Why I Care About the U.S. Presidential Race, and Why I Don't Care That Much

[f4f3]

Two things in my head about politics today. The first, prompted by some of my FB friends and, somewhat more intelligently, by jen_c_w of this parish, is why do I care about who wins in America at all? It's a fair question, and I suppose there are two answers. The first is that it matters, a lot, to my American friends. It matters, surprisingly often, on a very personal level. If Obama had lost, a lot of them would find it more difficult to get married, to get medical treatment, to get access to family planning. And I don't have a lot of poor American friends (worth noting that a lot of these friends are on-line friends, though some are friends I've actually met!). If it's like that for them, then there must be a lot of people affected further down the social ladder. Secondly, the President has the power to regulate American foreign policy and, on balance, I think Obama is less likely to find a juicy new war to play with than Romney. It goes without saying that a UK government of any stamp would follow America into war with its tail happily wagging, and that would upset me.

So that's why I care, but I don't care as much as some people I know (like the Edinburgh students I heard on Radio Scotland this morning, who've spent 4 months volunteering in the States). Mostly it comes down to the simple fact that America (and I apologise for using America here and throughout as being synonymous with the USA - I do know better, honestly) is a foreign country. I have no vote there, and they have a variety of political views which come to them through being American, and being directly influenced by American politics. Being invested in them voting the way I'd like them to is useless, self-indulgent, and, possibly, down-right insulting. Americans will choose (have chosen) the government that Americans want. Nothing I can, or should, do about that.

Strangely enough it was only last night, in conversation with widgetfox, that I realised that this is the way I'm increasingly thinking about Westminster, about UK elections. No matter what I think, or feel, or how I vote, or how anyone votes, up here in Scotland, UK results will reflect what England wants. That's not a political point, it's an arithmetical one. But it does help me to understand that when English voters elect a Conservative government, or make a Conservative led government possible, then that is what they want. From up here in Scotland I have no right to say that they should vote Labour just because Scotland does. That, I think, is why I don't subscribe to the idea that Scotland should remain within the Union to fight for a fairer government (or what I, and other Labour supporters would consider to be a fairer government). If England wants that type of government, they will vote for it. If they don't then their choice has a legitimacy that has nothing to do with my prefrrences.

Comments

[zenicurean.livejournal.com]

That's not a political point, it's an arithmetical one.

I think this is actually one of the major points of interest in this entire debate, because after the Thatcher and Blair wipeouts of Scottish Tories/Unionists, there's clearly been a divergence between the broad political frameworks of Scotland and England. You've talked about it lots of times -- but English newspapers and so forth aren't very keen on bringing it up at all. I don't know if this is actually understood very well down there.

That said, I don't think it's solely an arithmetic point, just because of the existing conditions of the debate. You're not saying, for instance, that the rural areas around Stirling should shy away from an independent Scotland and remain with the Union because those areas tend to vote very Tory, and would be themselves in turn overwhelmed, and so forth. You're talking about England and Scotland because the issue has already been framed as a component in a political framework where England and Scotland are the units of reference. (Which is fine, because that's the framework where debate about nationalism should be had, just that it's not apolitical framework.)

[f4f3.livejournal.com]

Yes, I said it was arithmetical, not political, to try to avoid the heat that's frequently generated around the difference in voting patterns - basically that this "proves" either that Scotland is a more socialist country than England, or that Scotland deserves everything it gets for not voting the same way as the rest of the UK.
One of the great unsayables about independence is how much easier it would make it for a Conservative government to get a majority. I say easier, and not inevitable, since the arithmetic shows that almost every Labour government would have been elected without Scottish seats, and it's necessary to say that to counter the argument, or rather the contention, that Independence will doom England to perpetual Tory rule.

[rowanryder.livejournal.com]

I can understand your feelings about the English conservative Party, but really he didnt win the election; it just came down to Nick Clegg selling out.

We're all a bit media-ridden, too; The Sun (!) actually called dreadful Boris J 'Britains best-loved tory' a few weeks ago
God, what can you say about that, at any level?

We used to live in the South-East, and really, the rest of the country might as well be another planet, as far as theyre concerned. If the rest of us could divorce from the horrors of this government, most of us would
(Please note; I was part of the NHS; what theyre doing just there is criminal)

keep fighting

[f4f3.livejournal.com]

I don't think it matter if the government is true-blue, or if it has a bit of a yellow rinse to it, it's overwhelmingly one that was rejected in Scotland. I lived in Newcastle for 12 years, and I know how different the North East is the the South East, and also that there are very many people in the South East who are either don't support the Tories, or who's loyalty is to a long dead One Nation conservatism which was admirable in its belief in service.
Basically, though, I'm starting to think of these divisions as the problems of another country, one I'm very, very fond of, but don't want to be part of anymore.