Coulter not all she's cracked up to be?

Ann Coulter may or may not be a name that immediately springs to your attention. She is an American Christian fundamentalist and a conservative commentator. You may naturally think that, as a Conservative, you share common morals, ethics and ideals. Well you probably don’t, and that is why I am continually surprised when her books are recommended at various British Conservative events. She is a Republican, and that is often why the more right wing of the Conservative party often offer her up as an ally.
 
Coulter has courted a lot of media attention and, as a result, a lot of airtime in the US. This however, has been heavily reliant on her mostly questionable comments on a range of controversial subjects. Her ultra right-wing repertoire has ensured she is one of the most controversial and outspoken commentators on American politics. So why should British Conservatives not consider her to be a role model?

Well, firstly, there are her comments on Muslim nations such as "we should invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity" which is offensive and quite frankly likely to incite hatred. Then she moves on to attack, on live television some particularly outspoken and media savvy 9/11 widows by declaring that "…these broads are millionaires… revelling in their status as celebrities. I’ve never seen people enjoying their husbands’ deaths so much …by the way, how do we know their husbands weren’t planning to divorce these harpies? Now that their shelf life is dwindling, they’d better hurry up and appear in Playboy…". As if that wasn’t enough, she goes out of her way to demean every woman in the US with her views on rights to vote. The argument she uses is simple, but unsubstantiated: she says America "would be a much better country if women did not vote". Do I need to go on? It is hard for even the most ardent right-winger to find even a shred of common ground with Coulter. Even the Libertarians in Connecticut turned her down as a candidate after meeting her (and they more or less accept anyone). 

Over the years the American public and many journalists have become increasingly vocal in their attempts to stop Coulter attracting the levels of media exposure she currently enjoys. Much like the BNP in the UK however, her controversial views generate her exposure and a media platform. Everyone loves a hate figure after all.
 
Of course, in the land of the free, Coulter has a right to express her opinions, but what exactly is her agenda? It seems simply one of money-grabbing, opportunism and attention seeking. There is no personal ideological message of which she is passionate, but a much more selfish motivation of a large retirement fund; after all, as Ronald Reagan said, " politics is not a bad profession. If you succeed there are many rewards, if you disgrace yourself you can always write a book".

 

PMQs 28 November 2007

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To listen to todays PMQs you can either click the download button or listen to it in our own media player at the top of the site.

Did Cameron land a killer blow? Do you feel sorry for the PM, or did Brown come out fighting?

Listen to the podcast and decide for yourself.

In the meantime if you want to support a rather good cause click this link.

Does English Football and Politics run Parallel?

I’m sure over the past week our football loving readers have been depressed as I about the current state of English international football. I have added depression supporting a team that is bottom of the table and ships 5 goals a game but I won’t get into that now. Anyway in the last week reflecting on our hapless heroes inability to hold the ball less than 2 seconds, I wondered if Government and football team run parallel in their triumph and trouble. After all both are in trouble at the moment.
 
I’ll start at 1966 when we last triumphed. Harold Wilson won the election of that year and after we won the world cup, traded on the fact that England wore red. You would think that would be enough to win you the next election and retain the world cup with most of the same squad. However in 1970, England went out in red unexpectedly and so did Labour. 
 
A decade of disappointment and failure was to follow. The Government was in regular crisis with strikes, and 3 changes of leader failing to get a grip of the Country. The Football team followed in a similar vain failing to qualify for any major tournaments throughout the decade with 3 changes of manager failing to get a grip of the team.
 
Then entered Margaret Thatcher and later Bobby Robson. Both faced early pressures with a change to moneterism and the dropping of Kevin Keegan. the former leading to high unemployment and the latter to England maybe failing to qualify for the 84 European Championships. Things did pick up though. The Economy for Thatcher and the 86 World Cup for England (where of course we were cheated out of it by Maradona).
 
However in 1990 both were forced out having left the Country in a much better state than they found it in. Both were replaced with lesser men. Major and Taylor both having pretty calamitous reigns with Black Wednesday and Koeman knocking us out the World Cup of 94 by scoring for Holland when he should have been sent off. The media hammered both personally although I don’t remember Major having his head made into a Turnip though.
 
