Collapse Of Not Very Stout Party
We had a housewarming party this weekend - in preparation for this we acquired two garden gazebos for a very reasonable price from Mr. Tesco. Unpacking one, we were impressed by the clear, simple instructions, ease of assembly and light weight, not to mention its uncomplicated, serviceable plain looks. With a feeling of a job well done, we moved it easily to the end of the garden to give some shade next to where the barbecue was going to be. This was on Wednesday evening.
On Thursday morning, there was a bit of rain, not to mention a bit of wind. The result of this on our uncomplicated, serviceable gazebo was, sadly, unfortunate. An hour after the storm broke over West London, it was blown up against the neighbour's fence, on its back, feebly waving its legs in the air. Its lightweight structure, fine in good weather, had buckled in several places at the first sign of adverse conditions.
Which brings us to Cameron's Conservatives, and their performance on the same day up the road in Ealing Southall. It wasn't a hard job taking over as Tory leader from Michael Howard - all you had to be was a) not Tony Blair and b) not Michael Howard, and electoral success courtesy of an electorate fed up with ten years of lies and unhinged messiah complex would fall into your lap. That, at least, was the theory. Somewhere along the lines, the Cameroonies appear to have gone off the rails, and Chairman Brown is sitting back and watching, no doubt chuckling quietly. Here's the first clue, from the ballot paper:
Chris Dillow ascribes the Tories' poor performance to the imposition of a top-down candidate over local knowledge, and that putting Cameron's name on the ballot paper exemplifies this. The fact that Lit didn't apparently live in the constituency (the Evening Standard reportedly ran an article, which I haven't read, by Andrew Gilligan saying he lives on the 'Chiswick/Isleworth borders', which is nonsensical as those suburbs don't adjoin. Lit lives and votes in Chiswick) and wasn't a member of the party are irrelevant details. Cameroon, the Heir To Blair, doesn't do detail any more than his role model, which is why when the sock of sand hit, they were so surprised. To recap for the three people who missed it:
Mr Lit, 34, a flamboyant Sikh businessman, and his wife Mandy even posed for a photograph with Tony Blair. At the time, Mr Lit was the managing director of Sunrise Radio, which paid £4,800 for a table at the exclusive function for Asian businessmen.
source
Some detail to miss, really. It's obvious that Cameron's been giving the finger to the Old Wing of the Conservative party and has apparently swallowed the hip, Cool Britannia modernising spiel of Blairism, ten years late and without apparently realising that it's a busted flush with the public. Is he stupid? Has he just looked at the last ten years in politics and concluded that 'Blair wins elections = Be like Blair = Win elections'. Logic straight out of the Underpants Gnomes school of political science.
* Appoint ex-tabloid rat (Coulson)
* Ditch all your principles
*...
* Profit!
It does appear that this strategy has resulted, like my gazebo, in Cameron getting a gale in the face. Forgotten zombies from the past have dusted off the clay and risen from the grave:
source
Other voices from the attic rattle their chains and join in:
source
This mirrors Blair's continual battle with 'Old Labour', with the exception that Cameron isn't Blair, his party aren't leading in the polls and what he's putting on the menu is as fresh as the burgers from yesterday's barbecue. Next time I'm running a party, I'll make sure the structure can stand up to British conditions without buckling. If Cameron isn't going to continue the Tory tradition of here-today-gone-tomorrow leaders, I suggest he does the same.
It was pathetic to hear
It was pathetic to hear David Cameron going on about Brown being tarnished with ten years of Blairism. This is no doubt true, but it must be a case of the kettle calling the teapot black bum. I'm convinced he thinks we are all stupid. I seem to remember a period from 1979 until 1997, when we were treated to a vile disgusting dose of Conservative sleaze, on a grand scale. Does he not know that his party is still tainted with the same old stench.
The greatest problem for the poor oppressed voter today, is to find a party worth voting for.
What is required, are some people to stand as independents, who will represent the interest of the majority of their constituents, and not just the so called elite. There will never be honest politicians, when their allegiance is to the party, and making themselves a fast buck of course.
There is a very pertinent
There is a very pertinent site with comment germane to your observations. It has been about for a few years and some of the detail seems a bit dated, but I think the principles are still very sound.
http://www.angelfire.com/realm3/accord
If anyone knows of a
If anyone knows of a politician who is DEMOCRATIC please let me know. The subject I have to put to them concerns pure DEMOCRACY and is, therefore, not a constituency issue, but one applicable to every citizen. It involves the clandestine use of NAZISM within the EU, with their consent, all the evidence is in writing, so it cannot be denied. The problem is, that the evidence is so devastating, that the numerous politicians I have contacted, all refuse to help out, they have never said I have not got a case. One media organisation told me it was too politically sensitive for them to touch. Another newspaper said "the story is too big for us to print." Not bad for a paper that covers a population of 18 million. Presumably, they would not report on the outbreak of WW III, if it came about.
I don't think any
I don't think any politicians are democratic, in the sense that their first thought, on winning an election is ensuring that there *is* another election. They may well think first of *winning* the next election, but the staging of that election is something we, the people, need to ensure happens.