CHANGE IS BAD:

'RIP, GOP,' Decrees WSJ (Dana Milbank, November 27, 2002, washingtonpost.com)

It's been a great month for the Republican Party, with victories in the House, Senate and gubernatorial elections. But now comes a cruel blow -- delivered by the Wall Street Journal, no less. The newspaper has banned the term "GOP," deeming the popular abbreviation for "Grand Old Party" too obscure.

"(B)ecause the short form may seem baffling (or even spin-doctored) to some new readers, we want to avoid its use in articles and headlines," the WSJ announced in an item titled "RIP, GOP" in an in-house style guide. "Beginning in December, use it only in the direct quotations and then be sure to explain what GOP means. Even among people who know that GOP refers to the Republican Party, many may not know that it stands for Grand Old Party."

So how come we have to say chairperson and African-American and Native American and all those other tortuous locutions, but don't have to use the term the Republicans choose for themselves? Posted by Orrin Judd at December 1, 2002 8:52 AM