The White House from Washington, DC, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
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Featuring the Fabulous Dadbots: Dave S., Mark M., Mark O., Paul C., Dennis Curley, and Geoff Carter
Half full: Ahem: History will tell that the tenure of these narcissistic, isolationist, populism puppeteers was brutal, but thankfully short. The 2nd brick in the wall falls, is the wall next?
To lump Boris J. in the same camp as Donald T. is a stretch (and an affront to Boris…, yet I’m hoping things do shake out that way).
(I wrote the above yesterday), today as half expected I see others saying similar with more insights. Schadenfreude. Just passing it on—link below… Is this the beginning of the end of the populism experiment? The last gasp of the narcissist macho man reign? Also, I found education in the story below—more so in a few of the letters—often better than the NY Times writers (link to letters at bottom of story should you get that far—re British vs US forms of democracy…representation (their MP per capita and lack of dark money implies better voice of the people—says one letter)… and more. The importance of bridging across rather than entrenching divisions… How the “Tories”, (conservative party Brits) stand a gazillion times taller than the Cruz/McConnel/Hawley, etc… (US ”tories”). Stark evidence being the abandonment of the backbone of Liz Cheney here vs giving Boris the boot there.
I so hope we see a new face emerge on the right here that is willing to bridge across—DeSanits is not that guy—pure dweeb repeating the Trump recipe (and there are hundreds like him). I suggest Paul Ryan… or Liz or… (Mark M. knows Politics better than I and can probably suggest others that have not devolved, that still see the value of compromise).
I also clicked on a story that discussed the PM contenders. Pretty diverse bunch—England’s connection to India and many other places has always impressed me. (I used to travel there often). Also learned what the heck an Exchequer is (British for Treasurer)—2 of the top 4 contenders are former/present holders of that office.
NY Times Opinion: Boris Johnson Resignation
-D.
I wonder if this is a significant difference between the UK and US conservative party situations:
I understand that the Tory program of recent decades is very unpopular in the UK. Particularly the neoliberal privatization of public infrastructure (the UK and Chile are the only developed countries in the world with privatized water and sewer utilities), financialized economy, and especially BREXIT. Perhaps in desperation to save their own political skins, the Tories dumped BoJo, essentially announcing to the world that he was the problem, not their conservative policies.
On the other hand, Trump has retained the loyalty of the vast majority of Repubs. This is surely partly because conservatives love the strong man persona and a cult has developed around that. But I think it is also partly because his “policies” were pretty popular for the electorate. Mailing checks to people, promising to withdraw overseas troops, restricting immigration, promising cheap oil and extraction jobs. Even his racist jokes. If half the electorate didn’t like the Trump brand of politics, I think the Republican establishment would have dumped him, like the Tories dumped BoJo.
As for Trump’s threat to democracy, I don’t think the electorate cares very much about democracy as we know it anymore.
Prove me wrong, please!
MarkO
Sorry, Dude, can’t prove you wrong. Wish I could. I believe there are strong parallels between the U.S. and British conservative parties. I’d say Trump overtly displaying, and exploiting, racism is one of the main differences. Another being the number of Americans willing to be exploited.
–Paul
I just read a New Yorker story about the steady stream of Repubs and conservative operatives flocking to Hungary to see how Victor Orban and his Fidesz Party have managed to distort and dilute the previously democratic institutions there to ensure one party rule while still holding elections. It seems they are excited to replicate that here on a national scale. It’s already been successfully rolled out in many states.
BTW, Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law that was modeled directly after similar legislation in Hungary.
Can’t wait to see the results of their illiberal experiment! Cheers.
MarkO
The actual incident that led to BoJo’s demise seems pretty minor. Apparently it was the cumulative effect of so many embarrassments over time that did for Boris.
That in itself seems a difference between US and UK conservatism. Trump — and a host of other Republicans— seem to be unequipped with the “shame” gene. Trump brays embarrassingly about his crowd size, and his penis size, and his daughter’s breast size, never pausing to reflect how odious this makes him sound. He lies with abandon, and doubles down when caught. Mitch McConnell, as another example, was undeniably hypocritical in his treatment of Merrick Garland’s SCOTUS nomination vs Amy Coney Barrett’s. Yet he’s proud of it. He doesn’t even bother to make an excuse. Eric Greitens runs for office in MO despite being caught in a ridiculous domestic violence sex scandal. Other Repubs like Ted Cruz & Lindsey Graham flipped into total Trump toadies.
At least when Bill Clinton got caught getting blow jobs in the Oval, his lies were told out of shame & humiliation.
Regarding Trump and racism: I think both the US and UK conservative movements traffic heavily in “deniable” racism. But Trump is loved by the base because he says the quiet, usually implied part out loud.
–Mark M.
Hey Bots,
Mark is right. Trump’s repulsiveness is lost on his fan base, no matter where their moral compass is—or how fast it’s spinning, and the reason for this adulation is a complete mystery to me. I see nothing redeemable about him whatsoever. He has no ethics, no character, no scruples, no shame, no mercy, no love (except self-love), no honor, no loyalty (although he demands it), and no generosity. At least Boris has a modicum of shame.
To Mark O.: if the Republicans are actively studying the techniques of repressive regime’s like Hungary’s, I would venture to say that we’re pretty well screwed already. They have the SCOTUS locked up (there’s no way Democrats will get close to reforming that), but it begs the question of how far the Republicans are going to go and how much the people will take before we get into torches and pitchfork territory. Not to sound as if I’m talking about a vast right-wing conspiracy, but I think these bastards have been sneaking up on us for years and the Democrats have been either entirely clueless or more than a little complicit.
Well. Fuck me.
—G
P.S.
Oh, also, if you didn’t see it, my latest post was also on those slippery Republican ideals.