God bless the headline and chyron writers, journalists and editors, and political pundits and observers. You have difficult, complex jobs that are important for the smooth functioning of our democracy. Or republic. Whatevs. Also, bless your hearts.

You professional wordsmiths certainly must understand that we live in fractious times, where too often political opponents no longer feel obligated to debate each other on substantive matters. Rather, too many feel the need only to lob metaphorical hand grenades and ad hominem attacks against each other to score points with their most fervent believers and supporters while ignoring real, actual citizens who happen to wear a different political stripe.

On the occasions when thoughtful expressions on policy are issued, too many of us — the consumers of political reportage — need only identify whether an elected official is a Republican or Democrat to decide whether someone’s words are worth our attention.

Sometimes (all the time?), it feels as if elected officials have stopped representing everyone in their municipality, county, district, or state, but only focusing the needs of people who share their party affiliation.

You professional wordsmiths are only adding gasoline to the flames with two simple labels: D and R.

For example, from The Washington Post:

“I want to say this to all the teenagers out there and TikTok influencers who think we’re just old and out of touch,” said Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Tex.) at last month’s congressional hearing on the popular video platform… “You may not care that your data is being accessed now, but [there] will be one day when you do care about it.” Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/04/04/tiktok-privacy-why-it-matters/

From this reporting, we know that Dan Crenshaw is a member of the House of Representatives, his district is (somewhere) in Texas, and his party affiliation is Republican.

From The New York Times:

“The central argument and logic of this bill is that if you give Big Oil everything they want, then perhaps they will lower our gas prices,” said Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Democrat of New York. “It’s a form of trickle-down fantasy that just will not make life easier for everyday Americans.” Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/30/us/politics/gop-energy-bill.html

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is a member of the House of Representatives, her district is (somewhere) in New York state, and her party affiliation is Democratic.

Outside of posturing, elected officials also engage in important policy dialogue or activity, even if they disagree with each other on most issues. However, had the reporters and editors excluded their party affiliations, would more people have been willing to read and seriously consider what Crenshaw or Ocasio-Cortez said? Possibly. And who would have been hurt by the exclusion of party affiliation (outside of election season)? Political fundraisers, possibly.

Here’s my modest proposal: stop identifying the political party of elected officials unless they are engaged in partisan political dialogue or activity. Foreign policy, regulatory policy, energy policy, and economic policy are not – or should not be – political pawns. Neither should the decision makers be identified as such.

Here’s an example of how to do it…

Original

President Joe Biden visited a power generation facility in Minnesota on Monday to make the case that federal spending has triggered new clean energy jobs and economic growth. The Democratic president gathered with state and business leaders at the Cummins manufacturing plant in Fridley as part of his administration’s 20-state tour to highlight his economic agenda. Source: https://www.startribune.com/president-joe-biden-to-highlight-economic-agenda-in-minnesota-visit-clean-energy-jobs/600264116/

Revised:

President Joe Biden visited a power generation facility in Minnesota on Monday to make the case that federal spending has triggered new clean energy jobs and economic growth. The president gathered with state and business leaders at the Cummins manufacturing plant in Fridley as part of his administration’s 20-state tour to highlight his economic agenda.

There. Remove one label and how do you now feel about the reporting? Less triggered? More likely to read the rest of the report?

Remember, our elected officials are also Americans, Texans, and New Yorkers, too. And maybe it’s more important to remember this fact than casting aspersions on someone’s motives based on party affiliation.