Pat Buchanan.
Today's column is a celebration of the Buchananite takeover of the GOP in the person of the Duce, Donald Trump.
For him, in utter delirium, Buchanan even abandons his decades of anti-Israeli sentiment and propaganda and celebrates Trump's Zionism.
Not entirely happy with the Duce's current hostility toward China regarding Hong Kong, however.
He doesn't see it part of the virus-connected shift for the election year.
He's very please with all the stuff about NATO and Putin and trade and Iran and global warming and and and.
And race.
A Most Consequential Presidency
A reminder of Pat's preference for authoritarian populism over rule of law republicanism and popular government.
A preference that emerged only when the rise of the Duce emboldened Buchanan.
Showing posts with label populism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label populism. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 25, 2020
Andrea Mitchell is being slapped around by Peter Navarro on plasma and a rushed vaccine
He's brushing off all worries about proper testing as mere Democrat talking points, bragging they will have a vaccine in a third the time it has taken in the past.
Hurray for Trump!
He has no clue how terrifying he and his idiot boss are.
I may just hunker down until March.
Hurray for Trump!
He has no clue how terrifying he and his idiot boss are.
I may just hunker down until March.
Saturday, August 8, 2020
Resistance to typical measures to inhibit the Coronavirus is everywhere a phenom of the right and of those the Marxists scorn as the petty bourgeoisie
Small businesspeople badly harmed by the measures against the virus such as restauranteurs and pub owners, hairdressers and operators of nail salons, clothing stores, or even department stores.
But the movement does not have heads of state or of government everywhere on its side, or even governors or local politicians.
Covid-19.Manifestations anti-masques en Allemagne : qui sont les organisateurs ?
Coronavirus: le Brésil dépasse le seuil des 100.000 morts
Le Brésil est devenu samedi le deuxième pays à dépasser les 100.000 morts du coronavirus, après les Etats-Unis, une hécatombe face à laquelle le président Jair Bolsonaro a dit avoir la "conscience tranquille" malgré les critiques.
Le plus grand pays d'Amérique Latine, peuplé de 212 millions d'habitants, a également franchi samedi un autre seuil symbolique, celui des 3 millions de personnes contaminées.
But the movement does not have heads of state or of government everywhere on its side, or even governors or local politicians.
Covid-19.Manifestations anti-masques en Allemagne : qui sont les organisateurs ?
Coronavirus: le Brésil dépasse le seuil des 100.000 morts
Le Brésil est devenu samedi le deuxième pays à dépasser les 100.000 morts du coronavirus, après les Etats-Unis, une hécatombe face à laquelle le président Jair Bolsonaro a dit avoir la "conscience tranquille" malgré les critiques.
Le plus grand pays d'Amérique Latine, peuplé de 212 millions d'habitants, a également franchi samedi un autre seuil symbolique, celui des 3 millions de personnes contaminées.
Seizing his chance, the Duce strikes a deep blow at Social Security, Medicare
None of this is legal or constitutional.
But it's one hell of a victory for the hardest of the hard right.
Add this to the giant Trump tax cut for the rich and his continuing efforts to destroy utterly every jot of the ACA and you will see him endearing himself to the plutes whose support is deathless for the most vicious version of capitalism possible.
This kind of move shows Trump knows how to make his populism appealing to the really big money on the right.
And his repeated use of unconstitutional means is just so typical of the increasing radicalism, extremism, and ferocity of the American political scene.
Trump signs executive orders after coronavirus relief talks falter
But it's one hell of a victory for the hardest of the hard right.
Add this to the giant Trump tax cut for the rich and his continuing efforts to destroy utterly every jot of the ACA and you will see him endearing himself to the plutes whose support is deathless for the most vicious version of capitalism possible.
This kind of move shows Trump knows how to make his populism appealing to the really big money on the right.
And his repeated use of unconstitutional means is just so typical of the increasing radicalism, extremism, and ferocity of the American political scene.
Trump signs executive orders after coronavirus relief talks falter
President Trump on Saturday signed orders to extend unemployment benefits, suspend payroll taxes, and offer federal eviction and student loan relief, taking unilateral action that is on shaky legal ground amid stalled negotiations about a fifth round of coronavirus relief in Congress.
Thursday, July 9, 2020
What? Don't believe in "alternative facts"?
Covid-19 has exposed the limits of 'fact-denying populism', Merkel tells European Parliament
Yeah, but no.
The coronavirus pandemic is showing the limits of “fact-denying populism,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel told the European Parliament on Wednesday as she set out her country's plans for its six-month presidency of the European Union.
Germany took over the task of chairing EU meetings on July 1 and faces the challenge of seeking a compromise on a coronavirus recovery fund for the 27-nation bloc as well as the EU's budget for the next seven years as the continent faces up to the task of pulling out of a deep recession.
