Labour leadership

[killer b]

oh well.

 

[J Ed]

The Milne appointment is worth it purely to see dickheads like Maurice Picarda squirm

 

[J Ed]

Seumas Milne lands top Corbyn job | LabourList

The appointment of Milne is the surest sign yet that Jeremy Corbyn will fill senior positions with hard left allies in an attempt to assert his dominance. Milne is considered one of the most left wing commentators in the media

Clearly whichever Blairite who is updating Labour List and is in the midst of a red baiting hate spasm is unaware of Proletarian Democracy...

 

[agricola]

Clearly whichever Blairite who is updating Labour List and is in the midst of a red baiting hate spasm is unaware of Proletarian Democracy...

They probably didn't have the time to discover PD, having spent all of the afternoon sifting the internet for a picture of Milne that looked like the arrest photo of a swimming baths employee.

 

[ViolentPanda]

Straight Left now runs Labour communications. A man who has never, ever, seen any US or UK military action as anything other than unjustified imperialist aggression is the mouthpiece for what only a few years ago was the natural party of government.

New Labour, the "natural party of government"? You've been drinking your own piss again.

 

[teqniq]

Scathing article on Milne's appointment (some of the issues have been covered by posters here)

So Jeremy Corbyn, what made you appoint Seumas Milne, an apologist for dictators?

 

[J Ed]

Scathing article on Milne's appointment (some of the issues have been covered by posters here)

So Jeremy Corbyn, what made you appoint Seumas Milne, an apologist for dictators?

Absolutely terrible article, I saw it when it was first just a blog post and I'm actually a bit astonished that a seriousish newspaper picked it up without even editing it but then again it's critical of Corbyn so I suppose it's fair game.

 

[gawkrodger]

that really is a dire article. Little suprise then it's being picked up and ran with by so many msm outlets

edit: and 2 competent responses

Is Seumas Milne An 'Apologist For Fascism'? No.

In response to Kate Godfrey on Seumas Milne

 

[DotCommunist]

Kate then became one of the first people from her school to win a place at Oxford, where she received financial support.

I'm sick of checking cos EVERY TIME.

After university Kate worked briefly with the Guardian

 

[treelover]

"if the whole world's a battlefield that holds in Woolwich as well as Waziristan".

Did Milne say this?, from other articles he has wrote, he does seem to be defending some very dubious people.

 

[treelover]

Btw, Galloway next, John Rees?, anti-imperialists seem to be the order of the day

 

[ska invita]

No

Btw, Galloway next, John Rees?, anti-imperialists seem to be the order of the day

 

[Maurice Picarda]

Did Milne say this?, .

Woolwich attack: If the whole world's a battlefield, that holds in Woolwich as well as Waziristan | Seumas Milne

Possibly not, actually. More likely to have been a sub.

 

[laptop]

Woolwich attack: If the whole world's a battlefield, that holds in Woolwich as well as Waziristan | Seumas Milne

Possibly not, actually. More likely to have been a sub.

Slightly naughty sub-editor, 'cos there's no mention of Waziristan in the piece as printed. But headlines are almost never the work of the author.

A sub-editor writes: because they're shit at it.

An author writes: but once I managed to offer three choices of headline for the subs to reject, neatly suggesting to them precisely the headline I did want.

 

[redsquirrel]

Btw, Galloway next, John Rees?, anti-imperialists seem to be the order of the day

Oh for gods sake. You really can't see the difference between Milne and Rees or Galloway?

 

[ViolentPanda]

Did Milne say this?, from other articles he has wrote, he does seem to be defending some very dubious people.

It's a simple statement - if we see Waziristan as a fitting battlefield to play out our issues with Islamism, why wouldn't Islamists see Woolwich as a fitting battlefield on which to play out their issues with "western democracy"?

 

[ska invita]

The problem with the appointment is that Corbyn really needs a genius media strategist - its going to be an uphill task to promote his nonpopulist, non-traditional non happy shiny persona, against wave after wave of negative media ...

Milne doesn't strike me as someone who can manage those pitfalls... Its good that he hasn't appointed some kind of weasely media animal, but I'm not sure if Milne has got the skills and common touch to pull this off. Hard job for sure....

 

[tom_unism]

The problem with the appointment is that Corbyn really needs a genius media strategist - its going to be an uphill task to promote his nonpopulist, non-traditional non happy shiny persona, against wave after wave of negative media ...

