Nominally an extremely safe seat for the Democrats, the Democratic candidate Martha Coakley should be a shoe-in.
And yet Republican former centrefold star Scott Brown, once voted by Cosmo as America’s Sexiest Man (the link is fairly safe for work, but does contain a tastefully cropped naked man) has been closing the gap in the polls, and in some cases even taken a lead.
Of key importance in this battle is the senatorial supermajority, which we have covered on The Voice in the past. In the US senate, a party with 60 of the 100 senators – or the votes of 60 senators – can move a vote of cloture which can end a filibuster. This removes from the minority party a powerful tool to veto legislation by talking it out. This has become all the more fraught recently since Obamacare, the extremely controversial healthcare legislation currently under consideration. If the Republicans win the Massachusetts, the Democrats lose their right of veto and they could lose Obamacare.
Here’s a video for each candidate to give you a flavour of the battle.
First, President Obama is staking his political reputation to support Martha Coakley and underlining the future of Obamacare:
Welcome to this latest LDVideo instalment, featuring three video clips this week united by a common theme – the general uselessness of British newspapers and their inability to report facts.
First up, we have this classic clip from iconic 1980s’ political comedy, Yes, Prime Minister, in which Jim Hacker explains to the civil service who reads the British newspapers:
By Stephen Tall
| Sat 12th December 2009 - 10:05 am
Welcome to the latest LDVideo instalment, featuring three of the most memorable video clips doing the rounds on the blogosphere.
I missed covering this week’s Prime Minister’s Questions, so here to make up for it is Nick Clegg’s contribution – taking to task (with some passion) Gordon Brown for Labour’s failures to put fairness at the heart of their policies:
By Stephen Tall
| Mon 30th November 2009 - 6:45 pm
Here for LDV readers’ delectation is Nick Clegg speaking to camera just after launching the Lib Dems’ tax proposals for the next election: tax cuts for millions of people paid for by closing tax loopholes, making polluters pay and introducing a mansion tax on homes worth over £2m.
By Stephen Tall
| Sat 28th November 2009 - 10:30 am
Welcome to the latest LDVideo instalment, featuring three of the most memorable video clips doing the rounds on the blogosphere.
First up, is a rather catchy little email ditty in honour of Lord Mandelson’s implausible-but-deadly-serious Digital Econmy Bill, courtesy of Dan Bull:
Second up, here’s Nick Clegg’s second question from this week’s PMQs – and it’s a real barnstormer, which has earned Nick deserved acclaim from across the political spectrum:
By Stephen Tall
| Sat 21st November 2009 - 8:30 am
Welcome to the latest LDVideo instalment, featuring three of the most memorable video clips doing the rounds on the blogosphere.
First up is Ed Balls – the guy might have a debating style reminiscent of a school bully demanding tuck money, but here he completely out-smarts tongue-tied Tory education spokesman Michael Gove:
The second clip shows Rupert Murdoch furiously denying suggestions that he alleged President Obama made a racist remark, followed by Rupert Murdoch alleging that President Obama made a racist remark:
Here’s a handful of videos doing the rounds from American politics.
First up “There’s a rep for that!” – riffing on the iPhone’s ad showing how there’s an application to do the most ridiculous things, here’s a video with a light-hearted but deadly serious look at some of the disgraceful campaigns American Republicans have run:
By Stephen Tall
| Sat 24th October 2009 - 11:15 am
Okay, I’ve bowed to popular opinion – the Hazel Blears-inspired title for our occasional video round-ups, YouTube ‘cos we want to, is no more. Instead you’re getting the drably named LDVideo. BUT just because you’ve made me drop my punning motif doesn’t mean the videos that follow are anything less than scintillating.
First up, we have Cassettboy’s Nick Griffin / BBC Question Time mash-up which was being re-tweeted like nobody’s business yesterday. Childish but fun:
Earlier this week, Nick Clegg pitched up on Absolute Radio to be interviewed by Christian O’Connell – here’s a little bit of what happened:
Welcome to the latest edition of our occasional LDV feature, YouTube ‘cos we want to, featuring some of the most memorable political moments from the past week (or so).
First up, in tribute to the triumph of this week’s Labour party conference in Brighton, let’s enjoy in all its 11 seconds of glory, Gordon’s huff with Sky’s Adam Boulton after a particularly feisty interview:
Hat-tip: Paul Waugh. You can enjoy the full interview here.
