Looking good so far, the Lib Dem's vaulted surge has failed to materialize, one of their top MP's just lost his seat, and they're failing on some of the most contentious seats.
Too many seats to go, but here's hoping for a Tory surge tonight!
Good link to watch the seat by seat coverage:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/election2010/results/
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Europe continues to move to the Right. Though the Tories' win wasn't as convincing as it should have been after so many years of big government/Nanny State Labor rule. I think the problem is that the Tories don't have a Thatcher any more. From what I read, the Tories are more like Labor-Lite rather than a true Conservative party. Think South Carolina Senator Lindsay Graham, ready to cut a deal with Democrats and compromise at the drop of a hat.
ReplyDeleteStill, yes, this is a sign that our special allies, our brothers, the people from whence we..., are coming to their senses.
The above paragraph needed to be said since our Dear Leader treats the UK as just another (racist, imperialist) country.
The phrase I was looking for was "Our Motherland".
ReplyDeleteAnd I think I slammed the Tories too hard in my first response. Evidently their victory was pretty large, it's just that they were digging themselves out of a deep hole and weren't able to get a majority.
But, they aren't near as conservative as say a run-of-the-mill republican in the US. It's hard to say how they would have done if Cameron were a Thatcher. Still not sure of the general attitude of the typical Brit.
I don't know much about the Tories expect that they are supposed to conservative--I am questioning what conservatism really is. I heard that the Tories won big but they failed to win a majority. I don't know how that will affect policy making over there. Sounds like it would be a middle-of-the-road-compromise situation. So at least it won't be a sprint towards socialism--just a slow walk.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting as to why no conservative party--here or abroad--can come up with a true conservative along the lines of Thatcher or Reagan? Although I wonder if they are really what we make them out to be.
If Bud-d's statement about the Tories brand of conservatism is true and taking into account that they didn't win a majority, I don't see how this is really a good thing. I would rather have 100% socialism than 40% socialism so that it can hurry up and fail so that something new can come along. I rather take the world-wide march-towards-socialism medicine all at one time and get it over with. I would rather vote for 100% socialism than for the fake or half-way free market system. But we can't have any sudden revolutions towards this because a free people won't accept it. So it will continue to be a progressive and slow revolution.
Jeff, that's certainly a point to consider, that, if the Tories behave as they have been behaving, just as if the Republicans behaved as they behaved under GWB, then conservative victories aren't as useful as we would like them to be, and could backfire in that they then provide real good cover for the pushers of big government/socialism/nanny state. However, the question, as with everything, is is the past trend continuing? Are new trends arising? If the Tories take fiscal responsibility seriously, if Republicans do, and campaign on it, and then deliver it, we will get our revolution the way EVERYONE should want it to happen: peacefully and productively. This is their first step. Our Republicans are being taught a real lesson by the Tea Partiers, that they had better step up and deliver fiscal responsibility or they will be voted out by their own party: witness three term Utah Republican Senator Bob Bennett's defeat in the Republican primary by not one but two Tea Party candidates. This is the right way to get it done. Not allowing the libs to push extreme socialism 'til everything falls apart. Though there would be a certain satisfaction seeing the big failure they push on us, it is not good for the country.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that the possibility is there for the old frog in the boiling pan of water scenario, and it certainly is something we need to be vigilant about.
I don't see any violent or sudden revolution occurring. The change is and will continue to be slow and brought about under the guise of bring peace and prosperity and well being for everyone. If things do continue there will be some revolution of some sort. The whole talk about revolution or change somewhat over exaggerates an obvious thing: "It is a poor makeshift to call any age an age of transition. In the living world there is always change. Every age is an age of transition. We may
ReplyDeletedistinguish between social systems that can last and such as are inevitable transitory because they are self-destructive." Our current system is self-destructive.
The new trend arising point is interesting; but when I look at all of human history, I don't see any new trend arising. Maybe little deviations from the long term trend but nothing to change it. To see why this is so one must examine human nature and the prevailing beliefs held by people. The times change, but human's have not evolved or changed.
Politics and governments are not the problem. It is the people that elect and choose this government--any government can not exist without the passive or active acceptance of the people. It is the beliefs held by those people. It is philosophy. Stated one way by Ayn Rand dot org on the Tea Parties: "But today’s statist onslaught is the result of a deeply entrenched set of ideas about the proper purpose of government. Virtually everyone today believes that unrestricted capitalism is immoral and dangerous, and that the government’s role is to actively intervene in the economy in order to achieve the 'public good.' So long as these ideas remain unchallenged, and no positive alternative is offered, no protest will be able to change the country's course."
The change in opinion against big government is not based on principles. It is based on people's response to the immediate moment of a poor economy. I don't see any leader that is willingly to make a true fundamental change away from socialism. For a true change to occur, it will take a new generation of people that adhere to fundamental principles of freedom.
The Tea Party is for less government, but I don't know how this compares to absolute terms. Anything short of an absolute free market leads to a complete command system. Unless I see a change in people fundamental beliefs, I don't current trends from changing.