Parenthesis: a look at the British general election

I'd simply like to suggest a few articles on the British general election.

There are many good articles in French :

Le Monde has a good article on strategic voting and the possible outcomes of the election. It also provides many links to British websites.

The blog La vie des idées offers a spattering of articles on the subject :

• a summary of the content relating to Britain.
• the political and electoral crisis
• an in-depth analysis of the concepts of change as it was used in election campaigns

More interestingly, if you were British, which party would you support? Take this test and analyse the results (you can compare each of your positions with what each party thinks of the issues. If you are asked for a British postcode, you can use my old postcode from Durham : DH11DU.

Lots of last minute appeals from all newspapers :

• a bad-faithed attempt by The Telegraph to discourage tactical voting and support of the Lib-Dems: the firm in which Myriam Clegg (the Lib-Dem leader's wife) works declared that a hung parliament would be bad for Britain...
• A detailed guide to tactical voting by The Guardian which supports the Lib-Dems or a "progressive coalition" ( Lib-Lab)
• Wishful thinking from The Times : their last poll indicates that the Tories are on the brink of a getting a majority in the House of Commons
• In the meantime The Independent describes this election as a chance to get the electoral reform they have been calling for
• A bit of trashiness is also in order if you want a complete round-up of the British newspapers : TV star Simon Cowell (a judge on the tv-show Britain's got talent that brought Susan Boyle into the public eye last year) endorsed David Cameron in The Sun. Another famous tabloid, the Daily Mirror is trying to discredit Cowell's endorsement of the Tories by voicing the concerns of fans who are disappointed by a decision that they was made out of pure self interest ( he's a millionnaire) and perhaps due to pressure from Rupert Murdoch, the media mogul.

News from the American right

1. "epistemic closure" : a new term to explain the GOP's woes?

A worthwhile article on the NYTimes on how some of the conservative thinkers are reacting to the spread of the Tea Party movement's rhetoric within the Republican milieu. The basic argument of the article is that the Conservative elite has all but disappeared and that's why the right has become the vehicle for radical (at times irrational) discourse.

2. Can States challenge the healthcare Act?

In an article vindicating the health care reform Act, a New Republic commentator claims that the challenges mounted by some States to the federal law is a throwback to the doctrine of nullification and hails back to the times when the proponents of States' Rights opposed other progressive legislation.

However this vision is debunked by Jonah Goldberg in the National Review.

group 2

I'm posting this video on behalf of Laura and Alizée for group 2. It presents a novel programme designed for students who have attendance issues...

Right wing extremism in the US

With some of you, we've discussed Ann Coulter's book tour in Canada and the way the issue of free speech is dealt with in both countries (hate speech vs free speech). She's an outrageous character in American politics; she has strongly right-wing opinions and voices them in a rather humorous, albeit shocking manner. You can visit her website to read some of her essays and opinion pieces. She's done quite a few appearances on major networks and thus there are many videos with her on YouTube (here's one where she promises to support Clinton (haha) against McCain whom she considers too soft and not conservative enough during the 2008 campaign).

I've just heard an interesting interview with an expert on fringe right-wing movements such as the Patriot groups and their militias. To listen to the programme or download it, visit this NPR page.

What's particularly striking is that these groups have recently become more mainstream via the Tea Party movement which many of the activist have joined. Some of their more outlandish ideas have received sustained coverage from Fox News : last year Glenn Beck looked at their claim that FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management Agency) has created detention camps in which conservatives would be rounded up after a liberal take over of the governement. He examined this conspiracy theory during three shows before debunking it.

Moreover the paranoid rhetoric of these groups is gaining the Republican Party, as some GOP officials are trying to take advantage of the popular discontent provoked by the federal government's policies (especially the stimulus package and the healthcare reform overhaul passed by Congress). To see examples of this, you can watch this video from a left-wing MSNBC show (especially the last two minutes)

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Finally here's a comparison between the civil rights movement's strategies and those of the anti-tax/Tea Party movement :

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

House of Commons : PMQ

Prime Minister's Question Time is an important mediatic event each week in the House Commons. You'll notice how the House is organised and how childish and noisy the proceedings can get when MPs heckle at each other and the Speaker cries desperately for order ( 7"-9"). Note also that when the PM and the leader of the opposition speak they address the speaker at all times and never each other.



Issues of last week :
-War in Afghanistan and equipment for the military.
- the end of the cold war and who should get credit for that
- Lord Ashcroft


More hectoring and bickering ( 2 December 2009):

Oral expression

Here are a few ideas of themes for future debates.

- What should Americans do with Guantanamo Bay

- Civil liberties vs. security in Britain

- What strategy should the Tea Party activists adopt for the 2010 elections?

- Should the British change their electoral rules?

- Is the gay rights movement the new Civil Rights movement?

- Does race still matter in America, and how? Should positive discrimination policies look at class rather than race?( I've just come across an interesting article : NYTimes magazine).

- Is big government the cause of social ills in Britain?

- Is it true that Britain is broken? Who uses this expression, why? There's extensive coverage of this issue in the British press: for example in The Guardian. I've just read an article from Le Monde on the subject.

Dear students and readers,

Happy New Year to all of you. I hope you enjoyed the break.

As promised two weeks ago:
1. The first television commercial for an electoral campaign created by Roy Disney for candidate Dwight Eisenhower in 1952. His stature as a war hero and his appeal to both parties ( remember that the Democrats had asked him to run as President as well) and the well managed electoral campaign indeed got him in the White House. Note the three donkeys representing the Democratic party ( the donkey had become the symbol of the party under the Presidency of Grant).




2. The emotionally potent ad issued by the Johnson campaign for President in 1964. Although the ad was only aired once on television, it sent a shockwave through the country. It became a news item and was thus aired by the media as such, offering free air time to the Democratic ticket. This clip is famous for its suggestion that Barry Goldwater was not fit to be president because he was trigger happy and too likely to use nuclear weapons on foreign theaters of operation. However, when you listen carefully to the short speech that follows the explosion, I believe that the issues it raises are not germane to foreign policy tactics. Watch:



The terms "a world in which all God's children can live together"; "we must either love each other or die" suggests an allusion to something other than the Cold War and the nuclear threat. What do you think it might refer to?
(hint: consider why Barry Goldwater was gaining momentum at the time and who was supporting him)

For more ads of the 1964 campaign :

Lyndon B. Johnson : on nuclear testing, and on poverty. Note how the causes of poverty are reassessed in this ad, breaking away from the American tradition of portraying the poor as irresponsible and lazy). Finally, see how the legacy of JFK was used to bolster Johnson's Great Society platform. The tone of the campaing could turn quite sour and negative ads were aired.

Barry Goldwater ads : against Big Governement, on graft in Washington and integrity, and a response to Kruschev, on the no-win war in Vietnam.