Friday, June 20, 2008

Smearing and sneering

It is unworthy of someone in a senior government position - it is unworthy of anyone, come to that, and it is absolutely pathetic. This is how people in the Government respond to a wide-ranging public debate on the important issue of the erosion of ancient freedoms. With tittle-tattle lies and grubby little smears and sneers, innuendo and baseless gossip: and so it starts. I expect worse to come in the next three weeks. And will anyone from Labour stand and fight the corner they claim they have overwhelming public backing for?

No. And that says it all, doesn't it?

Lots of talk about a changing world and ghastly threats to our way of life in the PM's recent speech about liberty and security. But who is really feeling threatened? It looks to me like the government is running scared. Too scared to run a candidate in the liberty by-election, just as they seem too scared to allow us a referendum on the EU, and were too scared to have a general election last year. Bottling it, then. Again.

When this government talks about 'security', it looks like the security that they are most interested in is their own job security. And by 'liberty', they seem to mean the liberty to snoop and spy and spin and lie and then retreat into a bunker saying that we don't understand and it's for our own good and if we knew what they knew, then we'd all be grateful and shut up. We should always keep a-hold of Nurse, for fear of finding something worse,

What a disgrace. No wonder people across the country are completely fed up with it all, and are saying so. The old right/left divide is falling away; it's now authoritarian and libertarian lines that we divide along. Those who want to keep a-hold of Nurse and those who would rather not, thank you very much. Lions? Hmmm.

UPDATE: Liberal Conspiracy

'The comments sprang from a subconscious, short-sighted, self-aggrandising boorishness - which often involves chauvinism, but is in fact a different beast. It’s the arrogance of the territory-jealous middle-manager run power-mad (not a bad description of the Labour experience as a whole, in fact).

We’ve all been half-bullied by these half-people at some time (or maybe I just think we all have and it’s actually just me…) and the drip-drip narrative goes something like this: You disagree with me, ergo everything you do is worthy of ridicule, all your motives are untrustworthy and you are to be treated with contempt.

It’s a narrative that twists facts to fit its own picture of how the world should be - Davis obviously must be a lying snake in the grass, therefore any impassioned discussions he may have with senior civil liberties figures can only be a “joke” that reflects badly on both of them.'

UPDATE 2: Guardian - see also the comments raging.

P.S: The casual implication that the phones of anyone prominent in the civil liberties lobby are routinely tapped is particularly creepy and might as well be guest conspiracy theory of the month, though the genuine shock when Davis announced his resignation actually proves that this isn't so...

P.P.S: And this issue has been running as news for eight days so far. And shows no sign of dying down. Heh.

Labels:

8 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

...but would you expect anything else from this government? Their arrogance is only matched by their incompetence, honestly you've got to really have a look at the current crop, they just really aren't up to the job. I'm sure there are members of the Labour government who are honest and strong enough to stand up for liberty and base principles, it just so happens that they are overtaken by the ambitious kids from school who will do anything and say anything so long as teacher likes them and gives them the best role in the school play...

June 20, 2008 10:15 am  
Blogger Rachel said...

It's the most pathetic degradation f the democratic process; to refuse to fight and to indulge in pathetic baseless rumour-mongering and cheap, tawdry little ad-hominem attacks.

On a bulletin board, anyone arguing like this would be accused of trolling.

June 20, 2008 10:57 am  
Blogger Unknown said...

Burnham is pathetic, but then so are New Labour and Brown. They have no argument and so they use sexist smear tactics.

June 20, 2008 11:00 am  
Blogger Rachel said...

I'm not convinced it was sexist.

Just crass. Mind you, the 'Shami bewitches people' - La belle dame avec merci hath him in thrall' is an idiotic meme that has been flying around for about a month now, and the stupid gossip was repeated to me by no less than 2 journalists last Friday.I snorted then, and I'm rolling my eyes now.

It really is exactly like being back at boarding school sometimes.

June 20, 2008 12:44 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Members of the government smearing people instead of trying to defeat their ideas through argumentation and debate? Surely not!

June 20, 2008 9:17 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Be fair. She wasn't white and not a granny, so the Racist Granny thing wasn't going to work.

Not male, so no sexual harassment of staff.

She is a public figure so the Walter Mitty thing won't fly...

What option did they have but that nasty little innuendo. I mean if they couldn't say that they might have to come up with a reasoned argument....

I see the Harperson seems to be trying to claim the moral low ground as well.

Do you think that Labour are trying for 20%, 15%??

The Anon

June 20, 2008 11:35 pm  
Blogger Fidothedog said...

Maybe if this is way that our culture minister and others are going to act, then anyone who takes a stance against the 42 day detention and writes about it should put a statement like this on there article:

I should also make a statement to the effect that I do not know Shami Chakrabarti, have never spoken to, e-mailed, written or called her on the phone.

I also have before Mr Andy Burnham or anyone else in New Labour can cast a story to that effect, never had sex with Shami Chakrabarti and have no plans in that direction and I am more than sure that she feels the same.

A case of stopping government tales before they start, it may not be needed but knowing this worthless bloody shower it is best to be on the safe side.

June 20, 2008 11:45 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

March 23, 2009 3:37 am  

Post a Comment

<< Home