Yeah, but no.
The coronavirus pandemic is showing the limits of “fact-denying populism,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel told the European Parliament on Wednesday as she set out her country's plans for its six-month presidency of the European Union.
Germany took over the task of chairing EU meetings on July 1 and faces the challenge of seeking a compromise on a coronavirus recovery fund for the 27-nation bloc as well as the EU's budget for the next seven years as the continent faces up to the task of pulling out of a deep recession.
Saturday, May 9, 2020
Monday, April 27, 2020
Brit Populist leader seems to have learned from personal experience
Boris Johnson Gives Lockdown Warning In First Speech Since Recovering From COVID-19
Has it been a while since Trump said anything good about him?
Since he said anything good about Trump?
I think.
Look how few have been the infections and deaths in the UK.
And still Boris is trying to put the brakes on the movement to rollback precautions and physical isolation.
Compare that with our own populist leader's position.
Boris Johnson has used his first public appearance since recovering from COVID-19 to warn that lifting the coronavirus lockdown too soon would risk “a new wave of death and disease.”
Speaking in Downing Street on Monday morning hours after his return to work, the prime minister said the UK was “beginning to turn the tide” against the virus.
But he said this was “the moment of maximum risk” and not the time “to go easy” on social distancing as it would “throw away all the effort and sacrifice of the British people” and risk a second peak.
Drawing on his own battle with the virus, which put him in intensive care, he said: “If this virus were a physical assailant, an unexpected and invisible mugger – which I can tell you from personal experience, it is – then this is the moment when we have begun together to wrestle it to the floor.
“And so it follows that this is the moment of opportunity, this is the moment when we can press home our advantage. It is also the moment of maximum risk.
. . . .
Sientists advising the government have warned any relaxation risks a renewed flare up just as the number of patients in hospital with the disease is beginning to fall.
Over the weekend, ministers highlighted a warning by Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey about the economic devastation a second wave of the disease would cause.
Johnson has less than a fortnight before the next major decision point comes up, with a three-week review of the lockdown restrictions due on May 7.
The UK has seen more than 154,000 confirmed coronavirus cases, with more than 20,000 deaths.
Has it been a while since Trump said anything good about him?
Since he said anything good about Trump?
I think.
Look how few have been the infections and deaths in the UK.
And still Boris is trying to put the brakes on the movement to rollback precautions and physical isolation.
Compare that with our own populist leader's position.
Boris Johnson has used his first public appearance since recovering from COVID-19 to warn that lifting the coronavirus lockdown too soon would risk “a new wave of death and disease.”
Speaking in Downing Street on Monday morning hours after his return to work, the prime minister said the UK was “beginning to turn the tide” against the virus.
But he said this was “the moment of maximum risk” and not the time “to go easy” on social distancing as it would “throw away all the effort and sacrifice of the British people” and risk a second peak.
Drawing on his own battle with the virus, which put him in intensive care, he said: “If this virus were a physical assailant, an unexpected and invisible mugger – which I can tell you from personal experience, it is – then this is the moment when we have begun together to wrestle it to the floor.
“And so it follows that this is the moment of opportunity, this is the moment when we can press home our advantage. It is also the moment of maximum risk.
. . . .
Sientists advising the government have warned any relaxation risks a renewed flare up just as the number of patients in hospital with the disease is beginning to fall.
Over the weekend, ministers highlighted a warning by Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey about the economic devastation a second wave of the disease would cause.
Johnson has less than a fortnight before the next major decision point comes up, with a three-week review of the lockdown restrictions due on May 7.
The UK has seen more than 154,000 confirmed coronavirus cases, with more than 20,000 deaths.
Sunday, April 12, 2020
Maggie T must have turned over in her grave.
In Boris Johnson's video release he says the NHS is the UK's "greatest national asset."
It is "the beating heart of this country."
He insisted on the need to "protect the NHS" from being overrun by too high a virus wave.
And that the lockdown is absolutely necessary, an absolute lifesaver that must go on.
Then he lavished thanks upon his personal caregivers and especially his ICU nurses by name.
Mr Johnson, 55, was taken to London's St Thomas' Hospital on Sunday - 10 days after testing positive for Covid-19.
He spent three nights in intensive care before returning to a ward on Thursday.
He said in a video on Twitter that he had witnessed the "personal courage" of hospital staff on the front line.
Mr Johnson said two nurses - Jenny from New Zealand and Luis from Portugal - stood by his bedside for 48 hours at the most critical time and named several other hospital workers who cared for him this past week that he wanted to thank.
He said NHS workers "kept putting themselves in harm's way, kept risking this deadly virus".
"It is thanks to that courage, that devotion, that duty and that love that our NHS has been unbeatable," he said.
. . . .
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said he was "delighted" the PM was out of hospital and continuing his recovery at Chequers.
