Longtime Democratic strategist James Carville is warning his party to drop politically charged, left-wing language that he says alienates voters and confuses messaging. In a Politicon video released Tuesday, Carville listed terms he believes are doing more harm than good, calling for Democrats to speak plainly if they hope to win support.
“Don’t use words like ‘equity,’ ‘structural,’ or ‘generational change,’” Carville said. He argued that such phrases are either unclear to average voters or risk alienating key demographics, such as older Americans. He emphasized that “equity” in particular — widely used in progressive circles — is either misunderstood or seen as pushing forced outcomes, rather than promoting equal opportunity.
Carville doubled down on criticisms he made earlier on his “Politics War Room” podcast, where he also called the terms “people of color” and “communities of color” inherently racist for grouping diverse populations into a single category. In his latest remarks, he took aim at other favored terms of the progressive left, including “intersectionality,” “community,” and “LGBTQ+.”
“Just use the word that is most commonly used among people as they talk to each other,” Carville said, mocking the alphabet-soup acronyms used in political discourse. He said the use of complicated terms like “intersectionality” makes it sound like Democrats are trying to show off their intelligence rather than communicate effectively.
Carville also mocked the term “oligarch,” promoted heavily by Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, suggesting that “fat cats” would resonate better with working Americans. “Everybody knows what a fat cat is,” he said.
His message to Democrats was clear: in a tight political environment, clarity beats ideological jargon. “It doesn’t mean you’re a bad person — it’s just not helpful,” Carville concluded.
