Conservatism dead in the U.K.

Carrera

What a pity we've arrived at this state of affairs. What we have today is too many phoney politicians with no genuine convictions as opposed to the great leaders of past history such as Churchill.
This David Cameron character surely has to be a joke. I mean, no way is this guy remotely a conservative so you ask yourself what he's doing heading the Conservative Party. I wonder what old Winston would have thought of him.
I don't see why in this country the Tories don't just stick to the basics of Conservatism as opposed to conducting all these polls and then coming up with policies and principles it figures the electorate might want. It makes me cringe to see this Cameron guy swaggering around in an open shirt, joking about dope, advising folks to hug thugs (who steal peoples' bikes) e.t.c. e.t.c. It also seemed like a huge mistake to go overseas just when many people over here are flooded out of their homes. Now Brown seems to be coming off in a far better light as at least he's stayed put at home and actively engaged in tackling the flood.
At any rate, the point of the comment: What's wrong with having an opinion or ideology that you feel is correct even if the majority of people may not understand your view and may not vote accordingly. I mean, did Lenin base his views on what he figured the average Russian peasant or aristocrat may have wanted to hear? Or did he simply stick to what he felt was correct? This is why history will always remember people such as Lenin and Churchill but I doubt we'll be discussing Cameron in 50 years time.

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"Everybody has a philosophy. However, what philosophy you have is a matter of choice, and most people don't make a conscious choice with regard to what philosophy they accept."

spasticteapot

Well...lenin DID base much of what he said on what the Russian peasant wanted to hear.

That said, it could be worse. You could have american politicians - on one side, the conservatives (in name only), who seem hell-bent on blowing every penny we have, and the liberals, who are almost all either inexperienced, weenies, or nuts.

(That last one was directed to Hillary Clinton. I'm all very much in favor of the environment, but strict 55mph speed limits across the US is just ridiculous.)

Carrera

I don't vote for several reasons: First of all, my views aren't represented by any political party. I consider the Lbour Party has made a cobble of the country over the last 2 decades and even though Gordon Brown does seem serious, the sad fact is those behind him have a poor track record.
Also I take strong exception to the basic untruth we live in a democracy - simply untrue and demonstrably false. I mean, the fact they're not giving a referendum on European integration proves my point. Also, were we consulted over the Iraq War? Nope, we weren't. That decision was taken in America and that was the end of it.
It seems to me all policy over here is dictated either by the E.U. or the U.S.A. Voting for politicians who do little else except follow orders and mandates from overseas bureaucrats is tantamount to letting them get away with it.
If they set up a multiparty democracy at any time, I'll vote. Otherwise, I prefer to abstain.

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"Everybody has a philosophy. However, what philosophy you have is a matter of choice, and most people don't make a conscious choice with regard to what philosophy they accept."

spasticteapot

By "U.S.A", I hope you mean "the approximately 46% of americans that are morons, and via the Electoral College, elected someone highly incompetent to office."


I'm in the other 53%. (The last 1% of American citizens is made up up felons and obnoxious frat-boys.)

bkaapcke

It's not dead here in the states. It has just been shown to be fraudulent spin that the Republicans have used time and again. You can fool enough people over and over if your lie makes some logical sense. bk

Bro Deal

Or as Dubya--or more likely one of his speech writers--once put it, "You can't fool all the people all the time; but you can fool some of the people all the time, and those are the ones you need to concentrate on."

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"You are like the wind and I like the lion. You form the tempest. The sand stings my eyes and the ground is parched. I roar in defiance but you do not hear. But between us there is a difference. I, like the lion, must remain in my place. While you like the wind will never know yours." -- Mulay Hamid El Raisuli, Lord of the Riff, Sultan to the Berbers, Last of the Barbary Pirates