I just saw this piece over at TPM. I don’t know enough about “Gorgeous George” to make a detailed comment yet. However, at least superficially, the argument makes sense. There is a potential for anti-Muslim backlash.
[update]: More from the Exiled Afrikan.
[update 2]: ThaBit weighs in, as does Crooked Timber. Follow the trackback as well.
[update 3]: Apparently the stupidity regarding Muslims has begun.
[update 4]: Galloway is now officially included in the oil-for-food debacle. Muslims as a fifth-column rhetoric should begin soon.
Technorati Tags: George Galloway
Election thoughts
It’s been a hectic couple of days; I voted on the way to a job which came up late; another job came up for today in the middle of that job which itself finished well after 11pm last night. So there was no question of staying up all night to see the re…
The whole Galloway issue really boils down to this: New Labour vs Old Labour. This can be quite clearly seen from the articles and comments you linked to – everyone is in agreement on this, the issue is who’s side you are on.
Without taking a side myself (or letting my mask drop, perhaps more appropriately) it is incumbent on participants in such a discussion to isolate what each side actually stands for, how they behave and, perhaps more importantly, how they are reported to behave.
New Labour for example folows policies which are indistinguishable in many cases from the right-wing Tories – certainly immigration policy and ID cards as well as unquestioning support for Bush and the Iraq war would fal into this category. In fact, one could argue that this is why they got into power – the British are by nature Conservative in politics and Blair has succeeded in implementing Conservative right-wing policy better than the Tories (who are in dissarray) and moreover, making it acceptable to (some) Labour voters – mostly the suburban southern middle-class ones.
This was achieved by a purge of Old Labourites from the New Labour ranks and the promotion of pro-Blair factions. Oona King would be a classic example of this. In essence Galloway merely represents the last remnant of what the Labour party traditionally was. As he is the last such thorn-in-the-flesh and as excommunicating him to the political sidelines has not worked, then he is obviously subject to adverse propaganda. The Paxman interview was a text-book example of it and so were the Saddam-Libel cases: all of which he won.
The fact is that the in this case (Old vs New Labour) it really is ‘for us or against us’ and the articles cited all buy into the New Labour party-line without in-depth analysis, which is a shame.
The facts are simple: Blair is essentially a political outpost of the Bush administration and when asked to jump will only reply ‘how high?’. He has been proved to have lied on an ongoing basis – both to parliament and the public and is guilty dragging Britain into war in an illegal manner. He has neutralised all opposition with the exception of Galloway and that is why (regardless of his faults which are many) opposition to Galloway is support of Blair. It really is that simple.
As to a backlash against Muslims – this possibility is a real one unfortunately. But it is nothing to do with Galloway who has the support and respect of most (non-Blairite) Muslims I know. It is far more to do with the racist climate prevelant in Britain fostered jointly by the media and New Labour scaremongering about immigration and the ‘al Qaeda’ threat.
Segovius,
Thanks for that update. I was hoping to do a more detailed post on implications of Galloway’s election, but as you currectly noted, many sites are discussing this election as a transformation of Labour. Most of the commentaries that I’ve read really aren’t buying the Muslim backlash angle, or just aren’t biting. I want to watch the development of how Galloway’s election impacts the Muslims of his area.