Tag: right wing politics

Lesson Painfully Learned

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So, what have we learned?  What have I learned?  After fifty years as an adult living in the United States I have learned one thing.

The only thing that counts from leaders is results.

In addition to that are all the other things you learn by living in the madhouse that was the last quarter of the twentieth century and the first quarter of the twenty first:

  • Talk, of all kinds, is cheap and almost meaningless.
  • Good intentions by themselves achieve nothing.
  • Action that is not informed by intelligence and purpose can sometimes be worse than inaction.
  • Most politicians are liars and crooks.
  • Those that aren’t, often are insane.
  • Everyone has ulterior motives. The trick is to align with those whose motives are compatible with yours.
  • There are no angels out there, only men. Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.
  • Allies can come from the most unexpected corners.
  • Stay far away from really stupid people. They’ll get you killed.
  • Lots of conspiracy theories have turned out to be true. Be careful whom you talk to.
  • Just because you’re the only one in a dozen people who think something is a bad idea doesn’t mean you’re wrong. It might mean they’re feds.
  • Someone can be really smart and have all the facts and still come to the wrong conclusions. Use common sense.
  • There are nuts on both sides of the political divide. Use common sense.
  • Don’t let political differences destroy your family. Tread gently here.
  • Keep a sense of humor. You’ll need it.
  • Don’t let hate eat you up. Most of the people on the other side aren’t monsters.  A few are but don’t transfer that status to everyone.  Unless you live in some kind of red bubble you will meet up with the Left.  Don’t become unhinged.
  • Don’t become manic or depressed. There will always be victories and defeats.  Learn how to live in the real world not a wonderland that will never be.
  • No one is God except God. Trump is a man.  He’s just as imperfect and prone to error as everyone else.  He will not save us and one day he won’t be in charge.  Remember the big picture.
  • Figure out your actual convictions. What do you truly believe in?  What is unimportant?
  • Figure out what you want to achieve in your life and decide if this is likely under the current political regime.
  • Align your goals with the world as it really is. For example, cable news anchorman may no longer be a reasonable career path.  Whereas news influencer has some currency.
  • Don’t waste too much time agonizing over things you have absolutely no control over.
  • Spend the time prioritizing the actions you can achieve according to how much they will benefit you.
  • Spend as much time as you possibly can with people you like.
  • Learn how to communicate with people who hold extremely differing views from you. For instance, learn how to disagree with someone in a conversation without insulting him.
  • Find some friends out there and laugh with them when you can.

There, that was fun.

What Could Be Achieved in the Netherlands

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In yesterday’s election, Geert Wilders and his Party for Freedom (PVV) were able to get the largest number of seats in the Dutch House of Representatives.  Current estimate with 94% of the vote counted is 37 out of 150 seats.  Of course, they’ll need at least 76 seats to form a governing coalition.  So where does that leave them?

The PVV is at heart an anti-immigrant party.  Their stated goal is to prevent the influx of Islamic immigrants and their culture and religion.  But in general, they are a nationalist party.  Wilders would love to pull the Netherlands out of the EU but knows that isn’t going to happen in his lifetime.  In terms of domestic policy, they are not libertarian but sort of average euro-socialist.  And from what I’ve read they don’t buy into the green agenda.

I went on-line and did some check into the orientation of the various parties that were likely to share at least some agenda with the PVV and found these numbers.

Party Orientation Seats
PVV Center-right 37
VVD center-right 24
CDA far-right 5
BBB Right-wing 7
FvD far-right 3
SGP Right-wing 3
JA21 Right-wing 1
BVNL Right-wing 0
Total 80

So, there is a bare minimum for a coalition on the “right.”

 

Up until the election the next largest party on “the right” VVD had expressly ruled out working with the PVV.  Of course, after the results of yesterday’s election, the leader of that party, Dilan Yeşilgöz has backed off that sentiment and sounds like there might be something to talk about.

Now this is interesting.  Up until now, major European political organizations have been consistent in refusing to form coalitions with “far-right” parties.  Specifically, France and Germany have been adamant on this point.  But the PVV is now the largest party in terms of representation in the Dutch House of Representatives.  We may finally have reached the tipping point, where ostracizing the right no longer works.  That’s what’s about to come out.  If Wilders can convince the other non-leftist parties that he is pragmatic he might just break the blockade that has kept the “far-right” out of the kitchen.

Well, well, well.  Seems to me that if Wilders is willing to rule by only reaching for what everyone in his coalition can agree to, he can at least prevent any more damage from being done.  And I’m guessing if he is shrewd and willing to do a lot of horse-trading, he can reverse some of the craziest things that have been done lately.  The greatest good would be to reverse all this insane attack on the farming industry in the name of not offending the gods of greenhouse gas emissions.

From what I know of the Dutch, which isn’t much, they have a goodly share of crazed enviro-warriors who are willing to empty the world of human beings in order to please Gaia.  So, I assume Wilders has his work cut out for him.  But between the immigration problems and the green nightmare it’s good to see that a goodly 25% of the Dutch are starting to wake up from the woke trance and realize they need to start facing reality.

So, it wouldn’t be realistic to think that this election is some kind of panacea for all the ills that this small European nation suffers from.  Like our election of Donald Trump in 2016 it’s just the first spasm of the drowning body politic in its attempt to reach the surface and breath fresh air.  It will take a lot more to finally swim back to dry land.  How’s that for a tortured metaphor!