I find this nine minute segment from what looks like a live current affairs discussion programme in which a carefully-chosen panel of left-wing hysterics from around the globe were allowed to question two leading American politicians quite fascinating. Who would have imagined that Robert Kennedy would - for reasons beyond his control - not eventually become president, or that Ronal Reagan one day would, and that he would use his power to destroy the Soviet Empire?
As for the infinitely privileged, well-educated, self-righteous, intolerant, freedom-hating, far-left pillocks hectoring these serious men - the very sound of their voices brought back so many bad memories it made me shudder, much as any leftist fantasising about the Middle East does these days. Of course, Vietnam was the Middle East of those times: an unholy mess that exposed the Left's inherent willingness to embrace fascism and terrorism whenever those twin evils are pitted against America and its allies (i.e. Britain).
It's sad that while American involvement may ultimately have saved other countries in the region from being over-run by the pestilence that is communism, it did nothing to ensure Vietnam's liberation - it remains a single-party socialist state, where the only people allowed to stand in its pseudo-elections have to be approved by the Communist Party, much as Iranian "candidates" have to be approved by that benighted country's sinister Guardian Council.
Anyway, at least Reagan got into power eventually. When the sort of left-wing British nincompoops in the above video finally formed a government (New Labour, 1997), they'd mellowed a bit - but that didn't stop them embroiling us in as many wars as possible, undermining our personal freedoms, assaulting our national culture via immigration and political correctness, and - of course - destroying the economy.
Please don't write posts like this [ditto the one on Izzard]. It makes me acid.
ReplyDeleteKeep ze peck!
DeleteAbsolutely fascinating. The respect between Reagan and Kennedy and their shared patriotism across party boundaries is a lesson that we have still to learn. It also gives the lie to the Ronnie is dumb myth. Obama can't engage in that level of detail.
ReplyDeleteI didn't recognise either the hectoring Beatle-wig or the specs-wearing lefty. That's odd. You would have expected them to have been employed by the BBC, droned on for a few years and then been given safe seats to become Labour Ministers after the 1974 election. Or maybe they listened to the arguments, which occasionally people used to do in those days, and ended up Tories. More likely they became accountants and just raged privately against their disappointment.
I imagine they were both involved in writing Labour's 1983 election manifesto - the one Gerald Kaufman described as "the longest suicide note in history". One of them then saw the Thatcherite light, moved to the States and became a raving neocon, in charge of planning America's post-invasion strategy in Iraq. The other became acquainted with Peter Mandelson's circle (unpleasant image), jumped ship when Blair's popularity waned, and now earns a bloody fortune as a lobbyist for Green Energy companies - when Labour get back into power, he'll be made a peer and pretend to be a prole by calling himself Lord Trougher of Croxteth or similar.
DeleteThe Obama administration erased my original comment.
ReplyDeleteShame - because it was pretty enraged! Sounded like me in a really bad mood. But I think it was probably the British security services who removed your comment by mistake because their American cousins haven't emailed them the Prism user manual yet.
DeleteI heard Haige say such allegations were baseless.
ReplyDeleteHere, inevitably, the whole issue has been turned into a knee-jerk left-wing shriek-fest. If they seriously think this government is less respectful of personal freedom than the classic liberal fascist Balir and Brown administrations, they're even greater fantasists than I'd thought.
DeleteI tend to believe Hague - probably because, once upon a time, he was a solid, depndable right-winge. But then someone slipped something in his drink and he's turned into a wet, mealy-mouthed centrist, like the rest of the political class.