Romney actually has some fans in Poland

[HagridOfTheDeep]

mondale, by that token, no diplomatic trip is ever a success. Concrete accomplishments? None. It's about soft power: Romney had a huge crowd in Poland and got the endorsement of an iconic former president. It's enough to make him look good.

England turned out bad because of a rabid and liberal British press. Romney's comments were fair, accurate, and made to an American news station. People got angry because the comments were true and the English were embarrassed to be reminded about it. If Obama had said those things, Cameron would have publicly and politely addressed Obama's concerns and explained what they were doing to make sure the games ran smoothly.

[HagridOfTheDeep]

England turned out bad because of a rabid and liberal British press.

Hahah what? If anything, the conservative papers were even more critical of him than the left-wing ones!

There's barely such a thing as small-c conservatives in Britain.

[HagridOfTheDeep]

England turned out bad because of a rabid and liberal British press.

Hahah what? If anything, the conservative papers were even more critical of him than the left-wing ones!

There's barely such a thing as small-c conservatives in Britain.

Britain is one of the most small-c countries in the world.

It's why we still have things like the House of Lords, Monarchy and a FPTP electoral system.

I believe the definition of conservatism is very different. Conservatism in Britain is about royalism and was once about slowly moving forward to create principled change. But with the monarchy and House of Lords being more symbolic than anything else, it is much easier to pass radical agendas in the United Kingdom.

In the United States, conservatism is much more related to moralism, small government, and the separation of powers. Small government is already a lost cause in places like Britain and, say, Canada.

[HagridOfTheDeep]

Like I've been saying, I don't consider British conservatives to be the same as American conservatives. Line them up beside Mitt Romney, and they are liberal.

Also, you don't need to be a dick.

[HagridOfTheDeep]

In the United Kingdom, there is no constitution for conservatives to defend—there is less restraint on the political system, so change can happen faster (change usually comes from the left).

In the United Kingdom, views on taxation are fundamentally different, with the Brits viewing it as more of an instrument for social change.

In the United Kingdom, social conservatism is hardly ever discussed, leading one to believe that discussing such issues would a political loss—thus, the population is probably more liberal than the population of the States.

In the United Kingdom, politicians—even Conservative ones—make far fewer references to God, as politics are less motivated by religiosity.

In the United Kingdom, emphasizing one’s patriotism as a prerequisite for national office is not as important.

In the United Kingdom, the concept of American exceptionalism is not one that would go over too well with any politician, and that concept happens to be more associated with American conservatives.

So do I know a lot about the intricacies of British politics? Not at all. But I do know that there are fundamental differences between the two countries that would generally make one country appear more left-wing than the other. British conservatives are less likely to fight for the same things that American conservatives would fight for. So when Mitt Romney heads over to England, he's got a different world-view than that of right-wingers in Britain. He’s very religious. He does not view taxation as a fundamental good. He is a social conservative. His base of support is still the religious right in America. He talks about American exceptionalism. These things make him look like a much more radical entity to the Brits than Obama. So yeah—by the definitions of conservatism in America, I would say that the conservative British press is probably liberal next to Mitt Romney. Obama would look a lot more sensible, even to British conservatives.

[HagridOfTheDeep]

Romney had a huge crowd in Poland

If that crowd was huge, what does that make Obama's crowd in Berlin in 2008?

England turned out bad because of a rabid and liberal British press.

Yeah, this idiocy has already been addressed.

1) Nauseating.

2) I've backtracked a bit, but anyone who can't acknowledge that conservatives in America are a very different breed from conservatives in the United Kingdom are just being stubborn. American conservatives are much more religious, overtly patriotic, anti-tax, and interested in militaristic foreign policy. Theirs aren't. American Democrats are a little more subdued on those fronts, so would naturally appear less-radical in some regards to the British press--regardless of the outlet's political stance. So I say again: Even a conservative British paper looks liberal next to Mitt Romney.

[HagridOfTheDeep]

Do you want me to dig up coverage from (say) the Sun, the Daily Mail and the Daily Express about (for example) immigrants? I would rather not as it would make me angry, but will do if absolutely required. These are not liberal publications even next to Mitt Romney. Perhaps you should just accept that you are wrong, and embarrassingly so, and move on.

Not really. You refuse to see where I'm coming from and seem to believe the two parties are clones of each other. So the one issue, immigration, makes the conservative press right wing nutters? Even though the country has public health care, extremely high taxes, and a huge social security net that years of Conservative government haven't been able to stop?

Look, I jumped the gun by saying small-c conservatives don't exist in Britain. But I can't believe you don't at least see what I'm getting at.