Dem Think Tank Urges Party to Ditch Woke Jargon They Tried Jamming Down Everyone’s Throats [WATCH]

Democratic strategists are advising candidates to overhaul their vocabulary ahead of the 2028 cycle, according to a new policy memo from Third Way, a left-leaning think tank that published the document online.

The memo recommends abandoning 44 terms and phrases that its authors say alienate broad segments of voters, and it organizes those terms into categories tied to how they are perceived by the public.

Scoop: Third Way is circulating a memo, shared first with @playbookdc, featuring a new black list of words Dems shouldn’t use. pic.twitter.com/VhvVHZTW9C

— Adam Wren (@adamwren) August 22, 2025

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Third Way’s guidance urges Democrats to stop using words such as “privilege,” “cultural appropriation,” “the unhoused,” “birthing person,” “Latinx,” and “justice-involved.”

The memo frames the recommendations as part of a broader effort to make political communication clearer and more relatable to people outside academic and activist settings.

One section labels a group of expressions as “therapy speak.” According to the memo, terms including “triggering,” “safe space,” “holding space,” “body shaming,” and “centering” can come across as condescending, communicating to voters, “I’m more empathetic than you.”

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Another section describes what it calls “seminar room language,” asserting that phrases such as “subverting norms,” “systems of oppression,” “critical theory,” and “Overton Window” imply, “I’m smarter and more concerned about important issues than you” and “your kitchen table concerns are small.”

The memo also recommends setting aside wording that, in its view, suggests politicians are “beholden to groups, not individuals,” or signals that “people have no agency.”

Examples listed include “radical transparency,” “stakeholders,” “food insecurity,” “housing insecurity,” and “person who immigrated.”

In criminal-justice contexts, Third Way cautions against language it says appears to minimize offenses or invert the roles of offender and victim, citing “justice-involved,” “carceration,” “incarcerated people,” and “involuntary confinement.”

The document notes that some Democrats, including Vice President Kamala Harris, have used terms such as “incarcerated people” and “unhoused.”

A separate section addresses terminology around race and identity, advising candidates to avoid language that may be perceived as accusatory or exclusionary.

Third Way lists “BIPOC,” “allyship,” and “intersectionality” as phrases that can read to some audiences as a warning that “you will be called a racist if you do not use the latest and correct terminology.”

On gender-related topics, the memo highlights expressions it says many voters find unfamiliar or off-putting, including “inseminated person,” “chest feeding,” “cisgender,” “heteronormative,” and “LGBTQIA+.”

“Much of the language above is a red flag for a sizable segment of the American public,” the report asserts.

“It is not because they are bigots, but because they fear cancellation, doxing, or trouble with HR if they make a mistake. Or they simply don’t understand what these terms mean and become distrustful of those who use them.”

Third Way’s recommendations echo comments from figures across media and politics who have urged plainer speech.

Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel said on a podcast earlier this month, “It’s the loud voices that scare people from saying what they believe … A lot of their points are valid, but a lot of them are also just repulsive, in that they repel people. They go like, ‘Oh, you’re no fun. I don’t want to be around you.’”

In February, Democratic Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear told Politico: “We got to talk to people like real human beings. We’ve sanitized different language so significantly that, you know, people don’t feel like we’re talking to them … It’s hard to communicate when you’re not using some normal language.”

The memo’s core argument is that word choice has become a barrier between candidates and voters in key constituencies.

By discouraging jargon, academic phrasing, and recently popularized terminology, the authors contend that campaigns can reduce confusion and distrust and increase the likelihood that messages are heard as intended.

The document positions the guidance as a practical communications update rather than a policy shift, and it emphasizes that the goal is to address how language is received by the public.

Third Way’s list is not exhaustive, and the group’s authors say the categories are meant to help campaigns evaluate other terms that may carry similar signals.

The recommendations come as both parties continue to test new approaches to reaching voters ahead of the next national election cycle.