Westministenders: No Australia Don't Have A Deal

[RedToothBrush]

Since Friday, far from letting things calm down, Johnson has doubled down stating that if we can't have a Canada Deal (which the EU says wouldn't be equal because we are much closer than Canada geographically) we will go for an Australia Deal.

This is the latest rehash of a managed no deal package up as something else which the EU have already repeatedly said no to.

So we are on track for no deal.

At the same time Johnson has got very excited about American food and how its great. Almost as if he wants no deal wit the EU to force a shitty bad deal with the us through.

Johnson and his chronies have also been trying to undermine journalistic transparency by blocking access to the lobby to some media outlets in a move that makes us look like a tinpot dictatorship. Fortunately there was a mass walk out of journalists but it remains to be seen how long that can be maintained.

Far from being a clean slate to move forward from its already proving that nothing has changed and old divisions are as deep as ever, if not worse...

I first thought of Stanley Johnson on 'Hunted' too, so clueless and arrogant that he thought he wouldn't be tracked using a bank card in a shop.

Re peerages this is partly about plausible deniability for not giving Bercow a peerage. The gamble is that Hammond and Davidson can be muzzled in the Lord's whereas Bercow would be less easily cowed.

Also did anyone see the Michael McIntyre style Conservative party broadcast this week? It features David from Bolton does anyone know him?

I assume this was paid for by Tory party funds not the national pot?

Why Bolton? Was it picked presumably due to immigration reaction and Bolton being a thing.

Why did the bloke keep his hat on?

Why Bolton? Was it picked presumably due to immigration reaction and Bolton being a thing.

The irony of their football team being called "Wanderers" maybe ?

I could only watch half of that video lonelyplanet. Dave wants to start his own business - let's see how that plays out with Johnson and his F*ck Business.

If Johnson really did keep his word, end austerity and start putting money back into public services and finally lay to rest the idea of public sector bad, private sector good, then the results would be something many of us could live with.

As with MacMillan keeping the NHS and building Council Houses - very much what would traditionally have been thought of as Labour policies.

Nothing to do with Brexit but
cleaning at St Mary's to be taken back in house.

At last we might be seeing the end of 'public sector bad, private sector good'.

I don't know .. I watched it and it's playing on my mind. I didn't know really what to think - so wanted to lazily adopt all your opinion tbh.

Bearing in mind I'm a lifelong leftie voter... I have to admit I think it's savvy. All style over substance - but it will speak to those who lent a vote.

Why put in effort to win around those already won around? Why not win us around?

The very fact of electioneering when there's no election is shrewd.

I have a tendency to read too much between the lines but I did wonder if the reason to speak to Bolton is to soften residents up because something is in the pipeline they won't like? I know all evidence points the other way but it's odd.

Wanderers ! 🤣

I was talking with DH about Trump not being impeached, and how surprising I find it the Mitt Rowmby voted for impeachment- essentially crossing the floor. When we lived in the States he seemed a died in the wool republican.
Anyway DH has been following it all very closely, and feels there is a risk it's a hollow victory. That it may swing the senate to democratic control in the next election. So Trump may get in - but will be in a far more tenuous position. Let's hope so is all I can say.
Sorry at home with the flu - feeling rubbish and having trouble putting thoughts in order/remembering his argument about swing voters etc!

"PM’s dad Stanley Johnson met Chinese ambassador..... then accidentally emailed the BBC" 🤦🏻‍♀️

We can see where BJ got his bumbling incompetence from

Yep, I was reminded of Trump's nepotism
It's ridiculous that both the USA and the UK are behaving like some tinpot banana republic where top jobs are shared out among the dictator's shambolic family

It's ridiculous that both the USA and the UK are behaving like some tinpot banana republic where top jobs are shared out among the dictator's shambolic family

Or refreshingly honest ....

Britain is not the only society to be racist. Understatement of the year

I've heard that too mrslaughan and think that's plausible. Mike Pence is a very dangerous idealogue. Better to keep trump as lame figurehead and have Dems in charge of both houses, keeping him useless.

I mean, preferably a dem president but 🤷

MrsL
Lots of old school republicans in both houses are standing down this year .... its all to play for

Lots of old school republicans in both houses are standing down this year

Let's hope that this will be a case where US politics does differ from UK politics. After all, look what we got when the older Tories stepped down

Interesting thoughts those DGR and mrslaughan I watched the impeachment votes last night on tv and there are certainly some of "long in the tooth" Senators. Representatives I wouldn't know so much, but I'm assuming they are younger on average.

What will be interesting from your comments is how "Trumpist" the next generation of Republican candidates are? I can see 3 Republican senators slated as retiring so not contesting 2020 and 2 of 3 are in states I'd have thought v. likely to return another Republican. I wonder how long a shelf-life "Trumpism" has though? Trump doesn't seem to have a lot of ideological depth to me, and he can only serve a max of another 4 years as president in any scenario. Seems an odd horse for the Republican party to back long-term?

Trump doesn't seem to have a lot of ideological depth to me, and he can only serve a max of another 4 years as president in any scenario.

He begs to differ.

twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/1225174713992990721

He seems to be trying to set up a Trump dynasty in the White House, to follow after his 2nd term (if he wins that)

Trump doesn't seem to have a lot of ideological depth to me, and he can only serve a max of another 4 years as president in any scenario

He begs to differ.

The US Constitution may be accused of being many things. But ambiguous isn't a word that springs to mind. And the 22nd Amendment seems pretty damn clear to me, although it would be fun if the Trumpster decided to engage a legal team to bring the 12th amendment into the mix. It would certainly make last years SCOTUK ruling seem a bit boring.

He might have a better shot at repealing it. If nothing else it would avoid talking changing about the 2nd amendment so much.

He could follow his pal Putin's example and have a puppet prez while he remains on as 'First Man' or some such.

He could follow his pal Putin's example and have a puppet prez while he remains on as 'First Man' or some such.

He'd have to invent that first. The US constitution is explicit as to roles and responsibilities. Generally any problems the US has had over the years, constitutionally have been caused by people, not the actual constitution. It wasn't some half-arsed excuse for a coursework project that the current shower of minibrain politicians would have submitted for a grade. It was the process of many years discussion and analysis of the 18th centuries finest minds across the European empires.

I came within a whisker of emigrating in the 90s and I've retained a lot of the learning for the citizenship test (which came in handy for DB when he had to take it). Although it would have been a lot easier if DF had told us that his DM had been born (like Boris) in New York a lot earlier . I can still remember that advert now ... this is the lady who sailed East, just as her entire country was sailing West ...

The US Constitution is broken. The checks and balances no longer function. The Senate is captured. The Supreme Court will soon be captured. The congressional districts are gerrymandered. Voter supression in well-advanced and ballot-rigging is just around the corner.

The US Constitution is broken. The checks and balances no longer function. The Senate is captured. The Supreme Court will soon be captured. The congressional districts are gerrymandered. Voter supression in well-advanced and ballot-rigging is just around the corner.

Maybe ... bearing in mind it's lived through one of the bloodiest civil wars in history and emerged intact, rumours of it's death may have been exaggerated.

Of course if it is broken, we can look forward to "Revolution:2 This time it's US ". Which, punning apart, would be an interesting parallel to the UK being unable to blame the EU anymore.

As things stand, Trump is on course to scrape the electoral college whilst losing the popular vote by as much as seven million votes. Combine this with a Dem majority in the senate and the fun really starts in 2021.

As things stand, Trump is on course to scrape the electoral college whilst losing the popular vote by as much as seven million votes.

Faithless Electors