UKIP

[pErvinalia]

Sign of the times. Best try to fit in, maybe get some snazzy uniform later. Always ends bad in the first wave fight against fascism....time and again the people who mean well are slaughtered in football stadiums or hung from things. Gotta lay low, wait for it to vent its fury and live. Only lasts ten or fifteen years when its 'fascism' according to the history books. Try to survive and write a accurate history for the peace and reconciliation movement what comes after any mass slaughtering. That way it is less likely to happen again, until it does. Good guys can't do nothing being dead for a lost cause, no matter how good it is. When the wicked rise to power the wise and good go into hiding.

Absolute bollocks.

That's the denial phase. You will become angry next. Then scared. Followed by a grudging acceptance we are living in those interesting days again.

No, it's pointing out that your opinion is no substitute for a proper reasoned argument. All you do now is sprout idiotic opinions that make very little sense. Have a go actually backing your bollocks up with some reasoning and logic.

[pErvinalia]

I dont' disagree with what you are saying there, but UKIP are openly racist and pretty damn fascist. That a serious issue with them winning the election with ease.

There are two differences between UKIP and our mainstream parties. One is that UKIP is explicitly racist while our parties implement racist policies without being so blunt about their racism. The other is that UKIP has yet to ascend to government while our racist parties do keep winning elections. Glasshouses much?

People voting for openly racist and arguably fascist parties is a LOT different from people voting for centrist parties. And it's a lot more concerning.

How exactly do the racist policies of our centrist parties differ from the racist policies of UKIP's? They don't.

Of course they do! Look them up. They want to institute a sort of "white Australia" like policy in the UK. Neither of our parties want that.

That's part of what I am saying. The other one is that whereas UKIP has not been able to attract sufficient votes to form a government, ours have. When I look at racism in the UK and compare it to ours I see no reason to feel smug enough to throw stones.

I'm just calling it for what it is. If you want to keep invoking tu quoque fallacies, then go right ahead.

[Tyrannical]

I'm disgusted, the Front National won 25% of votes in today's election.

Now, now I know it should have been a lot higher, but 25% is a great start. I'm sure it will be just a few more years until Marine is PM, and Muslim and African neighborhoods in France start to vanish

[JimC]

I dont' disagree with what you are saying there, but UKIP are openly racist and pretty damn fascist. That a serious issue with them winning the election with ease.

There are two differences between UKIP and our mainstream parties. One is that UKIP is explicitly racist while our parties implement racist policies without being so blunt about their racism. The other is that UKIP has yet to ascend to government while our racist parties do keep winning elections. Glasshouses much?

People voting for openly racist and arguably fascist parties is a LOT different from people voting for centrist parties. And it's a lot more concerning.

How exactly do the racist policies of our centrist parties differ from the racist policies of UKIP's? They don't. That's part of what I am saying. The other one is that whereas UKIP has not been able to attract sufficient votes to form a government, ours have. When I look at racism in the UK and compare it to ours I see no reason to feel smug enough to throw stones.

I disagree. Overt racism by a political party has crossed a boundary which allows further excesses. If a political party has some policies which have racist elements, but is constrained by public opinion to limit them to what is publicly acceptable, the pragmatic result is less racism in total.

[Svartalf]

I'm disgusted, the Front National won 25% of votes in today's election.

Now, now I know it should have been a lot higher, but 25% is a great start. I'm sure it will be just a few more years until Marine is PM, and Muslim and African neighborhoods in France start to vanish

If only, but she's going to be useless in Brussels.

[Hermit]

There are two differences between UKIP and our mainstream parties. One is that UKIP is explicitly racist while our parties implement racist policies without being so blunt about their racism. The other is that UKIP has yet to ascend to government while our racist parties do keep winning elections. Glasshouses much?

People voting for openly racist and arguably fascist parties is a LOT different from people voting for centrist parties. And it's a lot more concerning.

How exactly do the racist policies of our centrist parties differ from the racist policies of UKIP's? They don't. That's part of what I am saying. The other one is that whereas UKIP has not been able to attract sufficient votes to form a government, ours have. When I look at racism in the UK and compare it to ours I see no reason to feel smug enough to throw stones.

I disagree. Overt racism by a political party has crossed a boundary which allows further excesses. If a political party has some policies which have racist elements, but is constrained by public opinion to limit them to what is publicly acceptable, the pragmatic result is less racism in total.

Yeah. Right.

[Xamonas Chegwé]

"UKIP are NOT racist!"*




* Said Nigel Farrage, before going back to kicking Romanian children.

[JimC]

There are two differences between UKIP and our mainstream parties. One is that UKIP is explicitly racist while our parties implement racist policies without being so blunt about their racism. The other is that UKIP has yet to ascend to government while our racist parties do keep winning elections. Glasshouses much?

People voting for openly racist and arguably fascist parties is a LOT different from people voting for centrist parties. And it's a lot more concerning.

How exactly do the racist policies of our centrist parties differ from the racist policies of UKIP's? They don't. That's part of what I am saying. The other one is that whereas UKIP has not been able to attract sufficient votes to form a government, ours have. When I look at racism in the UK and compare it to ours I see no reason to feel smug enough to throw stones.

I disagree. Overt racism by a political party has crossed a boundary which allows further excesses. If a political party has some policies which have racist elements, but is constrained by public opinion to limit them to what is publicly acceptable, the pragmatic result is less racism in total.

Yeah. Right.

My reply was not intended to condone those racist elements in Oz politics, but to make a point that the crossing of the Rubicon into overt racism by a political party is significant and dangerous.

[Warren Dew]

"UKIP are NOT racist!"*

* Said Nigel Farrage, before going back to kicking Romanian children.

Kind of like the Australian political parties?

[Robert_S]

Can we have kippers for breakfast
Mummy dear mummy dear.
They've gotta have 'em in Texas,
'Cause everyone's a millionaire.

[MrJonno]

"UKIP are NOT racist!"*

* Said Nigel Farrage, before going back to kicking Romanian children.

Kind of like the Australian political parties?

UKIP are communist liberal multiculturalists compared to the Republican/Tea party

[pErvinalia]

Seth agrees with this assessment.

[MrJonno]

UKIP at least officially support universal tax funded healthcare (I suspect there are a few loons in it who don't) but while they are extremist right wing and stupid they aren't that stupid

[pErvinalia]

Can someone explain to me what exactly they are elected to? Is it UK's seat on the EU parliament? Are there multiple seats? What's the deal?

[PsychoSerenity]

Can someone explain to me what exactly they are elected to? Is it UK's seat on the EU parliament? Are there multiple seats? What's the deal?

Well they've got quite a few seats on local councils, which doesn't make much sense because they have no real policies that are relevant at a local level and they will be expected to do work. They've also won the most UK seats for the EU parliament - I think there's about fifty seats in total from various regions of the country and UKIP now have about a third of them. But in the EU parliament they group up with a small number of other anti-EU parties from other countries (but not too much because they don't get a long with them), they take all the money and expenses they can get, and refuse to vote or do any work, making the UK largely unrepresented in Europe. Their ultimate goal is to get enough power or at least influence in the UK government (next year's elections) to stop immigration and get the UK out of the European Union, - other than that they are just the same right wing neo-liberal as the Conservatives. The only reason they've got all these votes is because for years Europe and immigrants have been used as scapegoats for just about every problem, and now there's a massive loss of confidence in the main parties.