The German lesson for Democrats is to keep a tame conservative party around that will implement center-left policies even if they win. The FDP was punished for collaboration and is excluded from the new Bundestag. However, that ship has sailed in the US. It has sailed in the UK too where the landslide victory of Starmer Labour got less votes than the landslide defeat of Corbyn Labour. UK Conservatives simply stayed home or voted Reform. We will see what happens in France and Austria where firewall government is in effect. Democrats seem to be following the Romanian approach of using the courts to nullify elections. That may work but is extremely destabilizing. The previous Democratic strategy of boosting "extreme" candidates in the Republican primaries has already failed.
Neo-liberalism is dead. The failure of the FDP to get into the Bundestag, the obliteration of Liberal Democrats in the U.K. and the total silence of Republicans to oppose Trump's trade wars is an indication of the sweep. The only voice for classic liberalism in the U.S. is the WSJ Editorial Board and even they are triangulators.
The days of Reagan-Thatcher-Clinton-Blair are not coming back. The Liberal Democrats have 78 members in the House of Lords. They are an elite anachronism that benefited a little from rich conservatives repudiation of the Tories. They have zippo support from the working class.
The results of the German election and the more recent decision of Germany's mainstream political politics to abandon economic austerity are signs of support for strengthening the European Union, doubling down on opposing Putin's revanchism and advancing clean energy development. The German election and Macron's renewed popularity points to a longer term decoupling of Europe's economic and security policies from the United States as we abandon our role as leader of the free world.
U.S. leadership defeated Fascism and Communism and prevented nuclear war for 80 years. The return of radical nationalism could lead to nuclear proliferation with the increasing likelihood of catastrophic consequences.
Good to hear Germans too are voting down neoliberalism beginning with immigration. I would think they would do well to look at manufacturing also. I prefer Bosch tools, I pay a premium for quality, and while I've no quibble with the quality of Bosch tools manufactured in China I'd rather support workers in Germany.
I have a hard time seeing the German election as a lesson for us; the political mechanics aren't similar enough to me. If there are any lessons applicable to us, maybe they will emerge over time.
I do think there is a different lesson out of Germany, which is the increasingly shaky economic anchor of Europe. It is that the Germans have done great damage, which might become catastrophic, by sacrificing their industrial might on the altar of a headlong retreat from fossil fuel. I won't be hugely surprised if this leads to outright economic collapse. For all the surface flexibility of the European parliamentary system, it has frozen the EU in many ways.
The Germans, in particular, have a duality that has led them into two tragic wars. Highly organized, intelligent and logical, but rule-bound, stubborn, and inflexible. It works well until everything collapses and they go stark raving nuts. Maybe those flexible parliamentary systems are actually anything but flexible in their practical application? Maybe two-party systems, with their own frustrations, force clarity and action before it's too late?
And then there are the Ukrainians and the Russians, who I compare to two cancer patients fighting over a dose of morphine. Zelenskyy is their version of Al Franken, a vaudville comedian and actor who blundered upward. Putin wants to be Peter the Great, but in the end he's one of the Rus, the eastern branch of the Vikings. To this day, they are barbarians, as anyone who's been outside of Moscow or St. Petersburg realizes.
Trump is sloppy & his personality definitely "ruffles" <--- well, that word is too kind, feathers, & some/many of the things coming out of his mouth are wrong - however, some of what he's doing has needed to be done by someone.
😉of course no one is perfect. Those on the right however, imo, need to admit Trump is egotistical, perhaps narcissistic- but <—- that word can cancel out the words preceding it. Many politicians are the same. The left need to realize those on the right can admit to Trump’s sh*t while pointing out what he can accomplish.
And Musk is SMART. Yes, he also shoots off at the mouth - however he’s smarter than the majority of those hating him. He’s somewhere on the autism spectrum which if anyone studies that knows it might make one difficult to relate to”normally” - who is normal??? PLUS his father was a total a$$ as a dad… $ now watch Musk as he is trying to establish a relationship with his kids.
The biggest worry I have about Musk is that he overdoses on ketamine. From a great distance, he seems to suffer from depression, which has led him to use a dangerous surgical anesthetic. His business, except that he's too important. So I hope that dragon doesn't kill him before his time. All the rest? Meh.
As for psychoanalyzing Trump? If one thing comforts me to a major extent, it's that he is totally serious on what needs total seriousness: nuclear weapons. Trump never, ever jokes about that at all. Past that, I see him as three parts Andrew Jackson and one part Teddy Roosevelt. He is definitely a man in a hurry who doesn't suffer fools gladly.
The German lesson for Democrats is to keep a tame conservative party around that will implement center-left policies even if they win. The FDP was punished for collaboration and is excluded from the new Bundestag. However, that ship has sailed in the US. It has sailed in the UK too where the landslide victory of Starmer Labour got less votes than the landslide defeat of Corbyn Labour. UK Conservatives simply stayed home or voted Reform. We will see what happens in France and Austria where firewall government is in effect. Democrats seem to be following the Romanian approach of using the courts to nullify elections. That may work but is extremely destabilizing. The previous Democratic strategy of boosting "extreme" candidates in the Republican primaries has already failed.
