For Europeans engaging in online political discussion with Americans, it is crucial to understand American political terminology. Provided that you know the political disposition of your correspondent, this is quite easy. Using the following table, look up the term in column 1 (Republican) or column 2 (Democrat), depending on the political disposition of your correspondent. You can then conveniently find the equivalent European term in column 3.
| Republican | Democrat | European Term |
|---|---|---|
| socialist | moderate | conservative |
| ordinary person | wingnut | Republican |
| Godless | atheist | secular |
| moonbat | rational person | Democrat |
| democracy | majority rules | corporate puppetry |
| Libertarian | Libertarian | demented fruitcake |
| pinko | socialist | centre/moderate |
| Godless commie bastard | communist | socialist |
| fair and balanced | right-biased | blatantly bigoted |
| commie propaganda | left-leaning media | media |
| leftist grant whore | college professor | university lecturer |
| God-given right | war | illegal invasion |
| President | asshole | war criminal |
| fair election victory | narrow loss | bloodless coup d'etat |
| communism | socialism | social democracy |
| Marxist pipe-dream | universal healthcare | healthcare |
| fellow American | religious right | Christian Taliban |
| small government | libertarianism | anarchy |
| help ally | foreign policy initiative | bankroll tinpot dictator |
| Ann Coulter | that Coulter bitch | fascist fundy bigot (female) |
| Bill O'Reilly | douchemonkey | fascist fundy bigot (male) |
