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The Current Crisis
I Like Tony Blair
My kind of moderate, though he could be a better writer.
WASHINGTON — I like Tony Blair. The left is always lecturing us conservatives on moderation. It would do us good, they say. If only we were moderate we might win the fall elections. Yet, we are likely to go for people like Joe Miller in Alaska and the dreaded Sharron Angle in Nevada, and we are going to get clobbered, or at least not win as thumpingly as expected. For some reason, this troubles sages like E.J. Dionne and Sam Tanenhaus. I sense they cry to crocodile tears, but maybe I have misperceived them. Maybe they really wish us the best. Is it another manifestation of the Liberal Death Wish? As the Liberals approach the Islamofascists they clearly have it, and as they approach the economy a death wish is all I see. Maybe they have it with conservatism too.
So take heart E.J. and Sam. I like Tony. Do you? Is he centrist enough?
He has summed up his world-view in his new autobiography, A Journey: My Political Life, and I admire it. If he does not write in the most scintillating prose, at least it is his prose. That is more than I can say of any politician on either side of the pond today. Says he: “I profoundly disagree with the statist, so-called Keynesian response to the economic crisis; I believe we should be projecting strength and determination abroad, not weakness and uncertainty; I think now is the moment for more government reform, not less; and I am convinced we have a huge opportunity for engagement with the new emerging and emerged powers in the world, particularly China….”
In his autobiography he is for markets, for engaging the jihadists, and for the special relationship with America, according to excerpts from the book published in the Wall Street Journal this past weekend. Reading the book in full will be illuminating. I am particularly curious about how Blair took over one of the most dogmatic socialist parties in Europe and made it, well, rather conservative.
On the economic crisis he says the market “did not fail.” A part of it failed and then the “sub-prime” mortgages were “spliced and diced” and sold around the world with no sense of “the underlying risk or value….” He says that “government also failed. Regulations failed. Politicians failed. Monetary policy failed. Debt became too cheap.” So why are Barney Frank and Christopher Dodd still at work in the very areas they screwed up? Well, because regulations do not always regulate. Had regulators called for action, “We would have acted. But they didn’t say that.”
Blair extends his comments to Islam, where he argues there is a strain of violence. The West can respond to it, but “it can only be actually eliminated by those within Islam.” Regarding the phrase “war on terror,” “People distrusted this, partly for its directness, partly because it seemed too limited….Yet if what we are fighting is not a war, what is it?” Hear, hear, Tony.
Finally, my new best friend — at least among pols — adds, “I find the insouciance towards the decline of the trans-Atlantic relationship, on both sides of the ocean, a little shocking.” I guess he means insouciance among all the Western powers for concerted action. Okay, I shall go along with this, but if it means that we who act resolutely have to dally with the non-English Speaking peoples I shall do so reluctantly. The fact is that the English-Speaking peoples take action. When we give a veto to the French or the Germans or the Russians there is always the danger that they will put profits for their industries and for their corrupt politicians before strategic considerations. We saw this in the Oil-for-Food scam, and we shall be hearing more in the months ahead.
For now, let us give Tony Blair a careful hearing. He risked a great deal for his beliefs and deserves to be taken seriously. I have yet to see a politician on either side of the Atlantic make such a compelling case. Paul Johnson, the historian, got me a last minute appointment to meet Blair at Number 10 while on a quick trip to London years ago. I passed on it, as my flight was booked. Ever since I have been kicking myself. Talk about penny wise, pound foolish.
About the Author
R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr. is the founder and editor in chief of The American Spectator. He is the author of The Death of Liberalism, published by Thomas Nelson Inc. His previous books include the New York Times bestseller Boy Clinton: the Political Biography; The Impeachment of William Jefferson Clinton; The Liberal Crack-Up; The Conservative Crack-Up; Public Nuisances; The Future that Doesn’t Work: Social Democracy’s Failure in Britain; Madame Hillary: The Dark Road to the White House; The Clinton Crack-Up; and After the Hangover: The Conservatives’ Road to Recovery.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (36) | Leave a comment
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bluecollarbytes| 9.9.10 @ 7:14AM
I respect Tony Blair for his steady partnership with us, through his support of Pres. Bush's endeavors in Iraq. Blair could rightfully take some credit for the progress made in Iraq (if Obama is willing to cede any.)
Going into this fall's elections, folks should realize that a little moderation is a good thing when/if confronted by a choice between 'establishment Republican' and an Obama rubber-stamp. Yes we have severe problems with a professional ruling class- inbred on procedure and political correctness, but that is a looong-term problem taking a back seat to the immediate threats from Leftist ideologues now in power.
