Can we, as Democrats, replace the word "help" with "justice" or something

[frank frankly]

I don't like how often I hear Democratic candidates refer to lifting up people or helping people or most parental terms.

It gives the Repubs the chance to call us bleeding hearts. And it misses the point that it isn't help we want--it is LEGAL FAIRNESS, ECONOMIC JUSTICE, SAFE WATER, REPRESENTATIVE GOV'T, and EDUCATION, which isn't "helping."

please help me say this better. and please don't mistake this for anything negative. i just cringed a little at how often I heard "help" tonight. i don't think it is an effective word and plays right into the RW machine.

yes? help?

ON EDIT: I do think it is effective when it is accurate. But make damn sure it is accurate.

[sandnsea]

1. Subsidizing labor expenses

Or something like that. Because that is what alot of this "help" really is. Business doesn't pay enough for people to live so we're subsidizing business labor costs anytime we provide food stamps, housing, heat, college, to laborers. Did that make sense?

[library_max]

2. Holy hand grenade!

Have we gone so far down the right wing road that the very word "help" is impolitic and offensive? Can "share" and "love" be far behind? "Justice" (which isn't a verb and can't replace "help") is already regularly characterized as "class warfare" in the "left-wing media." How much longer before the Beatitudes join the Communist Manifesto as examples of evil wrongheadedness??

On DU, I regularly hear the refrain "fight 'em, don't give an inch!" over programs, platforms, and issues. In my often-stated opinion, this kind of thinking is destined to lose, because it demands more from the electorate than the electorate is prepared to give - compromise is necessary. But I think in the very specific matter of language, it may be time to fight and not give 'em an inch. Helping and sharing and compassion are not dirty words. We need to be proud of them, not ashamed.