He added that staff at St Thomas' would "have cared for him as they would have cared for anybody in this country," which was "one of the things that makes me so proud that the NHS is there for us all".
. . . .
Dr Ian Abbs, chief executive at Guy's and St Thomas' hospital, said: "It is a great credit to the exceptional professionalism of clinical teams, as well as everyone in the wider organisation, that we have been able to care for the prime minister so effectively, whilst continuing to deliver equally high standards of care to all of our patients.
"While it is right that we celebrate this good news, our thoughts turn immediately to those who still need our help at this time.
"On behalf of everyone at Guy's and St Thomas', I'd ask that people stay home to help us save lives and protect the NHS."
It is "the beating heart of this country."
He insisted on the need to "protect the NHS" from being overrun by too high a virus wave.
And that the lockdown is absolutely necessary, an absolute lifesaver that must go on.
Then he lavished thanks upon his personal caregivers and especially his ICU nurses by name.
Mr Johnson, 55, was taken to London's St Thomas' Hospital on Sunday - 10 days after testing positive for Covid-19.
He spent three nights in intensive care before returning to a ward on Thursday.
He said in a video on Twitter that he had witnessed the "personal courage" of hospital staff on the front line.
Mr Johnson said two nurses - Jenny from New Zealand and Luis from Portugal - stood by his bedside for 48 hours at the most critical time and named several other hospital workers who cared for him this past week that he wanted to thank.
He said NHS workers "kept putting themselves in harm's way, kept risking this deadly virus".
"It is thanks to that courage, that devotion, that duty and that love that our NHS has been unbeatable," he said.
. . . .
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said he was "delighted" the PM was out of hospital and continuing his recovery at Chequers.
He added that staff at St Thomas' would "have cared for him as they would have cared for anybody in this country," which was "one of the things that makes me so proud that the NHS is there for us all".
. . . .
Dr Ian Abbs, chief executive at Guy's and St Thomas' hospital, said: "It is a great credit to the exceptional professionalism of clinical teams, as well as everyone in the wider organisation, that we have been able to care for the prime minister so effectively, whilst continuing to deliver equally high standards of care to all of our patients.
"While it is right that we celebrate this good news, our thoughts turn immediately to those who still need our help at this time.
"On behalf of everyone at Guy's and St Thomas', I'd ask that people stay home to help us save lives and protect the NHS."
So you say you like small government and states' rights better?
We get that that's code.
It means - among other things and leaving aside such stuff as white nationalism, white supremacy, white Nativism, fascism, authoritarianism, and populism - that you like crime better than government.
You think that the cure is worse than the disease.
Worse for you, because you're a white male, a plute, a 1 percenter, or a crook.
And if you talk like that you're probably all four.
It means - among other things and leaving aside such stuff as white nationalism, white supremacy, white Nativism, fascism, authoritarianism, and populism - that you like crime better than government.
You think that the cure is worse than the disease.
Worse for you, because you're a white male, a plute, a 1 percenter, or a crook.
And if you talk like that you're probably all four.
Tuesday, March 31, 2020
Not all authoritarian populists are stupid. And not all who are stupid are authoritarian populists. But . . . .
Belarusian leader bucks coronavirus 'psychosis,' plays hockey
While officials from Montreal to Moscow have placed populations under some form of lockdown designed to slow the spread of the coronavirus, one man continues to hold firm to the notion that the rest of the world has lost its mind: Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
“It is better to die on your feet than live on your knees!” Lukashenko told a Belarusian television reporter Saturday when asked whether the coronavirus could stop him from hitting the rink for a propaganda-filled hockey game.
“Me? Why? I don’t understand. There is no virus here,” Lukashenko said, gesturing around the arena. “This is a refrigerator, it is the best thing for your health. Sport, especially on ice, is better than any antiviral medication. It is the real thing.”
Lukashenko, one of the longest-serving leaders in the former Soviet Union, has been in power for over 25 years. His tenure has seen brutal crackdowns on dissent.
. . . .
Two weeks ago, he insisted that Belarus has survived worse than the novel pandemic hitting the world. Saunas, vodka and tending to the fields were the best remedy for those who fear the spread of the virus, he said.
“The tractor will heal everyone,” he said, “the fields heal everyone.”
Lukashenko’s folk remedies for COVID-19 fall well in line with assurances issued by other post-Soviet leaders. Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, president of Turkmenistan, consulted his own writings on his nation’s plant life and declared a cure to be found in a local herb.
While officials from Montreal to Moscow have placed populations under some form of lockdown designed to slow the spread of the coronavirus, one man continues to hold firm to the notion that the rest of the world has lost its mind: Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
“It is better to die on your feet than live on your knees!” Lukashenko told a Belarusian television reporter Saturday when asked whether the coronavirus could stop him from hitting the rink for a propaganda-filled hockey game.
