The shadowy strategist behind Boris Johnson's Brexit push
Dominic Cummings, special adviser to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, leaves his home in London on Aug. 15. Cummings is seen by some as the power behind the scenes at Downing Street. (Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg News) By Karla Adam and Adam TaylorAugust 24 LONDON Of all the appointments Boris Johnson made on his first day as Britain's prime minister last month, only one is drawing comparisons to Rasputin: Dominic Cummings as his senior political adviser.
Cummings, 47, has been at Downing Street for barely a month, but many already wonder whether he is the power behind the scenes in the new government. He comes to the role with a formidable reputation for persuasion. He was the mastermind behind the "Vote Leave" campaign in the 2016 referendum on Britain's departure from the European Union. He came up with the wildly effective "take back control" catchphrase. And he was responsible for the famous red bus bearing the slogan "We send the EU 350 million a week: let's fund our NHS instead."
His critics say he's a ruthless menace who will ensure that he finishes what he started and ram Brexit through by Oct. 31, come what may. His mercurial style has reminded observers of not only Rasputin, but also ousted Trump adviser Stephen K. Bannon and Cartman from "South Park."
Johnson is arguably the most divisive British prime minister since Margaret Thatcher. Many observers thought that, once in office, he might tack to a more moderate position, but his choice of Cummings as his chief strategist quickly signaled the opposite: The public could expect more polarizing behavior, not less, and the vow to steer Britain out of the E.U. by Halloween, "do or die," was anything but Johnsonian bluster.
Cummings is unconventional. He wears T-shirts and sneakers to work, loathes many lawmakers and doesn't kowtow to authority. He retweets personal criticisms. In 2014, he said in a speech that the idea of a permanent civil service was one for the "history books."
His gadfly image was cemented in the HBO film "Brexit: The Uncivil War," in which Benedict Cumberbatch played him as a socially awkward but strategically brilliant campaign organizer who used data-driven tactics to help his side prevail against the odds."
I watched a little bit of Parliament today just to look. Wow, what a difference from the U.S. House or Senate. Of particular interest is the Speaker of the House of Commons, an officially non-partisan position. Currently filled by John Bercow, a former conservative MP who switched and aligned with the Lib Dems. Watch him in action...sort of like watching rugby and trying to figure out the details, but understanding things in a vague, general type of way. Exceptionally sharp witted, bright...sense of humor, seems to embrace the action.
I watched a little bit of Parliament today just to look. Wow, what a difference from the U.S. House or Senate. Of particular interest is the Speaker of the House of Commons, an officially non-partisan position. Currently filled by John Bercow, a former conservative MP who switched and aligned with the Lib Dems. Watch him in action...sort of like watching rugby and trying to figure out the details, but understanding things in a vague, general type of way. Exceptionally sharp witted, bright...sense of humor, seems to embrace the action.
Orderrrrrrrrr Orderrrrrr! We could definitely us him in the Congress and with the Idiot in Chief who is a right overly excitable gentleman who needs to calm down. I love watching John Bercow at work. He makes government entertaining with his quick witted quips.
He definitely had his hands full with Boris and the boys as they tried to work out Brexit. The Mad Hatter, Boris Johnson, and the Torries had mass defections. The defectors were joining with the opposition (Labour) to vote on delaying Brexit for a year.
After the riveting debate in Parliament yesterday about the terms and timing for Brexit, 21 Tory "rebel" MPs defected from the Conservative party on a major vote. They joined members of other parties in dealing a crushing defeat to Boris Johnson's plans and probably his governing prospects.
After the vote, I opined on Twitter that the 21 Tories, who included several revered party elders, set an example in political courage for U.S. politicians. The 21 knew very well that they would pay a price. Johnson's party-leadership team made clear before the vote that it would "remove the whip" from MPs who defied them, which meant that dissidents would be kicked out of the party, and in the next election they would be "delisted" as candidates to retain their seats. For most, this would seriously dampen their political prospects.
By contrast, American politicians can seem paralyzed by the mere threat of being "primaried," or of losing a funding source, or of becoming the object of Donald Trump's angry tweets. Therefore I wondered, in my short item, why can't we be more like the Brits? More specifically, why can't members of our governing party, the 53 Republicans who control the Senate, stand up to their party's leader the way these Tories stood up to Boris Johnson?
Give Boris' broheim credit. A Trumpkin would never take country over party or family.
Quote:
BORIS JOHNSON'S OWN BROTHER QUITS OVER BREXIT HORROR SHOW
Jo Johnson has resigned from the government citing "national interest."
IIf you've been keeping up with the epic disaster that is Boris Johnson's handling of Brexit since becoming prime minister, you might have asked yourself, following a string of defeats in which lawmakers rejected his call for a snap general election and voted to force him to seek a three-month extension to the October 31 Brexit deadline if it can't reach a deal with the European Union by October 19, "How could things possibly get worse?" That answer came on Thursday, when the prime minister's younger brother publicly quit his job in government and suggested that his sibling is royally screwing Britain.
1) Parliament is passing a bill to require a 3 month delay to negotiate a deal that the EU won't do. Apparently, Parliament won't accept the deal that the EU insists on and the EU may not be willing to change the deal.
2) The bill requires the PM to request the extension, which he won't do, and that means unless the EU acts unilaterally to permit an extension (more about the EU's ability to act), Great Britain is out without a deal.
3) Even is the PM asked for an extension, it must be granted by every country in the EU (other than Great Britain), which provides the southern countries leverage to make other demands. Query, can all the EU countries agree on anything in 3 months (not just Brexit)?
4) The UK would somehow have to negotiate a new deal during the 3 month extension (that's right, only3 months), and in the 3 month time frame Parliament and every country in the EU would have to approve the other deal, Good luck with that.
5) PM Johnson wants to hold elections so he can get a new Parliament to overturn the bill demanding an extension.Parliament said no. Labour want to hold off on holding the election until the PM doesn't ask for extension. What happens if the PM ask for an extension? Even worse, what happens if the EU can't get all the countries to agree to the extension? But let's say Boris doesn't ask for the extension. That means while the election is happening, the 3 months is ticking.
6) The PM kicked members of his party out so he lost his majority. Huh?
7) The PM's brother, who admittedly has often disagreed with his brother, has resigned.
8) Polls suggest that the Brits would rather haver a recession from a no deal exit that have the head Labour guy as MP.
This is like watching your dysfunctional family members.
The Brits are in bigger denial that the Russkies played them, then the U.S. Being dumber than the U.S. isn't something the Brits like to hear but they've just ignored the Russian stuff.
