Regarding Boris Johnson’s first day as prime minister, I commented: Boris Johnson Meets the Queen then Cleans House: 10 Sacked, 4 Quit, 2 Retired.
The much-needed house cleaning continued today.
In addition, Johnson laid into Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. This Thatcherite speech sums up wonderful day number two for the new prime minister.
Jeremy Corbyn questions Boris Johnson on Iran & instantly regrets it as Boris takes Corbyn & McDonnell apart! 👏👏👏
This is why Corbynistas hate Boris because they know Corbyn can’t beat him!
— Brexit Tory #IStandWithJKRowling (@_BrexitTory) July 25, 2019
Key Moment
“He [Jeremy Corbyn] speaks about trust in our democracy. I have to say that a most extraordinary thing has just happened today. Did anybody notice? Did anybody notice the terrible metamorphosis that took place, like the final scene of Invasion of the Bodysnatchers? At last, this longstanding Eurosceptic, the right honourable gentleman, has been captured. He has been jugulated, he has been reprogrammed by his honourable friends. He has been turned now into a remainer! Of all the flip-flops that he has performed in his tergiversating career, that is the one for which I think he will pay the highest price.”
“It is this party now, this government, who are clearly on the side of democracy in this country.”
Thatcherite Speech
That is precisely the kind of delivery that Theresa May never executed in her life.
Those in the US might appreciate this Baseballish translation.
It might be, it could be, it is, a Johnson home run. Holy Cow.
Mike “Mish” Shedlock
Here ya go.
Anyway, most likely Boris will try to drive through a 99.9% version of May’s deal, but claim the 0.1% makes it completely different – it will make us all look at the USMCA and think that, in comparison to the May vs. Boris Deal differences , NAFTA vs. USMCA are galaxies apart.
The right wing will accept it because Boris passes the purity test May never could. And for all the Boris = No Deal Brexit crowd, one of Boris’ idols is Disraeli, one of history’s most elegant U-turn artists when practicality came knocking.
I wouldn’t bet the Farm on that if I were you. With Dominic Cummings as a Senior Policy Advisor and Jacob Rees Mogg as Leader of the House things could pan out very differently.
Johnson is more actor than politician – and he has a lot of nerve lecturing anybody else on hypocrisy.
I hope he does well for Britain, but I think he is a clown who will become self-obsessed like the idiot we have to deal with over here.
A good start, but he needs practice, tempo, timing and solemnity. Churchill might simply have said, “…a modest speech by a modest man with much to be modest about; We’re out as soon as I can get us there.”
Demagogue. Brexit is not the “will of the people”, it is the will of a slight majority, which is something entirely different — democracy is not the exercise of power by the majority over minorities. His jingoistic and frankly racist scepticism about PressTV compared to US officials is far off the mark. US officialdom has proven over and over that they cannot be trusted. Nobody should ever take government declarations at face value. Confirms my worst suspicions — rah rah, stirring up tribal sentiment, posturing with half-truths.
lol
“democracy is not the exercise of power by the majority over minority”
Um, actually it is…
Merriam-Webster definition of democracy:
“1a : government by the people
especially : rule of the majority”
Sorry.
Of course the majority decides, but it does not rule. It is disingenuous when there is a 51% majority for something to claim a clear mandate or “the voice” or “the will” of the people. Democracy means policy is decided by public debate, in which taking a vote decides. That is why partisanship is poisonous, b/c every issue is decided by party allegiance instead of on its own rationally argumented merits. It is also about respecting minorities in whatever aspect they take form (political, ethnic, economic, whatever). If not, regardless of the majority, we are talking authoritarian. If 55% of the population goes along with looting and killing a 10% minority, we do not think democracy. Even in a private company, you do well to take into account the fact that 40% of the people don’t agree with a certain policy direction. You can of course try to force them, but rarely will that lead to positive outcomes. Majority rule does not imply forcing the minority, it means that policy direction (and political acquiescance) is set by rational debate, as decided by a vote. Rational arguments do not always win out, but a forum where public debate is honored proceeds from faith in others to amend their views when confronted by argument.
That is the whole problem with the EU, it is ruled by the ECB and bureaucrats in Frankfurt.
The natural order is not to sacrifice a nation’s sovereignty based on the will of the minority voters. Unless of course you can point to me the section of Britain’s constitution or similar document that declares subordination to a European Union.