“Me? Why? I don’t understand. There is no virus here,” Lukashenko said, gesturing around the arena. “This is a refrigerator, it is the best thing for your health. Sport, especially on ice, is better than any antiviral medication. It is the real thing.”
Lukashenko, one of the longest-serving leaders in the former Soviet Union, has been in power for over 25 years. His tenure has seen brutal crackdowns on dissent.
. . . .
Two weeks ago, he insisted that Belarus has survived worse than the novel pandemic hitting the world. Saunas, vodka and tending to the fields were the best remedy for those who fear the spread of the virus, he said.
“The tractor will heal everyone,” he said, “the fields heal everyone.”
Lukashenko’s folk remedies for COVID-19 fall well in line with assurances issued by other post-Soviet leaders. Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, president of Turkmenistan, consulted his own writings on his nation’s plant life and declared a cure to be found in a local herb.
Thursday, March 26, 2020
Brazil: Two weeks ahead of us
Virus has Brazil’s Bolsonaro facing governor ‘insurrection’
Brazil’s governors on Wednesday rebelled against President Jair Bolsonaro’s call for life to return to pre-coronavirus normalcy, saying his proposal to reopen schools and businesses runs counter to recommendations from health experts and endangers Latin America’s largest population.
State governors, many of whom have adopted strict measures to limit gatherings in their regions, defied the president’s instructions in a nationwide address Tuesday evening that they lift the restrictions and limit isolation only to the elderly and those with longstanding health problems.
The governors weren’t the only defiant ones.
Virus plans challenged by Bolsonaro were upheld by the Supreme Court.
The heads of both congressional houses criticized his televised speech. Companies donated supplies to state anti-virus efforts.
And even some of his staunch supporters joined his detractors.
Brazil’s governors on Wednesday rebelled against President Jair Bolsonaro’s call for life to return to pre-coronavirus normalcy, saying his proposal to reopen schools and businesses runs counter to recommendations from health experts and endangers Latin America’s largest population.
State governors, many of whom have adopted strict measures to limit gatherings in their regions, defied the president’s instructions in a nationwide address Tuesday evening that they lift the restrictions and limit isolation only to the elderly and those with longstanding health problems.
The governors weren’t the only defiant ones.
Virus plans challenged by Bolsonaro were upheld by the Supreme Court.
The heads of both congressional houses criticized his televised speech. Companies donated supplies to state anti-virus efforts.
And even some of his staunch supporters joined his detractors.
Friday, December 20, 2019
Friday, December 13, 2019
Delusions or Lies?
No, it's not that they are ignorant, or confused, or short on information, or misled by fake news.
They truly admire these guys and agree with what is most vicious in and about them and their programs.
The False Romance of Russia
Anne Applebaum joins those who try valiantly to hide - or evade - the ugly truth.
Just as well claim the Nazi voters didn't vote for all that mad, anti-Semitic, anti-Slavic, racist shit.
Or deny their profound and forthright embrace of state criminality, violence, and an agenda of war.
As for the ludicrous, glowing (at least in their terms) portraits of the enemy societies and their leaders by useful idiots of the left and, now, the right, they are not evidence of delusion but flat out dishonesty.
They are just flat out lies.
But I can't help but laugh.
She may be the only critic of this new idiotic and contemptible right who sees the grandfather role of Pat Buchanan.
And her exposé of Russian realities as well as the loony leaders of the pop stupid right is an extremely important piece.
She is the kind of conservative I admire, and I have loved her work for many years, now.
Not just her columns but her books.
Her excellent books.
They truly admire these guys and agree with what is most vicious in and about them and their programs.
The False Romance of Russia
Anne Applebaum joins those who try valiantly to hide - or evade - the ugly truth.
Just as well claim the Nazi voters didn't vote for all that mad, anti-Semitic, anti-Slavic, racist shit.
Or deny their profound and forthright embrace of state criminality, violence, and an agenda of war.
As for the ludicrous, glowing (at least in their terms) portraits of the enemy societies and their leaders by useful idiots of the left and, now, the right, they are not evidence of delusion but flat out dishonesty.
They are just flat out lies.
But I can't help but laugh.
She may be the only critic of this new idiotic and contemptible right who sees the grandfather role of Pat Buchanan.
And her exposé of Russian realities as well as the loony leaders of the pop stupid right is an extremely important piece.
She is the kind of conservative I admire, and I have loved her work for many years, now.
Not just her columns but her books.
Her excellent books.
Tuesday, December 3, 2019
Mass politics
It could be said that an essential attribute of a successful regime in the age of mass politics is vulgarity.
But there is a considerable difference between the mere vulgarity of style and propaganda of the liberal regimes and the profound vulgarity of values of authoritarian and, even worse, fascist, racist, or Nazi regimes.