Milne doesn't strike me as someone who can manage those pitfalls... Its good that he hasn't appointed some kind of weasely media animal, but I'm not sure if Milne has got the skills and common touch to pull this off. Hard job for sure....

Corbyn seems pretty populist to me...

 

[ska invita]

Corbyn seems pretty populist to me...

I dont think so - he doesn't have the charismatic leader thing going at all - its quite confusing to me in fact to have someone not using their charisma and look to win people over. The fact there are Corbynistas and attempts to make Che-style images of him has a big dose of irony about it I think, at least in the way that it comes across.

Hes a populist in as much as he is a socialist and he wants whats best for the majority of the populace - but in terms of presentation and rhetoric he doesnt fit my idea of a populist leader....

...not sure im being very clear here.

 

[DotCommunist]

you don't have to be rocking il duce levels of style to be populist- the term is as much about personality and policies as it is image. And after 30 odd years of politobots from the soundbite factory corbyns matter of fact directness is well, popular.

 

[tom_unism]

Hes a populist in as much as he is a socialist and he wants whats best for the majority of the populace - but in terms of presentation and rhetoric he doesnt fit my idea of a populist leader....

I do understand what you're saying, but this 'Karen from Bradford' malarky at PMQs is quite clearly evidence of populism. Plus, he has already backed down on getting out of the EU and has admitted that his rail renationalisation plan could only happen by 2030. There seems to be a massive gap between what he says and what he is able to do.

 

[laptop]

There seems to be a massive gap between what he says and what he is able to do.

To be fair, that's likely true of most of us most of the time

 

[tom_unism]

To be fair, that's likely true of most of us most of the time

True - so why promise such things? There's a reason Old Labour died, and Corbyn reviving it won't help imo.

 

[DotCommunist]

there are Corbynistas

the only place I've seen his supporters reffered to so is in crappy liberal rags like the guardian and that shit one they do on sunday with the eyewateringly bad arts and books review (observer!). Its meant with a sneer.

 

[butchersapron]

True - so why promise such things? There's a reason Old Labour died, and Corbyn reviving it won't help imo.

If it died and you're saying he brought it back to life, just who is he then?

 

[tom_unism]

If it died and you're saying he brought it back to life, just who is he then?

Jesus?

 

[rekil]

Being populist and unelectable is quite a combination.

 

[ska invita]

I do understand what you're saying, but this 'Karen from Bradford' malarky at PMQs is quite clearly evidence of populism.

The Karen from Bradford thing is a good example of just how week his populism is (and how much help he's going to need in the communications department) - a real populist manages to win over big parts of the nonconverted using classic common denominator ideology, and personal passion and charisma. My impression of him is that he's too knowledgeable (or something) to play either of those cards in a traditional populist way. I dont have a problem with that - but its hard to pull off. Hes naturally a backbench MP rather than an ego-driven poleclimbing leader. My point (re Milne) is he's going to have a real challenge communicating his policies, however populist they may technically be, to the populace.

The PMQs thing plays like an episode of Points of View screened at 2am Sunday morning on BBC 4.

the only place I've seen his supporters reffered to so is in crappy liberal rags like the guardian and that shit one they do on sunday with the eyewateringly bad arts and books review (observer!). Its meant with a sneer.

The name may be a sneer but there are people genuinely excited by him who react emotionally at any criticism of him etc...he definitely has some groupies, who perhaps even see a populist leader in him

And after 30 odd years of politobots from the soundbite factory corbyns matter of fact directness is well, popular.

popular with the converted. My point in the last few posts - relating to Milne and communications - is he has a mountain to climb to get his message out there to swing voters. Polling data (for what its worth) so far shows a big gap opened up since Milliband left UK Polling Report

 

[kebabking]

Being populist and unelectable is quite a combination.

oh i don't know - to be populist and electable requires being populist with enough of the electorate to get you into power, it also requires people believing that you can in fact bring about that which you claim to be able to do.

Nigel Farage might be a good example - he's 'everyman', and apparently he gives a large section of the electorate what they say they want. they just don't vote for him...

 

[DotCommunist]

oh i don't know - to be populist and electable requires being populist with enough of the electorate to get you into power, it also requires people believing that you can in fact bring about that which you claim to be able to do.

Nigel Farage might be a good example - he's 'everyman', and apparently he gives a large section of the electorate what they say they want. they just don't vote for him...

4 mills not a bad showing is it. Although that is wider party rather than farage in thanet