Excuse me for pointing out
People voted for a WTO Brexit – that was indeed how it was phrased –
Paranoid and Fool Remainers disrupted the process
There is no current majority for anything – thanks to Theresa May and #2
The default legal position in the absence of anything else is WTO Brexit
What portion of that do you fail to understand?
You can have democracy such as Australia’s compulsory voting scheme. If you don’t vote at either federal, state or local council elections you will be fined.
This ensures that politicians particularly in local council elections are elected by donkey voting. Voting age is 18 years old.
Elections are 90% won on the adage : “it’s the economy stupid”
What majority voted the UK into the EU?
“a slight majority” IS the will of the people. I look at my father’s homeland after they were forced into the EU and it is sad, I do not even want to visit, the country has lost most of it’s own character. They might as well not have fought for their freedom.
The only reason I was “excited” by Trump is that I viewed him as being a far better candidate than Hillary.
That assessment still stands. I would vote for Trump again.
BJ has a real shot at excellence. Delivering Brexit alone likely suffices
I don’t understand why Mish. Trump has not been any different than any other mainstream candidate that became president if you look closely enough. He is a blowhard and “smart” people like you are still fooled. I voted for the guy because the vote in my state did not matter anyway. The truth is in about 45 states it doesn’t matter who you vote for though I do expect a surprise flip in 2020. The truth is Trump is just as rotten as anyone in the swamp or running in 2020. MMT is coming one way or another as Ray Dalio says.
By the way your vote may not have even mattered in 2016 much less 2020. With Russia picking our president the outcome may not be in doubt as much as people think. I wouldn’t be surprised if Russia also hacked the British election and we just don’t know it. For those keeping track the Senate Intelligence Committee is run by Republicans. The fact that they let this information out is telling in and of itself.
Based on this I’m less likely now to believe that Trump actually won those states he flipped from Obama voters from 2012 to 2016. Everyone including Trump was surprised that Trump even won and the statistical odds of the polling being so different than the outcome now make sense. It would be interesting to see a declassified report of the 2016 interference. We all got tricked into an illusion in 2016 and are still living with it. Putin is the smartest guy in the world after all.
This strikes me as odd Mish, because HRC won the popular vote over 45, yet that will of the people was meaningless. I also think that if you sacrifice morality to partisan politics and remain loyal to someone that is clearly unfit for the job then you are a traitor. You have survived 4 years and even 8 of presidents you did not like in the past. You would have survived 8. But, will the USA survive The orange one? I do not think so. And what this slap down of democracy has done is far more dangerous than just allow an unqualified crook into office, it has given rise to a far left that rivals and exceeds the fringe far right. I am a lifelong democrat and voted that way since my first vote in 1976, (with two exceptions, I voted for Reagan in 80 and McCain in 08) I recently changed my registration to GOP though I will vote for democrats if they are moderates, but I am sending a message to the party “progressive” socialism is a bright red line for me. If my party is going so far left that even I can’t tolerate it then there is hope, 70% of democrats have an unfavorable view of socialism.
I can see myself voting for Weld in the primaries, but if it were up to me Trump would be frog marched to a waiting plane and flown to Guantanamo for trial on capital treason charges by military tribunal. Sentence to be carried out without appeals.
Sorry to see our poisoned politics dragged into it, but this is an argument about voters and majorities. I have little respect for people who can still stand up and bald faced say they support a man that sought and accepted help to rig and win an election from a foreign dictator. Your boy is going to prison, I hope he dies there. Then I hope we fix our voting systems so this can’t happen again. Which reminds me, why is it do you suppose McConnell has systematically blocked all attempts to ensure election security in the next election cycle? Do you really want another civil war? Is that what it has come to?
Yeah I still remember when you were as excited with another derange leader here in the US. I forecast difficult times for the UK under this version of the orange guy.
Difficult times are baked in the cake , adding up over the last 30-40 years. The paths forward and upward now are not going to be easy. Leaders in the past lacked the will and the ethical backbone to deal with the real issues and the people, especially the folks in the bottom 60% of the socioeconomic ladder are gradually getting more and more upset. Carlos you probably don’t even know it was Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Pres Obama that supported the military coup in Honduras essentially green lighting the resurgence of paramilitary forces in many central American countries in turn landing many more refugees at the southern US border. Doubtful any of these populist leaders will solve anything themselves but it with force the center leaning folks to get off their duffs and support fixes to many of the issues of the day