And right now many leading Western nations are sliding from the former toward the latter.
Are regimes, parties, or movements of the further left also committed to vulgar values?
Or is that another difference between them and regimes of the vicious right, from the merely authoritarian even to the totalitarian?
Questions that arise while watching on Amazon video Detective De Luca.
But there is a considerable difference between the mere vulgarity of style and propaganda of the liberal regimes and the profound vulgarity of values of authoritarian and, even worse, fascist, racist, or Nazi regimes.
And right now many leading Western nations are sliding from the former toward the latter.
Are regimes, parties, or movements of the further left also committed to vulgar values?
Or is that another difference between them and regimes of the vicious right, from the merely authoritarian even to the totalitarian?
Questions that arise while watching on Amazon video Detective De Luca.
Friday, November 29, 2019
So like Trump it's scary
Brazil’s president claims DiCaprio paid for Amazon fires
Brazil’s president has falsely accused the actor and environmentalist Leonardo DiCaprio of bankrolling the deliberate incineration of the Amazon rainforest.
Jair Bolsonaro – a populist nationalist who has vowed to drive environmental NGOs from Brazil – made the claim on Friday, reportedly telling supporters: “This Leonardo DiCaprio’s a cool guy, isn’t he? Giving money for the Amazon to be torched.”
The spurious accusation – for which Brazil’s president offered no proof – came 24 hours after Bolsonaro made a similarly unsubstantiated claim in a Facebook live broadcast.
“Leonardo DiCaprio, dammit, you’re collaborating with the burning of the Amazon,” Bolsonaro declared, accusing the actor of being part of an international “campaign against Brazil”.
Bolsonaro’s unsubstantiated allegations relate to the controversial arrest on Tuesday of four volunteer firefighters whom local police accused – also apparently without evidence – of setting fire to the forest in order to boost fundraising efforts for an international NGO.
The firefighters were released on Thursday amid widespread public outrage at their treatment and questions over the police investigation.
On Thursday Bolsonaro’s politician son Eduardo claimed on Twitter that DiCaprio had donated $300,000 (£230,000) to “the NGO that set fire to the Amazon” and accused the conservation group WWF of paying the NGO about £13,000 for photographs of the burning forest.
. . . .
In August – as huge fires swept through the Amazon region sparking an international crisis – DiCaprio pledged $5m to help protect Brazil’s rainforests.
Brazil’s president has falsely accused the actor and environmentalist Leonardo DiCaprio of bankrolling the deliberate incineration of the Amazon rainforest.
Jair Bolsonaro – a populist nationalist who has vowed to drive environmental NGOs from Brazil – made the claim on Friday, reportedly telling supporters: “This Leonardo DiCaprio’s a cool guy, isn’t he? Giving money for the Amazon to be torched.”
The spurious accusation – for which Brazil’s president offered no proof – came 24 hours after Bolsonaro made a similarly unsubstantiated claim in a Facebook live broadcast.
“Leonardo DiCaprio, dammit, you’re collaborating with the burning of the Amazon,” Bolsonaro declared, accusing the actor of being part of an international “campaign against Brazil”.
Bolsonaro’s unsubstantiated allegations relate to the controversial arrest on Tuesday of four volunteer firefighters whom local police accused – also apparently without evidence – of setting fire to the forest in order to boost fundraising efforts for an international NGO.
The firefighters were released on Thursday amid widespread public outrage at their treatment and questions over the police investigation.
On Thursday Bolsonaro’s politician son Eduardo claimed on Twitter that DiCaprio had donated $300,000 (£230,000) to “the NGO that set fire to the Amazon” and accused the conservation group WWF of paying the NGO about £13,000 for photographs of the burning forest.
. . . .
In August – as huge fires swept through the Amazon region sparking an international crisis – DiCaprio pledged $5m to help protect Brazil’s rainforests.
Friday, November 1, 2019
Monday, September 30, 2019
Why they glory in egregious lies
Why Europe’s new populists tell so many lies – and do it so shamelessly
Politicians have, of course, always dissembled, but the traditional political lie was designed to cover up an unpalatable fact.
No one wanted to be caught lying.
If accused, they had to explain (“I didn’t inhale”, “I am not a crook”, “not … with that woman”, the dossier wasn’t “sexed-up”) and they might then fall from grace, face a public inquiry, or indulge in that staple of political redemption exercises, the televised apology.
Populist lying, by contrast, is designed to be seen – it is the opposite of a cover-up.
In the populist playbook, lying itself is glorified; it is an instrument of subversion, its purpose to demonstrate that the liar will stop at nothing to “serve the people”.
The lies are signals that these politicians are not bound by the usual norms of the liberal democratic elite.
Liberals have virtue signalling – populists have outrage signalling.
This is the politics of appealing to the gut over the brain.
. . . .
