Trump and Corbyn; two peas in a pod
Here’s The Economist:
There are also signs that Mr Corbyn’s Teflon coating is wearing thin. On August 7th he returned from a cycling holiday in Croatia to face a barrage of questions about Venezuela. Why is a country that he once praised as a land of milk and honey turning into a giant gulag? Why had he said nothing while the regime beat and killed dissenters? Mr Corbyn eventually broke his silence only to say he condemned violence on “all sides”, seemingly oblivious to his own recent tweet that “If you are neutral in situations of injustice you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” This came on the heels of two other embarrassments. He back-pedalled on his promise to forgive all past student loans on the ground that, even in Labour’s free-spending Britain, writing off £100bn might be a bit irresponsible. And he clashed with the pro-European wing of his party when he insisted that Britain would leave the single market when it left the European Union.
Further skeletons lurk in Mr Corbyn’s closet. He has spent his life forgiving people their nastiness so long as they are hostile to the Great Satan of the United States.
BTW, lots of respectable “progressive” intellectuals supported this disgusting jerk.
Corbyn can’t quite bring himself to clearly condemn socialists because he is a socialist, just as Trump can’t clearly condemn alt-rightists because he is an alt-rightist. Their supporters insist they aren’t the bad kind of extremist; Corbyn is not a Stalinist and Trump is not a Nazi. That’s true, but their refusal to take a clear moral stand shows you where their heart is—with the bad guys.
PS. It really doesn’t matter whether deep down Trump is a racist thug or just a thug. The fact that he feels a need to pardon racist thugs is all that we need to know.
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26. August 2017 at 12:44
Yes, the Maduro apologists are the left-wing equivalent of Trump apologists. They are every bit as dangerous, if less vocal in the US. Totalitarianism is fine with them, as long as it comes from their end of the ideological spectrum.
I r the rise of these people from the left in the US. Putin is helping spur left-wing radicalism in addition to the alt-right. He has a divide and conquer strategy.
People like Jeff Flake need to move beyond their fine rhetoric and start co-authoring bills with Democrats that represent some kind of centrist alternative on at least some issues.
26. August 2017 at 13:12
Any person claiming moral clarity where there is none is vile scum who deserves to be shunned by all sensible men.
I found both Trump’s and Corbyn’s statements appropriate. Pretending no violence came from Maduro opponents or the leftwing at Charlottesville is obscene. Guess what, Sumner, both Maduro’s supporters and opponents contain bad guys. Both the Unite the Right protestors and their opponents contain bad guys. You are scum, Sumner, and you should know that. In fact, your views are incoherent; why condemn violent socialists in Venezuela, but not in America? Why condemn right-wing fascists in America, but not in Venezuela? I no longer support Trump 2020, but I continue to strongly support Corbyn 2020.
Arpaio is a thug; true, but he is no longer sheriff of anything and he’s an old man, so I support the pardon.
26. August 2017 at 14:25
@Scott Freelander: rumor has it John Kasich (R) and John Hickenlooper (D) are considering running in 2020 together as a “unity ticket”
http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/25/politics/kasich-hickenlooper-2020-unity-ticket/index.html
27. August 2017 at 09:17
The Arpaio pardon is indefensible. Fortunately, it won’t protect him from an avalanche of civil suits.
27. August 2017 at 12:29
mskings,
Kasich has denied that rumor.
28. August 2017 at 01:34
I share your disapproval of both men Scott, but I think Corbyn is much worse than Trump if only because Trump is almost universally opposed by much of the establishment so the damage he can do is limited whereas if Corbyn got elected much of the media would be supporting him.
28. August 2017 at 07:52
@Scott F: sure, that link mentions that, but the fact that something crazy like that is out there and not totally off the reservation shows maybe there’s finally a hunger for true rejection of both sides’ craziest partisans. Maybe.
29. August 2017 at 08:02
Scott, Flake doesn’t need to support moderate bills. The problem with the modern GOP is not that it’s conservative, it’s that it is increasingly racist.
29. August 2017 at 13:27
@ChrisA
Very good point.
@Scott Freelander
Yes, the Maduro apologists are the left-wing equivalent of Trump apologists.
No they are not. Maduro is a dictator who imprisons, tortures and kills his opponents. Huge difference. And surely not the only one.