Palmerston (not the politician) is back!

As it says on the tin: eight days left to Polling Day. Therefore: seven days to the day when all campaigning must stop – and thank God for that! I can’t be the only one who has had enough of having to see the two contenders being paraded around the MSM day in day out, spouting the same drivel.

However, the MSM are providing us with some excellent material, showing how they rather than the political parties have been shaping the public discourse in this GE campaign. They also provide us with some snapshots of public opinion which, frankly, made my toenails curl.

By now you will have noticed that this GE, claimed to be ‘about Brexit’, has cleverly been turned by the MSM into one about ‘personalities’ – Blue Johnson and Red Corbyn. All others are just so much staffage. It’s not even about their ‘programmes’ any longer, nor is it about the programmes or ‘manifestos’ of the other parties, it’s just about those two.

Take for example Corbyn who is hogging the headlines, again – firstly because he was finally forced to apologise for Labour’s anti-semitism. That happened yesterday on telly, and as apologies go, it’s pathetic.

I’m quoting this exchange because it demonstrates not only that TV presenters believe that they are the Nation’s head teachers, that it is their self-imposed duty to insist on apologies, it also shows that Corbyn is outstanding when it comes to whataboutery:

“In a testy exchange with Phillip Schofield on ITV’s This Morning, Mr Corbyn was again repeatedly asked to apologise to British Jews and ultimately did. Asked if he would apologise, Mr Corbyn began saying: “Our party . . . can I make it clear”, at which point Schofield interrupted to say: “Just say sorry.” Mr Corbyn replied: “Wait a minute, I and our party . . .” before Schofield again interjected: “Just say sorry.” The Labour leader then asked: “Can I say something?” to which Schofield answered: “Well, I want you to say sorry.” At this point Mr Corbyn said: “Our party and me do not accept antisemitism in any form,” prompting Schofield to ask: “So are you sorry for anything that’s happened”, to which the Labour leader responded: “Obviously I’m very sorry for everything that has happened. But I want to make this very clear: I am dealing with it, I have dealt with it, other parties are also affected by antisemitism.” (link, paywalled)

“The others also did it” – politics of the schoolyard, that’s how low this GE has sunk, with the help of the MSM! Next, Corbyn is in the headlines because his NHS-sellout ‘document’ allegedly was leaked to him by Putin … sorry: ‘Teh Russians’:

“The Kremlin has fuelled the growing row around leaked government documents published by Labour as it failed to deny the involvement of Russian hackers. […] Jeremy Corbyn hinted yesterday that he had downloaded minutes of US-UK trade talks from a website where investigators increasingly believe it had been placed by Russia. […] Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Kremlin, said it was “not possible to comment seriously” on allegations that Russian hackers obtained the documents and put them online, as he stopped short of issuing a denial.” (paywalled link)

Oh dear! Did the Kremlin spokesman not receive the script according to which any question by a journalist from western MSM must be answered or else? At least the author of that DT article has noticed that it pays to look hard at what isn’t being said. A pity that he and his ilk don’t do that more often! I expect that this Labour ‘issue’ of “Our NHS” being sold to Trump will now sink below the GE horizon because Trump himself said he’d not want it ‘on a silver platter’ (link). 

This demonstrates again how our MSM are happy to run with a Corbyn accusation which they know is baseless because it’s ‘against Johnson’, fuelling their drive to make this GE into Red v Blue only. It doesn’t seem to worry them that they are aiding and abetting a friend of terrorists (see this latest report) in his aim to get into No 10, nor that they are supporting the destruction of our country by doing so!

On top of that, they have successfully painted Johnson as ‘not trustworthy’. It doesn’t matter than any other top politician you care to name also isn’t trustworthy – it’s their job description, after all. This was started at the very first ITV ‘Leaders debate’ a few weeks ago and has been running ever since. It’s not just because of the long discredited ‘lie’ on “Teh BuS”, it’s his womanising. That definitely seems to work against him where female voters are concerned, as do his looks:

“When asked whether it was worth noting that Mr Johnson seemed attracted to strong, powerful women, despite his “sexism” […] Gemma replied: “Yes, but he still treats them badly.” Anneka […] described him as “the Trump of the UK”. “I can’t stand his hair,” she said. “I don’t know if he’s a real person. It’s all a joke to him.” (link, paywalled)

You can see where this is going: ‘Trump bad – therefore Johnson bad’. And weren’t we supposed to be more mature, not judging people by their looks? What about Corbyn’s scruffy looks then? Why should we trust someone who looks like Steptoe?

How effective the brainwashing by the MSM has been is illustrated by another quote from The Times’ focus group exercise:

“Bernie speaks for many when he spells out the agonising decision ahead. Mr Corbyn “cares but his manifesto doesn’t add up, his tax plans would damage the economy” he says “and when 85 per cent of the Jewish community say he’s an antisemite I think we are compelled to listen. As for Boris it’s just untruth after untruth. He seems to think we are idiots.” (link, paywalled)

It’s not just ‘agonising’ for those who believe that they are electing the next PM rather than the next Parliament, it’s also agonising for the few who haven’t quite lost sight of Brexit:

“I’m still toying with the idea of voting Lib Dem [but] they’ve wasted an opportunity,’’ he says […] “They thought they could be the arch-remainers but they have become remain extremists. For me, I was politically homeless because Labour have gone miles to the left and Tories have gone miles to the right. I just wanted someone to be sensible, reasonable and pragmatic.” (link, paywalled)

Well, our MSM have made certain that you can’t have that choice, Bernie! They’ve painted the Red contestant as nice-but-misguided in some things, never mind his ‘red in tooth and claw’ socialism: he only wants to play … The Blue contestant has now become ‘hard right’ and untrustworthy. The Yellow contestant has fallen by the wayside. Pragmatism? No way!

This GE then is about ‘personalities’, not their policies. We’re not surprised therefore that the latest advice on how to vote – a.k.a. Opinion Poll – shows that Red is catching up on Blue even further. The pollsters and MSM must be delighted at their success of making Brexit go away by not mentioning it while elevating “Our NHS” as the main issue:

“Part of the change could also reflect the declining importance voters place on Brexit. Although it remains the top issue, now 59 per cent cite it as a priority issue, down from 68 per cent at the start of the campaign. Health is now cited by 44 per cent, up from 40 per cent at the start of the election.” (link, paywalled)

‘Health’ is the latest expression for “Our NHS”: see how one can look impartial using a different wording while pushing the Red agenda?

On the issue of health, we read that Palmerston is back on duty as Foreign Office chief mouser. He was ill – too much stress (link). Was Larry stressing him out, or perhaps the dogs now residing in Downing Street? We have a right to know!

And finally: it may well be the weather which decides the outcome of the GE next week. If you believe the apocalyptic forecast here – not that they’ve got a good record of being correct! – then I recommend you get your heavy boots, winter coats and snow tyres ready ‘for the day’.

You will go to your Polling Station, won’t you – even if it’s only to vote “None of the above”! Turn-out matters! 

KBO!

Photo by Foreign and Commonwealth Office