Dems Have List of Banned Words to Stop Sounding Like ‘Crazy People’

Facing a resurgent Donald Trump in the White House and a MAGA movement gaining ground, Democrats are being warned to “talk like normal people” or risk alienating the very swing voters who could decide the 2028 election.

In a blistering memo obtained by Politico, the centrist think tank Third Way urged Democratic leaders, strategists, and activists to ditch a long list of “woke” terms — phrases they say sound condescending, confusing, or downright elitist to everyday Americans.

The banned words include terms like “cisgender,” “deadnaming,” “safe space,” and “stakeholders” — language Third Way says turns off persuadable voters and makes Democrats sound “like they’re leading a graduate seminar at Antioch.”

“To please the few, we’ve alienated the many,” said Matt Bennett, Third Way’s executive vice president. “If we want to beat Trumpism, we have to sound like we actually live in the same country as the people we’re talking to.”

A Wake-Up Call for Democrats

The report, part of Third Way’s newly launched Signal Project, sorts taboo phrases into six categories, from “Therapy-Speak” to “Organizer Jargon” and “Gender/Orientation Correctness.” The goal, they argue, is simple: reconnect with voters who feel Democrats are talking at them instead of to them.

“We think language is one of the central problems we face with normie voters,” Bennett explained. “It signals that we’re out of touch with how they live, think, and talk.”

The recommendations arrive as President Trump leans hard into culture wars, portraying Democrats as “radical elites detached from reality.” His allies, including Vice President J.D. Vance, have relentlessly mocked progressive messaging.

During a recent Fox News interview, Vance offered what he called “free political advice” for Democrats:

“Stop sounding like crazy people.”

A Shift in Strategy

Third Way insists this isn’t about abandoning progressive values — it’s about making them relatable. Democrats are being urged to discuss issues like LGBTQ+ rights, racial justice, and crime in straightforward language voters can digest.

Lanae Erickson, Third Way’s senior vice president, put it bluntly:

“People can’t relate to something unless it has some edge about it. Democrats have shaved off all our edges in an attempt to never upset anyone. It’s time to change that.”

California Governor Gavin Newsom is already embracing the shift. Known for his staunch support of LGBTQ+ rights, Newsom has started adopting a punchier, populist tone aimed at connecting with frustrated working-class voters.

His social media team has also rolled out a meme-heavy strategy, blending humor with sharp attacks on Trump policies. “We can’t fight bombast with bullet points,” one Newsom aide told Axios.

Why It Matters Now

With Trump back in the Oval Office and Republicans controlling the Senate, Democrats are scrambling to regain ground ahead of 2028. Polls show voters in key battleground states like Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Georgia increasingly frustrated with “out-of-touch” messaging from Democrats — a trend Republicans are eager to exploit.

In June, The Washington Post published an editorial urging Democrats to retire academic terms like “intersectionality” and “justice-involved populations,” warning they make the party sound disconnected from real-world concerns.

Third Way agrees — and warns Democrats that failing to adapt could cost them the White House again.

“We must invite, not repel,” Erickson stressed. “If voters think we don’t care about crime, or that we talk down to them, we will lose.”

The memo stops short of prescribing a full rebrand but pushes Democrats to “sound like neighbors, not professors.”