ABOUTDONATECONTACTPRIVACY POLICYSUBMISSIONS/TIPS
HOMEBRITAINAMERICAINTERNATIONALOPINIONCULTUREWEIRDVIDEOBLOGSHOP
Home / BRITAIN / George Galloway’s guide to Twitter
George Galloway’s guide to TwitterBY JAMES SNELL ON AUGUST 23, 2013 AT 11:08 AM
1
Politicians are seen as out of touch by all sections of society. They are seen as part of a ‘metropolitan elite’ by supporters of Ukip and traditionalist Tories. And, in the eyes of the young, they fare little better. To engage more successfully with the large numbers of potential voters who use social media, Members of Parliament have been driven online by their parties, in a bid to appear up-to-date, and altogether more approachable.
Twitter is the favourite haunt of our politicians as it allows for greater mass communication, and the pre-set character limit also channels every utterance into that staple of modern political life: the soundbite. But MPs (or more likely their staff) have a difficult time of it on web. When David Cameron and George Osborne joined Twitter, they were met with a torrent of abuse from all corners. The chancellor even came under fire for tweeting an innocuous picture of a cat climbing out of his red budget box.
But the biggest threat to broadband-based politicians is not the public, nor is it the fearsome requirements of the party whip. It is, in fact, each other. Labour MPs regularly find themselves in spats with the anonymous ‘Tory Education’ drone, and many came under fire regarding their comments after the death of Lady Thatcher, on 8th April this year.
One man who even beat Glenda Jackson for needless and stupid offence was George Galloway. In his tweet in the aftermath of the sad news, he urged his 140,000 followers to ‘tramp the dirt down’ (an uninspired reference to an anti-Thatcher song) on her grave.
Like most of the political Twitterati, he is swift to silence opponents, and freely blocks those brave souls who dare to disagree with him. One can only suspect that he gets so much bile from sensible people online that he has entirely ceased communication with them. He also has other ways to clog the internet with his idiocy, and so we get George’s definition of rape, as well as hundreds of inane blogs and rants – directed with the consummate populist’s professionalism – at nothing other than vague notions of opposition.
He is not just an idiotic presence online, or a cartoonish Stalinist to be wheeled out and laughed at whenever he takes a position on an issue of the day: he is a rather second-rate human being. He is a political opportunist, and carpet-bagger, who never turns down a chance to advance his own position. His former constituencies mean nothing to him, and he has criss-crossed the country in search of a powerbase peopled with citizens sufficiently indoctrinated and stupid to continually elect him.
But it is hardly as if he has had a constant set of principles to guide him in his wandering. Galloway’s ideology is constantly shifting, from frenzied support of the officially irreligious USSR to his current support for extremist radicals; he has never held one position consistently. It is unclear, even to seasoned Galloway-watchers, why he seems to do this. He may have a short ideological attention span, or do it for the smug thrill of mental contrarianism by taking the opposite side.
It is certain that this is no idle intellectual game. It is not for the sake of argument that he supports the ‘heroic’ work of suicide bombers fighting for ‘freedom’ in Afghanistan, but condemns those doing so in Syria. I think that it is partly some deep desire for hipster-ish political vogue – for satisfaction at being “against the tide” – and partially a calculating game for some less esoteric, and much more tangible, rewards.
He does, after all, derive his support from angry Muslims, either in his constituency of Bradford, or in the state-sponsored propaganda networks run by Islamist regimes for which he has worked. But the issue is not just that he uses a vulnerable core of those who can feel isolated within Britain to supplement his electoral power, it is that he actively damages their interests in his collusion with the worst tyrants of the Arab world.
Regardless of whether he resembles a bloated pork scratching, he is still an insincere force in politics. That he is free to contact, and rally, thousands of people on the Internet with all the genuineness of a Michael Macintyre opening line, represents the extent to which his contagion can spread. He can now lazily key in ‘his take’ on a recent event (which is ironic considering his status as a part-time Member of Parliament) and the caged idiots for whom he does it will applaud in the manner they have been instructed to do.
Due to the power and spread of social media, he can circulate his moronic drivel even further. The nastier regimes in the Middle East have a vocal spokesman in Galloway (noticeably more vocal since the Iranian regime he worships stepped up the rhetoric against Israel), and his online presence is clogged with tales of George’s anti-democratic doings.
