A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE UK COALITION

From May 9, 2010

A funny thing happened on the way to the right, the right moved to the center.

While Matt Drudge was kvelling that 'Cam was the Man,' not so tacitly gloating over the coming worldwide conservative ascendancy, Cam was moving toward a coalition with the centrist Liberal Democrats.

So it is important to note that just because the Conservatives have retaken the reigns, with the Lib-Dems on board, this government isn't going to be the same as Thatcher's mirror to Ronald Reagan's GOP.

Even the new Conservative Foreign Minister couldn't resist the opportunity to jab at both his Labour predecessors and Tony the Poodle's former master, George Bush when he stated that, "David Cameron and I have always said we want a solid but not slavish relationship with the United States."

And the Lib-Dems want to make sure everyone knows they are not of the same mind as the neo-conservatives of the Republican party.  Their published platform stands in stark contrast to the ideals of the American GOP and Neo-Conservative movement.  Here are but a few notable differences;

On Foreign Affairs;

"Britain's reputation has been damaged by dodgy arms deals with dictators, allegations of involvement in torture, and of course the disastrous and illegal invasion of Iraq...We want the inquiry into the Iraq war to be open, with all meetings held in public except for reasons of national security. We also want a full judicial inquiry into British collusion in torture and "extraordinary rendition"."

Can you imagine ANY neo-conservative saying anything remotely close to these sentiments?   I particularly like the very definitive, "and of course the disastrous and illegal invasion of Iraq."  

On Healthcare;

"The NHS represents values which unite us as a nation - a comprehensive health service, which treats all people equally, and is free when we need it.  We believe in fairness with entitlements to healthcare guaranteed. We believe access to personal care should be based on need not the ability to pay."

Just the word 'entitlement' is blasphemous to neo-cons.  And the idea of a 'comprehensive health service that is free' would make John Boehner puke.

On Climate Change;

"Climate change is getting worse and could destroy our way of life. Our children will suffer most if we don't act now."

Climate change??  What climate change?  Most neo-cons don't even believe that it exists, no less that it is 'getting worse.'

On Public Transportation;

"Liberal Democrats believe buses and trains should be affordable and reliable so people can have a real choice about how to travel.  Only the Liberal Democrats have costed plans to put the passenger first."

The thought of putting a passenger before the corporation providing the service is ridiculous, and dictating the prices that corporation can charge for its services sounds rather anti-free market, doesn't it?

On Equal Rights;

"We also recognise that though they are not a minority, women continue to receive a raw deal."

If you listen carefully, you can almost hear Rush Limbaugh freaking out over the heretical concept of gender equality.

The Lib-Dems also released the details of their agreement with Cameron and the Conservatives, and in it are more than a few subtle rebukes of the assertion that this coalition was going to be a harbinger of any Conservative Ascendancy, certainly not the likes that Matt Drudges fantasizes about.

The statement on the agreement reads, in part:

"We will fund a significant premium for disadvantaged pupils from outside the schools budget by reductions in spending elsewhere."

Wait. What?  Isn't it supposed to be the other way around?

"The Government will be committed to the maintenance of Britain's nuclear deterrent, and have agreed that the renewal of Trident should be scrutinised to ensure value for money. Liberal Democrats will continue to make the case for alternatives.  We will immediately play a strong role in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference, and press for continued progress on multilateral disarmament."

The mere thought of any type of disarmament or questioning the 'value' of a nuclear system is playing right into the terrorists hands according to Facebook Sarah and the 'bomb-baby-bomb' crowd.

"(We agree on) mandating a national recharging network for electric and plug-in hybrid vehicle"

Mandating means FORCING businesses to comply.  In America, conservatives call that meddling in private enterprise.  I can hear it now, the National Association Grease Monkeys will cry about how this will saddle them with burdensome expenses , and that Liberal Plug-In Police enforcement will throw those who refuse in jail.....TYRRANY!!

The parties will tackle lobbying through introducing a statutory register of lobbyists. We also agree to pursue a detailed agreement on limiting donations and reforming party funding in order to remove big money from politics.

Uh, oh....John Roberts isn't going to like that one.

"We agree to bring forward detailed proposals for robust action to tackle unacceptable bonuses in the financial services sector; in developing these proposals, we will ensure they are effective in reducing risk.  We agree that a banking levy will be introduced."

Bonus limits? Banking taxes??  Holy shit, who wrote this Obama??

There's lots more, but what is clear from these short excerpts is that politics in England is far different than politics here in America despite the shared labels, and that the new government of the UK will not be nearly as conservative as neo-cons here in the USA believe or would like to see.  





msny 05.12.10