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View Full Version : Good News - There are intelligent, pragmatic conservative politicians!!!


finnbow
10-13-2010, 03:17 PM
Bad News - They're across the pond (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/12/AR2010101204748.html). :(

BlueStreak
10-13-2010, 11:40 PM
Holy Cow.

Dave

whell
10-14-2010, 02:39 AM
Proof that the definition of "conservative" is relative. ;)

noonereal
10-14-2010, 05:45 AM
Proof that the definition of "conservative" is relative. ;)

Yes, indeed. Over here conservative means "one that rides on a broom" or one that is scared of progress, social change or knowledge.

merrylander
10-14-2010, 06:57 AM
The definition of conservative is quite stable, it is the application of that label to most of our politicians that is in doubt.

piece-itpete
10-14-2010, 08:20 AM
Apples and oranges Finn, this is the E.U. of S.R. we're talking about ;)

Pete

merrylander
10-14-2010, 09:07 AM
Apples and oranges Finn, this is the E.U. of S.R. we're talking about ;)

Pete

Apples and oranges my arse, a word has a definition, this is not Alice in Wonerland.

piece-itpete
10-14-2010, 09:14 AM
I don't see anything conservative in the big EU countries, the State is all powerful.

And it really is a problem for them, strikes in France, riots in Greece, coming soon to an England near you :)

Pete

finnbow
10-14-2010, 10:04 AM
I don't see anything conservative in the big EU countries, the State is all powerful.

And it really is a problem for them, strikes in France, riots in Greece, coming soon to an England near you :)

Pete

The point of the OP's linked article is that the Conservatives in Britain are at least attacking their fiscal problems head-on, as opposed to relying on shopworn platitudes.

piece-itpete
10-14-2010, 10:13 AM
Are we all on board for say 25% across the board spending cuts?

Pete

finnbow
10-14-2010, 10:21 AM
Are we all on board for say 25% across the board spending cuts?

Pete

Believe it or not, an across the board cut of 10% would probably be more than enough to balance things tout de suite. The trouble is that Dem's will go to the mat over any cuts in social spending, whereas the GOP will do so for any cut in the Defense budget.

piece-itpete
10-14-2010, 10:29 AM
Yeah, everyone's got their little thing.

But we should look at Greece, GB, Ireland etc and shudder.

Pete

finnbow
10-14-2010, 11:08 AM
Yeah, everyone's got their little thing.

But we should look at Greece, GB, Ireland etc and shudder.

Pete

Yep. If the PIGS (Portugal, Ireland, Greece and Spain) hadn't bought a bunch of our worthless mortgage securities, they'd be in a much better place. As satisfying as it is to blame them entirely for their own woes, we helped create these messes. Just a few years back, we were Ireland and Spain's biggest fanboys when things were just humming along and their risky investments in our securities hadn't yet revealed their ugly side.

piece-itpete
10-14-2010, 11:26 AM
At least Greece and GB have no one to blame for their out of control spending but themselves. And what's the strike in France about - raising the retirement age to 55?

Pete

noonereal
10-14-2010, 11:41 AM
At least Greece and GB have no one to blame for their out of control spending but themselves. And what's the strike in France about - raising the retirement age to 55?

Pete

why folks believe that not enjoying life is a positive thing I will never understand.

Pete, you will never be wealthy (monetarily) so join us! :)

piece-itpete
10-14-2010, 11:56 AM
I'd love to noone, but I've already been assimilated, and we have 7-of-9s other 8 sisters :p

Greece shows the basic fallacy behind overspending. The only true way to increased wealth is increased productivity, or mining asteroids :)

Pete

finnbow
10-14-2010, 01:06 PM
And what's the strike in France about - raising the retirement age to 55?

Pete


Actually, from 60 to 62. Pretty much the same sort of uproar when we tinker with Social Security or Medicare eligibility requirements.

BlueStreak
10-14-2010, 11:55 PM
I don't see anything conservative in the big EU countries, the State is all powerful.

And it really is a problem for them, strikes in France, riots in Greece, coming soon to an England near you :)

Pete

The state sponsors strikes and riots----usually launched----against the state? I would think in an all powerful state, things such as strikes and riots would be harshly clamped down on by the state, a la Tiananmen Square or the Prague Spring?

Dave

piece-itpete
10-15-2010, 07:50 AM
In light of your comment consider we don't have these kinds of strikes.

Pete

merrylander
10-15-2010, 08:07 AM
In light of your comment consider we don't have these kinds of strikes.

Pete

Because Saint Ronnie killed the unions pretty much?:p

BlueStreak
10-15-2010, 10:31 AM
Because Saint Ronnie killed the unions pretty much?:p

Correct.

Dave

piece-itpete
10-15-2010, 10:41 AM
Hey now, Billy and Obie could have corrected that by now surely.

I know, your name isn't surely :)

Asimov did a story about this years ago, long before the rise of King Ronald. You may know in his fictitious cities people got around by various moving beltways. The operators union struck, shutting down the city.

It was put down by force because you can't have a small group of people holding the entire culture hostage, blackmailing them.

I think the big difference between Europe and the US has to do with an entitlement mentality.

Pete

PS We're currently re-animating Reagan, and since he died our argument in court will be it's really not the same person so the 2 term limit doesn't apply :p

merrylander
10-15-2010, 01:45 PM
PS We're currently re-animating Reagan, and since he died our argument in court will be it's really not the same person so the 2 term limit doesn't apply :p

I guess re-animated with the Alzhiemers we won't notice a lot of difference.:p

finnbow
10-15-2010, 02:06 PM
I guess re-animated with the Alzhiemers we won't notice a lot of difference.:p

With Alzheimer's he'd still be smarter than today's breed of Republican (and I'm not a Reagan fan).:p

merrylander
10-15-2010, 02:34 PM
True, we have smarter rocks in the back forty.

BlueStreak
10-16-2010, 12:04 AM
I remember when the news of Saint Ronnies Alzheimers broke. I was on the phone with my Pops, and I asked him if he had heard. He said; "Yeah, he's been fighting that since about 1953."

Dave

noonereal
10-16-2010, 07:42 AM
I remember when the news of Saint Ronnies Alzheimers broke. I was on the phone with my Pops, and I asked him if he had heard. He said; "Yeah, he's been fighting that since about 1953."

Dave

I had heard that.

BTW 53 was a very good year. :D

BlueStreak
10-16-2010, 10:45 AM
I had heard that.

BTW 53 was a very good year. :D

Yeah, it wasn't until about '64 that the Conservative movement really got underway..........................

Dave