Neo-liberalism is dead. The failure of the FDP to get into the Bundestag, the obliteration of Liberal Democrats in the U.K. and the total silence of Republicans to oppose Trump's trade wars is an indication of the sweep. The only voice for classic liberalism in the U.S. is the WSJ Editorial Board and even they are triangulators.
Liberal Democrats in UK are the 3rd largest party in Parliament.
The days of Reagan-Thatcher-Clinton-Blair are not coming back. The Liberal Democrats have 78 members in the House of Lords. They are an elite anachronism that benefited a little from rich conservatives repudiation of the Tories. They have zippo support from the working class.
72 in Commons.
The results of the German election and the more recent decision of Germany's mainstream political politics to abandon economic austerity are signs of support for strengthening the European Union, doubling down on opposing Putin's revanchism and advancing clean energy development. The German election and Macron's renewed popularity points to a longer term decoupling of Europe's economic and security policies from the United States as we abandon our role as leader of the free world.
Should read "as we abandon our role as ATM of the free world..."
Abandon our role as the ATM of the formerly free world.
U.S. leadership defeated Fascism and Communism and prevented nuclear war for 80 years. The return of radical nationalism could lead to nuclear proliferation with the increasing likelihood of catastrophic consequences.
Good to hear Germans too are voting down neoliberalism beginning with immigration. I would think they would do well to look at manufacturing also. I prefer Bosch tools, I pay a premium for quality, and while I've no quibble with the quality of Bosch tools manufactured in China I'd rather support workers in Germany.
CDU is neo-liberal. And Bosch has been having QC problems. They are the only manufacturers for DEF pumps in trucks and they are not reliable.
"CDU is neo-liberal" as is PPI for whom the writer works. I just wanted to see that word that has been avoided by Dem Leadership Council types.
So far all is well with my DEF. I like what comes out of the tailpipe but am horrified when I looked at what it takes to get there.
My DEF system has broken 3 times. Only non-routine repairs in 13 years. Info on Bosch comes from dealer.
I have a hard time seeing the German election as a lesson for us; the political mechanics aren't similar enough to me. If there are any lessons applicable to us, maybe they will emerge over time.
I do think there is a different lesson out of Germany, which is the increasingly shaky economic anchor of Europe. It is that the Germans have done great damage, which might become catastrophic, by sacrificing their industrial might on the altar of a headlong retreat from fossil fuel. I won't be hugely surprised if this leads to outright economic collapse. For all the surface flexibility of the European parliamentary system, it has frozen the EU in many ways.
The Germans, in particular, have a duality that has led them into two tragic wars. Highly organized, intelligent and logical, but rule-bound, stubborn, and inflexible. It works well until everything collapses and they go stark raving nuts. Maybe those flexible parliamentary systems are actually anything but flexible in their practical application? Maybe two-party systems, with their own frustrations, force clarity and action before it's too late?
And then there are the Ukrainians and the Russians, who I compare to two cancer patients fighting over a dose of morphine. Zelenskyy is their version of Al Franken, a vaudville comedian and actor who blundered upward. Putin wants to be Peter the Great, but in the end he's one of the Rus, the eastern branch of the Vikings. To this day, they are barbarians, as anyone who's been outside of Moscow or St. Petersburg realizes.
Trump is sloppy & his personality definitely "ruffles" <--- well, that word is too kind, feathers, & some/many of the things coming out of his mouth are wrong - however, some of what he's doing has needed to be done by someone.
😉of course no one is perfect. Those on the right however, imo, need to admit Trump is egotistical, perhaps narcissistic- but <—- that word can cancel out the words preceding it. Many politicians are the same. The left need to realize those on the right can admit to Trump’s sh*t while pointing out what he can accomplish.
And Musk is SMART. Yes, he also shoots off at the mouth - however he’s smarter than the majority of those hating him. He’s somewhere on the autism spectrum which if anyone studies that knows it might make one difficult to relate to”normally” - who is normal??? PLUS his father was a total a$$ as a dad… $ now watch Musk as he is trying to establish a relationship with his kids.
The biggest worry I have about Musk is that he overdoses on ketamine. From a great distance, he seems to suffer from depression, which has led him to use a dangerous surgical anesthetic. His business, except that he's too important. So I hope that dragon doesn't kill him before his time. All the rest? Meh.
As for psychoanalyzing Trump? If one thing comforts me to a major extent, it's that he is totally serious on what needs total seriousness: nuclear weapons. Trump never, ever jokes about that at all. Past that, I see him as three parts Andrew Jackson and one part Teddy Roosevelt. He is definitely a man in a hurry who doesn't suffer fools gladly.
I think it's a neck-and-neck race between Bush Jr. and Joe Biden for the title of the worst president since Franklin Pierce.
hmmm, I wasn't being critical at all of Musk...