Comments on: Who cares what the SNP thinks about NATO?

By: Uncomfortable allies all round on the #indyref « Better Nation

Uncomfortable allies all round on the #indyref « Better Nation — Sun, 21 Oct 2012 13:17:33 +0000

[...] For better or worse, that kind of thinking now means the whole of the Yes campaign will be seen as pro-NATO rather than pro the people deciding on NATO membership after independence has been achieved. This is bad news. [...]

By: Alasdair Frew-Bell

Alasdair Frew-Bell — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 17:45:40 +0000

The old turkeys have voted for Christmas…….Oh say cant you see by the dawns early light, the nukes on there way to blast us to!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

By: Alasdair Frew-Bell

Alasdair Frew-Bell — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 12:55:40 +0000

Paragons of virtue all! to be kept at the end of a very long spoon. These weapons of mass extinction have no place in our country, period.

By: Stuart Winton

Stuart Winton — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 07:54:44 +0000

James – and ignoring the NATO argument per se – surely the problem is that the voters who have to be persuaded to vote Yes are the ones who won’t be motivated by independence per se (unlike the hardcore 30%) and to that extent Salmond, the SNP and the wider Yes campaign have to construct some kind of policy narrative regarding what an independent Scotland would look like, irrespective of whether or not such policies could or would actually be implemented.

Of course, the disparate politics of Yes Scotland would always make constructing such a narrative difficult and, as the NATO argument demonstrates, even bringing the SNP itself to any kind of sellable position (as regards the Dinnae Kens) is fraught with difficulties.

Thus Salmond can’t really just stand up and say that it’ll all effectively be decided after Scotland votes for independence because that would just make it all look too uncertain for the middle ground.

To that extent he’s stuck between a rock and a hard place. Try to please the waverers with concrete policies and he alienates others and exacerbates the, um, disparate (to put it nicely!!) nature of the Yes movement.

By the way, was glad to see your recent Tweets regarding the context of your pipe-smoking dog avatar. Had assumed it was just a bit of fun, but on the other hand whenever I saw it I couldn’t help thinking of those photos of the smoking beagles 40 years or so ago!!

By: Richard

Richard — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 01:46:36 +0000

Who cares? Well the No campaign for a start. They're constantly looking for a stick to beat the SNP with. Or rather Alex Salmond; because they're determined to frame this debate that the Yes campaign is purely an AS ego-machine. We have a wide range of parties and groups now involved (Greens, SSP, LabForInd etc.) and these really need to start making their voices heard. This “false narrative that voting Yes means endorsing only the SNP vision of an independent Scotland.” is a fox that needs to be well and truly shot, starting now. It is also something that SNP supporters should embrace. The spending limits issue springs to mind here; as the SNP will likely have more than they're allowed to spend, I don't see it as either immoral or illegal that individual SNP supporters could give financial assistance to other parties (Greens/SSP/SDA) in order to increase the overall kitty available.

By: Iain Menzies

Iain Menzies — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 22:42:48 +0000

“Calling Scotland/Alba a nuke free zone and then going out to play with the boys with the toys is bizarre”

so we shouldnt have relations with the USA, France, Russia, China, India, Pakistan, North Korea, Israel and the rest of the UK?

By: Alex Grant

Alex Grant — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 20:52:13 +0000

The point of changing policy on NATO is because it makes sense and even if you disagreed with that the evidence is 70% of Scots do agree. So to to present a cogent Defence strategy including NATO will help win the YES vote.
If that is won are you seriously suggesting any other party would enter the 2016
election proposing exit from NATO?
And as to a vote for YES being a vote for AS and a one party state that is utter crap. In 2016 a whole new election bunfight with newly constituted parties is what you get! Unfortunately there are plenty of half wits who believe the Mugabe slur. That can be avoided by consulting on then enacting a written constitution as part of the YES campaign, not after!

By: Alasdair Frew-Bell

Alasdair Frew-Bell — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 19:23:25 +0000

Nato is a relic of cold war politics. It is currently being used by hawks, Madame Clinton, to justify possible intervention in the Eastern Med. and God forbid, Iran. It ought to be quite clear to the pro-Natoist group that obligations to tow the club line go with membership. Nuclear is what Nato does. Calling Scotland/Alba a nuke free zone and then going out to play with the boys with the toys is bizarre. Biagi is right this policy inconsistency will bring scant rewards and much grinding of teeth. Matters like this are for a democratically elected parliament in an independent Scottish state. As you say the same goes for head of state, currency etc. Some people need to take a cold shower while in Inbhirnis.

By: Nikostratos

Nikostratos — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 18:03:26 +0000

A vote for the Yes campaign is a vote for Alex salmond and his snp and ‘IF’ the seperationists won that is exactly how they would portray the result.
Any other minor supporters/dupes having fulfilled their propaganda function would be pushed to the sidelines and quietly ignored.

and as for

those living in Scotland should make all the key political decisions

You ave obviously forgot?? about the E.U.