… Kenneth Clarke invariably supports anything with “european” in front of it. If they re-named ebola virus “european virus”, I expect he’d declare himself in favour of that, too.
– Owen Morgan commenting on James Kirkup’s Daily Telegraph blog
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Samizdata quote of the dayFebruary 10th, 2011 |
 13 comments to Samizdata quote of the day |
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European Community Biological Carbon Reduction Organism.
A puerile humourless and idiotic comment, elevated to ‘Samizdata Quote of the Day’. That tells us a lot about Samizdata.
How much do you know about “Ken” Clarke, Radex?
I have been in the same political party as him for more than 30 years (and yes our paths of crossed quite a bit).
And if AIDS was “Euroaids” he would be lineing up to get infected.
Ah yes, cuddly Ken, the plain speaking man of the people.
Enthusiastically signed up to the Maastricht Treaty without actually reading a word of it. Probably used his copy to sort out the wobbly leg on his special table at Ronnie Scott’s Club.
Enthusiastically stabbed Maggie in the back along with the rest of the gutless punks fearful for their jobs and positions. “Et Tu Blue suade shoes?” She was heard to mumble as she bled on the carpet of Downing Street.
And iDave has brought him back into Government as, hee hee! The Home secretary. The laziest, most patronising cunt in British politics.
The man should have been put up against a wall and shot long ago, not given a Ministry to play with in his spare time.
His re-elivation is one of the main reasons I will never vote Tory again.
Great quote.
What is the matter, Radex: we touch a sensitive nerve?
Paul, RAB, and Jonathan,
Your responses are typical of today’s ‘Conservative’ Party. It is a pity that the Trades Descriptions Act does not apply to political parties masquerading as something they are not. The so-called Conservative Party is now a Thatcherite Capitalist party specialising in the hatred of our fellow Europeans. Remember Thatcher’s ‘war on the institutions’? Thatcher was never, ever, a Conservative. The party has been taken over by worshippers of 1. America, 2. Ayn Rand, 3. Unbridled and rapacious Corporations, 4. Egalitarian dogma. Most so-called Conservatives have never read a word of Edmund Burke and probably have no idea who he was.
We were born in Europe, we live in Europe, we are Europeans. The Conservative Party’s anti-Europeanism is on the borders between treason, American fifth clolumnism, and self-hatred; a collective insanity.
Well Radex, I wish you were right because if you were, I would not hesitate to vote conservative again for the first time since Maggie Thatcher.
Sadly however you are completely wrong and the ‘conservatives’ are worthless regulatory statists functionally indistinguishable from Labour on most issues.
Earth calling Radex!
Radex, take a chill-pill. Of course Britain is in “Europe” in the true but trivial geographical sense; that does not mean we have to support either UK membership of a particular political entity – the EU – or whatever.
If only the Tory Party was a consistent defender of classical liberalism, markets, limited government and so on. If only.
Radex.
It was Winston Churchill who said that Britain should never join a United States of Europe – that Britain should always choose freedom over political union.
No doubt he was not a conservative either.
And it was Edmund Burke who opposed the unification of Europe – one of the primary aims of the French Revolutionaries (both Jacobin and Imperial).
“Burke was a Whig”.
Are you saying the Tory folk were LESS supportive of British independence?
“We are Europeans”.
Yes indeed we are – and the genius of European civilization is the LACK of political union.
The independence of nations is what made Europe a remarkable cultural area – unlike the centuries of stagnation (indeed decline) under the Roman Empire.
Neither the chaos of the Dark Ages (where no person could feel safe from attack) or the tyranny of the Empire.
NEITHER is what the Conservative believes in.
The Conservative believes in free nations – including a free and independent Britain.
Paul, I cited Burke as an example of how far the present so-called ‘Conservative’ Party has departed from Conservatism. So, for example, the Party slogan at the last election was ‘ Vote for Change’! But since you try to enlist Burke as an opponent of European unity, I suggest you read his first ‘Letter on a Regicide Peace’, 1796. I give some brief extracts:
“The writers on public law have often called this aggregate of nations [i.e. Europe] a commonwealth. They had reason. It is virtually one great state having the same basis of general law, with some diversity of provincial customs and local establishments. The nations of Europe have had the very same Christian religion, agreeing in the fundamental parts, varying in the ceremonies and in the subordinate doctrines. The whole of the polity and economy of every country in Europe has been derived from the same sources. It was drawn from the old Germanic or Gothic customary, from the feudal institutions which must be considered an emanation from that customary; and the whole has been improved and digested into system and discipline by the Roman law. From hence arose the several orders (which are called states), in every European country….From the resemblance in the modes of intercourse, and in the whole form and fashion of life, no citizen of Europe could be altogether an exile in any part of it…when a man travelled or resided [in Europe] for health, pleasure, business, or necessity, from his own country, he never felt himself quite abroad.”
Then came the Jacobins.
Radex – I studied Burke for many years, please do not try and teach your grandmother to suck eggs.
As for the idea that Edmund Burke would have supported a Jacobin rationalistic idea like the “European Union” (crushing both tradition and independence like so much dirt),…………………..
You are mistaken. He would not allow an alien regime to impose taxes on this Realm of England, and he would not allow this alien (and modernist) regime to impose regulations telling people on this island of Britain how they should live in every aspect of their commercial (and increasing other) aspects of their lives.
But on the Conservative party “modernizers” (such as David Cameron and his “army of Community Organizers”) there I suspect we have more in common.
However, please remember that “Ken” Clarke has been his whole life an arch modernizer – he was a Heathite to the core, supporting every crackbrained move that the Heath government made (from scrapping local government “reform” to joining the E.E.C.).
There is not a Conservative bone in Mr Clarke’s body – and a decent Conservative Association would not have him as a member.
I apologize for typing “scrapping” local government reform – I have no idea why I typed that word. Of course the insane local government “reform” of the early 1970s was a central feature of the degenerate Heath regime (a long with price controls, scrapping the ancient currency system, vastly increasing government spending, and, of course, joining the E.E.C.).
Yet another new adventure in bad typing for me.
Almost needless to say I also apologize for my other typing errors.
But I certainly do not apologize for my harsh tone.
Yes there is a common European (indeed Western) civilization – but the whole point of it is national (and individual) independence.
That is the basis of it.
And “the law” is, of course, meant in much the same thing as Bastiat was to talk of it in “The Law”.
It is not the arbitrary rationalistic edicts of a group of Jacobins making things up in their European Union H.Q.
The very idea that Edmund Burke (or any conservative minded person) could be in favour of the E.U. makes me rather annoyed.