contradictory assessments on Corbyn
Friday, July 7th, 2017
Bemused comments abound regarding this cover.
The National Review has two articles on the “Specter” that “Haunts Europe”, Labour Party Head Jeremy Corbyn. Â Or, rather, one that focuses mainly on the failures of Conservative Head and Prime Minister Theresa May which incidentally frets over the specter of Corbyn, and the other more focused on Corbyn, which downplays the specter.
While this difference of opinion, or maybe perspective, shouldn’t be too surprising — we are dealing with two different writers here — what’s interesting is the manners in which the two articles disagree in subtle or manners — in terms of precision and actual meanings — without realizing it.
Charles C W Cooke, “Theresa May’s Failure”
Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of the Labour Party, is a socialist and a crank. Â He is a disciple of Karl Marx, an IRA sympathizer, and a friend to foreign tyrants.
Michael Brendan Dougherty, “Prime Minister Corbyn?”
In his 2015 run for Labour’s leadership, he was quizzed about his ideological affinities by tv presenter Andrew Marr. Â “I haven’t read as much of Marx as I should have done,” Corbyn calmly confessed. Â Nevertheless, he was confident enough to say, “Marx obviously analyzed what was happening in a quite brilliant way, and the philosophy around Marx is fascinating.”
Or, to be put it in other words: not a disciple of Karl Marx in any way.
Actually, the odd thin about that statement is someone who vehemently believes Marx was dead dead dead wrong could, hypothetically, make that statement.
Another grand point, made by Cooke, regarding May’s campaign.
As should be fairly obvious, “I’m not the crazy one” is not a winning message, and neither for that matter, is “I’m all things to all people.”
Which is, pretty much, how Michael Brendan Dougherty sums up the coalition that sprung to Labour under Corbyn in this last election — or, a big contradictory thing to a big contradictory component of an electorate of Discontent.
Two final note from this issue of the National Review. Â Corbyn is a disaster because the best option for Britain right now is to become Singapore. Â And the list of snarky news points that begins the publication each issue, with the first a one line quip — Ossoff is a Russian name, after all. Â Wait. Â Is that a surreal Cold War Communist baiting, or obscure Trump bashing?
