| We try to be generous around here with grammar errors and spelling screw ups found on the Internets. This machine doesn't come with a built-in spelling and grammar checker, after all, and it also lacks an error. We're not so generous with press releases or campaign donation blegs, however, since those come with the built-in luxury of time. Someone can actually go through those with a pair of fresh eyes before sending them out. That goes doubly for a party that has draped itself in the mantle of education reform. If you can't be trusted to write a grammatically accurate press release, why should anyone trust you to monkey with education? The first sentence to last night's rebuttal to the president's State of the Union: "Talk is no longer cheap in under Barak Obama."
This train wreck of a sentence is the first in the response by GOP party chairman Bobby Shostak, and it starts with the apparent confusion about which preposition to use. You can understand that confusion, since it's difficult to understand how talk takes place "under" any person. Note to student: Please rewrite for clarity. Then, this morning: Republicans have brought positive bold ideas to the table to help reign in government spending only to be blocked by Democrat members of Congress.
We'll ignore for a second the wrong proper noun. Democrat, as most of us know, isn't the official name of the party and its use is only possible if you're referring to someone as an individual member of the Democratic Party. But, we know this is purposefully bad English intended to steer clear of suggesting that members of the Democratic Party are somehow more clearly linked to democratic ideas. The offending English here is the lack of comma between the two coordinate adjectives. What sort of ideas have Republicans brought? Positive and bold ideas. Or, "Republicans have brought positive, bold ideas ..." Note to student: Please correct and resubmit campaign contribution request. Note to state Republican Party: Please hire someone to edit this stuff. Or, if you're really into the idea of independent contractors, I'm happy to do it for $20 an hour, with a minimum of one hour charged per press release. |
