Why We Should Worry About Clegg

So for the first time in a long while, the Liberal Democrats in the UK actually have a shot at outpolling the Labour and Conservative Parties. All of this is thanks to Nick Clegg, the leader of the Liberal Democrats who won the first debate against Gordon Brown and David Cameron. The Liberals in the UK started out as a classical liberal party, one that promoted free minds and free markets. However, at around the turn of the century it morphed into a much more progressive liberal party, so that now many of its policies are actually to the LEFT of labour (despite Clegg's positioning as a centrist). So while it's always fun to root for the underdog, this underdog sounds like he would be a disaster for Britain and the Atlantic alliance. Check out these 5 reasons why we should worry about Nick Clegg from Nile Gardiner:

1. Clegg’s outlook is anti-American.

Clegg, a major opponent of the Iraq War, has made a number of statements calling for a completely new relationship with the United States and an end to what he mockingly calls London’s “subservience” to Washington. He rejects the idea of a “special relationship” with America, and believes that the top priority for Britain is to strengthen ties with a federal Europe.

2. Clegg is not an Atlanticist.

Clegg has called for an end to “default Atlanticism,” and has shown barely any interest in the transatlantic alliance. His party manifesto does not even mention NATO. As Clegg put it in a flagship speech in March: “Our strategic interests will not be served unless we release ourselves from that spell of default Atlanticism which has prevailed so strongly since Suez.”

3. Clegg does not believe in a nuclear deterrent.

Clegg has called for the scrapping of Britain’s trident nuclear deterrent and is firmly opposed to the use of force against Iran’s nuclear facilities as a last resort if sanctions fail. His national-security outlook is extremely weak in the face of mounting threats from rogue regimes, and he has been a fierce critic of key aspects of the U.S.-led War on Terror.

4. Clegg is a fervent supranationalist.

A former European Commission bureaucrat and a strong supporter of the Lisbon Treaty, Clegg firmly believes that Britain must give up key aspects of national sovereignty in Europe, including the pound, and supports the EU having a unified foreign policy and defense identity. He is a big believer in the power of supranational institutions such as the United Nations and summed up his views on sovereignty in a speech at Chatham House: “Globalization requires us to formulate a system of supranational governance capable of controlling forces which escape the limitations of the nation state.”

5. Clegg harbors strong anti-Israeli views.

To describe Clegg as a vociferous opponent of Israel would be an understatement — I’ve written in greater detail on this issue here. Clegg has penned a number of articles condemning Israel’s handling of Gaza, and has been the most prominent British critic of Israel’s response to Hamas attacks. He has alleged that the Israeli government “continues to imprison 1.5 million Palestinians and prevent the rebuilding of its shattered infrastructure,” and supports the U.N.’s use of the highly offensive term “collective punishment.” Clegg has drawn parallels between Israel’s defensive actions and the terrorist campaigns of groups such as Hamas, and has urged the European Union in the past to isolate and even sanction Israel.

Honestly though, it's amazing how the UK can have 3 major parties and have nothing but disasters at the head of all of them. Gordon Brown is a typical, soak the rich, class-warfare leftist. David Cameron is a big government conservative who is running on a "Great Society" platform (though he calls it Big Society). And then there is Nick Clegg, an anti-semitic, anti-American environmental freak.