Tag Archives: Biden

US Midterms – the ones to watch (if you can stand it)

Bracing yourself for disappointment seems to be a good approach to the US Midterms.

With the Democrats panicking about the New York state governorship (previously thought safe for their Kathy Hochul), it could be a very bad night for the Democrats.

Public focus has turned increasingly to the economy and crime in recent weeks. That’s not good for the Democrats, although there is still a hope that abortion will help them as an issue.

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged and | 8 Comments

World Review: 9/11, Trudeau, Putin and Patel

It is the 20th anniversary of 9/11.

Two decades since 2,996 lives were lost in suicide attacks on the World Trade Centre, the Pentagon and in a field in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. In New York the occasion will be marked by families of the dead reading statements about their loved ones. The event will be closed to the public. Elsewhere in the world, the anniversary will be marked with foreboding. The attack was carried out by Al Qaeeda and was planned and coordinated from its base in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. Within weeks a US-led NATO force toppled the Taliban government. There has not been a Jihadist attack on US soil since. President Biden has now withdrawn US forces from Afghanistan and the Taliban is back in power.

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Defending Liberalism from the culture warriors

‘Democracy doesn’t happen by accident. We have to defend it. Strengthen it. Renew it.’ President Biden said that in his virtual address to the Munich Security Conference last week. He was talking explicitly about threats to Democracy across the world, but implicitly also about the threats within the United States. We should worry that liberal Democracy, open society and constitutional government are not to be taken for granted in Britain, either.

None of us should under-estimate the extent to which the US Republican Right has effectively colonised the Conservative Party. Our right-wing media takes its cue from American campaigns – on culture, free markets, ‘family values’, suspicion of government as such. Tory MPs interact with US politicians and think-tankers far more than with conservatives across the Channel. Funds flow into the UK from right-wing US foundations, companies and lobbies, supporting similar groups and promoting like-minded causes over here. The denigration of liberalism that grips the American right is echoed in London seminars on ‘post liberalism and endless attacks on Britain’s allegedly ‘metropolitan liberal elite’ – by well-connected and well-paid Conservative intellectuals who live in London themselves.

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged , and | 56 Comments
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Recent Comments

  • Mike Peters
    @Simon R Good analysis. And, as you say, it is realistic that the Democrats could retake the House next year and gain a slim majority in the Senate. That would...
  • Simon R
    Sorry to disappoint people but the Democrats are not going to win a 2/3 majority in the senate in 2026. They currently have 45 seats out of 100, plus there are ...
  • Steve Trevethan
    Might part of the "Special Relationship" be that both nations share having extreme differences of wealth distribution? Might this suit their leaders? In A...
  • Peter Martin
    "It’s more accurate to refer to Israelophobia, which means the de-legitimising of Israel and denial of its right to peace and security." It actu...
  • nigel hunter
    UK sitting on the fence looking both ways? Is there a chance we can go it alone and make trade deals with any country that is interested? We need to develop our...