Owen Smith, Labour Leadership challenger, suggests opening dialogue with ISIS
38 replies, posted
[QUOTE=Dr. Ethan Asia;50906177]Not being able to identify some pretty popular TV personalities (particularly popular amongst the working class, I hasten to add) demonstrates a politician being out of touch with the culture of his electorate. That's why it matters.
And to be frank it's probably even more than that, because I don't watch television and even I know who Ant and Dec are. Corbyn is either an idiot or he's wilfully ignorant. It's rather neatly representative of his brand of politics; grand, sweeping, high ideals with no room for compromise and very little actual relevance.[/QUOTE]
Have to disagree. Was going to elaborate, but it turned into an anti-establisment rant. Everyone seems to be in each others pockets, and the rest of us are blind folded and told "this matters". Couldn't give a flying fuck if a politician knew who Ant and Dec work, the only thing that matters is if that person can get the job done.
[QUOTE=Sobotnik;50906985]who the fuck are ant and dec?
why do you need to know who they are?
I mean I don't know and you don't know, so why should one be faulted for it? I imagine running the country and knowing policy is better than knowing who some [B]minor prole celebrities are[/B][/QUOTE]
imagine unironically using the word prole.
"Breaking News: Owen Smith tries to talk down feral rabies infected dog"
ISIS has made it very clear they do not want to have a dialogue with anybody unless its to support their ideology
[QUOTE=dingusnin;50907191]Have to disagree. Was going to elaborate, but it turned into an anti-establisment rant. Everyone seems to be in each others pockets, and the rest of us are blind folded and told "this matters". Couldn't give a flying fuck if a politician knew who Ant and Dec work, the only thing that matters is if that person can get the job done.[/QUOTE]
Of course I agree that knowing celebrities is irrelevant in the grand scheme of statesmanship and politics, but if you're going to represent people shouldn't you actually represent them? Shouldn't you, rather than living in a different world to your constituents and party members, have a stake or at least take an interest in their lives and surroundings?
If we have a representative democracy we should have politicians who are part of the communities they serve, not aloof and high minded. The question of Ant and Dec is the same as the question of 'how much does a pint of milk cost?', just reworked.
UK's Labour needs to get their shit together - post-Brexit backlash against the Conservatives could be a huge boon for them, but they keep fielding candidates that don't have much public appeal at all. Frustrating to watch from the outside.
[QUOTE=Dr. Ethan Asia;50907409]Of course I agree that knowing celebrities is irrelevant in the grand scheme of statesmanship and politics, but if you're going to represent people shouldn't you actually represent them? Shouldn't you, rather than living in a different world to your constituents and party members, have a stake or at least take an interest in their lives and surroundings?
If we have a representative democracy we should have politicians who are part of the communities they serve, not aloof and high minded. The question of Ant and Dec is the same as the question of 'how much does a pint of milk cost?', just reworked.[/QUOTE]
Ant and Dec are celebrities in shows with a target demographic several generations younger than Corbyn - should politicians be expected to watch every junk show aimed at every group? Should they be watching gogglebox and Im a celebrity on the off chance they get asked what colour nickers the runner up x factor was wearing on her second performance?
Should they be expected to watch Emmerdale followed by Coronation Street so they can give commentary on Tracey Barlow's love life on the off chance that it gives them the opportunity to validate themselves to some shit who wants to ask them a "gotcha" question with the intent to devalue the politician as out of touch. Sound's like hes not the one out of touch.
I guess the 1 good thing is the creation of new jobs - a politician's reality TV adviser. Every morning he can get a briefing package on the latest developments in economy, geopolitics and soaps. Sounds like something you'd see in idiocracy but each to his own right.
[editline]18th August 2016[/editline]
[QUOTE=Tacooo;50907278]"Breaking News: Owen Smith tries to talk down feral rabies infected dog"[/QUOTE]
"Owen smith suggests peace talks with active volcano"
[QUOTE=mdeceiver79;50907440]Ant and Dec are celebrities in shows with a target demographic several generations younger than Corbyn - should politicians be expected to watch every junk show aimed at every group? Should they be watching gogglebox and Im a celebrity on the off chance they get asked what colour nickers the runner up x factor was wearing on her second performance?
Should they be expected to watch Emmerdale followed by Coronation Street so they can give commentary on Tracey Barlow's love life on the off chance that it gives them the opportunity to validate themselves to some shit who wants to ask them a "gotcha" question with the intent to devalue the politician as out of touch. Sound's like hes not the one out of touch.
I guess the 1 good thing is the creation of new jobs - a politician's reality TV adviser. Every morning he can get a briefing package on the latest developments in economy, geopolitics and soaps. Sounds like something you'd see in idiocracy but each to his own right.[/QUOTE]
You know, I'm pretty sure they actually do get briefing packages on popular culture regularly. It was in The Thick of It, and many Westminster insiders have said how shockingly accurate and well researched that show is.
[editline]18th August 2016[/editline]
[QUOTE=Dr. Ethan Asia;50907409]Of course I agree that knowing celebrities is irrelevant in the grand scheme of statesmanship and politics, but if you're going to represent people shouldn't you actually represent them? Shouldn't you, rather than living in a different world to your constituents and party members, have a stake or at least take an interest in their lives and surroundings?
If we have a representative democracy we should have politicians who are part of the communities they serve, not aloof and high minded. The question of Ant and Dec is the same as the question of 'how much does a pint of milk cost?', just reworked.[/QUOTE]
I'd rather him just be honest that he doesn't know and it doesn't matter to him, rather than the alternative that is PR groomed politicians fed information about popular culture and told to pretend to care about it by their campaign team, which is the reality behind most politicians who appear to care about that shit.
Remember how it went when David Cameron pretended to support a football team... then forgot which one he said he supported...
The cost of a pint of milk is a completely different question. Not knowing how much little things like that cost shows that a politician has never experienced living on the edge money wise, has never had to worry about those things, and therefore has never directly experienced the effect that economic policy has on struggling People's lives. Meanwhile people actually in that position were the ones seeing the true impact of that Government's massive austerity program.
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