- The term is used to describe a person who is a Republican, but supported Democrat Barack Obama in the 2008 Presidential race. Previously, around the time of the 2008 Presidential Primaries, it was used to describe a Republican who voted for Barack Obama in an open primary, in which members not affiliated with a certain party are allowed to cast a vote. In that context, it was typically used for Republican who would not support Obama in the Presidential race, but just wanted to vote against Hillary Clinton, the other Democrat candidate. It was considered acceptable by other Republicans to be an Obamacan in that context. In its current meaning, being an Obamacan is considered traitorous to other Republicans. When used by other Republicans, it generally has a negative connotation.
Obamacan
noun; blending
a Republican who supported democratic candidate Barack Obama in the 2008 US Presidential race
Etymology : Obamacan is a blending of Obama, the Democratic Presidential candidate in the 2008 election, and Republican. Republican comes from Latin. The word republic meaning ‘state in which supreme power rests in the people’ is from the French word republique, from the Latin word respublica meaning ‘public interest, the state’. Respublica is from the Latin words res, meaning ‘affair, matter, thing’, and publica, meaning ‘public’. In the early 1700s, the word Republican was used as an adjective to mean ‘belonging to a republic’. Before then, it was used as a noun to mean ‘one who favors a republic’. In the late 1700s, Republican came to mean the political party in the United States. Since that time, the definition of “Republican Party” has changed (in the mid-1800s) because of changes in the American political system. The Republican Party in the United States is the political party typically against the Democratic Party. In Obamacan, the modern definition of Republican (one who belongs to the Republican Party) is implied.
Source : “He supported McCain in the primaries, but became an Obamacan for the election.” –Friend, November 2008
Last modified: 4 December 2008