Alan Brooks| 9.9.10 @ 9:11PM
"Bush was not the doofus the Democrat/media complex made him out to be."
Here you are correct.
Bush was tougher than nails, meaner than a junk yard dog.
Margie| 9.9.10 @ 10:24PM
"meaner than a junkyard dog." No, that was bad, bad Leroy Brown.
Robert Pinkerton| 9.9.10 @ 7:29AM
I hold Tony Blair responsible for the unmitigated infamy of the Firearms Act of 1997, which totally outlawed private ownership of handguns. For that reason -- and it is by itself more than reason enough -- I curse him, (Semantically strictly, cursing is petitionary prayer for descent of the Wrath of the Gods upon the person or object accursed.)
John K| 9.10.10 @ 1:05PM
Amen to that. You like him so much? Keep him. He is a grinning oaf who achieved the disarmament of the British people, and who wanted to saddle us like slaves with ID cards which would track our lives. And you think he's a good guy? Yea Gods!
Old Soldier| 9.9.10 @ 7:31AM
That was the problem with Blair - he was so likable, unlike Gordon Brown. Average voters can see Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and even Obama these days, for what they are. Tony kept them fooled and feeling good while he stripped them of their rights and their dignity.
Everybody liked Blair as he thoroughly destroyed Britain from the inside. He is the worst and most dangerous kind of politician.
Theodore Dalrymple had him pegged:
http://www.city-journal.org/ht.....to_be.html
martin j smith| 9.9.10 @ 8:01AM
The Left tells Conservatives to be more moderate. Let the Left look into their own mirror and reflect upon themselves.
Kelly Staples| 9.9.10 @ 8:04AM
Mr. Blair is a compassionate conservative; Sharron Angle is not. Let's all get behind Sharron!
SC Mike| 9.9.10 @ 8:11AM
I thought the fox hunt ban was too much too, but I do like what Peter Schweizer writes over at Big Peace: My friend Marc Thiessen uncovered this gem in Tony Blair’s new memoir. President George W. Bush is at the G-8 summit with Tony Blair and they are listening to the prime minster of Belgium, Guy Verhofstadt, drone on about global warming. Blair writes: George had arrived bang on time for this first discussion and had not fully said hello to all the participants. He didn’t know or recognize Guy, whose advice he listened to with considerable astonishment.
He turned to me and whispered, “Who is this guy?”
“He’s the prime minister of Belgium,” I said.
“Belgium?” George said, clearly aghast at the possible full extent of his stupidity. “Belgium’s not part of the G8.”
“No,” I said, “but he is the president of Europe.”
“You got Belgians running Europe?” He shook his head, now aghast at our stupidity. I have a newly found respect for the man...
Grzmlyk| 9.9.10 @ 8:42AM
Bush was not the doofus the Democrat/media complex made him out to be.
Obama IS the doofus the Democrat/media complex tires to hide from us.
There are many reasons to be less than enthusiastic about Tony Blair. But his standing shoulder-to-shoulder with us in our attempt to fight Jihadists and make the West safer - at considerable political cost to his domestic political capital - will never be forgotten.
He showed courage by standing with Bush (who also showed courage), and that is a very, very rare commodity. For that alone, he deserves our eternal gratitude.
Margie| 9.9.10 @ 6:44PM
Amen, Grzzly!
Samuel af Ugglas| 9.9.10 @ 11:28AM
Mr. Blair, probably the worst seducer in modern time. His participation in the war effort dosen´t
change that opinion. He is worse than Clinton.
RCV| 9.9.10 @ 11:51AM
Thanks, Bob. Tony Blair was a genuine gem. He is missed already, and his stature will be fully recognized in time. The world sees far too few statesmen like him.
TKP| 9.9.10 @ 12:10PM
Amen RET!
Whatever or however he started (as the UK boy-Clinton), Blair made a decison, and dealt with the consequences like an old fashioned stand-up British man. The whining, second guessing, hand wringing (mostly left wing) types just cannot grasp that at any level.
Principles, actions, cosequences - something oh too rare in recent top leaders, and all the more rare in the "Parliment of whores" (thank you PJ O'Rourke) on both sides of the pond.
Character counts, Blair showed it and it cost him, but that is what taking responsibility means. Not a self congradulatory/ flagation press conferences proclaiming "..I take full responsibility.." and actually taking none. All too common with our pampered class - Politicos, Athletes, Shobiz types.