Enter Sven and Tony. Both had big promises to live up to, but despite being good at winning, both were held back by the limitations of their teams. What they also have in common is not being appreciated at how good they were until they were gone. For when their number twos took over, a period of ineptitude and failure beckoned. Mclaren is gone, how long before we can get rid of Gordon?

 

Biggest poll lead since 1988

The party has its biggest poll lead since Thatcher was in Downing street in 1988. I along with other bloggers take polls with a pinch of salt, but it certainly must make grim reading for the Prime Minister. A 13% lead gives the party a 64 seat majority in the Commons.

Gordon Brown really must be wishing he had called that snap election during the Conference season.

It makes you wonder what subject he will be asked at his next press conference. Missing data? Northern Rock? Party Donations? Take your pick!

Marathon training begins

To those I haven’t already pestered beyond believe to raise sponsorship, you may not have heard I’ve put my name down to do the London Marathon.

26 miles and a bit of pain and sweat – ughhh I can’t wait! I’ve already lost 36 pounds in weight (more to go) since party conference and have actually started to do some training (something I didn’t do the two other times I completed the course).

I’ve attached a pic of the training course I will be using – all nice and flat round our local estate. If I can manage 26 laps of it I know I will be fine. GULP!!

PS – thanks the the very generous people who have already donated – it all goes a long way to help and is for a very good cause!

pmqs 21 November 2007

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To listen to Prime Minister’s Questions either click the download button above, or listen to it in our in-built media player.

 

Common Fisheries Policy

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The Honorary Chairman of the Freedom Association, Roger Helmer MEP took time to talk to Tory Radio on the subject of the Common Fisheries policy, and the day that the news has been running with the shocking story about how much fish is being dumped back in the sea to die down to EU regulations.

To listen to Roger Helmer’s comments click the download button above, or listen to it in our media player.

Oooops

I will admit to being a little forgetful sometimes, but the government losing 15 million people’s confidential details is truly in a different league.  What will come of this?  There’s already been one resignation at the time of writing and there may be more to follow.  Even if a few more Treasury heads are chopped in the coming days, the message to take away from this is quite simple: Labour cannot be trusted.  Their lack of respect for the British public is astounding. 
 
Let us not forget that this latest blunder comes hot on the heels of HM Revenue & Customs losing the details of 15,000 Standard Life customers earlier this month after a CD never showed up at its destination, and a laptop with the details of around 2000 people with investment ISAs was stolen at the beginning of October.

 

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These men are not fit to govern

I had a strange dream on Sunday. I dreamt I’d heard on the radio that GMTV presenter Fiona Phillips has been offered a Government job by Gordon Brown in the summer. I then woke up and found it to be true (well according the the papers anyway). I am astonished. The end of spin and celebrity government claims look more and more hollow every day.
 
On the rare occasions I’ve ever watched GMTV, I’ve found it to be dumbed down TV at its worse, with Ms Phillips at the pinnacle displaying the intellectual rigour of a dead badger. A short trail round various internet forums shows the contempt many people hold for her and the programme. I suppose the fact that she’s in bed with the equally intellectual bankrupt Mirror Newspaper, it should come as no surprise those in New Labour crave her ‘talents’.
 
Later on Sunday, I witnessed those nice Lib Dems having a verbal punch up on The Politics Show. It’s quite clear that Huhne is playing a win or bust game for the Lib Dem leadership, while Clegg is a indecisive flip flopper (hence the fact that he’s a Lib Dem). The fact that he’s complained about the Calamity Clegg document is hilarious and shows that this idea that the Lib Dems are the nice party is as realistic as the chance of Northern Rock paying a dividend this year.
 
And on the subject of Northern Rock, where was Gordon Brown for Alistair Darling’s statement in Parliament about the ongoing shambles. The problem was built up on his watch, yet in Macavity like fashion he had disappeared when the going was tough. Perhaps he was recruiting Ant and Dec to run the Foreign Office. I just hope he wasn’t buying tickets for England game on Wednesday, for he has become the gamblers friend. For whenever he’s around (as Scotland found out at the Weekend), the opposition prosper. Time for a bet on a Conservative Election victory maybe.