My quibble is over ‘can the left get its act together’. This implies that to be against Trump, Orban and Farage et al, you must be on the left.
On many issues I’d say I’m centre-right. But I’m implacably opposed to any political movement that would wish to muzzle the press, uses threats of violence, interferes with an independent judiciary, curbs academic freedom, detains people without trial and so on, whether they are of the left or the right. It just so happens that in the western democracies the far-right is a much bigger danger than the far left to what is usually called ‘liberal democracy’.
There must be lots of conservatives who oppose the far-right: that’s why they’re voting Liberal Democrat in the Home Counties! The Conservative Party is no longer the Conservative Party of Thatcher, let alone Major, Clarke, Heseltine, Heath and McMillan.
We need to create a big tent to oppose the erosion of free institutions, freedom and rule-of-law containing left, right and centre. We may disagree on tax rates, employment rights, trans rights and even Brexit, but these are relatively minor issues that can all be determined and resolved using democratic politics. The far-right (especially Trump), on the other hand, are a mortal threat to our way of life who surely must be opposed by all right-thinking socialists, social democrats, liberals, conservatives and reactionaries.
The Nick Cohen audio interview with Ben Cohen is excellent and very much to the point -- and almost reassuring. Some people do see exactly what is going on, even if none of us seems to know exactly how to stop the lawless and corrupt administration that is destabilizing our lives .
What I do wonder is why a clear headed, knowledgeable, politically astute, honorable, and charismatic leader has not yet emerged from the Progressive end of the spectrum.
It seems to me that historically the usual pattern of leadership is a person seeing a vacuum, a leaderless mass of potential followers, and jumping nimbly in front of the line and declaring himself (almost always a male) as leader. This happens with the deplorable people who use the tactic, and mr trump certainly fits the picture.
Where is a good, moral, decent, highly talented political person to move decisively to fill the void? Some one who will sweep away the nonsensical "woke" mantras that were annoying enough to voters to switch them to vote for stupidity rather than endure another minute. A leader who above all forms a clear, coherent picture of what he (or she) WILL DO, making it a perfect answer to what real people SAY THEY WANT. And do not, as the Democratic Party has, as I see it, try to stuff Party views on people, instead of asking, and listening to, what they say.
I would like to smack the Democratic Party for dithering endlessly while America burns.
Nick,
Great debate.
My quibble is over ‘can the left get its act together’. This implies that to be against Trump, Orban and Farage et al, you must be on the left.
On many issues I’d say I’m centre-right. But I’m implacably opposed to any political movement that would wish to muzzle the press, uses threats of violence, interferes with an independent judiciary, curbs academic freedom, detains people without trial and so on, whether they are of the left or the right. It just so happens that in the western democracies the far-right is a much bigger danger than the far left to what is usually called ‘liberal democracy’.
There must be lots of conservatives who oppose the far-right: that’s why they’re voting Liberal Democrat in the Home Counties! The Conservative Party is no longer the Conservative Party of Thatcher, let alone Major, Clarke, Heseltine, Heath and McMillan.
We need to create a big tent to oppose the erosion of free institutions, freedom and rule-of-law containing left, right and centre. We may disagree on tax rates, employment rights, trans rights and even Brexit, but these are relatively minor issues that can all be determined and resolved using democratic politics. The far-right (especially Trump), on the other hand, are a mortal threat to our way of life who surely must be opposed by all right-thinking socialists, social democrats, liberals, conservatives and reactionaries.
Fair point David
The Nick Cohen audio interview with Ben Cohen is excellent and very much to the point -- and almost reassuring. Some people do see exactly what is going on, even if none of us seems to know exactly how to stop the lawless and corrupt administration that is destabilizing our lives .
What I do wonder is why a clear headed, knowledgeable, politically astute, honorable, and charismatic leader has not yet emerged from the Progressive end of the spectrum.
It seems to me that historically the usual pattern of leadership is a person seeing a vacuum, a leaderless mass of potential followers, and jumping nimbly in front of the line and declaring himself (almost always a male) as leader. This happens with the deplorable people who use the tactic, and mr trump certainly fits the picture.
Where is a good, moral, decent, highly talented political person to move decisively to fill the void? Some one who will sweep away the nonsensical "woke" mantras that were annoying enough to voters to switch them to vote for stupidity rather than endure another minute. A leader who above all forms a clear, coherent picture of what he (or she) WILL DO, making it a perfect answer to what real people SAY THEY WANT. And do not, as the Democratic Party has, as I see it, try to stuff Party views on people, instead of asking, and listening to, what they say.
I would like to smack the Democratic Party for dithering endlessly while America burns.