Nick Clegg‘s Liberal Democrats have vowed to face down “ruthless” and “extreme” forces in the Tory party to protect the British people from right-wing policies that would widen inequality and benefit the rich. The Guardian September 17
Deputy Priminiter of the Great Britain, Nick Clegg, shocked his Liberal Democrat Party’s annual conference yesterday by stating that he planned to take on the war mongering, crony capitalists of the very coalition that he formed sixteen months ago with Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron. Party faithful and the broader audience throughout Great Britain must have been shocked at the statement.
After polling below expectations, he accepted the offer of the Conservative Party to form a coalition government. The 57 seats in the House of Commons won by Liberal Democrats along with the much larger Conservative total allowed the formation of a coalition government.
How can Clegg now oppose the party he put in power? How can he be so indignant in his description of the results that just about anyone with a pulse would have predicted. There have been attacks on the National Health Service, withdrawal of support for education, and a Conservative backed attack on Libyan citizens in support of a Libyan military coalition led by former al Qaeda allies.
Clegg was short on specifics but, as quoted by the Guardian, we hear,
“We are prepared to be awkward,” he said. “We are not here to make things easy. We’re here to put things right.” Nick Clegg, The Guardian, September 17
Mr. Clegg, everything about you is awkward, including this statement. Give us something to inspire hope.
Has Nick Clegg lost his mind? Not exactly. But he may be suffering from a form of psychogenic amnesia. Individuals who go through a prolonged trauma can react by developing retrograde amnesia, the total erasure of narrative memory associated with the traumatic events. In this case, Clegg is forgetting that he has been Deputy PM for a good while, serving under Cameron. He has gone along with Conservative programs, appeared at the traditional affairs of state, and held his fire.
We may never know the event that triggered this episode of amnesia but we can (and will) speculate. Perhaps, Clegg saw a report or the photographs of one or several of David Cameron’s private equestrian adventures with former Murdoch editor and executive Rebekah Brooks. This or some other moral or personal lapse by his current boss must have been the source. The notion that Clegg was shocked by Cameron’s reactionary policies is out of the question. Clegg had a choice. His service to scum is voluntary.
Nick Clegg hoped to the the first Liberal Democratic Prime Minister of Great Britain. He led in the polls at one point, then the public saw him in the three televised debates. He was clearly less fatuous than Conservative David Cameron and far less intelligent than the defiant, faltering Gordon Brown. He stood for something but he wasn’t sure quite what. Now he just barking at the moon.
The comments from Guardian readers tell, A tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing…
wiganschosenfew
17 September 2011 9:56PM
Protect us from a right wing goverment his party is propping up.
You couldn’t make this stuff up.
kaif17 September 2011 9:47PM
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!
LOL!
The LibDems as saviours of the British electorate!
And they are in bed with the same Tories they condemn.
What disgusting sickening hypocrisy!
Protect us from a right wing goverment his party is propping up.
You couldn’t make this stuff up.
In the grand scheme of things this railing against the Tory right marks the narcissism of minor differences. Clegg is playing to the crowd . He has been critical in forming one of the regressive and incompetent administrations in decades. Look no further than the marketisation of health and education for evidence of that
houses 17 September 2011 9:53PM
We will fight ruthless Tory extremists says Clegg as he refuses to allow his party to discuss the ruthless Tory privatisation of the NHS.
You couldn’t make it up.
Clegg – the most despised man in Britain.
See the full article and all of the comments (well worth it) at The Guardian
END
This article may be reproduced with attribution of authorship and a link to this article.
Vote a third party into power.
If he leads the Liberal Democrats why doesn’t he just withdraw his party from the coalition government and force a Vote of Confidence which would bring down the Tories? We’re not getting the full story.
Retiring Mainframe maven, active curmudgeon, poet, writer.
And would not want to disappoint him…
Having been accused of abandoning his party’s principles, Clegg struck a markedly more assertive note.
Wow! Right out of the Obama playbook!
No, Clegg is not suffering from amnesia. He’s just hoping you are. Seems like a lot of politicians have the belief that you can’t remember what they said last week. Even if you don’t, it’s all over the internet, a google click away.
Dick Cheney was also a true believer that the public has no memory.
Clegg is just the latest political philanderer that was ‘for’ stuff before he was ‘against’ the same stuff.
It is indeed funny, but I feel kind of guilty laughing about it, because it’s kind of like laughing at a kid with a mental disability who says awkward things all the time.
Then again, diss that, I don’t feel sorry for him.
Why not a coalition with Labour, the LIberal Demorats and and the ond or two of the smaller parties. Clegg is full of it, plain ans simple. Love those Guardian comments.
UK Commons Current Composition
——————————————
Political groups HM Government
Conservative Party (306) SUBTRACT
Liberal Democrats (57)
——————————————
HM Most Loyal Opposition
Labour Party (257) ADD 57 AND PICK UP 3 VOTES FROM ANY ONE OR COMBINATION BELOW AND THE CONS ARE GONE
——————————————
Other Opposition
Democratic Unionist Party (8), Scottish National Party (6), Sinn Féin (5, Abstentionist), Plaid Cymru (3), Social Democratic and Labour Party (3), Green Party of England and Wales (1), Alliance Party of Northern Ireland (1),Independents (Lady Sylvia Hermon, Denis MacShane) (2)
————-
The Money Party RSS
They can’t process me. I’m not normal. Charlie Sheen
It’s a simple story. After the election, Clegg and the Lib Dems making the decision had a choice. The chose to join with the Conservatives. At this point, the Lib Dems can withdraw from the coalition with the Conservatives. If they have some agreement that prevents this, that could be broken based on exigent circumstances, to wit Clegg’s dire characterization of the Conservatives. The real story is why Clegg won’t this action.
————-
The Money Party RSS
They can’t process me. I’m not normal. Charlie Sheen
Clegg is like a husband caught dead to rights in the middle of an affair by his angry wife. He’s denouncing his lover but failing to end the affair. What a guy!
I scoured the Liberal Democrats flickr.com creative commons file, however, and they unintentionally included the following image that, one can argue, shows the moment of awakening.
————-
The Money Party RSS
They can’t process me. I’m not normal. Charlie Sheen
I think Clegg has been hanging out with Osborne too much.
————-
The Money Party RSS
They can’t process me. I’m not normal. Charlie Sheen
…better positions them to steal votes from both the Conservatives and Labour down the road presumably. Not sure which other party is most at risk – would have to look at the polling numbers and I just don’t have the time.
“In combat one should be very suspicious of painless moral choices. When you are confronted with a seemingly painless moral choice, the odds are that you haven’t looked deeply enough.” ~ Karl Marlantes