Populists have been quick to turn the value placed on authenticity to their advantage.
Not by striving to be truthful, but by demonstrating that they are authentic (or instinctively connected to the experience of “the people”, who are authentic) to the point of not caring about being shown to be liars – as long as the lies are told “in the interest of the people”.
They tend to either sweep away the evidence that they lied with great nonchalance (well, I might have said that, but so what?), or flaunt the lie to show their chutzpah, their willingness to game the system – and to highlight the supposed hypocrisy or stupidity of whoever is being deceived.
The populist authenticity is not so much about being as good as you claim to be, but about being as shamelessly bad as people might imagine you could be.
Shamelessness is populism’s debased form of authenticity.
Politicians have, of course, always dissembled, but the traditional political lie was designed to cover up an unpalatable fact.
No one wanted to be caught lying.
If accused, they had to explain (“I didn’t inhale”, “I am not a crook”, “not … with that woman”, the dossier wasn’t “sexed-up”) and they might then fall from grace, face a public inquiry, or indulge in that staple of political redemption exercises, the televised apology.
Populist lying, by contrast, is designed to be seen – it is the opposite of a cover-up.
In the populist playbook, lying itself is glorified; it is an instrument of subversion, its purpose to demonstrate that the liar will stop at nothing to “serve the people”.
The lies are signals that these politicians are not bound by the usual norms of the liberal democratic elite.
Liberals have virtue signalling – populists have outrage signalling.
This is the politics of appealing to the gut over the brain.
. . . .
Populists have been quick to turn the value placed on authenticity to their advantage.
Not by striving to be truthful, but by demonstrating that they are authentic (or instinctively connected to the experience of “the people”, who are authentic) to the point of not caring about being shown to be liars – as long as the lies are told “in the interest of the people”.
They tend to either sweep away the evidence that they lied with great nonchalance (well, I might have said that, but so what?), or flaunt the lie to show their chutzpah, their willingness to game the system – and to highlight the supposed hypocrisy or stupidity of whoever is being deceived.
The populist authenticity is not so much about being as good as you claim to be, but about being as shamelessly bad as people might imagine you could be.
Shamelessness is populism’s debased form of authenticity.
Monday, September 2, 2019
Pat Buchanan continues his long, slow slide to almost fascism
Although not quite.
Anyway, not yet.
If you think that what, about supranational institutions like the EU, the UN, or even NATO, bothers the new nationalists of Europe and America in part is their democracy deficit you are a fool.
And if you think they are even in part moved by concern for the political position of the world's eurowhites, or the rayonnement of their civilization, the much touted and much damned Western Civilization, you are again a fool.
Their increasingly evident love for authoritarian nationalism wherever it is to be found, while strengthening racism and racist policies within infected states, undermines both.
Let Them Howl, Boris!
PB here continues to celebrate stupid things ever less compatible with the rule of law, with republicanism, with responsible representative government.
Anyway, not yet.
If you think that what, about supranational institutions like the EU, the UN, or even NATO, bothers the new nationalists of Europe and America in part is their democracy deficit you are a fool.
And if you think they are even in part moved by concern for the political position of the world's eurowhites, or the rayonnement of their civilization, the much touted and much damned Western Civilization, you are again a fool.
Their increasingly evident love for authoritarian nationalism wherever it is to be found, while strengthening racism and racist policies within infected states, undermines both.
Let Them Howl, Boris!
PB here continues to celebrate stupid things ever less compatible with the rule of law, with republicanism, with responsible representative government.
Tuesday, August 13, 2019
Does the EU have teeth?
The US constitution provides a federal guarantee to the states of a republican form of government.
The idea is that the general government could enforce that requirement, and that idea was involved during and after the Civil War to justify Union actions against the states of the Confederacy.
The EU provides an analogous guarantee to its member states, but the measures available to fulfill that guarantee are rather less potent. Or drastic.
Hungary’s far-right government vilifies Finland over rule of law inquiry.
Finland has pledged to pursue a hearing into alleged breaches of the rule of law by Hungary’s far-right government after a campaign of vilification led by the prime minister, Viktor Orbán.
Orbán and his spokesman, Zoltán Kovács, have launched a series of attacks in recent weeks ranging from criticism of the level of domestic violence in Finland to the purchase of strategically important Finnish islands by Russian oligarchs.
As the member state holding the EU’s rolling presidency until the new year, the Finnish government is responsible for chairing meetings of the member states and pushing forward the bloc’s agenda.
The European parliament took the unprecedented step last September of asking member states to determine whether Hungary had breached the bloc’s founding values in its overhaul of the country’s judiciary and alleged failure to respect freedom of expression, religion and equal treatment under the law.
. . . .
When its government assumed the presidency on 1 July it said it would respect the parliament’s vote in favour of pursuing the so-called article 7 process, under which Hungary could theoretically face the “nuclear” sanction of having its voting rights in EU institutions suspended.
