tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3952108899218764633.post6423451456736792739..comments2024-02-28T22:03:19.609+00:00Comments on A Scottish Liberal: Willie Rennie's lecture to David Hume Institute in fullAndrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02027368242570244912noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3952108899218764633.post-46028063761400113542015-01-16T22:04:49.573+00:002015-01-16T22:04:49.573+00:00Sorry Andrew I can't take anything Willie says...Sorry Andrew I can't take anything Willie says seriously especially when he equated the Smith 'unworkable' farce' as Home Rule superior to anything else in the world (or similar). He might have some good ideas about something s but nothing to do with politics, wrong job.cynicalHighlanderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06034325908473006163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3952108899218764633.post-79009553994703040422015-01-15T11:29:03.901+00:002015-01-15T11:29:03.901+00:00I agree. We should be sufficiently politically int...I agree. We should be sufficiently politically intelligent to understand what the likely reaction would be to the comments directly relating to the SNP. <br /><br />This has the inevitable but regrettable effect of obscuring the many more positive and useful points Willie had to make.<br /><br />In a sense, this speech encapsulates the current problem with Scottish Liberal Democrats. It's not that we have a shortage of ideas, but that we prefer to be identified as an anti-SNP party. Rather than play up who we are, we instead identify oursleves by what we are not. <br /><br />We have to use the media to communicate our positive and distinctive messages and this is a prime example of a failure in that regard. No attention was paid to any of the progressive policy ideas because the section on the SNP was political dynamite. Whether it's the media who are being selective or the Lib Dem press guys who are higlighting this section is, in one sense, irrelevant - what is concerning is that the content of a (largely) very good speech by Willie has been undermined by the tendency to use words such as "ultra-extremist" and a focus on our opponents rather than ourselves. <br /><br />There's definitely been a misplaced emphasis, and it's not only on the part of those doing the reporting. <br /><br />But much of this is good...very good...and these are the kinds of things Willie needs to be saying more. Being negative about our opponents is no substitute for being positive about who we are.Andrewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02027368242570244912noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3952108899218764633.post-69790043077319129292015-01-15T01:56:18.630+00:002015-01-15T01:56:18.630+00:00I think you lost sight of the point here. Vanishin...I think you lost sight of the point here. Vanishingly few people are going to know what is in the whole speech. The vast majority who hear about it will only do so from the second hand reports that only mention the branding of supporters of full fiscal autonomy as ultra-extremist.<br /><br />There are two possible explanations. First is that Willie deliberately chose to highlight that section of the speech in his own publicity and press releases. The other possibility is that the almost exclusively unionist mainstream media chose to highlight that part themselves to suit their own agenda. In that case, Willie is experienced enough by now to know that they would do that and any other message he might have had, reasonable, positive or otherwise would be obscured by the ultra-extremism claim.<br /><br />Whichever is the truth, Willie is a fool for putting a section in his speech that denies anything positive he might have had to say the oxygen of publicity, and which brands a sizable chunk of the people who still voted Lib Dem in the 2011 melt down as ultra-extremist. By alienating potential voters at this rate, it might even be that the Lib Dems get less votes in Scotland than the SNP have members. Is that the what Willie wants his time as leader to be remembered for?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com