so ideologically similar as to be interchangeable. This usage often expresses the sentiment of ordinary citizens who see all politicians as serving the same special interests and make little distinction between the two parties. Earl Killian's U.S. political glossary defines the term as "a portmanteau of the words 'Republican' and 'Democrat' ... used to symbolize the one-party nature of U.S. politics, when it comes to issues on which the dominant parties of the

two-party system A two-party system is a political party system in which two major political parties consistently dominate the political landscape. At any point in time, one of the two parties typically holds a majority in the legislature and is usually refe ...

agree ... . In this view ... Republicrats is then the name of the single U.S. political party, and the Republicans and Democrats are seen as factions of this

one-party system A one-party state, single-party state, one-party system, or single-party system is a type of sovereign state in which only one political party has the right to form the government, usually based on the existing constitution. All other parties ...

, rather than as true independent parties." Some commentators, such as

right-wing Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, autho ...

radio talk-show host

Michael Savage Michael Alan Weiner (born March 31, 1942), known by his professional name Michael Savage, is a far-right author, conspiracy theorist, political commentator, activist, and former radio host. Savage is best known as the host of '' The Savage Nati ...

and

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in so ...

activist

Ralph Nader Ralph Nader (; born February 27, 1934) is an American political activist, author, lecturer, and attorney noted for his involvement in consumer protection, environmentalism, and government reform causes. The son of Lebanese immigrants to the U ...

, who have both used the terms, have opined on how it is often hard to tell the parties apart, leading to the term's popularity. This was a view shared on the left by the

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundati ...

during the

2000 U.S. Presidential election The 2000 United States presidential election was the 54th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 7, 2000. Republican candidate George W. Bush, the governor of Texas and eldest son of the 41st president, George H. W. Bush ...

, whose

bumper stickers A bumper sticker is an adhesive label or sticker with a message, intended to be attached to the bumper of an automobile and to be read by the occupants of other vehicles—although they are often stuck onto other objects. Most bumper stickers are ...

read: " Bush and

Gore Gore may refer to: Places Australia * Gore, Queensland * Gore Creek (New South Wales) * Gore Island (Queensland) Canada * Gore, Nova Scotia, a rural community * Gore, Quebec, a township municipality * Gore Bay, Ontario, a township on Manit ...

make me want to Ralph." Former

Dead Kennedys Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band that formed in San Francisco, California, in 1978. The band was one of the defining punk bands during its initial eight-year run. Dead Kennedys' lyrics were usually political in nature, satirizing p ...

vocalist and Green Party member

Jello Biafra Eric Reed Boucher (born June 17, 1958), known professionally as Jello Biafra, is an American singer, spoken word artist and politician. He is the former lead singer and songwriter for the San Francisco punk rock band Dead Kennedys. Initially ac ...

has used the term during interviews. In 2004, boxing promoter

Don King Donald King (born August 20, 1931) is an American boxing promoter, known for his involvement in several historic boxing matchups. He has been a controversial figure, partly due to a manslaughter conviction and civil cases against him, as well a ...

told

Larry King Larry King (born Lawrence Harvey Zeiger; November 19, 1933 – January 23, 2021) was an American television and radio host, whose awards included 2 Peabodys, an Emmy and 10 Cable ACE Awards. Over his career, he hosted over 50,000 interviews. ...

he was a Republicrat. He defined it as being for "whoever's going to be doing something or the upward mobility of America, black and white alike".

Equivalent terms in other countries

An equivalent term used in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

is Lib-Lab-Con or LibLabCon, a pejorative

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsLiberal Democrats, the Labour Party, and the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

), suggesting that there are no real differences between the three and that the UK is effectively a single-party system. An equivalent term used in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

is Lib-NDP-Con or LibNDPCon, a pejorative

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsLiberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a l ...

, the New Democratic Party (NDP), and the

), suggesting that there are no real differences between the three and that Canada is effectively a single-party system.

References

External links

{{wiktionary, Republicrat *

Sean Masterson Sean Masterson is a comedy actor, writer, director and producer known for his work with Drew Carey, writing on ''The Drew Carey Show'', and as an improvisational performer on ''Whose Line Is It Anyway?'', ''Drew Carey's Green Screen Show'', and '' ...

'
''Republicrats'' parody website
Political pejoratives for people Political terminology of the United States