The Democratic party's biggest communicational deficit is not about the virtues of its policies, but the nature of its founding ideal: "democrat" means one who favors government of, by, and for the people. The absurd and puerile experiment in linguistic brainwashing in which the Republican party is now uniformly engaged —calling the Democratic party (the party of the Democrats) the "Democrat party" in hopes of making the word sound alien and remote— is nothing more than an attempt to rob ordinary Americans of their access to a government that answers to them: Democrats need to be out there saying so every day.

This week, we have even heard the absurd attempt to attack the Democrats by saying that they are "the Democrat party" and therefore not truly "democratic". The mind game is a cover for a much deeper and more shocking deficit: the ideas deficit that is permeating a Republican party terrorized from within by an ideological simplification that has all but erased the possibility of true creative thinking in the creation of public policy and problem solving. The word democrat means one who believes in and defends democracy. It is not an antonym to democratic and it is not a foreign or alien word; it is only being misused by a propaganda machine that has little else of substance to say.

Even as Republicans seek to engineer a public perception that the Democratic party is not on the side of the people, we have heard in the last several weeks some truly shocking defenses of the most powerful and corrosive corporate interests, both in terms of their right to rig the economy in their favor and to get away with taxpayer money. And now, in the aftermath of the activist pro-corporate Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v. FEC, we have heard unnerving defenses for the ruling, which Republicans believe will shower their candidates with unprecedented amounts of corporate cash and allow them to slander their opponents without restraint.

The near uniform opposition on the part of the Republican party to any substantive financial reforms that would force banks to not endanger the prosperity and financial security of American families is matched only by the stunning assertion that ordinary people should not have the freedom to exercise their free speech rights, if corporations determine they should spend more to influence an election. The campaign finance ruling means wealthy interests can all but prohibit access by citizens, issue groups or even candidates, to advertising time, simply by buying it all for themselves.

It is the Republican party that is defending this perversion of democracy, and the Democratic party that is proposing action to ensure elections are the right and the domain of the voters themselves, not of corporate interests. It is Pres. Obama who has called for legislation that would require lobbyists and corporate representatives to publish every single contact they have with any member of Congress or anyone in the administration, and Republicans who seek to expand the right of lobbyists to spend money to influence elected officials and the electoral process itself.

Sen. Jon Cornyn, Republican of Texas, remarking on the president's criticism of the Supreme Court ruling, said it was "over the top". He suggested that such a statement was impolite to the justices seated in front of Obama, but seemed unconcerned about the manner in which the ruling could turn American elections into the most pervasive experiment in influence peddling the world has ever seen. The Republican priority, apparently, was to defend the justices who gave corporations near infinite spending power to influence elections, while the Democrats appear to be seeking a remedy that protects real people, citizens, and democracy as such.

Now, it's vital to say that there's no reason why Republicans, or the Republican party, cannot represent democratic values, fight for the little guy and defend families and communities against the abuses of the powerful. There's no reason why not, but in the current makeup of the party, there is no credible leadership devoted to those projects. Committed Republicans across the country, who believe in the fundamental values of fair pay for a day's work, responsibility, family, community and the rights of the individual over the whims of the powerful, should step up and take a leadership role to reform their party.

In the meantime, the Republican party is split between the pro-corporate big money politics and the vitriolic anti-middle-class conservatism that is feeding the push for deregulation, through a misguided devotion to the idea of "small government". As Barack Obama has often said, it makes no sense to be for small government or for big government; the only thing that makes sense is to be for government that respects people's freedoms, defends their rights and does its job effectively.

The myth currently being pushed by Republicans that Pres. Obama's goal is to "collapse the American economy" and establish an irrevocable "big government" that interferes in individuals' personal choices, is just that, a myth, and it is designed to dissuade people from recognizing the fundamental democratic interest in having a government that works. Democrats need to defend the meaning of the word that in one variation or another lends their party its title. 'Democrat' is not a dirty word; it's an essential word; it's what all of us claim to be, especially those Republicans who fiercely defend against excessive government.

We have very real, very pervasive crises we need to address as a nation, and formulating and implementing the best policies possible requires genuine cooperation from many competing quarters of the political arena. The refusal to join that process of effective reform and policy response is a failure to serve the people who elect public officials to office. Democrat means democratic; there's no reason why anyone should think otherwise, unless the Democrats are unwilling to make the case.

• In the interests of disclosure, I am a registered independent voter