Democrat or Democratic?

An anonymous correspondent writes:

You make D.C.'s three electoral votes sound somehow illegitimate. They were awarded by the 23rd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, passed in 1961.

Also, elsewhere on your site: although you claim to be non-partisan, you use "Democrat" as an adjective--a maddening practice characteristic of Republicans who can't bring themselves to use the proper term "Democratic." And by the way, the Vice President and his wife are Dick and Lynne CHENEY.

Considering that the District of Columbia's electoral college votes have never been allocated to any other Party than the Democrats' and considering also the complaint about my alleged partisanship, my guess is that I have irritated a Democratic Party voter.

1) The Democratic Party uses the web domain name www.democrats.org, so perhaps the Party itself does not mind which term I use. I tend to use "Democrat" because it is harder to confuse with the generic term a "democratic" party. Any political party that contests elections, has a system of accountability to its members, and does not resort to violence when the result goes the wrong way, could be considered democratic. The only reason that I don't use "GOP" instead of "Republican" is that most of my readers are European and so are unfamiliar with the expression. If "Republicanists" or "Republicists" were in common use, I would tend to use that expression to avoid confusion with an anti-monarchist Party.

However, Mr or Ms anonymous, I appreciate the tip. By the way, I am not eligible to vote in a U.S. election, I have never worked in an unpaid or paid capacity for any Republican candidate or campaigning organisation.

Because I have no wish to upset supporters of any democratic political party, I shall try to use "Democratic" more often, where there is no chance of confusion.

2) Washington D.C.
It is an anomaly that Washington D.C. has 3 electoral college votes in the U.S. presidential election. The allocation of E.C. votes is meant to be on the basis of the number of Senators and House Representatives that each State has. Like Puerto Rico and Samoa, the District of Columbia has no Senators and no full representative in the House of Representatives. Therefore, D.C.'s status is preferential compared with other Territories and States alike. As I understand it, the purpose in having the District of Columbia was to prevent any State from having a preferential position, by virtue of housing the federal government.

The 23rd Amendement is a compromise, and in my view a bad one for two reasons. In a close presidential election, Washington D.C. could determine the winner, which contradicts the principles on which the U.S. Constitution rest. The other Territories have a reasonable grievance in that they are excluded from the presidential vote.

I'm sure I would hold this view if the D.C. votes had gone for Goldwater, Nixon, Ford, Reagan, Bush, Dole, Bush. It would be funny if they had gone for alternative Parties each time, Libertarian, Green, Socialist etc. But the point remains.

3) Cheney....
OUCH!
Thank you, Mr or Ms anonymous for pointing out my mistake. My embarrassment is only mitigated by the fact that future readers have been spared my ignorance.

Dick and Lynne Cheney
Dick and Lynne Cheney
Dick and Lynne Cheney
Dick and Lynne Cheney
Dick and Lynne Cheney
Dick and Lynne Cheney
Dick and Lynne Cheney
Dick and Lynne Cheney
Dick and Lynne Cheney
Dick and Lynne Cheney

I hope you didn't enjoy it too much!