Ironworks Gaming Forum - Republicans ban Blair men!

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Quote:

Originally posted by Oblivion437:
He still represents a socialist or quasi-socialist party. In that respect, he represents some stretch of Liberal thinking. That is to say, he is philosophically at the opposite end of Conservative thinking, and he's at odds on some level or another among Compassionate Conservatives (Centrists who like the Conservative name)

Oh come on.

Firstly you're applying party doctrine on a party because of it's name and history, not the current policies of the currently more centrist Labour Party. Hardly socialist at all.

Secondly you've gone and used an American use of the word "liberal" to apply to a non-American political sphere. The Liberal Democrats in England and the Liberals in Australian politics are not the same thing as liberals in America. Liberalism in Australia actually refers to economic principles, not social policy.

It's all relative anyway. Conservatism in Communist China is "left wing" anywhere else, as it's communist. Yet because it's the status quo, it's "conservative".

The whole "right/left" delineation is based on where certain politicians used to sit in parliament. Pointless considering the relativity of it all.

http://www.wordiq.com/

Quote:

The Liberal Democrats - and the precursor Liberal party - have traditionally been seen as the centrist party of British politics. However, with Tony Blair's repositioning of Labour towards the centre, many now view the Lib Dems as being the most left-wing of Britain's mainstream parties and classify the Lib Dems as centre left.

However, attempting to place the Liberal Democrats within the 'left wing'-'right wing' model does not accurately represent their ideology. Liberalism claims to oppose undemocratic power in any form. When they oppose the power of the trade unions, they are seen as right wing. When they oppose the power of the corporations, they are seen as left wing. But neither term accurately represents the Lib Dems' ideology.

Quote:

Originally posted by Timber Loftis:
I thought Blair was kicked out of the Labour party?

He could not be Prime Minister if that were the case. Parliament choose the Prime Minister, not the populace, so if a leader looses the backing of his (majority) party he's out in a flash. Unlike the American president, the Prime Minister has zero job security and can be turfed out in a day.

Quote:

Originally posted by Oblivion437:
Compassionate Conservatives (Centrists who like the Conservative name)

HAHAHAHAHAHA. I wish compassionate conservatives were centrists who like the conservative name. If this were the case, the self-proclaimed compassionate conservative currently in the White house would certainly have had a much different course of policy the last 3.5 years.

I think the term "compassionate conservative" can be used by the far-right to snare centrists and moderates into voting for them. Once elected, some conservatives like this typically have no qualms stabbing these centrists in the back with heavily right leaning policies. GW Bush being an excellent example of this.

edit- To be clear I do not wish to generalize all conservatives as not being compassionate or being incapable of compassion. My point is that sometimes this label is used as a political ploy rather than a term to describe centrist leaning conservatives.

[ 08-01-2004, 04:04 AM: Message edited by: Chewbacca ]