Blunt-brained moronocracy

'Nobody ever changed things on the basis of consensus.

Or wanting to be liked.

Or not taking risks.

Or keeping your head down.

It's a lesson for me and it's a lesson for my party too.'

Ed's speech did not crackle or fizz. It was not well delivered in the traditions of the actor politicians Blair and Cameron. But Ed said something.

The curse of politics over the past 40 years has been the timidity of cowardly politicians sheltering in the consensus of the soggy middle ground. Jerusalem cannot be built on a marsh. 

Generations of politicians have been hooked up to their daily drip-feed of tabloid adulation. They have been fearful of upsetting the blunt brained moronocracy of the muddled middle, unthinking, superficial, prejudiced and lame.

Some Governments have taken risks that shocked their people. Portugal depenalised drugs in 2001. By 2005 drugs deaths had been halved. Drugs crime and criminal justice costs have plummeted. It could never have been done on the basis of consensus. It was not popular. It was heads-up not down. It was brave. The lesson is that it worked and saved hundreds of lives from misery and death.

Over to you, Ed. I know you understand.

 

Comments

[Steve Lewis]

I'm not a trade unionist, I've never been a member. But the way in which Ed Milliband turned his back on the very people he is meant to represent has disgusted me. it says a great deal about the trustworthiness of the man. Following his support of the tories against the unions over pensions i cannot support him or the labour party.

[California Driving School]

Recently I came across this post and I have enjoyed reading your posts.

[Newport Pete]

Absolutely, Mr Flynn. At this time of economic misery, with families struggling to budget for the basics and an entire generation of young people leaving school and university to find no jobs available, Mr Miliband's absolute priority should be to allow junkies to take drugs with no threat of legal action. That will help.

[HuwOS]

I assume this is another name for the same person, but nonetheless surely even you can grasp that, when there are financial problems; it is ludicrous for countries to continue shelling out exorbitant levels of finance on a policy that has not only failed to control drug use, but has never actually worked at all and has actively caused crime levels to increase leading to even more expenditure on policing, courts, prisons and opened the doors wide to corruption.

Anyone who is serious about actually dealing with the problems drugs cause and balancing the budget would be calling for sane science based drugs policy.

Anyone who claims to be concerned about families, education, jobs, health and the national finances who wishes to either stick with some version of current drugs policy or introduce ever more draconian approaches; is failing miserably to address those issues that actually need to be addressed.

As Paul often states in a quote often attributed to Einstein, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result.

[Richard]

Yes, we'll dispense with democracy this time, because it's for the public good, right?