Publican Lindsay Graham referred to the "Democrat Party" on a talk show today. I know that irks some Democrats. It doesn't bother me much, mostly because any Publican who's willing to forego "ic" when referring to Democrats should be commended.
However, it occurred to me that Publicans have been referred to by Democrats as "Republicans." That's not quite accurate, as these glossary entries from Myweb.tiscali.co.uk show:
publican
A private individual who farmed public services (publica) by levying taxes, contracting for public works and for equipping armies and the navy. In the late 3rd century BC they formed companies and soon large joint stock companies (societates).
publicanus
A tax collector. Although they passed amounts collected onto the government, this post was open to corruption and many amassed personal fortunes by withholding some of the monies collected.
It seems clear that the Party of Tax the Future should appropriately be called the Publican party. They certainly have done a fine job of "farming public services."
Publicans are sometimes easily offended, so in the interest of promoting civil discourse it might be helpful not to call them "publicanuses."
Unless the context demands it.