(03-12-2019 08:12 AM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  

(03-12-2019 07:58 AM)JustAnotherAustinOwl Wrote:  I had a thought this morning. What if May is actually trying to cancel Brexit and is outsmarting everyone? Wasn't she a remainer?
Given the universe as it exists (one where the UK is in the EU) I still think cancelling Brexit is the best option. The UK is a lot more integrated with Europe than they like to think.
As far as giving up sovereignty, should the colonies have created the United States? Honest question.

I would think Brexit is very much analogous to the colonies' creation of the US. The EU parliament and bureaucrats are power-driven micromanagers who infringe upon areas that are frankly none of their business.

The problem is that UK jumped into something without thinking through. It looked good back then, now not so much. I don't think there is a good answer.

If I were May, I would be strongly tempted to go to Brussels to address the EP, and say something like, "We're fine with a trade alliance, but we are not okay with your micromanagement what we believe are our internal affairs. So we're not going to put up with it. We're going to nullify the things we don't agree with, and if you want to fine us, we're not going to pay. And if you don't like that, then you can politely go f-k yourselves. We still believe that a trade alliance is to the benefit of all of us, and we are certainly more than willing to work out the details to remain in that sort of relationship. And we very much support the idea of a common defense alliance. But your concept of one European government is not one with which we agree."

Yes, I'm sure that would be highly effective. LOL. Having had the experience of living and working in the UK's equivalent of "flyover" country, I think a lot of Brexit was driven by fear of immigration. But also I think people voted for their own idealized version of Brexit where they could keep all the stuff they liked (or more likely didn't realize were a product of EU membership) and just get rid of the stuff they didn't want. Similar to how it is much easier to unite around a slogan like "Repeal and replace" or "Medicare for All" than to implement specifics....

I was probably harsh in my assessment of May earlier - she's been asked do deliver a unicorn. No wonder she's not succeeding.

In fairness to my English friends (the Scots and Welsh have already chosen Europe) they have a genuine internal conflict as to whether they are "European" or not. I haven't seen a study but I would guess the answer to the question "Do you consider yourself European?" would be predictive of a whole lot of other opinions in England.