Simon Jenkins used his column in Wednesday’s Guardian to opine: “It is surely time for the Lib Dems to fold their tent and go.”
Jenkins’s charge, that Lib Dems are “both hopeless and nice”, was fiercely contested by key Lib Dem bloggers. As if to rebut this vignette, they responded in a fashion that was anything but.
Cicero describes the attack as a “bleat of pain from that section of the British establishment that no longer understands the modern world.”
He goes on to say: “The fact that Simon Jenkins rant was published in the The Guardian- the most consistently anti-Liberal newspaper in the UK- simply reminds us that revolutionaries have few friends amongst the self-appointed philosopher kings of the left, or right.”
While Stephen Tall asks: “What is Simon Jenkins for?”: “Mr Jenkins may feel this compromise results in ‘a susurration of platitudes’. Certainly that’s the risk, one which applies to all other parties. The alternative is to sit on the sidelines, safely pontificating from the berth of a well-upholstered desk in Faringdon Road or Wapping, and never troubling to get your hands dirty.”
But for Russell Eagling the comments have become a call for arms: “This means the Lib Dem’s leadership of the third party needs to evangelise a coherent Lib Dem vision – hammering home a liberal vision of 21st century Britain.”
The debate challenges the traditional bipolar view of politics. In this world of free market socialists and hug-a-hoodie Tories do you sometimes wonder which side of the political fence you sit? Well help is at hand.
A Very British Dude has a foolproof system of sorting your Rights from your Lefts: “Here’s a working definition: If you hear the phrase ‘Social Justice’
and you feel the urge to lay about the speaker with a claw-hammer, you’re right-wing. If you think you know what the phrase ‘Social Justice’ means, and use it to explain your philosophy you’re a lefty (and should be killed with a claw-hammer).
“Who said political semantics was tricky.”
With the creation of the Orwellian-sounding Ministry of Justice this week it may be of some use to be able to spot an “agent”. Fortunately, Andrew
Brown provides an insight into their wallets.
Meanwhile, Dizzy Thinks is also suspicious of this new Ministry. For what reason, he asks, could they possibly be using an outdated server? The plot thickens.
For some reason, John Reid chose Thursday to announce the cost of ID cards would be increasing.
He complemented this with an article on Guardian Unlimited’s Comment is Free section. But after seeing the volume of negative feedback posts the article recieved, Reid must be wishing the comment wasn’t so free – the funds raised could have filled the plug in the spiraling costs for ID cards.
Oh, and apparently Tony Blair has announced his departure date.
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