. . . .
A spokesman for the Finnish government said the latest developments would not prevent it from “taking forward the ongoing procedures concerning the rule of law as appropriate”.
The spokesman said: “The article 7 procedure has been triggered, in the case of Hungary, by the European parliament. The treaty indicates that the next step will be a hearing in the council of the country concerned.
“The Finnish presidency believes Hungary has the right to be heard and that it is also in its best interest.”
The spokesman said the parliament had voted “nearly a year ago, so we think it is high time to move to the hearings. For some time already, a large number of member states have been demanding that hearings should begin.
“The article 7 procedure should not be seen as a process directed against a particular member state. The rule of law is part of our shared value basis and something that unites us all. We believe we must cherish it. The Finnish presidency intends to promote rule of law issues through a positive and constructive approach.”
Fabian Zuleeg, from the European Policy Centre, a Brussels thinktank said the stakes for Orbán over the rule of law would be greater if France successfully argued that EU funding should be linked to respect for the bloc’s treaties.
“A greater focus on rule of law was always going to produce a counter reaction by Hungary, which under Orbán has always argued that its democracy is as good as anywhere else in Europe, and that any comments or actions reflect different political ideologies,” he said.
“But the real political fight is still to come when the EU gets into the final phase of agreeing the next multi-annual financial framework. Here, a lot is at stake for Orbán if funding is made conditional on rule of law, which a number of western countries want to push for.”
Europe must stop this disgrace: Viktor Orbán is dismantling democracy
What, then, should the EU do?
Immediately, Weber should not be made commission president – mainly because he does not have the top-level governmental experience, but also because he has legitimated Orbán’s dismantling of Hungarian democracy by keeping Fidesz in the EPP.
The EPP itself, following a report by its three “wise men” (who will be three blind mice if they don’t see in Hungary what I have briefly summarised here), should finally boot out Fidesz.
This action has much wider importance, since a moral and political imperative of our time is for civilised centre-right parties to draw a clear line between them and xenophobic, populist extremists.
Then the EU must stop this tragic farce of its own funds being used to undermine European values.
It should appoint as European public prosecutor the Romanian Laura Codruţa Kövesi, who knows exactly what post-communist, east European corruption looks like, and make signing up to scrutiny by that European public prosecutor a condition for receipt of those funds.
It should also move to distribute more EU funding directly to local government and civil society, rather than letting it be used as a huge, centralised slush fund by a corrupt party-state.
Not least, all European institutions and heads of government must keep the spotlight on this tragedy in the heart of Europe.
Orbán himself is never constrained by excessive politeness; nor should they be. What the EU does about Hungary matters not just for Hungarians but for Europe as a whole.
The continent of Europe may have many different kinds of regime, but the European Union must be a community of democracies.
The idea is that the general government could enforce that requirement, and that idea was involved during and after the Civil War to justify Union actions against the states of the Confederacy.
The EU provides an analogous guarantee to its member states, but the measures available to fulfill that guarantee are rather less potent. Or drastic.
Hungary’s far-right government vilifies Finland over rule of law inquiry.
Finland has pledged to pursue a hearing into alleged breaches of the rule of law by Hungary’s far-right government after a campaign of vilification led by the prime minister, Viktor Orbán.
Orbán and his spokesman, Zoltán Kovács, have launched a series of attacks in recent weeks ranging from criticism of the level of domestic violence in Finland to the purchase of strategically important Finnish islands by Russian oligarchs.
As the member state holding the EU’s rolling presidency until the new year, the Finnish government is responsible for chairing meetings of the member states and pushing forward the bloc’s agenda.
The European parliament took the unprecedented step last September of asking member states to determine whether Hungary had breached the bloc’s founding values in its overhaul of the country’s judiciary and alleged failure to respect freedom of expression, religion and equal treatment under the law.
. . . .
When its government assumed the presidency on 1 July it said it would respect the parliament’s vote in favour of pursuing the so-called article 7 process, under which Hungary could theoretically face the “nuclear” sanction of having its voting rights in EU institutions suspended.
. . . .
A spokesman for the Finnish government said the latest developments would not prevent it from “taking forward the ongoing procedures concerning the rule of law as appropriate”.
The spokesman said: “The article 7 procedure has been triggered, in the case of Hungary, by the European parliament. The treaty indicates that the next step will be a hearing in the council of the country concerned.
“The Finnish presidency believes Hungary has the right to be heard and that it is also in its best interest.”
The spokesman said the parliament had voted “nearly a year ago, so we think it is high time to move to the hearings. For some time already, a large number of member states have been demanding that hearings should begin.
“The article 7 procedure should not be seen as a process directed against a particular member state. The rule of law is part of our shared value basis and something that unites us all. We believe we must cherish it. The Finnish presidency intends to promote rule of law issues through a positive and constructive approach.”
