August 12, 20186 yr Author @danbloom1 UPDATED: Boris Johnson branded a “pound-shop Donald Trump fanning the flames of Islamophobia” after he compares the sight of women wearing the burqa to 'a bank robber’ … Obviously trying for the Trump end of the voting market in this country. Look forward to the KKK "just misunderstood" tweets and the "lets nuke Iran" announcements... No surprise this happens after Neo Nazi Bannon starts helping him
August 12, 20186 yr Well not really *him* this time, but closely connected... Rachel Johnson: I do apologise for my brother Boris... he didn't go NEARLY far enough! http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-...far-enough.html I would agree that he didn't go far enough. Roughly ten thousand miles away would be somewhere close to far enough as long as he never comes back.
August 13, 20186 yr I would agree that he didn't go far enough. Roughly ten thousand miles away would be somewhere close to far enough as long as he never comes back. I guess I'm the only person here who still considers him a 'lovable buffoon' then. ;)
August 13, 20186 yr I guess I'm the only person here who still considers him a 'lovable buffoon' then. ;) "David Lammy Verified account @DavidLammy Follow Follow @DavidLammy More So Boris goes with Banks and Bannon. What does this say about his character? With a choice between two evils he opts to go with both." Yes. He's ruthless, selfish and calculating, right down to his carefully messed-up hair every time he goes out in public.
August 13, 20186 yr Yes. He's ruthless, selfish and calculating, right down to his carefully messed-up hair every time he goes out in public. Other than the hair, that just described about every politician I know... :rolleyes:
August 13, 20186 yr Author Other than the hair, that just described about every politician I know... :rolleyes: Except Corbyn
August 13, 20186 yr Other than the hair, that just described about every politician I know... :rolleyes: Not every politician you know has secret meetings with corrupt millionaires and right-wing racists intent on destroying democracy, barring Farage and Trump. Quite a difference actually, but then you frequently have problems with facts....... :rolleyes:
August 13, 20186 yr Not every politician you know has secret meetings with corrupt millionaires and right-wing racists intent on destroying democracy, barring Farage and Trump. Quite a difference actually, but then you frequently have problems with facts....... :rolleyes: Now you are moving the goalposts - I was referring specifically to being 'ruthless, selfish & calculating' - when *I* move a topic off at a tangent people here tend to get upset...
August 13, 20186 yr The public claim to dislike "ruthless, calculating and self-serving" politicians but they don't come much more "ruthless, calculating and self-serving" than Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson. His fans also claim he speaks his mind but this is the man who, when aiming to become Mayor of London claimed to be pro-immigration. Now that he is aiming to be leader of his party, he is pandering to racists. When standing for the London Mayoralty he courted the gay vote, hoping nobody would notice the derogatory remarks he had made about gay men in the past. Whatever you may say about Jeremy Corbyn, you cannot claim that his entire career has been dedicated to becoming Prime Minister. The same cannot be said of Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson. Of course, if Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson.was openly campaigning for the Labour leadership, we would be reminded of his rather Russian-sounding full name all the time.
August 13, 20186 yr The public claim to dislike "ruthless, calculating and self-serving" politicians but they don't come much more "ruthless, calculating and self-serving" than Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson. His fans also claim he speaks his mind but this is the man who, when aiming to become Mayor of London claimed to be pro-immigration. Now that he is aiming to be leader of his party, he is pandering to racists. When standing for the London Mayoralty he courted the gay vote, hoping nobody would notice the derogatory remarks he had made about gay men in the past. Whatever you may say about Jeremy Corbyn, you cannot claim that his entire career has been dedicated to becoming Prime Minister. The same cannot be said of Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson. Of course, if Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson.was openly campaigning for the Labour leadership, we would be reminded of his rather Russian-sounding full name all the time. Not Russian... http://www.bbc.co.uk/whodoyouthinkyouare/p...s-johnson.shtml
August 13, 20186 yr Now you are moving the goalposts - I was referring specifically to being 'ruthless, selfish & calculating' - when *I* move a topic off at a tangent people here tend to get upset... No goalpost moving at all. Just pointing out that your attempt to put him on a par with "normal" politicians is plain wrong. he's just outed himself as being willing to do and say anything, even work with corrupt millionaires and racists out to destroy democracy. that is not normal behaviour. YOU might think it pifflingly trifle, I consider it reprehensibly unforgiveable. he is another farage, with no moral backbone or concern for anyone other than himself. He's not a joker at all, except in the mad maniac ruthless Batman villain stylee. But not as funny.
