Semantics: Democrat Or Democratic?

I came across this post in my travels through the blogosphere, 'Democrat' Vs. 'Democratic' - Republicans Manipulate Language, Media & Democrats Silent. I'm posting this not to be overly serious about this but just to point out some of the "little things" that have been done in the language, or framing, department by Republicans over the years:

There are a number of reasons rightwingers prefer to use 'Democrat' (as in "Democrat Party"): for one, the word ends in "RAT." And this isn't a rare occurrence; all Republicans are trained to say it. You'll never hear a Republican or rightwinger say Democratic Party, not even faux-moderates like John McCain.

So wouldn't it be nice to have a member of the press confront one of these Republicans with the following question:b>"Excuse me, ____ , did you just say the "Democrat Party," and if so why did you intentionally neglect to say Democratic Party?"

A big problem for Democrats is that they fail to appreciate the profound effect of these subtle word games. Luntzian linguistic tricks are a central part of the rightwing attack machine, and it's disturbing that Democrats and Pre$$titutes continue to let them slide.

I believe this explains best which word should be used, democrat/democratic:

Certain Republican members of Congress have played the childish game in recent years of referring to the opposition as the "“Democrat Party," hoping to imply that Democrats are not truly democratic. They succeed only in making themselves sound ignorant, and so will you if you imitate them. The name is "“Democratic Party."

So it's always Democratic when referring to the party, as in Williamson County Democratic Party. The reference above comes from here, Common Errors in English (It looks like an excellent reference), just click on List of Errors.

You can find more of the discussion here, Democrat vs. Democratic.