The People to Blair: Step Down

It is sometimes observed that Lyndon Baines Johnson, with his legacy of enlightenment in civil rights, was a great president if not for Vietnam. It is something akin to testifying that John Wayne Gacy, Jr. was a perfect gentleman if not for his nasty habits of rape, torture and murder.

In the aftermath of the recent election, it is not premature to ask: Will something similar be said of Prime Minister Tony Blair?

He has taken the reigns of Labor and led them to an era of relative prosperity at a time when much of the world’s economy has stumbled. He has played a central role in the realization of the European Union. He has rendered conservative politics in the Isles impotent, defused the crisis in Northern Ireland and boxed the Tory loyalists into a lonely corner.

The Brits smiled at their Prime Minister’s infatuation with the country boy charm and incisive intellect of the man from Hope, Arkansas. It was understandable. Tony Boy and Billy Bob were cut from the same political cloth, demoralizing the opposition with strategic moves to the right. Their public fawning was at least mutual and oddly appealing.

The act was not so appealing when it was repeated with the brazen, gun toting, bible thumping, dull-witted cowboy from Crawford, Texas. When Tony Boy attached himself to the boot-dragging hip of George Dubya, made a mockery of international law, twisted and distorted intelligence beyond recognition, condoned torture by implied consent and, in fact, agreed to the invasion of Iraq long before the weapons of mass destruction charade began, even the stodgiest of Brits began to lose their patience.

I am no expert in British parliamentary democracy but I believe the recent election informed us in several ways: First, for lack of proportionate representation, the third party option (as in America) is rendered negligible. Thus, the antiwar Liberal Democrats gained votes while losing a seat in Commons. Second, despite a system stacked against them, the people made their distaste for the leadership of Tony Blair resoundingly clear. Even at the risk of empowering the despised Tories and compromising Labor’s hold on the reigns of power, they delivered a stern rebuke. They demanded an end to British support of the Bush Doctrine. They demanded an end to the war and occupation. They delivered the bottom line with crystalline clarity: Step down.

It is far too late to plead ignorance or ask forbearance. There is no tolerating crimes against humanity and there is no greater crime than aggressive warfare. On matters of war and peace, there can be no second chance.

You have lost the faith of your people and, like the young woman’s virginity, it can never be restored. Whatever reservations may be held on whatever grounds, the Chancellor of the Exchequer stands ready to assume your vaunted station.

Take comfort that you are not alone in your demise. Who has grasped the hand of this American president without suffering the consequences in public support? Jose Maria Aznar knows your pain. Silvio Berlusconi feels the shadow moving over him like a coming storm. Beware Jacques Chirac: If you move too close, too quickly, too brazenly, the same fate will surely follow.

Everywhere the people are allowed to make their will known (with the inexplicable exception of Australia), they speak the language of opposition. Those leaders who speak the same language – Vladimir Putin of Russia, Viktor Yushchenko of Ukraine, Hugo Chavez of Venezuela – have survived adversity in no small part because of their opposition.

The world is united and cries out for change:

The occupation of Iraq must end.

Policies of aggression must not be tolerated – even by the most powerful nations on earth.

International order must be restored and international law upheld.

The debt for these crimes must be repaid.

The collaborators must go.

Prime Minister Blair, you were once a man of promise and integrity but you have reached the end of a curious and ultimately dubious career. Do not compound the tragedy by delaying the decree. It is your fate, as it is the fate of every historian who chronicles your story, to contemplate in perpetuity what might have been if not for Iraq.

Jazz.

JACK RANDOM IS THE AUTHOR OF THE JAZZMAN CRONICLES (CROW DOG PRESS) AND GHOST DANCE INSURRECTION (DRY BONES PRESS). HIS CHRONICLES APPEAR ON COUNTERPUNCH AND DISSIDENT VOICE.

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