Second’s up … for many the highlight of Lib Dem conference was meeting Richard Dawkins, while for others it was hearing his declaration that, though not a member, he has voted for the party in every election since it was founded. So here for your delectation is his 5-minute speech to the conference hall:
Peter Mandelson’s proposals to introduce harsh penalties for people suspected of making illegal file downloads have come in for much criticism, particularly for the low standard of proof that would be required and for deploying too much stick and not enough carrot in an attempt to change people’s behaviour. So it was the main topic I picked for the bloggers interview with Nick Clegg during party conference.
By Stephen Tall
| Thu 24th September 2009 - 6:40 pm
Welcome to this very special bumper conference edition of our occasional LDV feature, YouTube ‘cos we want to, featuring some of the most memorable moments from the past week. For those Lib Dems who’ve been isolated inside the ‘Bournemouth bubble’, missing out on all the media coverage I hope this selection of clips gives you a sense of what you missed while you were, erm, there.
From Nick’s leader’s speech to Vince’s dust-up with Paxman on Newsnight, Chris Davies’s rant to the Huhne ‘n’ Pickles show on Radio 4 – it’s all collected here for your viewing/listening pleasure. Enjoy …
By Alex Foster
| Sat 12th September 2009 - 10:26 am
This Saturday’s trio of videos doing the rounds takes as its topic Minnesota’s new Senator, Al Franken, who eventually took his seat after a load of legal wrangles – as we covered here and here earlier in the year.
Now, however, he is Senator – and proving to be a good one too.
Here are three videos of his exploits. The first contrasts American Republican values with the tendency of the American Republican party to invoke Christian values.
It’s one of the curiosities of YouTube that, because it’s only four years old, even fairly recent events and people of prominence are sometimes almost absent. Search for ‘nick clegg’, elected leader of the Lib Dems 18 months ago, and you’ll find 520 videos; search for ‘charles kennedy’, who led the party from 1999 to 2006, and there are fewer than a hundred, many of them relating directly to his resignation.
Here are three of the clips I found, and dusted down for your viewing delectation:
First up, and seven years before Charles was elected party leader, he was one of the Lib Dem talking heads for the BBC’s 1992 general election coverage. And doesn’t he look youthful:
Secondly, Charles gives a personal explanation of what motivated him to get into politics (the shakiness is down to the cameraman, I think, rather than CK):
If the SDP had lived on*, 2009 would have marked its 18th** 28th birthday – which spurious segue is all the excuse we need to dust off three video clips tracing its rise and fall.
Let’s begin at the beginning, with the explosion of the ‘Gang of Four’ – Roy, David, Shirley and Bill – onto the scene, here holding their first press conference in March 1981:
For a year or more it really did seem as if the SDP might truly break the mould of British politics. But the party was shattered by the results of the June 1983 general election, winning only six seats. Here’s the start of the BBC’s election night results programme.
Welcome to the weekend edition of our LDV feature, rounding up some of the best/worst/most curious political videos doing the rounds. What could be more approrpiate today than to take the theme of by-elections?
First up, let’s cast our minds back some 47 years: to Orpington, scene of perhaps the most famous Liberal by-election victory of all, when Eric Lubbock was elected the Liberal party’s sixth MP:
And now a slight change of tack – BBC2’s Mock The Week’s take on ‘Bad Things For a By-Election Candidate to Say’:
Welcome to the weekend edition of our new LDV feature rounding up some of the best/worst/most curious political videos doing the rounds. Or, as with this week, a trio of three politically-related comedy clips.
First up, let’s start with a classic: Peter Cook’s famous satiric ‘biased judge’ interpretation of the Jeremy Thorpe trial as performed at Amnesty’s Secret Policeman’s Ball. You don’t have to know the full background to the trial to enjoy the performance. (Though it does help, and if you want to know more, read this book).
Next up, it’s Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie enjoying the ‘Young Tory of the Year’ show – some things never change:
Welcome to the weekend edition of our new LDV feature rounding up some of the best/worst/most curious political videos doing the rounds.
First up, everyone’s seen that picture of Presidents Obama and Sarkozy, supposedly showing the two world leaders leering at a 17-year-old junior G8 delegate. In reality, the truth is a little less demeaning and dramatic. Here’s the video footage of the same incident:
Second up, here’s a brief clip of a couple of MPs engaging in what is known as Parliamentary wit. It’s not actually that funny a quip, nor is it that well-delivered – but it is quite brief:
Welcome to this Friday edition of our new LDV feature rounding up some of the best/worst/most curious political videos. This week, in the absence of any contemporary videos grabbing my attention, I thought we’d take a trip down memory lane, and revisit party election broadcasts of the 1980s from each of the three main parties.
