That shut the old windbag up!

[KrazyHorse]

You people don't know hatred.

Come ask the average Canadian how they feel about Brian Mulroney...

[Case]

...or ask a New Zealander about any of their leaders from the mid 80's onward. Jennie Shipley (sp?), the PM before the current one, had a 2% approval rating at one stage

[KrazyHorse]

The Tories went from a majority government to a 2 seat "party" in a single election. By that time Mulroney had handed off leadership to his sacrificial lamb Kim Campbell, our first female PM, who wielded power for a grand total of 134 days.

[Case]

Originally posted by KrazyHorse
The Tories went from a majority government to a 2 seat "party" in a single election. By that time Mulroney had handed off leadership to his sacrificial lamb Kim Campbell, our first female PM, who wielded power for a grand total of 134 days.

*thumps head*
How could I have forgotten that!

[*End Is Forever*]

...and about time too. If she still cared about the Conservatives and their electoral success, she'd have shut up long ago. Unfortunately, she still seems to think that she's bigger than the party. I was very glad to see Tim Collins on Question Time say "thankyou, but goodnight"; maybe we can actually move forward now.

And a few comments...

Stefu,

This has made me wonder - visceral hate Brits, at least on this forum, seem to feel against Maggie Thatcher seems to eclipse even American far-right-wing hatred against Clintons. What's the cause?

Some bear genuine political grudges; there's no doubt she did some pretty awful things during her tenure. I'd put Alex into this catagory. However, it's definitely become "cool to hate" Thatcher.

B*B,

3.5 million unemployed, even after they'd cooked the books.

There's no doubt that unemployment under Thatcher was much higher that it ought to have been. However, some of the economic reforms put into place, although they caused higher unemployment at the time, have in the medium term been immensely beneficial to the overall prosperity of the nation. In particular, good money after bad was thrown at several dying, inefficient, sunset industries (that employed large numbers despite appalling losses) during the late seventies and this was ended. At the time, this caused a massive rise in unemployment, but how much investment (and new jobs!) were lost because huge sums of money were effectively thrown into a black hole, mainly due to the influence of the Unions?

2 elections won largely due to sordid colonial sabre-rattling.

The left have to look at themselves here. Thatcher won two elections because, however bad people might have thought the Conservative policies were, the alternative was far, far, far worse. I shudder at the thought of Michael Foot as Prime Minister, or another four "winters of discontent". It wasn't anyone on the right who described the 1983 Labour manifesto as the "longest suicide note in history", was it?

Poll tax- the most vicious and pointlessly evil tax ever.

I quite agree. Thatcher was (rightly) deposed after that. It was a hopeless, appalling regressive piece of stupid taxation - that the vast majority of Tories disagreed with as well.

I would be interested to hear what Foot or Kinnock planned to do with the "rates" though. They certainly needed reform, but in the event they were replaced by something far worse.

Repressive laws passed against "promoting homosexuality"

Again, I agree completely. Section 28 was a stupid, bigoted law. It was also wholly pointless - vague and unenforceable.

[red_jon]

I'm too young to remember the Thatcher years and everyone I know hate her. Is there anyone in Britain that actually likes her?

[*End Is Forever*]

Thanks Jon, great illustration of the "cool to hate" phenomenon.

[Lancer]

If you believe in karma, or 'what goes around comes around' or simply hold the notion that one shouldn't make fun of or take advantage of anothers disadvantage and thereby tempt fate then...

You know you're all screwed.

If you don't believe...

Then you'll find out your screwed later.

:Grim reeper smiley:

[Chris 62]

From Iron lady to Iron lung.

How the mighty have fallen.

[Immortal Wombat]

Unfortunately, she still seems to think that she's bigger than the party

In terms of political clout, she probably is.
Maggie says: Do this.
Blair: Does opposite.

Tories say: Do this.
Blair:

[*End Is Forever*]

Blair has been an avid disciple of Thatcher... certainly in terms of learning how to win elections.

I agree, however, that a politically active Thatcher is an asset to Labour. She has consistently undermined Conservative policy ever since she was replaced by Major.

[TCO]

I find the remarks by people like PH about Maggie Thatcher's health say more about him than about her. They show him as a mean-spirited ungentlemanly person.

I think she has more stones than he does.

[Urban Ranger]

Didn't you say some pretty bad things about Clinton? Hmmmm?

[Lonestar]

Originally posted by Urban Ranger
Didn't you say some pretty bad things about Clinton? Hmmmm?

Yeah, but he deserved it.

[TCO]

Originally posted by Urban Ranger
Didn't you say some pretty bad things about Clinton? Hmmmm?

I'm not going to dance on Clinton's grave. I'll leave that kind of behavior to y'all...

BTW...doesn't it seem like a little bit of what pisses y'all off is that she's a strong woman? Honest question...