What’s in a name? <i>Democrat Party</i> as multivocal communication

In the United States, members of the Republican Party increasingly refer to the Democratic Party as the Democrat Party . This practice has been recognized by journalists and political actors over the years, but the questions of what sorts of Republicans engage in it and why have rarely been studied scientifically. Analyzing congressional floor speeches, committee meetings, media reports, and electronic newsletters, we demonstrate that Democrat Party usage by Republican members of Congress is positively correlated with conservatism. We further show that congressional Republicans are likelier to use the term when in the minority in their chamber and when addressing an external audience. These findings are consistent with our theory that Democrat Party functions as a form of multivocal communication, invoked by conservative Republicans to subtly signal their ideology to likeminded constituents.