Labour party election broadcast 1987
The ’87 Labour campaign has gone down in the history books as presentationally slick. You might doubt that from the first two minutes of this 10-minute film (yes, TEN MINUTES: what sort of attention span do these people think we have?) – a bizarre montage presumably meant to show Mrs Thatcher to be a heartless monster, but actually leaves the impression that she’s a damn sight more Prime Ministerial than Neil Kinnock. Stick with it (or fast forward) to the end, and it closes with a shot of the male-dominated Labour shadow cabinet in a dark, dour room. You look at it, and think, ‘Thank God that lot didn’t end up running the country.’ Just a shame which lot actually did.
Welcome to this Friday edition of our new LDV feature rounding up some of the best/worst/most curious political videos doing the rounds. Guaranteed Wimbledon/Jacko free.
First up, let’s enjoy new Speaker John Bercow’s well-publicised spat with ITN reporter Tom Bradby. Hard to choose between them who I feel least sympathy for, as both seem to be indulging in needless testosterone-charged irratibility:
Well done to Hilary Benn, Labour secretary of state for environement, food and rural affairs, for recording a video to highlight the importance of tackling climate change – but next time, Mr Benn, perhaps it would be best not to keep your table lamp switched on when it’s broad daylight…
Welcome to this latest instalment of our new LDV feature rounding up some of the best/worst/most curious political videos doing the rounds.
How could I not start with David ‘Veer are yur papeers?’ Cameron’s indulgence in a bit of outdated xeno-stereotyping. I find it hard to get worked-up by it – and it certainly doesn’t qualify as racist. It’s just not very Prime Ministerial, is it?
Speaking of not very Prime Ministerial, let’s remind ourselves of one of the prime reasons the Tories are so relieved to have Mr Cameron as their leader: Iain Duncan Smith, here in full oratorical flow ‘turning up the volume’:
Another instalment in our occasional series rounding up political videos doing the rounds – for this special Friday night edition, we’re delving back a little further into the archives to recall three of the great Liberal leaders of the past few decades.
First up, here’s the only clip I can find of Jeremy Thorpe, being questioned by a studio audience alongside Jimmy Saville (how times change):
By the way, if you’ve never seen Peter Cook’s magisterial ‘biased judge’ summing up from 1979 at the conclusion of the Thorpe trial, click here and enjoy 12 minutes of the finest satirical comedy ever staged.
Second’s up is David Steel, here represented by the famous excerpt from his leadership speech in 1981 – yes, that’s right, the “go back to your constituencies and prepare for government” one:
It’s the weekend, so why not sit back in your sofa/deckchair and enjoy the following three poltical videos from the past week…
First up, is Andreew Mackay the soon-to-be-former Tory MP for Bracknell and close aide of David Cameron, who was this week forced to quit after the extent of the anger of his constituents became clear. Initially Mr Mackay attempted to claim the mood of the meeting was very much in his favour – unfortunately for him, the video evidence suggested otherwise:
Welcome to an occasional new LDV feature, YouTube ‘cos we want to, rounding-up a couple of the most amusing/bad/interesting YouTube videos doing the rounds. This week, our focus is MPs’ expenses (what else?).
First up, let’s enjoy Tory MP Anthony “I’ve got a very very large house” Steen’s joyously apoplectic radio interview defending his claims from the taxpayer for treating 500 of his trees:
Then there’s American Comedy Central’s Jon Stewart giving his Daily Show take on MPs’ expenses – and coming up with the best one-word description yet coined, ‘Scamalot’:
Peter Martin @ Kira,
The words you quoted were from Peter Davies'. Not me. I wouldn't agree with raising VAT on energy to 15% right now. I'd leave it as is.
The point ...
Peter Martin “‘why can’t social care and NHS spending be treated as ‘investment’’. Of course, that wont wash”.
I'd agree if were talking about re...
Peter Martin There's really only two fiscal rules that make any sense:
1) If inflation caused by an overheating economy is the main issue, then governments should tax mor...
Peter Davies @Kira Collins You seem to have missed the bit about raising tax allowances. That primarily helps those on low wages....
David Wright According to this well-argued article (by Lib Dem councillor Mark Ellis), a simple wealth tax wouldn't work, but tax on TRANSFER of wealth could, if current tax...
and 
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Martin Wainwright's Guardian obituary of Michael Meadowcroft
Evaluating different electoral systems for the House of Commons
Brexit and summer holidays
The shame of Liverpool Labour councillors taking their allowances but not turning up to do the work
Peter Martin 
Peter Davies 
David Wright 