The tide is turning, ever so slowly but it is.
james wilson| 9.9.10 @ 12:56PM
If Tony Blair could talk out his ass he wouldn't have to talk out of both sides of his mouth.
There are no political moderates of any kind who are admirable, but Blair is not even one of those. If you are feeling the need to give some love, get a dog. The endorsement of R. Emmett Tyrell, the younger, is to valuable to be debased endorsing the kind of mutant pleaser who rises above his natural station in a democracy.
Occam's Tool| 9.12.10 @ 9:08PM
Minor disagreement, James---Tony does talk out of his ass. Yet Emmett is right in one sense: compared to most British/European politicians, he is a model of spinal rigidity. That is why the EU will be finished by 2020, and Europe will turn into Eurabia by 2030.
Derek Leaberry| 9.9.10 @ 1:07PM
Tuscan Tony was an amorphous leader of a rotten party that hated the historic British nation and did its best to send it to the sinkhole of history. Blair saw that Margaret Thatcher's economic policies worked so he accepted them because he wanted to remain at Number 10 for a long time, notwithstanding his occasional class-driven catcalls against the "Tory privilege". He picked on conservative institutions which could not defend themselves- the rural fox hunters and the House of Lords- so that he could placate the envious haters on the Labor Left. So that he could be a global player, rather than being relegated to being the local chieftain of a European Union backwater province, Blair took up with George W. Bush and the latter's crusade to bring democracy to the Middle East. And, finally, Blair converted to Catholicism while all the time thumbing his nose at Catholicism. One can only hope that Blair doesn't have the gall to ask for a peerage to an institution he castrated. Blair as Lord Sedgefield is a bit rich.
DTCOFAZ| 9.9.10 @ 2:57PM
Tony Blair deserves our respect and trust -- for the very basic reason alone: he - represented the UK - had stood by our country shoulder to shoulder, through thick and thin - after 9/11 since.
Just for that basic reason alone, the man deserves every single piece of respect from the citizen of the US.
howard lohmuller| 9.9.10 @ 3:00PM
During his decade in power, I thought Tony Blair was the most articulate and competent politician in the world, much better than Bill Clinton, for example.
For that reason, although I have not read it, I was disappointed in Mr. Blair's memoir. My hope was that his book would be more the style of Winston Churchill's history series, titled perhaps "Ending The Century" or something like that. Reading a Churchill like book appeals to me a great deal more than reading a book that hints at a "Kitty Kelly Tell-all.
DTCOFAZ| 9.9.10 @ 3:11PM
To howard lohmuller: I totally agree with you on the first paragraph.
As to the second one, I'll have to finish his memoir to see if I can concur with your critic.
Page 19 is where I am right now...
Alan Brooks| 9.9.10 @ 9:09PM
"Bush was not the doofus the Democrat/media complex made him out to be."
Exactly, Bush was a dynasty-seeking savant.
Tony in Central PA| 9.9.10 @ 9:33PM
Tony Blair certainly stood by us without hesitation when none of our other " allies " would. He did this at great political cost to himself.
Having said that, there's another side to Tony Blair that I just don't get. He and his wife, Cherie, formally converted to Catholicism just after he left office. There was something made about a centuries - old law still being on the books in Britain about a Catholic being prohibited from serving as Prime Minister. So I read that he waited until after he had left office to complete the process. Its difficulut to imagine a law like that being enforced nowadays, but I imagine it would be quite popular with both the secularists and Islamists.
In Catholic circles, Tony is increasingly being referred to as " Tony the Phony ". He and his wife especially never seem to miss an opportunity to publicly disagree with the teachings of the Church on the subject of sexuality. You want to disagree ? Fine, you're under no obligation to join the Catholic Church in the first place. And its not like these matters were kept secret from the Blairs before they converted. Tony probably had numerous occasions where he could have asked the Pope personally about them. So if you don't agree why join in the first place ?
Christopher Holland| 9.9.10 @ 10:50PM
Phony Tony Blair doesn't listen to advice - he gives it. Blair is as vain as they come - he sees himself as a historic figure, a second Moses leading the dull, unenlightened masses out of the wilderness to the Promised Land. In real life he is a dilettente who wrecked everything he touched. Blair is the classic case of the guy you buy for what he is worth and you sell him for what he thinks he is worth.
Blair had an audience with Pope Benedict after he left office and he let everybody know that the told the Pope that the church was wrong about gays. That is Blair for you - he has been a Catholic for 5 minutes, he waited until he was out of office before he declared his faith, and then he lectures the head of the Church who has devoted his whole life to his calling, and tells him how to do his job. Blair is shameless, he has no judgement.
