Undo Influence
I don't want to mock Mr. Law's sentiment in the following little excerpt, since I find his point agreeable. However, I could not pass by his typo / eggcorn without giving it due regard. (Do regard?) Besides, this coinage seems unusually appropriate.
What is wrong with this country is a lot more than a badly handled war. A lot of people have a sense that we have drifted radically towards losing control of our democracy itself and they are right. There has always been undo influence by big money but until recently it has never succeeded in practically dismantling government-by-the-people.
[Kevin Law, "We need Edwards to get the nomination", Huffington Post, 31 December 2007, accessed @ 1215.]
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[Added a day later:] It seems that "undo" for "undue" is indeed a recognized eggcorn, contained in the database.
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on Monday, 31 December 2007 at 16.18
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In spite of the name, this actually comes from Bill typing on Chris' computer. That is a most felicitous misspelling, is it not, since big business has been trying to use its influence to undo democracy since about forever.
Glad to know that you had a safe trip to and from Kansas City. I hope it wasn't too stressful. Finding a treasure like the cook book is certainly a treat. Perhaps you can make ur-sloppy joes in March?
Best wishes for a most happy and prosperous (especially the prosperous part) new year 2008. That comes from me, and I'm sure from him too.
on Tuesday, 1 January 2008 at 00.48
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Yes, that's priceless. Thanks for the intro to the eggcorn site and concept.
On the writer's point, which is true enough, I will add that in this democracy of ours the people don't deserve to get a pass on the "undo" influence of money. George W. Bush's $200 million '04 war chest (which doesn't count campaign spending for him by outside groups and individuals) bought enough slime, spin and puffery to get a whole lot of voters who should've known better to vote him four more years.
On the writer's errant word choice, Huffington Post is a big enough operation that you'd think they would have some copy editing going on. A copy editor might have helped with the wordiness and awkwardness, making the piece clearer and more readable.
F'rinstance:
(There's more wrong with this country than a badly handled war. Many Americans sense that we've drifted toward losing control of our democracy, and they're right. Big money has always exerted undue influence, but only recently has it been able to nearly dismantle government by the people.)
Notice in this rewrite that "toward" needs no "s." And the writer's treatment of "government by the people" makes me wonder if somebody was having a 90-percent-off sale on hyphens.
on Sunday, 6 January 2008 at 18.05
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The phrase should read:
"We knead Edwards to get the nomination"
I.e. we shape or form him to get the nomination, because he has been a big money corporate type his whole life, so he would have us believe he will be something different if elected.
Or maybe it means we need to give him lots of "dough"…