So the serious further left is not around in American politics best I can tell. Lots of Brits have argued that it's been a very long time since it was.
Funny thing about the Brits, Andrew Sullivan has this post at the top of his blog at the moment saying more or less the same thing about American conservatives. Well, not exactly the same thing, but sort of saying Tories don't recognize much commonality with "the base" across the pond:
Still A Tory After All
Sometimes the shrill accusations of being a leftist turncoat rattle me a little. And then I realize I'm not alone:
Increasingly, British Tories wonder what has happened to their American relatives. It’s as if your favorite cousin had a nervous breakdown, found religion, and became an evangelist for an apocalyptic cult prophesying the imminent end of the world as we know and love it.
The scale of this trans-Atlantic distancing was revealed by a survey last year that found that 48 percent of prospective Tory MPs supported Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. Tellingly, the Republicans invited to speak at Conservative Party conferences in recent years—Arnold Schwarzenegger and John McCain—are the kind most despised by many grassroots conservatives in the United States.
Beck’s brand of conservatism could scarcely be more alien to a Brit. Its startling popularity in the United States would once have been an underground phenomenon; now, thanks to satellite television, the issues and attitudes that animate the conservative base can be seen, in all their gruesome glory, across the world. andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com
Well, Sullivan fell out of favor with the LindyBill smart set long ago, I assume over homophobic issues but who knows with the pros. |
