The Political Thread

[Theblazeuk]

 

[Rately]

I don't even know where to start with this...

Finding myself asking that every other minute i check the news nowadays.

Grim.

[von Boom]

Now he needs a kicking too.

[Modern Panther]

Jesus Christ.  As arguments go, defending your right to free speech with "I am literally a Nazi" is poor even by 2017 standards.

I used to be worried that there was some sort of plan to damage the concept of democratically elected government through a series of unpredictable actions designed to cause chaos and invoke a feeling of despair in the electorate.

Now I'm just worried that these people don't have a fucking clue what they're doing.  They lack any sort of understanding of the world, or the ability for self reflection.  The Americans have chosen a president who may never have actually read a book.  The UK is being governed by people who just voted for something they didn't want, because roughly half of an uninformed electorate told them it might be so good idea. 

[Old Tankie]

"Uninformed electorate", speak for yourself.

[Modern Panther]

If more than 1.89% of the people who voted to leave were voting because of laws about bananas, or thought that there would be a windfall for the nhs, or because of a fear of middle eastern immigrants, or any other number of lies they were told, then we are leaving the EU because of an uninformed electorate.

[Old Tankie]

You've called everybody uninformed, whatever way they voted! Read your original post again.

[Hawkmumbler]

You've called everybody uninformed, whatever way they voted! Read your original post again.

The UK is being governed by people who just voted for something they didn't want, because roughly half of an uninformed electorate told them it might be so good idea. 

Pretty sure this doesn't mean "everybody".

[Modern Panther]

The electorate, in large part, are uninformed.  Certainly not "everyone", but a sizeable group. 

There was no real debate about leaving the Eu, because the people running remain didn't regard leaving as a possible option, and the people running leave were doing so largely for selfaggrandisement.  Any disagreement came down to one side shouting "you're racist!" while the other side shouted "stop calling us racists!", and Farage stood before an enormous picture of desperate looking foreigners he was trying to scare us with.

We need an informed electorate, particularly if we're going to make such huge decision by referendum.  We instead have deliberate misinformation, a hostile media, voter apathy and uninspiring politicians mouthing soundbites.

[The Legendary Shark]

So, remember when Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize - and then became the only U.S. President in history to be at war for every single day of his two terms in office, expanded wire-tapping after promising to stop it, authorised the assassination of countless Americans and non-Americans via drone strikes without anything like due process and sold more weapons than any president since the Second World War?

Well, now it may be Trump's turn, as (rumoured to be) nominated by Israel.

He won't win, though. Surely not. It's impossible. Unthinkable. Jim Campbell's got a better chance. Shit, even I've got a better chance and I'm a complete who once punched a pro-life protester in the face.

[sheridan]

There was no real debate about leaving the Eu, because the people running remain didn't regard leaving as a possible option, and the people running leave were doing so largely for selfaggrandisement.  Any disagreement came down to one side shouting "you're racist!" while the other side shouted "stop calling us racists!", and Farage stood before an enormous picture of desperate looking foreigners he was trying to scare us with.

Trying?  Numerous friends of mine with darker skin than I, and have reported an increase in racist abuse hurled in their direction suggest that Farage did a good job of stirring race hate...

[Proudhuff]

The Judges and The Justice Dept are now lining against Bad Bob Trump...

John Wagner I hold you personally responsible for these unfolding events.

[Modern Panther]

Ukip has been around since the early '90s, pushing this single issue, but they at no point appeared to put together a plan for how a seperation from the EU might actually work, to the extent that Farage was willing to openly mock the people we were about to start negotiating with, before buggering off.  The government put together a referendum, without any plan for what would happen next.  Months after the result, they were even wiling to tell us if the wanted to be in the single market or not.  The whitepaper, a series of vague statements, gets published after the government confirs it will be going ahead.

Trump boldly announced that he would transform America, but didn't even involve his security agencies in discussions about changing border controls. He launches an attack in Yemen which kills several civilians, including children, as well as killing a SEAL, and the head of the military wasn't even in the room.  He may not have even been told about it.

They don't know what they're doing. 

And all of these things, across the political divide and regardess of which party is responsible, happened in large part because the electrorate have become so distanced from the concept of politics, so eager to believe that "they're all the same", and "it doesn't matter anyway", and whatever "news" facebook feeds us, that politicians can spout whatever lies and badly thought-out ideas they want and gain power provided they have enough money to afford the ad campaigns.
In the end, the vulnerable will suffer.  The poor, the dispossessed, minorities.  They'll suffer because they're the easiest to blame when it all goes wrong.

[sheridan]

Ukip has been around since the early '90s, pushing this single issue, but they at no point appeared to put together a plan for how a seperation from the EU might actually work, to the extent that Farage was willing to openly mock the people we were about to start negotiating with, before buggering off.  The government put together a referendum, without any plan for what would happen next.  Months after the result, they were even wiling to tell us if the wanted to be in the single market or not.  The whitepaper, a series of vague statements, gets published after the government confirs it will be going ahead.

The disorganisation was at an early stage - compare and contrast the following two questions in recent referendums / plebiscites - the first clearly shows what the effect of the vote will achieve (a change to the statute books), the second doesn't define what it's about...

"marriage may be contracted in accordance with law by two persons without distinction as to their sex"
RTE

Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union?

   
• Remain a member of the European Union
• Leave the European Union

Electoral Commission

[500]

All read!

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