Query for non-American people

[Shiner]

OK, seriously. The man who is seen as Tony's natural successor is Gordon Brown, currently the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Unfortunately For Gordon I think it unlikely that the great unwashed English would accept a Scot as Pm at this time when there is a devolved Scottish Government and pressure for more autonomy and less representation for Scots at Westminster.

So the answer really is no there is no natural successor. But we are about four years away from an election, plenty of time for Tony to decide to run again or for a new boy to surface.

I disagree with you there, most people would be happy for Gordy to be "Da Man", don't forget before Tony came along John Smith (a Scot) was leader of the Labour party and would have in all liklyhood been PM had he not deid when he did....shame cause I always like John Smith.

Scotish devolution isn't really all that important most Brits.

 

[peachykeen]

I thought it was totally great when Prescott puched that guy who egged him. Which I suppose isn't really relevant. But it was pretty fuckin cool.

 

[Shiner]

I thought it was totally great when Prescott puched that guy who egged him. Which I suppose isn't really relevant. But it was pretty fuckin cool.

Yeah seeing ol two jags lose it was well funny.

 

[bluespoke]

I disagree with you there, most people would be happy for Gordy to be "Da Man", don't forget before Tony came along John Smith was leader of the Labour party and would have in all liklyhood been PM had he not deid when he did....shame cause I always like John Smith.

Scotish devolution isn't really all that important most Brits.

John Smith was a wonderful man and a straight politician ( not many of them around!). However, the West Lothian question will surface again soon. In time Westminster will reduce the number of MPs sitting for Scottish constituencies or restrict their power to influence prely English matters. Both those outcomes make the election of a Scot unlikely.

I can't see the Labour party having three Scots in a row.

 

[Problem Child]

I thought it was totally great when Prescott puched that guy who egged him. Which I suppose isn't really relevant. But it was pretty fuckin cool.

Everyone says American politics are so nasty, but we haven't sunk to egging yet. Bill Gates got hit with a creme pie a couple years ago, but that's just because he's a colossal dickhead bent on world domination.

I do enjoy watching prime minister's questions on C-SPAN and seeing all the MP's go "Here-here" and "Hrrumph, Hrrumph..."

 

[Shiner]

I do enjoy watching prime minister's questions on C-SPAN and seeing all the MP's go "Here-here" and "Hrrumph, Hrrumph..."

Yeah nothing like watching hypocrisy in action

Tell me though would you like to see something like PM's questions happen in the US ?

Gotta wonder how ol GWB would handle it

 

[bluespoke]

Gotta wonder how ol GWB would handle it

One of the reasons you will never see it.

 

[Problem Child]

Yeah nothing like watching hypocrisy in action

Tell me though would you like to see something like PM's questions happen in the US ?

Gotta wonder how ol GWB would handle it

Yeah, wouldn't that be interesting? I'd like to see them try it. Bush would get killed. He just doesn't have the mental acuity to handle off the cuff questions the way Blair does. They say he is pretty sharp in private, relatively speaking I guess. I think it's a combination of he's honestly just not that bright, plus he tends to freeze in front of a camera.

On top of that I'm not sure how it would work with the size of our country and the number of natioanlly elected representatives we have (535, if you combine the house and senate). I hear Blair taking questions about some woman's hemorrhoid operation in Liverpool and how the national health service fucked it all up and "Could the right honorable Prime Minister please look into it right away?"

I'm not sure that would work over here. They would have to limit it strictly to questions of national scope.

Clinton would have gotten a hard-on over something like that (no pun intended) as long as he didn't have a current scandal he had to deal with. It would be Bush's worst nightmare though.

 

[peachykeen]

Yeah nothing like watching hypocrisy in action

Tell me though would you like to see something like PM's questions happen in the US ?

Gotta wonder how ol GWB would handle it

I think I would actually pay money to see that.

 

[Shiner]

It always surises me how many Americans have watched at least one PM's question time, I tend to watch it before going to work when I'm on late shift, you sometimes get some great suble one liners come out and I like watching them scoring points off of one and other.

 

[T.H. Oughts]

Well I hope like hell all of you voted for the Democratic Party today so Bush does not get a chance to start world war 3... just because his father didn't do it dosen't mean he has too...

It has not really been a news factor down here, but in the end if the USA farts the whole world smells it in the end...

Just invest more money in electric cars than war heads for Irac and all will be on a better path....

 

[peachykeen]

It always surises me how many Americans have watched at least one PM's question time, I tend to watch it before going to work when I'm on late shift, you sometimes get some great suble one liners come out and I like watching them scoring points off of one and other.

Mmm at times it's a bit like... well, here, actually. Without the ass pics

 

[bluespoke]

Mmm at times it's a bit like... well, here, actually. Without the ass pics

Except there, there are 650 trolls!

 

[Problem Child]

Well I hope like hell all of you voted for the Democratic Party today so Bush does not get a chance to start world war 3... just because his father didn't do it dosen't mean he has too...

It has not really been a news factor down here, but in the end if the USA farts the whole world smells it in the end...

Just invest more money in electric cars than war heads for Irac and all will be on a better path....

psst...they already voted. It passed.

also: Iraq.

 

[T.H. Oughts]

So who has the hold over the house now?????

