Labelling Boris a bigot is pathetic
11:35am
The Guardian reports today that Compass, the leftwing pressure group, has compiled a dossier accusing Boris of being “Norman Tebbit in a clown’s uniform”. Well, now: I admire Norman and hate clowns with equal vigour, and so find this an intrinsically distasteful notion. But the strategy adopted by Compass – namely that Our Candidate is a crypto-fascist – is very good news for his campaign. If this is the best the Left can come up with, he has an even better chance than we thought. There are two reasons why the smear campaign will fail. First, every politically incorrect Boris quotation dredged up from the past can be matched by a much more serious error made by Ken Livingstone. Boris has never called a Jewish journalist a concentration camp guard, or cosied up to a figure as dodgy as Chavez, or eulogised hateful imams, or embraced Sinn Fein-IRA when London was still under attack by Republican terrorists. Second, one only has to look at Boris to grasp that he is the opposite of an extremist, or a hate merchant. The very essence of his appeal is his capacity to talk to and reach out to just about everybody. And I know him well enough to declare that he doesn’t have a bigoted cell in his body: it just won’t wash, and the voters won’t buy such calumnies for a second. Indeed, the problem Ken has is precisely that Boris is a uniting force, rather than the divisive figure that the incumbent Mayor has become. I call this round for Our Candidate
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Comments
Disraeli's Ghost
August 21st, 2007 12:05pmWhat this shows is that the left intend to fight Boris with every weapon available. We need dossiers of our own on Red Ken to hit back with. Time for The Speccie to publish the charge sheet.
Disraeli's Ghost
August 21st, 2007 12:16pmThe left are ready to fight, are we? The Speccie must compile a charge sheet against Red Ken and publish it asap. We must comb every utterance of his in the same way that his time has gone through Boris's work.
Vote Boris
August 21st, 2007 12:43pmGood idea Disareli's Ghost. If we fail to respond now the mud will stick.
albert hammond bootleg
August 21st, 2007 1:34pmIsn't it this kind of mud slinging thats supposed to be putting people off politics. My thinking is Boris ought to just rise above it. Let the leftwing pressure groups pound their fists, gnash their teeth and generally be shrill. With Boris there is a distinct whiff of decency and common sense.
Jon
August 21st, 2007 2:31pmBorris hasn't really got a chance has he? What's wrong with Ken, I think he's done a fantastic job so far.
The Laughing Cavalier
August 21st, 2007 2:42pmBoth strategies are good. Bozza should stand above the fray whilst apparently unconnected outriders do the dirty work. Livingstone has been a London politico for so long and said and done so many unpleasant things that there is plenty of ammunition available. Use it all.
Alex, London
August 21st, 2007 2:48pmThe Spectator / Boris supporters need to reciprocate this 'attack' in a polished / measured manner ... publish a charge sheet against Red Ken asap. There is such an immense amount of ammunition that can be used against Ken.
And again, Dave Spart and his buddies must be worried. Excellent sign that they have reached this point so soon. Carry on Boris!
Perry
August 21st, 2007 3:46pmAnd again, Dave Spart and his buddies must be worried. Excellent sign that they have reached this point so soon. Carry on Boris!
David Davis
August 21st, 2007 7:39pmI fear, although having left it some years ago, that London may be more ghettoized by the deliberately-wicked Stalinist-of-uberdarkness Livingstone, (who loves newts over people, and cuddles Cahvista-madmen in public (God knows what he does with them in private) than you think. Never underestimate your enemy (remember - they have seriously clever and cunning animal-rights-droids on their side, much much worse than anything the "other religion" can throw at you, and so don't stop defending Boris - he will need all the help you can give, to get him in there.
fireclown
August 21st, 2007 8:42pmyou get to choose between boris johnson and ken livingstone? there aren't any serious grown ups willing to run for mayor? that sums it up for the uk. no one has any confidence inthe future, so they are smashing and grabbing for themselves.. this leaves governing to the drongos.
molesworth 1
August 22nd, 2007 8:39amdavid davis' post above contains 2 (count them) unclosed parenthesis & i hav been up all night waiting for him to finish his entry. in vain, i fear. but that may be for the best.
Hannibal
August 22nd, 2007 12:18pmCompass are in danger of giving Boris the credibility they deny he has. Either he is the joke they sometimes say he is or he is a serious threat to London. He can't be both as this post points out: http://ybfblog.wordpress.com/2007/08/22/boris-johnson-a-member-of-the-hard-tory-right/