Being a bit of an Anglophile, (which, of all the philes, is not the worst one), I’ve traveled to the Mother Country a good bit of late. You know, England, where white people were invented.
We can learn a lot from the British in many areas of life — except dentistry. We are kindred countries. In fact, we would still be a part of Britain had they not insisted on fighting us in the woods in red coats.
Say what you will about the colonizing Brits, but they’ve created more independence days than any other country.
I happened to be in London for a wedding during the recent United Kingdom elections. It was a landslide for The Labour Party, which chased the Tories (aka Conservatives) from power after 14 years. The American left-wing media’s narrative was that the Conservatives were beaten badly and Labour won based on more liberal ideas, as if this were a harbinger of our upcoming elections. That is not the case.
Like the U.S., Parliament rotates one party into power and one out with regularity. Political cycles are like rotating crops, but with more manure involved.
Having been there for it and gotten an earful from Conservatives at this party who just lost their seats, I offer my explanation of what happened, and why it is probably good for the GOP.
There is scant difference between Labour and the slightly more conservative Tory Party. They spell it “Labour” as a constant reminder that they are still arrogant and we are still just Americans.
Conservative/Tory David Cameron ran on a platform of England leaving the European Union, aka Brexit. The country favored Brexit, or in their case, favoured it, by only 52% to 48% then. He just ran on Brexit to stir up nationalism and to help him win. He didn’t think he’d have to do it. No one really knew what it was; it was just a made-up campaign bravado slogan, you know, like “A Threat to Democracy.”
Well, they did win and were forced to vote on Brexit, and most Brits now wished they had not. It has complicated the lives of everyday Brits, and last week in anger – big time — they voted the Tories out for it.
For my friends on the right who are worried about what this will mean for the upcoming election in the U.S., worry not. Labour was big on slowing immigration into the UK because it took jobs from their core, blue-collar voters. It worked, a la Trump.
There are other complicating factors, like the cool way (unlike the US) the UK has more than just two parties, like Green, Liberal Democrats, Reform (which is the real conservative party), etc. You must put together a ruling coalition in Parliament. This demands working together.
The U.S. essentially has a go along to get along, “uni-party” system. Democrats and Republicans are like WWE wrestlers who pretend to fight when they speak in public but are splitting the money back in the locker room.
In the U.S., Congress runs huge budget deficits, which cause inflation. The members then pretend to fret about it, ignore spending cuts and raise the debt ceiling. It is always nice to see bi-partisanship and the system working, with both parties coming together to raise our national debt and doing what is best personally for them to keep their jobs.
Ours is a lobbyist-driven bi-partisanship. They create an Obamacare system and wars so they all can grift off them. Our “two-party” system reminds me of a disingenuous dog that is half pit-bull and half collie. After ripping your arm and leg off, it runs for help.
There are many misconceptions dispelled when Americans visit England. There are not nearly as many chimney sweeps as you are led to believe. But mostly, their politics mirror ours. The differences are that they are more issue-driven and less cult-of-personality centric.
Personalities drive U.S. politics, not policies. Half of the country hates Trump and thinks he’s a bombastic reprobate outsider, set to turn Washington upside down. And that is what the other half likes about him.
Ron Hart is a libertarian op-ed humorist, an award-winning author, and a frequent guest on TV and radio. He can be contacted at Ron@RonaldHart.com or @RonaldHart on Twitter.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller.