August 13, 20186 yr Not Russian... http://www.bbc.co.uk/whodoyouthinkyouare/p...s-johnson.shtml I didn't say that he was Russian, just that he has a Russian-sounding name. The tabloids would be highlighting that at every opportunity if a potential Labour leader was called Alexander Boris.
August 13, 20186 yr I may slip into a bit of pendantism here, but I wouldn't class Boris' most recent remarks as a "gaffe". I believe he knew exactly what he was doing when he made those remarks, pulling a trick out of Trump's handbook by taking a policy that no-one was talking about and bringing it to the top of the agenda through the use of a highly visual metaphor, and getting the media to criticize him for it despite the public being very much on Boris's side in the debate (although technically they aren't - whilst Boris's piece said he was in favour of the burka being legal, recent polls of the UK show that the public would favour such a ban, although from the media reaction you wouldn't think that's what Boris said), thus improving Boris's popularity, and allowing him to present himself as a "martyr for free speech". Personally I would have ignored Boris's piece and not given him the oxygen of publicity on this issue, but the media's got papers & ads to sell, so the story is carried, and his popularity is boosted, just in time for the eventual Tory leadership contest. (just to clarify for the hard of thinking, the above statement does not mean I agree with what Boris said. My own thoughts about the burka is that it's a moot point, as the amount of women who actually wear it in the UK is an insignificant amount, less than 1,000 out of a population of near 65 million meaning that it's less than statistically insignificant, and I have never, ever seen it being worn in Northern Ireland).
August 13, 20186 yr Of course he knew what he was doing. It is all part of his campaign to be leader, as I indicated above. I like to take context into account when considering what a politician has said. If a politician is caught unawares while going about their own business, they may have some excuse. At the other end of the scale there is an article written for publication when they have plenty of time to consider their words carefully. The same applies to his written comments ridiculing gay men, the comments about Liverpool which he cleared for publication as a magazine editor and myriad other examples.
August 13, 20186 yr I just don't see how this wins over support from within the PCP to get him over the line to become leader/PM, indeed I think it is likely to have the opposite effect - after what has been a very damaging few years for his reputation and integrity. I agree that the piece for the Telegraph was a cynical calculated move, one that has as it turns out paid off handsomely in just the way he planned, but I don't see how it furthers his leadership bid.
August 13, 20186 yr I just don't see how this wins over support from within the PCP to get him over the line to become leader/PM, indeed I think it is likely to have the opposite effect - after what has been a very damaging few years for his reputation and integrity. I agree that the piece for the Telegraph was a cynical calculated move, one that has as it turns out paid off handsomely in just the way he planned, but I don't see how it furthers his leadership bid. It would depend on whether there are more than two people who put their name forward for Conservative leader once the leadership contest begins. One suspects that Boris is much more popular with the grassroots Tory members than he is with Conservative MPs (the same with Jacob Rees-Mogg, come to think of it), so if there is at least three who put their name forward, he will be eliminated before it goes to the wider party. If there's two however, he will walk it. The last time I can see that an opinion poll in the UK broke down opinion on the burka by political party in 2016, the amount of Tory voters who supported a ban was 4 to 1 in favour, which would suggest that on this issue at least, he appears to be closer to the view of his party than his fellow MPs, so it could push in his favour if a contest was to emerge. Interestingly, in the same opinion poll, there were more people in favour of the ban rather than opposed to it across supporters of political parties, including surprisingly, the Lib Dems. I do wonder if the numbers have changed since the last poll.
August 13, 20186 yr I just don't see how this wins over support from within the PCP to get him over the line to become leader/PM, indeed I think it is likely to have the opposite effect - after what has been a very damaging few years for his reputation and integrity. I agree that the piece for the Telegraph was a cynical calculated move, one that has as it turns out paid off handsomely in just the way he planned, but I don't see how it furthers his leadership bid. I've been saying for a long time that I didn't think he would make the final two. I can only guess that he is hoping constituency associations will put pressure on their MPs to nominate him. That could be particularly significant if the boundary changes go ahead as most MPs will face reselection for the redrawn constituencies.
August 14, 20186 yr I just don't see how this wins over support from within the PCP to get him over the line to become leader/PM, indeed I think it is likely to have the opposite effect - after what has been a very damaging few years for his reputation and integrity. I agree that the piece for the Telegraph was a cynical calculated move, one that has as it turns out paid off handsomely in just the way he planned, but I don't see how it furthers his leadership bid. Mind you, no-one thought Trump would win the US presidency, so... :thinking:
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