John K| 9.10.10 @ 1:09PM
The Act of Settlement of 1701 prohibits a Catholic from being the British monarch. There is nothing to stop a person of any religion or none from being Prime Minister.
M. Btok| 9.9.10 @ 9:53PM
Tony Blair is an Elite Globalist, stealing life from the world just like the rest of them! I wouldn't walk accross the street to spit on him!
He's on the same team as Liar Obama!
Obama is not one of Americas' he is far too alien, wherever the Hell he's from!
However Americans now have the chance to start showing him where the back door is in the Congressionals , as we start throwing his minnions and demons, including backsliding Establishment Republicans and RINOS, along side Democrats out of that door!
Then in 2012 we can throw Barry aka; President Barak Obama out that back door, the same door he slipped through coming in!
The reasons why, we must vote out, Establishment Government Representatives, whether they are Left or Right - Incumbent or Candidate on these Congressional Elections in November 2010! Get ready to start kicking corrupt butt with your votes & ballots folks! Be sure to have your Top Computer Savoy Security at all Computer Polls and Best Security at ballot boxes!
Make sure your candidate or incumbent, does not belong to any of the Global Elitist Organizations: Bilderberg Group, Trilateral Commission, Council on Foreign Relations, Club of Rome, Skull and Bones, Canadian Council of Chief Executives,
Harvard Elite Players, Goldman Sachs, International Monetary Fund, The United Nations, World Health Organization, World Trade Organization.
The reason we must vote out Establishment Government Representatives whether they are Left or Right, Incumbent or Candidate is explained on this 2 minute News Clip below: TWO Party Paradyne System News clip:
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/2824363/the_obama_deception_extra_part_2/
CalMark| 9.9.10 @ 11:12PM
R. Emmett once again living in the never-never land
of Beltway-inspired political fantasy.
Banning fox hunting, banning guns, political correctness, out-of-control political correctness, dictatorial local councils and special boards--all of that happened on Blair's watch.
Tony Blair is not now and was not ever a conservative, or even a "mover to the right." He must SOMEHOW have contributed to the policies of his own Labor Party who created the mess in which Britan finds itself.
RCV| 9.10.10 @ 1:11PM
Tony Blair rescued the Labor Party from the wing-nut Trotskyites who had gained far too much influence. He indeed moved the party to a more moderate stance as Tyrell correctly notes. Without his work, America would not have had the staunch ally it did for more than a decade. Hats off to Tony!
Derek Leaberry| 9.10.10 @ 2:45PM
Blair undoubtedly had a silk tongue and was wise enough to continue the free market economics of her two Tory predecessors, but he hates everything about the conservative worldview. Even his support for George W. Bush's democratization project in the Middle East was tempered through the lens of a man of the Left. Blair is the political manifestation of the repellent Christopher Hitchens.
John K| 9.10.10 @ 1:11PM
I agree 100%. If you had had to live in Britain under Tony Blair's administration, you would hate him as much as I do. The man is a grinning left wing oaf. He was well to the left of Bill Clinton. Did you like him too?
char| 9.11.10 @ 7:56PM
****Exactly, Bush was a dynasty-seeking savant.****
This is just plain silly. If you mean it to be a slur, it isn't.
Savant: (n) A learned person.
I do agree that it was good to see Tony Blair come to the U.S. immediately to stand by our president after the attack on our country and for that I thank him.
However, any leader of a country who attempts or does do away with arms for the citizens of the country is to be watched, because they are afraid to have citizens armed and there must be a reason for that. Either there is reason to fear a coup or they're too dumb to know that good citizens having their arms taken away and criminals able to keep theirs is wrong, in spades and doubled down.
Roy Smith| 9.13.10 @ 6:17AM
Many in Britain have various reasons for disliking Tony Blair. One in particular was the Neather affair. Andrew Neather a speech writer in 2000 for the Immigration Minister Barbara Roche which suggested the loosening of immigration controls, saying that the 'driving political purpose of this major shift in policy was to bring about mass immigration and a truly multicultural society'. This purpose deliberately kept secret from the British people. This profound abuse of the democratic process to destroy a nations demographic and cultural identity through a conscious deception of the people of that nation. It was a double cross to gain new voters for the left for all time. This to me is beyond the pale and unforgivable, far worse than the very controversial decision to many British to go to war with America against Iraq.
Joanna | 6.6.11 @ 5:50AM
I agree with most of these comments too.
UTI Treatment
Christian Louboutin | 6.23.11 @ 5:47AM
So take heart E.J. and Sam. I like Tony. Do you? Is he centrist enough?