 

[KillerMuffin]

World War 3 is inevitable. War is inevitable because people all big on Us and Them issues.

I only voted for one democrat--insurance commissioner. I don't like the liberal method of federal governance. We do have domestic policy we're concerned with, too.

They don't know yet.

 

[busybody..]

Killer Muff

When was there a real election in Palestine?

And BTW, where is Palestine?

As of now, there isnt.

 

[Barely__There]

I remember back in 2000 when everyone on the boards was pretty much screeching about the American presidential election. There was a lot of giggles about having members of the Haitian military posted at Florida ballot boxes to make sure no political hanky-panky was going on.

At any rate, I did notice that citizens of other nations seemed to be informed and interested in the outcome of the elections. I never really thought about that, for some reason. Today, however, I am. The board has some vote and election stuff thrown all over it, so you can't help but notice that we're supposed to be voting today (statistically on 30% of us actually will).

No presidents are being elected, but the most of congress is up for electon and the balance of power between the two sides of the fence is in question.

My question is pretty simple and not meant to be insulting or offensive. Do you really care? If so, why?

I know that I don't pay much attention to elections that happen elsewhere, though I do watch the shifting power in England's Parliament. I don't understand it (I haven't figured out the left from the right just yet), but I do watch it because they are our closest allies and I got in the habit when the Iron Lady was en vogue. I do pay attention to the "elections" frequently held in places like Palestine and Iraq. More because the attempt at legitimizing authority is just too pathetic for words than because the outcome of the election was ever in doubt.

Except for the major Presidential final, don't really care about US politics.

The debacle over the "Chad" miscounts was amusing, simply because the US is supposedly the leader in technology, and yet a simply punch hole hamstrung the machine for months.

The local, or state elections have really no bearing on the rest of the world, so not much notice is taken of them.

 

[70/30]

World War 3 is inevitable. War is inevitable because people all big on Us and Them issues.

I only voted for one democrat--insurance commissioner. I don't like the liberal method of federal governance. We do have domestic policy we're concerned with, too.

They don't know yet.

Clarity to some: there are 34 out of 100 senate seats (they have six year terms) that are being contested. The major ordeal is which party has the majority of this 100 seat body. Two weeks ago the Democrats held 50 seats and control, Republicans held 49, and there was 1 independent (he sides with democrats). A Democrat from Minnesota died in a plane crash while campaigning 11days ago. The governor of that state is an Independent, so he appointed an independent (one that will side republican) to fill that seat until midJanuary. This in essence gives control of the Senate back to the Republicans until midJanuary because the Vice President Dick Cheney casts all tying breaking votes. Of the 34 seats up this election cycle, less than ten are realistically competitive races, so those are the focus.

Many are concerned with the political temperment of our Supreme Court justices. There are a total of 9 with lifetime terms and they basically interpret the constitution and validate laws. There are 3 slots coming open in July 2003 because of upcoming retirements. Two of the retirees are largely moderate and one is a fairly partisan Republican. George W. Bush nominates their replacements but they must be OK'ed by the Senate. GWB is one of history's most partisan politicians, logic says he won't compromise unless he is forced to-he is hoping to gain a mandate with this election. He wants his favorite justices appointed and he can't do that with Democrats controlling the Senate.

Killer Muffin doesn't like the liberal method of federal governance, so she is a Republican.

As a liberal, I like: keeping a division between church and the government, ensuring women have a right to choose without fear of being arrested, ensuring that homosexual individuals and couples have rights, having strict burdens put on who can be put to death because of a criminal act, limiting government surveillance on private citizens, and allowing the government to assist in protecting the environment instead of leaving that responsibility to large corporations.

 

[KillerMuffin]

As a conservative I like: Separation between state and federal government, the state's right to create their own policies regarding local things like drinking age limits, the right to keep and bear arms, less government intrusion into my family, a stronger military rather than a hamstrung one, enviornmental issues addressed with forethought and intelligence rather than simple bandwagon popularity, veterans who are taken care of rather than cut out of programs.

It all depends on one's perspective, I suppose.

Though we really need to get rid of Ashcroft. I don't want anyone too far right or too far left in office. I'm moderate like most of the country.



Think really, really hard, busybody. There is a palestinian government. No land, but there is a group of people who make up the nation of Palestine, therefore there is a Palestine. They have elections. Real or not, don't know.

 

[busybody..]

KillerMuff

They have elections like Cuba and Iraq have elections.

if there is a Palestine because they have a "government", Then there is a Chechin regime as well, and a Kurdish regime, and a Tamil Tiger regime,etc.

 

[KillerMuffin]

Arafat's government has recognized sovereignty by other nations, including the UN, Israel, and the US. That makes them a nation with international legitimacy.

 

[busybody..]

The UN?

Never heard of em, sorry!

 

[KillerMuffin]

That's okay, they've never heard of you either.

 

[RhumbRunner13]

As a conservative I like: Separation between state and federal government, the state's right to create their own policies regarding local things like drinking age limits, the right to keep and bear arms, less government intrusion into my family, a stronger military rather than a hamstrung one, enviornmental issues addressed with forethought and intelligence rather than simple bandwagon popularity, veterans who are taken care of rather than cut out of programs.

It all depends on one's perspective, I suppose.

Well said, KM! You and I are at least in the same chapter if not on the same page.

Rhumb