As the dust settles from the tumultuous 2024 election cycle, the Democratic Party finds itself at a crossroads, grappling with a stark reality: its messaging is driving away the very voters it needs most. In a move that has sent ripples through political circles, the center-left think tank Third Way released a memo on August 22, 2025, calling on Democrats to abandon a lengthy list of 45 words and phrases they say have become barriers between the party and ordinary Americans. The memo, first reported by Playbookdc and widely circulated among party strategists, staffers, and consultants, is a direct response to an alarming trend—Democrats are hemorrhaging support across key demographics, especially among young men and swing-state voters.
According to The Well News, Third Way’s memo wasn’t just a shot in the dark. It arrived on the heels of a sobering New York Times analysis showing Democrats lost 2.1 million voters between the 2020 and 2024 elections, while Republicans gained 2.4 million. The Times found that Democrats fell behind Republicans in all 30 states that track voter registration by party, with the steepest declines among men and younger voters—groups that swung sharply toward Donald Trump and the GOP. In states like Nevada and North Carolina, once considered Democratic strongholds, the party’s registration advantage has all but evaporated.
Third Way’s list of blacklisted terms is as comprehensive as it is controversial. Words and phrases like “privilege,” “violence” (as in “environmental violence”), “dialoguing,” “triggering,” “othering,” “microaggression,” “holding space,” “body shaming,” “subverting norms,” “systems of oppression,” “cultural appropriation,” “Overton window,” “existential threat to [the climate, democracy, economy],” “radical transparency,” “stakeholders,” “the unhoused,” “food insecurity,” “housing insecurity,” “person who immigrated,” “birthing person,” “cisgender,” “deadnaming,” “heteronormative,” “patriarchy,” “LGBTQIA+,” “BIPOC,” “allyship,” “incarcerated people,” and “involuntary confinement” were all flagged as alienating to what the memo calls “normie voters.”
Matt Bennett, Third Way’s executive vice president of public affairs, explained the rationale bluntly: “We think language is one of the central problems we face with normie voters, signaling that we are out of touch with how they live, think and talk.” He added, “In recent weeks, this has become a bit of a thing, with comedians like Jimmy Kimmel and Sarah Silverman highlighting how insane Dems can sometimes sound. Also, elected officials like [Delaware Rep.] Sarah McBride and [Kentucky Gov.] Andy Beshear are begging their colleagues to just be normal again.”
The memo doesn’t mince words about the damage done by what it calls “therapy speak,” “seminar room language,” “organizer jargon,” “gender/orientation correctness,” “the shifting language of racial constructs,” and “explaining away crime.” As the memo puts it, “For a party that spends billions of dollars trying to find the perfect language to connect to voters, Democrats and their allies use an awful lot of words and phrases no ordinary person would ever dream of saying.” The intent, Third Way argues, is to be inclusive and empathetic, but the effect is to sound “like the extreme, divisive, elitist, and obfuscatory enforcers of wokeness.”
Lanae Erickson, Third Way’s senior vice president, didn’t shy away from the harsh assessment: “The Democratic Party brand is toxic across the country at this point with way too many people—enough that there’s no way for us to win a governing majority without changing that. Part of the problem was that we were using words that literally no normal people used—that we were sticking to messages that were so overly scripted that they basically sounded like nothing.” She further noted that Democrats are often afraid to speak up against violent crime and cultural issues, fearing backlash from progressive colleagues.
This messaging crisis isn’t just theoretical; it’s playing out in real time. As reported by the California Globe, President Joe Biden’s use of the term “illegal” alien to describe Laken Riley’s murderer during his 2024 State of the Union address sparked immediate backlash from immigrant rights groups and regret from his campaign staffers. Earlier this year, California Governor Gavin Newsom found himself in hot water after making controversial remarks about transgender athletes in women’s sports during a podcast interview with conservative activist Charlie Kirk—a move that drew fire not just from Republicans but also from within his own party and the LGBTQ+ community.
It’s not just high-profile gaffes that are hurting Democrats. As the Dallas Morning News highlighted in an editorial cartoon on August 23, 2025, the decline in Democratic voter registration is now the stuff of public satire. The party’s former base among Latino and Black voters has also shown signs of erosion, with many turning out for Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance in record numbers. The Democrats’ abandonment of the term “Latinx” in 2022, after years of polling showed it failed to resonate with Latino voters, was an early warning sign—one that, in hindsight, looks like the canary in the coal mine.
But perhaps the most striking shift is among Generation Z, particularly young white men. According to The Hill, Democrats have alienated Gen Z, especially white young men, who are increasingly registering as Republicans. Data scientist Zachary Donnini observed that Gen Z is on track to be the most pro-GOP generation since the Great Depression. Independent journalist Zaid Jilani argued, “Democrats need to explicitly oppose misandry and distance themselves from liberal influencers who demonize men.” The perception, Jilani and others contend, is that the Democratic brand has become too feminine and even hostile to men, leaving young men—many of whom feel economically and socially disadvantaged—feeling unrecognized and unwelcome.
Robby Soave, co-host of The Hill’s commentary show “Rising,” echoed these concerns, noting that Democratic messaging has long focused on the harms suffered by various marginalized groups, often casting men and white people as the antagonists. “The reason this messaging is especially alienating to young men is that, well, they probably feel like victims themselves sometimes, but they lack the option to describe themselves as such and suddenly enjoy the pity of progressive elites,” Soave wrote. He pointed out that economic challenges—like difficulty affording homes due to generational wealth hoarding by baby boomers—compound the sense of alienation among young men.
The Third Way memo acknowledges some in the party will bristle at its recommendations, and even admits to having used some of the same language in the past. But it urges Democrats to “think about conversations with persuadable voters in your own life—especially friends, family, and coworkers” and consider whether the use of these words helps or hurts their case. The memo’s release has sparked chatter from both the right and left, with Third Way’s Bennett expressing delight at the widespread attention: “We want people to see it, and they are!”
As Democrats stare down an increasingly uphill battle for relevance and electoral success, the memo’s message is clear: language matters, and the words chosen today could well determine the party’s fortunes tomorrow. Whether the party heeds this advice or doubles down on its current trajectory remains to be seen—but for now, the conversation about how Democrats talk to America is impossible to ignore.
