I wrote this on the most consistently terrible, and fatal, idea in centrist politics today. On Fanta, rebadging, and why attempting to win votes from fascists is morally disgusting and politically suicidal. www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle-co... - ThreadSky

seamas.bsky.social • 7 days ago

I wrote this on the most consistently terrible, and fatal, idea in centrist politics today. On Fanta, rebadging, and why attempting to win votes from fascists is morally disgusting and politically suicidal.

https://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle-columnists/arid-41575048.html

Comments

coffeenfingernails.bsky.social•7 days ago

📌

nepriden.bsky.social•5 days ago

The only issue with this type reasoning is that it doesn't accept loosing an election to be an acceptable consequences of the alternative approach. It tends to be adapted to the abandoned base narrative which isn't that strong of an argument.

ogkittylyst.bsky.social•6 days ago

Superb and timely! Thank you!

minerva-xk.bsky.social•7 days ago

So what do you suggest? UBI, universal healthcare, and free education for all? Conceptually--If robots/AI take over, everyone should get their own, collect their paycheck and retirement, especially since all that research to build them was taxpayer money.

johnnystardust.bsky.social•6 days ago

📌

pifflepockle.bsky.social•7 days ago

Wall’s Feast.

seamas.bsky.social•7 days ago

📉

robpountney.bsky.social•7 days ago

So glaringly obvious here in NL, the next step is that they then decide to go in to coalition with the Fascists (not just here), thankfully we do have a properly independent judiciary, so they have been able to destroy very little, and it looks like the Govt will fall soon due to internal divisions.

nigelcallaghan.bsky.social•7 days ago

There's only one way to deal with fascists. Thora understood....

alexbpart.bsky.social•7 days ago

The problem is any centrist party like Labour is calibrated to reject even the existence of information that doesn't come directly from its electoral playbook. You can show them decades of this shit failing and they'll just jab a finger in the page and tell you to read it again.

paulculloty.bsky.social•6 days ago

📌

themudman.bsky.social•7 days ago

Fanta is not the original orange fizzy drink, though. There are older examples from as far back as the 1910s.

I get the links to WW2 and Germany and so forth, but still. The nerdy tidbit claws at my brain.

epee.cc•6 days ago

Also, the people who think bigotry is acceptable don't want moderate bigots.

thechiller.bsky.social•6 days ago

Centrists don't stay "moderate" for long.

They never really are moderate.

thespaceshipper.com•7 days ago

That's exactly what we live in France for so long, and it's as dumb as maddening. Especially when you vote for these guys ONLY to fight fascists

We deserve better.

awedandflawed.bsky.social•7 days ago

I'm cynical enough to believe the Democrats welcome the far right looney because it's the picky thing that keeps them on power. Vote for us because have you seen the other guy? It's not working anymore, now they're just handing everyone the other guy.

thespaceshipper.com•7 days ago

Or it worked too much.

awedandflawed.bsky.social•7 days ago

Yup

pavelk.bsky.social•7 days ago

Great piece. Trying to placate racists with increasingly right wing policies never works. Centrists only wearing the racist’s clothes don’t fool the racists into supporting them but worse it mainstreams abhorrent ideals.

nigelcallaghan.bsky.social•7 days ago

So true. Even if Labour deployed police in SS uniforms to round up people with brown skin and dump them in the Malvinas, not a single Reform voter or Daily Heil reader would ever vote for them. They're Labour. Even a name change to National Socialist British Workers' Party wouldn't help.

irishwol.bsky.social•7 days ago

This. Every damned word of this!

Thing is, it's so screamingly obvious that I have to assume that these 'moderate centrists' know this. Therefore they just want to take these actions anyway because they too are racist, ableist money-grubbers and LGBT+ people give them the ick as well.

kd8qdz.bsky.social•7 days ago

"They go low, we go high" is the worst political ideology since trickle-down economics.

wolfi622.bsky.social•7 days ago

📌

melissjpeltier.bsky.social•7 days ago

Exactly.
You have a living example unfolding before you in real time. Democrats in the US have been trying to appease & compromise with the right since the ‘90’s…which only pushed them closerto the fascist regime we are seeing now.

shazbear.bsky.social•7 days ago

Been saying for years that "hug a thug" doesn't work, and the USA are finding that out at the moment.

shepherdone.bsky.social•6 days ago

They have no idea what we're dealing with.

teammeat.co.uk•6 days ago

Nail on head.

"And the slide continues. Because you cannot placate these people. You cannot reach an end."

darylfeehely.com•7 days ago

Spot on 👏

daithiposts.bsky.social•7 days ago

We’re also in a world where sophisticated algorithms can shape opinion. If politicians only follow data and chase populist talking points, they’re letting someone (and something) else lead. They need to have and to communicate real values, be willing to drive debate and not just follow loud trends.

alexgfb.bsky.social•7 days ago

Lo he sobrevolado y guardado para esta noche, Gracias, Lalaura!

marcphisto.bsky.social•7 days ago

Great article, as always tbf.

satindoll1948.bsky.social•6 days ago

Right on brother

heagasteve.bsky.social•4 days ago

I always enjoy your weekly article in The Examiner, but this one was especially good!

halleverkehrt.bsky.social•7 days ago

Each and every sign shows that "centrists" work very hard and consistent to make the far-right strong.

It's on purpose, and we let them go with "oops, I really wanted to take their votes" every day again since years.

jopatblues.bsky.social•7 days ago

-> Merz

capitalcrimes.bsky.social•7 days ago

Anyone who's studied the 10 to 20 year runup to the US Civil War should understand this instinctively

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