Fabian Zuleeg, from the European Policy Centre, a Brussels thinktank said the stakes for Orbán over the rule of law would be greater if France successfully argued that EU funding should be linked to respect for the bloc’s treaties.
“A greater focus on rule of law was always going to produce a counter reaction by Hungary, which under Orbán has always argued that its democracy is as good as anywhere else in Europe, and that any comments or actions reflect different political ideologies,” he said.
“But the real political fight is still to come when the EU gets into the final phase of agreeing the next multi-annual financial framework. Here, a lot is at stake for Orbán if funding is made conditional on rule of law, which a number of western countries want to push for.”
Europe must stop this disgrace: Viktor Orbán is dismantling democracy
What, then, should the EU do?
Immediately, Weber should not be made commission president – mainly because he does not have the top-level governmental experience, but also because he has legitimated Orbán’s dismantling of Hungarian democracy by keeping Fidesz in the EPP.
The EPP itself, following a report by its three “wise men” (who will be three blind mice if they don’t see in Hungary what I have briefly summarised here), should finally boot out Fidesz.
This action has much wider importance, since a moral and political imperative of our time is for civilised centre-right parties to draw a clear line between them and xenophobic, populist extremists.
Then the EU must stop this tragic farce of its own funds being used to undermine European values.
It should appoint as European public prosecutor the Romanian Laura Codruţa Kövesi, who knows exactly what post-communist, east European corruption looks like, and make signing up to scrutiny by that European public prosecutor a condition for receipt of those funds.
It should also move to distribute more EU funding directly to local government and civil society, rather than letting it be used as a huge, centralised slush fund by a corrupt party-state.
Not least, all European institutions and heads of government must keep the spotlight on this tragedy in the heart of Europe.
Orbán himself is never constrained by excessive politeness; nor should they be. What the EU does about Hungary matters not just for Hungarians but for Europe as a whole.
The continent of Europe may have many different kinds of regime, but the European Union must be a community of democracies.
Saturday, July 27, 2019
Resurgent nationalism
We are told it's about racist and ethno-nationalist reaction to mass immigration from outside Europe and the lesser migrations of Europeans among the nations of the EU.
The ethno-nationalist right believe they can do a better job maintaining national identity - and that's not just about keeping out the blacks - outside the EU than in.
That's a big part of it.
And they are probably right.
We are told that, in most European countries where nationalism is resurgent, it's about the right believing they can keep economies more business-friendly out of the EU than in it.
That's part of it.
But it's all a bit dicey, since some of the left notably think exactly the opposite, that they could take their societies further left outside the EU than in.
And anyway the whole trade picture makes it all a bit foggy; broadly speaking, free trade among the states of the EU is better for business than dealing with a lot of real borders and the various forms of trade restrictions that accompany them.
Last, a really big part of it that seems under-reported is resistance to the cultural revolution taking place in all Christian and post-Christian lands, perhaps only excepting Africa.
The soft spot in the heart of the American right for Putin is all about that.
So it's about abortion, yes, but also gay marriage and other offences against the traditional European morality, which is, of course, the traditional Christian morality.
It's about lots of people believing that they can keep their laws and their culture more in tune with traditional European morality out of the EU than in it.
And how far that is true may vary considerably by country.
PS. Didn't the left media used to rage it was all about Islamophobia?
There was truth to that, too, though it's not as though there wasn't plenty of reason to fear Islam.
Haven't heard much about that in a while, at least in the US.
The ethno-nationalist right believe they can do a better job maintaining national identity - and that's not just about keeping out the blacks - outside the EU than in.
That's a big part of it.
And they are probably right.
We are told that, in most European countries where nationalism is resurgent, it's about the right believing they can keep economies more business-friendly out of the EU than in it.
That's part of it.
But it's all a bit dicey, since some of the left notably think exactly the opposite, that they could take their societies further left outside the EU than in.
And anyway the whole trade picture makes it all a bit foggy; broadly speaking, free trade among the states of the EU is better for business than dealing with a lot of real borders and the various forms of trade restrictions that accompany them.
Last, a really big part of it that seems under-reported is resistance to the cultural revolution taking place in all Christian and post-Christian lands, perhaps only excepting Africa.
The soft spot in the heart of the American right for Putin is all about that.
So it's about abortion, yes, but also gay marriage and other offences against the traditional European morality, which is, of course, the traditional Christian morality.
It's about lots of people believing that they can keep their laws and their culture more in tune with traditional European morality out of the EU than in it.
And how far that is true may vary considerably by country.
PS. Didn't the left media used to rage it was all about Islamophobia?
There was truth to that, too, though it's not as though there wasn't plenty of reason to fear Islam.
Haven't heard much about that in a while, at least in the US.
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