Trump the Bitch!

[MightyPen 67414]

I think the rise of Trump, Brexit, and similar Brexit-like votes expected in other countries in the EU in the near future, represent a change in perception the advantages of globalism ... as being always good all the time.

I actually agree with this. (Though I carefully excised the diversity part and stopped short before the economic bits, on which we part ways.)

 

The Brexit vote is a disaster for Britain whose pain is just beginning, but it's the result of honest British citizens voting their frustration at social and economic change that has been handled badly by the same government that brought it about. People have suffered economic hardship from EU decisions (though less overall than they would have without the EU), and Britain is losing strategic industries and expertise that are sometimes worth preserving in the national interest even if they require subsidy, or simply higher prices.

 

I think the lesson to be drawn from the Brexit vote is that we must more actively support those who are hurt by globalism's economic impacts, and better address the fears of citizens who recoil at neighbours who don't look like they do. These aren't petty concerns; they're real issues that, if left to fester, will result in people lashing out with calamitous political decisions. The electorate will cut off its nose to spite its face; precisely the kind of acting-out that could get Trump elected.

[Guest Miss Jane TG]

The Brexit vote is a disaster for Britain whose pain is just beginning, but it's the result of honest British citizens voting their frustration at social and economic change that has been handled badly by the same government that brought it about. People have suffered economic hardship from EU decisions (though less overall than they would have without the EU), and Britain is losing strategic industries and expertise that are sometimes worth preserving in the national interest even if they require subsidy, or simply higher prices.

 

I must respectfully disagree on this one. I am not quite sure if people in North America really conceptualized what happened in UK. More troubling is the whole misconception about the EU, let alone the lack of understanding of its basic rules of governance, where democracy is assassinated in stealth by some bureaucrats in Brussels.

[TorontoMelanieJolliet 4458]

I must respectfully disagree on this one. I am not quite sure if people in North America really conceptualized what happened in UK. More troubling is the whole misconception about the EU, let alone the lack of understanding of its basic rules of governance, where democracy is assassinated in stealth by some bureaucrats in Brussels.

 

I believe you are right. I didn't even hear of Brexit until it was practically the day of the vote (maybe a week or two before). And I first heard of it from late night satirists (the ones who satire news and politics instead of celebs) who also recognized that it wasn't even on our radar.

 

But they must have known that somethings were going to become standard across the EU. It would have been kind of like forming the USA. A bunch of states, under one country. I have no understanding of why it (brexit) came about. Or what it means.

 

But the UK did it on their own before why wouldn't they do it again.

[Kubrickfan 12836]

It was reported pretty regularly in the US in the more conservative news outlets at least for a few weeks before the vote because the polling was closer than originally thought, especially with David Cameron being against it. Cost him his job.

 

Another intriguing aspect is that the Brexit vote was consistently under-polled in the UK. If I recall, even Nigel Farage gave a statement earlier on the day of the vote implying it was going to be voted down. If that's the same sort of sentiment that will drive people to the polls to vote for Trump, there could be some surprises in some states on the day of the election.

[MightyPen 67414]

Yeah, the Brexit vote was known to be very close in the weeks leading up to the referendum, with the "Leave" vote trending upward. Then a Leave advocate murdered a young Stay politician in the street.

 

Immediately the polling showed the Leave side way down. Polls showed it staying low right up until the referendum day, and bookies put the Stay side way ahead. It's in that context that Farage predicted the Leave side would lose.

 

But when the votes were counted, the Leave side had won anyway; it seems like after the murder, people just stopped *saying* they were voting Leave so they wouldn't be associated with it. But their vote didn't change; just their willingness to declare it.

[mod 135639]

Ok, this is crazy. No more political discussions if people can not keep a level head. Sound like a bunch of politicians!!