peace, freedom, ecology

Nick Clegg is the brand-new rising political star of England's Liberal Democratic Party, which hasn't captured the grand prize in that country's elections since when? Sometime in the 19th century?

We could sure use somebody like him, or even better a bunch of somebodies like him on this side of the pond. People are ready for what this young guy is putting down, and in the first election debate recently he provided a wake-up call for Labour's Gordon Brown and the Tories' David Cameron.

American conservatives, of course, don't like Clegg at all, and a guy I usually don't read, Niles Gardner of the National Review Online blog, the Corner, provided a bunch of reasons why I and progressives generally, are going to like Clegg. Of course, these are all the same reasons why Gardner doesn't like him (via James Wolcott).

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...

Probably because he recognizes that the world very badly needs peace if we're ever going to make any progress, and an end to the business of war, and of war as business as usual. If the U.S. refuses to adopt a more peaceful approach to world politics, Europe will have to go its own way.

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...

No wonder. Europe now leads the way; the U.S. has become one of the backward and retrograde countries, with its crude and primitive approach to such things as healthcare and income distribution.

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 (my italics--jw)

When nuclear weapons are outlawed only outlaws will have nuclear weapons. And outlaws can be dealt with through law-enforcement measures, rather than invading a country.

4. Clegg is a fervent supranationalist.

...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.”

It's a small world, and as Benjamin Franklin once said, "If we don't hang together we'll hang separately."

5. Clegg harbors strong anti-Israeli views.

...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.

Just one more reason to like Nick Clegg, if you ask me. He seems to be exactly what this country could use right now -- someone whose highest political values are peace, democracy, and working toward achieving a sustainable environment.

"Peace" means abstaining from all wars except defensive ones.

Democracy implies equality, including, especially including, gender equality. It's the concrete expression of Jefferson's observation made over two hundred years ago that government exists for to serve the people, not the other way around. And it certainly doesn't exist to serve CEO's, billionaires, and other kinds of kleptocrats, for whom modern conservatives have become the thinly-disguised partisans.

Environmental sustainability? We won't get far without it, and it needs to include practical measures to limit human populations. That could be accomplished more easily than most people might think; see number two above: gender equality.