Pim Fortuyn and the left

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Am I the only one noticing that the left is starting to embrace Pim Fortuyn now? Despite demonizing him and calling him a fascist, he is beginning to get quite a following among leftists, and this is quite evident from the forum.

I'm beginning to rethink my views on him as well. I used to think he was just another Le Pen/BNP neo-fascist, but now I see he was not at all anti-Semetic or a believer of the historicial revisionist garbage AuH2O spews. Rather he appears to be more of simply someone who wanted to save his country from a religion of intolerance. I honestly do not know much about him and if he ever did engage in racism or whatever, but has anyone else noticed that his popularity among the left has shot up quite a bit?

[Rob]

He was a great man who opposed Islamic fascism. I certainly would have voted for him.

It would surprise me if the left started to support his ideals, as his views are antithetical to their obsession with "tolerance". However, he was libertarian, so you never know.

[Beet]

I didn't even realize there was a conscious popularity contest among "the left" on the forum-- outside of fantasy politics and the survivor game, that is.

[??????????]

... a believer of the historicial revisionist garbage AuH2O spews.

That's a hysterical comment. Especially since it's an outright lie.

[afleitch]

I've always been a strong supporter of the man having seen him campaigning while in Amersterdam a month before he was murdered. He wanted to protect his countrys social liberalism from the onslaught of Muslim social backwardness. He was a gay sociology lecturer who didn't really want to get involved in politics but couldn't stand back and watch his native Rotterdam and the Netherlands loose it's identity because of absurd political correctness. Despite being gay, and having a black deputy leader, the European left called him 'fascist' and 'racist' simply becasue they seem to be the only words they have in their vocabulary these days. I abandoned the left altogether, the traditionaly secular and anti-religious, anti-socially conservative left, partly because they sold their souls after 9/11 for a few measly Muslim votes. The European left are nothing but a shameless walking dinosaur of a political movement; the talking shop of their local Muslim community. I believe that it is parties of the right who now safeguard our traditional individual and social liberties in Europe from this alien assault on our culture.

[minionofmidas]

(yawn) should answer the question of how much "left" there was in Pym Fortuyn...not that you can pretect social liberalism by damning social liberalism...yeah, he seems to have some supporters on the left...either uninformed Americans who've read to much anti-Islamic propaganda or social conservative, hawkish types.

[afleitch]

(Yawn) isn't really an intelligent answer. There are many people on the traditional left who oppose the influence of Islam as they would oppose the influence of ANY religion, so to them perhaps Fortuyn is a significant figure. But as I said, i'm not part of the left anymore. I admire Pim Fortuyn as a figure of European libertarianism.

[minionofmidas]

(Yawn) isn't really an intelligent answer. There are many people on the traditional left who oppose the influence of Islam as they would oppose the influence of ANY religion, so to them perhaps Fortuyn is a significant figure. But as I said, i'm not part of the left anymore. I admire Pim Fortuyn as a figure of European libertarianism.

Oh, sorry. The first sentence of my post is misleading. What I meant was more like:
"(yawn). Afleitch's post should really answer the question of how much "left" there was in Pym Fortuyn."

[afleitch]

Okay then- you got it. Was there any 'left' in Fortuyn? Perhaps. Unless you believe only the left has a monopoly on certain values. Fortuyn could not be pigeon-holed. Each political philospophy can make of Fortuyn what they wish. The left can love him because he supported gay rights or hate him because he was a 'fascist' IF..that's what they feel. The values that Fortuyn encompassed are similar to mine. But I don't believe that makes him part of 'my' centre-right/libertarian belief system.