Cross-Currents of History- “Brexit” and “the Wall”
The summer and fall of 2016 set into motion a sequence of events, in both the United Kingdom and in the United States, which teaches much about political mischief and the will of the people who try to effect change against the tide of political correctness.
It is recalled that on June 23rd, 2016, the people of Great Britain voted on a simple referendum which said, “Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union?” In that referendum, 72% of the electorate weighed in- an astonishing turnout- whereby roughly 52% of voters favored pulling out of the E.U. and 48% voted to remain. All of the pre-referendum polls had indicated the measure had no chance of passage. Nevertheless, “Brexit,” commonly favored by Britain’s Conservative Party (the “Tories”) and generally opposed by that country’s Labour Party, won the day but resulted in the resignation of Prime Minister David Cameron who, despite leading the Conservative Party, resigned his post due to his own opposition to the move. In his place, Theresa May, Cameron’s former Home Secretary, was elected the new Prime Minister the following month in order to usher in and effect Britain’s exit, due to take place March 29th, 2019.
Prime Minister May, who privately opposed leaving the E.U. outright, spent the next two-and-one-half years, soft-peddling the exit in the hopes that “Brexit” fever would die down. In attempting to broker a soft exit from the E.U., the Prime Minister “slow-walked” the initiative, which came to a head yesterday when members of Parliament overwhelmingly handed her a two-to-one rejection of her move to leave the European Union in a not-so-absolute exit. Her brokered deal with the E.U. displeased both pro-Brexit members of her own party, who rejected the half-baked initiative, as well anti-Brexit Labour M.P.s, who insist on remaining in the E.U., and both voting blocs joined to vote down the measure, 432-202.
Meanwhile in the United States, Donald Trump, who defied all of the polls in both the Republican primaries and general election, was elected President of the United States on November 8th, 2016. Central to his campaign was Trump’s promise to build a border wall along the U.S./Mexican Border. Following his inauguration on January 20th, 2017, he was assured by the Republican leadership in Congress, time and time again, that they would take up the measure once the 2018 mid-term elections were concluded.
Largely out of stated fears that any attempt to pass border wall funding, prior to the mid-terms, would negatively impact the chances of Republicans retaining their majority in the House of Representatives, Speaker Paul Ryan repeatedly thwarted voting on the measure. His duplicity, given his absolute opposition to the construction of any such wall, resulted in the Democrats taking over the leadership in the House, essentially resulting in the stalemate we see today between the President and the Democrat leadership in the House, along with Democrats in the Senate.
In the ironic cross-currents of trans-Atlantic politics, in both the United Kingdom and in the United States, political correctness has won the day by cowering conservatives who, rather than acting on the wishes of their own voters, seek to reject the will of the people and defy their wishes to effect change. This cowardice has resulted in wholesale rejection by the electorate and has thus empowered liberal entities who steadfastly remain united in opposition to conservatism. Prime Minister Theresa May has effectively become the British equivalent of Former House Speaker Paul Ryan, as she herself is facing a no-confidence vote in the House of Commons, on this very day.
So, the question is will they ever learn?
Well, will they?
-Drew Nickell, 16 January 2019
© 2019 by Drew Nickell, all rights reserved.
author of “Bending Your Ear- a Collection of Essays on the Issues of Our Times”
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