Analysis: Americans should examine the Liberal Democrats

[pampango]

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/worldview/100514/liberal-democrats-third-party-politics?page=0,0

US commentators are drawing the wrong lessons from the UK election results.

In 1979 came Margaret Thatcher, the most radical prime minister of the last half-century. Her policies polarized the country and the Labour Party, which veered to the hard left. But there simply wasn't enough room in the British political landscape for another minority party, and in 1988 the Social Democratic Party and Liberal Party merged to create the Liberal Democrats. The Lib Dems slowly built their grassroots from moderates on all sides, but mainly from the left. But the party was hampered in general elections by Britain's winner-take-all, first-past-the-post system. Its percentage of the popular vote was never reflected in the number of parliamentary seats it won.

Throughout the last decade the Lib Dems' appeal grew. What the party stood for, beyond electoral reform, was anybody's guess. It was a rag-bag of sometimes contradictory views, from encouraging free markets, to blocking nuclear energy, to someday joining the euro. Its wooliness was part of its attraction in our new post-ideological time. Unhappy voters from across the political spectrum began to see in the party whatever they wanted to see.

Labour supporters, disgruntled by the Iraq War and Tony Blair and Gordon Brown's laissez-faire attitude toward those who earned seven-figure bonuses playing casino in the shadow banking system, saw in the Lib Dems a more progressive party than the one they traditionally supported. The Lib Dems opposed the Iraq War and their Treasury spokesman, Vince Cable, was the first major British politician to warn about the crash that would come from the housing bubble.

Moderate Conservatives, troubled by the continued dominance of the Thatcherite wing of the party on matters concerning immigration and the European Union, saw in the Lib Dems, with their belief in free markets and openness toward Britain's Asian and Afro-Caribbean populations, a return to the "One Nation Toryism" of the pre-Thatcher era. When Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg gave his first stunning performance in the Leaders' Debates, the party completed its 80-year-long voyage from irrelevance.

[Sebastian Doyle]

1. A party that actually covered the spectrum from liberals to TRUE moderates wouldn't be a bad thing.

Problem is the DLC has destroyed the definition of the word "moderate" and when that no longer fooled anyone, they invented the meaningless nonsense word "centrist" to conceal the fact that they really mean corporatist.

[Oregone]

2. Mind blowing concept....an actual party to the left?!?

Haha. Itll take a major event before either the Democrats would swing left or another party could emerge. People are too controlled


BTW...it doesn't look like Lib-Dems are really to the traditional "left" according to PC:

http://www.politicalcompass.org/ukparties2010

[Sebastian Doyle]

3. A major event?

like maybe the biggest man made ecological fuckup in history?

Nah, better not say that or the whore media will start telling lies about "eco terraists" again.

[OHdem10]

4. "Free Markets" does not mean the same as the Neocon Free Markets

here in the U.S.

They have no problem doing a little protectionism when necessary
to "protect" their workers and jobs.

UK Foreign Minister: We believe in encouraging Democracy around
the world but we are NOT into going around the world trying to
build democracies. We are conservative.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

6. yes the Lib Dems idea is actually different from the US

[Rosa Luxemburg]

5. The Lib Dems message has been 'wishy washy'

at a local level they are all over the place playing at chameleons. In a Tory ward they will be Tory minded and a Labour ward they will be left wing. The only real message that they have had was their stance against the Iraq war otherwise voters never really hear what they stand for - muddle in the middle. Nick Cleggs' performcance came too late in the election.

[malaise]

7. This article is so much BS

The LibDems won less seats in last week's election than in 2005.