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Irish. Atheist. Liberal-right. Anti-jihad. Pro-American. Pro-Israel.

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Politics - The modern right - Who would I vote for?


  Summary:
I liked Bush. I don't like Obama.
I liked Blair. I like Cameron.
I liked Ahern. I don't like Cowen.
In Ireland

In the UK

In the US

Voting is not for idealists

U.S. election, 2004

U.S. election, 2008

U.S. election, 2012


Who would I vote for?

Roughly, I agree with the left on things like sex, drugs, censorship, racism, religion and secularism.

I agree with the right on economics, foreign policy, and violent crime.

So who would I vote for?



In Ireland:

In Ireland right now, I would vote:

  1. PD (My no.1 party, until they disbanded.)
  2. Libertas (All the right people hate them. They should re-form into a successor party to the PDs.)
  3. Fianna Fail (They were great under Charlie McCreevy and Bertie Ahern. But they have gone downhill since. First they got rid of these two, the best Minister for Finance ever and the best Taoiseach ever. Then they introduced the offensive blasphemy law. There's not much reason to like FF now.)
  4. Fine Gael (This is who I voted for last time, in the absence of the PDs or Libertas, and furious with FF over the blasphemy law.)


Discussion:


2007 general election


The best Irish head of government ever

I think Bertie Ahern is the best Taoiseach ever. Far from perfect (e.g. on foreign policy). But, I think, the best Ireland has had to date.

If I ranked the Irish heads of government since 1919, I think I would choose:


Best: Bertie Ahern Made Ireland rich. Privatisation (especially of airlines and telecoms). Low tax. Ended unemployment. Ended emigration. Ended poverty. Helped US and allies in War on Islamism (kept Shannon open). Ended NI conflict. Established power-sharing in NI.
Only major black mark: Pro-Palestinian.
2nd best: W.T. Cosgrave Set up a democracy. Defeated violent anti-Treaty forces. Ended the 1916-23 violence. Stabilised relations with Britain. 1922 constitution (much better than 1937 one). Peacefully surrendered power when lost 1932 election. Today, only 10 countries in the world have been democracies as long as Ireland.
Only major black mark: Executions without trial in Civil War.
2nd worst: Charles Haughey Crap economy. State monopolies. Sexual repression. Catholic Church rule. Neutrality. Opposition to Falklands War. Entrenched partition. Personal corruption. And before he was in power: Burnt Union Jack on VE-Day in 1945.
Worst: Eamon de Valera Crap economy. Protectionism. State monopolies. Economic War. Sexual repression. Catholic Church rule. 1937 constitution. Irish language compulsion. Censorship. Neutrality. Treachery in WW2. Sneering moral equivalence. Condolences on death of Hitler. Entrenched partition. Personal corruption. And before he was in power: Refused to accept pro-Treaty vote. Caused Civil War.


The best UK and US heads of government ever

I think I would also vote for:


Best UK Prime Minister ever Winston Churchill Saved Britain. Saved Ireland. Saved Europe. Saved the West.
Best US President ever Ronald Reagan Won global war without bloodshed. Destroyed Soviet Empire. Destroyed communism. Liberated Europe.




In the UK:

In the UK right now, I would vote:

  1. Tory
  2. UKIP (all the right people hate them)
  3. Labour (I liked Blair, I can't stand Brown)


Why I would vote this way:


The Liberal Democrats

The Liberal Democrats have a far left foreign policy, by far the worst of the three main parties.


The Tories


UK election 2005

I could not get so excited about the UK election 2005. Between Labour and Tory, the choice was just not as clear-cut as it was in the US election or the Spanish election or the Australian election or the German election. The Tories did their best to convince us that they'd be weak on defence, but I don't believe them. I think they'd be fine.


David Cameron


The kind of thing that puts me off the Tories


The kind of thing that puts me off Labour



In the US:

In the US right now, I would vote:

  1. Republican (two big-tent parties, but ultimately this is the only one we can trust to defend America and the West)


Why I would vote this way:




Nine prominent Democrats show why no one who believes in victory in the War on Islamism should vote Democrat.





U.S. election, 2004




U.S. election, 2008




U.S. election, 2012



"Speaking Democrat: A Primer", a hilarious speech actually delivered in the U.S. House of Representatives by Rep. Thad McCotter (R), June 2008.


See transcript.
The section on "Speaking Global Democrat" allows us finally translate Obama's speeches:

"DIPLOMACY" = "MAGIC"
"Democrats will protect America from Iranian nukes through tough, principled diplomacy."
Translation: "Democrats will protect America from Iranian nukes through tough, principled magic."

"ENGAGE" = "APPEASE"
"Democrats will engage America' enemies."
Translation: "Democrats will appease America's enemies."

"END" = "LOSE"
"Democrats will end the Iraq War."
Translation: "Democrats will lose the Iraq War."



Voting is not for idealists

Voting is of course not for idealists. You almost always have to choose the lesser of two evils and vote for someone who promotes some policies you hate. I have serious problems with all of the above parties. For all of them, I would be voting for a lesser evil.

There is so much space for a party I would prefer to any of the above parties. Why can't I find a party that is secular, anti-drug war, anti-censorship, pro-gay rights, tough on real crime, pro-capitalist, pro-free trade, pro-West and pro-War-on-Islamism? Why does such a party not exist?



Postscript: But you don't have a vote! What is the point of this?

The reader may think: You can't possibly have a vote in all 3 of these countries. So why are you talking about who you would vote for?

  1. Well, first, I do have a vote in Ireland.

  2. Second, I used to live in the UK, and I had a vote there (I voted for Blair). Indeed, this website used to be in the UK. Some immediate family are UK citizens, and it is possible I may live there again in the future.

  3. I have also lived in the US (and paid taxes), but never had a vote. Again, some immediate family are US citizens, and I may have permanent family ties there. I thought of moving there once myself, but it didn't happen in the end. This website is actually hosted in the US.

So I'm hardly from another planet. In fact, if current trends continue, about half of my children's 1st and 2nd cousins will be British, Australian or American.

And two more general answers:

  1. It is reasonable to be interested in foreign policy and what other countries are doing. Apart from anything else, our country could help (e.g. we let America use our base at Shannon for the Iraq War). Therefore it is reasonable to be interested in figuring out what policy you would like other countries to adopt and who you would like to see in power. Who is in power in the UK and US most certainly affects my world, but I don't have a vote to influence it. Nor should I - but it is not unreasonable to be interested.

  2. Finally, my ideas - if people like them - may be worth as much as a vote.

    Several thousand American and British readers come to my website every month. No one forces them to, and no one forces them to stay. Many will disagree with what I say of course. And all get information from a million other places. But if I influence just one or two readers a year, then I do in effect have a vote in the UK and US.

    You may call this "foreign meddling" in your election, but the fact is such influence has always been there. If you allow your citizens read material written by foreigners, then it can affect their thinking and their votes. This is as true in the 18th century as it is today. It's just normal.

And in case you think that, being Irish, I know nothing about US politics:




Return to The modern right.



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