tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776899.post8243721499573848067..comments2024-03-06T03:15:58.539-05:00Comments on <b>THE NEW REFORM CLUB</b>: Letter to the Editor at The Irish Times, The Message of the UK’s Brexit Referendum and Fintan O’Toole’s FantasyHunter Bakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14961831404331998743noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776899.post-83056426552376188872017-06-02T22:52:35.799-04:002017-06-02T22:52:35.799-04:00Did you know that you can shorten your urls with A...Did you know that you can shorten your urls with <b><a href="http://shortener.syntaxlinks.com/r/AdFly" rel="nofollow">AdFly</a></b> and <b>receive dollars for every click on</b> your short links.Bloggerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07287821785570247118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776899.post-46928987982365978862016-06-29T18:31:56.009-04:002016-06-29T18:31:56.009-04:00If the UK is undemocratic, then Brexit was wise, f...If the UK is undemocratic, then Brexit was wise, for the EU is even more so, as Seth Tillman shows here.<br /><br />As for the crown, it seems it serves more as a check-and-balance for it cannot issue laws. Unlike the EU!<br /><br />http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-eu-referendum-35630757Tom Van Dykehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07121072404143877596noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776899.post-43232344476955547752016-06-29T17:02:09.928-04:002016-06-29T17:02:09.928-04:00The monarch has no actual power? This seems a stra...The monarch has no actual power? This seems a strange claim since they exercise prerogative power and can withhold assent and consent to bills.<br />http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-21024828 <br /> Also, Parliament has changed laws to suit there interests, in particular the change in the FOIA to exempt them entirely after Prince Charles letters were disclosed.<br />Not all power has to be exercised publicly to be effective.<br />The Queen would decide a hung parliament, which was almost the case in 2015. The Queen maintains liason with all government departments. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Households_of_the_United_Kingdom#The_Royal_Household_today <br />You may wish to acquaint yourself with the work of Fred Greenstein and the hidden hand presidency of Eishenhower. https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20111127112407AA3Dto1<br />Why do you assume parliament would be out of office if they ignored the vote? We know that 48% wanted to remain. Also the vote is uneven across the country so it is not a party issue (yet) so a purely parliamentary vote would avoid that issue since the voters rarely, if ever, elect their MPs on single issues. There is no evidence, and you have not provided any, that the MPs would suffer for this vote if it ever comes to them. Lawrence Serewiczhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10951046729263663640noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776899.post-76805999936681055182016-06-29T11:42:49.587-04:002016-06-29T11:42:49.587-04:00"But a collection of insults do not make an i..."But a collection of insults do not make an intellectual argument."<br /><br />Yet another way in which Brexit and the Trump phenomenon map each other almost perfectly.Martinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13617687006180956861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776899.post-69860533871678591212016-06-29T07:37:44.097-04:002016-06-29T07:37:44.097-04:00"I am always bemused that people say the EU i..."I am always bemused that people say the EU is non-democratic and then demand that they retain sovereignty for their unelected monarchy. If there could be a prize for hypocrisy it would be this argument."<br /><br />Except that Monarchy has no actual power, unlike the EU Commission. Yes, Parliament could ignore the referendum, and they'd likely find themselves out of office next election. What next? Are you going to claim that the House of Windsor are secretly Reptiod aliens?<br />Cybrluditehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02222195374935367060noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776899.post-10124634317118319132016-06-29T04:16:44.233-04:002016-06-29T04:16:44.233-04:00I am always bemused that people say the EU is non-...I am always bemused that people say the EU is non-democratic and then demand that they retain sovereignty for their unelected monarchy. If there could be a prize for hypocrisy it would be this argument. <br />What no one wants to accept is that the UK is not a democracy. It has the veneer of democracy. No one is required to apply for Article 50. The vote was not binding *in any way*. That is not democracy. That is a popularity contest or an opinion poll. The public, and even knowledgeable commentators such as Seth and Tom, have bought this illusion hook, line, and sinker. They will tell us about taking back sovereignty. They will tell us about democracies taking back control of their laws. Yet, none of that has happened nor will any of it happen because the people have voted on it.<br />The UK has not applied for Article 50. As such, it has not even begun to exit from the EU. At this stage, the vote was an elaborate popularity contest. No government is bound by its result. It is not legally binding in any way.<br />As a result, we have been treated to the great illusion of "democracy" as if the people have spoken and the government will follow the people's will. The UK is not a popular sovereignty like the US. The people in the US can dissolve their government by vote. The people of the UK cannot do that. Parliament cannot do that for they are not the government. The Crown rules the people through their government which the people are given the opportunity to vote on selecting. To repeat, almost ad nauseum, the UK is not and will never be a government of the people, for the people, and by the people.<br />At the moment, Boris and company are simply relying on the vote to wring concessions from the EU. They literally held the vote so they could better negotiate their withdrawal from the EU. They do not want to do it and only want to find a way to either wring concessions from the EU, one last deal, or show that their hands were forced since the EU would not accept that deal.<br />Every day that passes without Article 50 being initiated and the myriad of ways that the next PM will search for it to be avoided (push it to Parliament so that it will not be the PM's fault or his party's fault) will be the likely approach.<br />One thing is certain, the next PM will not initiate Article 50 as one of their first acts as PM. That will tell you everything you needed to know about UK "democracy".<br /> <br />Lawrence Serewiczhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10951046729263663640noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776899.post-81990222387123424372016-06-28T22:11:59.309-04:002016-06-28T22:11:59.309-04:00Good post, Seth. And not just the usurpations of ...Good post, Seth. And not just the usurpations of the executive [European Commission]--but the EU courts as well. Damn, this all sounds familiar to many Americans. <br /><br /><br />http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/04/14/uk-obliged-judgments-of-european-courts-official-document-from-m/<br /><br /><br />Britain is "obliged" to accept European Union laws and judgments, according to an official report slipped out by ministers ahead of the formal start of the referendum campaign.<br /><br />The 96-page paper, which was published without fanfare, was described by Brexit campaigners as the "Government report No.10 does not want you to read".<br /><br />The document highlights the fact that Britain has to adopt EU law and accept the rulings of the European Court of Justice.<br /><br />Tom Van Dykehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07121072404143877596noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776899.post-75050521972031435592016-06-28T18:55:53.707-04:002016-06-28T18:55:53.707-04:00There is nothing more spiteful and petty than a sp...There is nothing more spiteful and petty than a spurned elite. To compromise with their 'lessers' is unthinkable. They must be bludgeoned in line.<br /><br />Scratch a leftist and find a fascist thug. TBlakelyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08732805926655873985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8776899.post-8158397474637507392016-06-28T18:54:53.938-04:002016-06-28T18:54:53.938-04:00It's beyond politics for many of the commentat...It's beyond politics for many of the commentators. They have convinced themselves that they are more than the better side in a political debate; they are, the only reasonable position. It's nothing more or less than a fact, to them, that they are correct. So, by implication, any disagreement must be either foolish or evil.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03080050527735761551noreply@blogger.com