For a start, he professes adoration for the dictatorial Alawite minority leaders in Syria. Although, I expect even they could do better: which tyrant would want someone to act as their self-appointed representative who idolises “Che” Guevara, a man who had a ‘thing’ about shooting captives in the head? With his anachronistic demagoguery, complemented by slobbering lips and jowly bellicosity, he has the look of an ageing Generalissimo – not the best man you could wish for to be battling in your attempts to gain legitimacy.
His Twitter feed only helps to continue this image of him. Glowing tributes to Socialist mass-murderers jostle for place with back-scratching retweets of sycophantic devotees, all lining up to tell George just how wonderful he is. He occasionally strays outside the insulating bubble of adoration long enough to say something contemptible, but he remains remarkably self-contained. Despite this relative obscurity his presence on the site does not show him in a positive light, but merely holds true to the shallowness and decrepitude of his character.
Not only is Galloway a morality free pocketer of theocratic cash, he also shamelessly advances some nasty anti-Israel rhetoric in the interests of his extremist masters. His recent statement, for example, which stated that not only did rebels commit the atrocities in Syria involving Sarin, but that they were supplied by the Jewish state, in an international conspiracy whereby “imperialist” foreigners battled his beloved Assad; is only too common. All of this confirms his status as bastard-in-chief of the Islamist propaganda corps.
James Snell is a freelance writer
Share this:
Email
RELATED ITEMSBASHAR AL ASSADCHE GUEVARAGEORGE GALLOWAYLATESTTWITTER
← Previous Story Galloway: Israel and Al-Qaeda team up with chemical weapons in Syria Next Story → Feminism: Women hurt other women too YOU MAY ALSO LIKE...Galloway: Israel and Al-Qaeda team up with chemical weapons in Syria Are Israel boycotters in good company? We’re still addicted to money
KEEP IN TOUCH
Stay informed simply by entering your e-mail
Gay couple to sue Church over gay marriage opt-out
UKIP defections are underreported
Palestinian negotiator’s Facebook page betrays true anti-Israel aspirations
OPINION
Feminism: Women hurt other women too
Victoria Monro | August 23, 2013When I read something, or see something, that reminds me how far women still have to go to be taken as seriously as men in the workplace, I turn...
George Galloway’s guide to Twitter
James Snell | August 23, 2013Politicians are seen as out of touch by all sections of society. They are seen as part of a ‘metropolitan elite’ by supporters of Ukip and traditionalist Tories. And,...
The Guardian, Miranda’s rights & the search for aliens
Peter Glover | August 22, 2013Eleven UK science institutions recently banded together to announce a new and concerted effort to search for alien life. I could save them a whole bunch of time. They should...2
Rich anti-shale protesters must not be allowed to increase fuel poverty
Douglas Carswell MP | August 21, 2013Why do some countries, at certain times in history, advance technologically, while others stagnate? Are they just lucky? Or smarter? No. It’s all about freedom – the ability to...5
The Fifth Columnist: Conservatism still runs deep
Ed Kozak | August 21, 2013A final word on Russia following on from last week. I was speaking with an old friend of mine who wasn’t too impressed with my defence of Putin. ‘These...3
Labour’s empire is collapsing
Jonathan Stanley | August 21, 2013Ed Miliband is currently following a path laid out over a thousand years ago by the heirs of Charlemagne, a tyrant who sought unify Europe under a common power,...4FOLLOW US ON TWITTERLIKE US ON FACEBOOK!
Copyright © 2013 Trending Central
ABOUTDONATECONTACTPrivacy PolicySUBMISSIONS/TIPS
KEEP UP WITH ALL THE LATEST:
ENTER YOUR EMAIL:
FollowShare
Toggle Dock
Recommended for you:
Labour's empire is collapsing
www.trendingcentral.com
The Smears of Glenn Greenwald and the Guardian
www.trendingcentral.com
Galloway: Israel and Al-Qaeda team up with chemical weapons in S...
www.trendingcentral.com
Anti-tuition fees MP charges students £1750 for university speech
www.trendingcentral.com
AddThis
Home 
