November 20, 2011 - 1:12 pm
This is what a landslide election victory looks like (in this case, blue=Conservatives):
I write from the patch of red at the bottom of the map. My wife is from a city in the province of Sevilla — the San Francisco of Spain, apparently. (Read a PJ Media symposium on the Spanish election here.)
Spain’s ‘conservatives’ are going to find it extremely difficult to repair the damage left by the leftists. Just as a Republican President will be hard pressed to halt, let alone reverse the ravages of Obama and the 111th Congress.
clipper expects to be traveling through Barcelona in six days (Saturday). Is there any expectation of civil disturbance?
I can’t speak for Barcelona but I’m living in Madrid and here there is nothing to worry about protest-wise. Yes there are protests but at the moment they are public school teachers protesting cutbacks not molotov throwing window smashers. But, as in the best of times, keep an eye on your wallet and passport and try to find out where the shady neighborhoods are and avoid them. (They do exist in Barcelona and aren’t far from the main drag as I recall.) In general, I find Madrid to be pretty safe and the immigrant populations seem less angry than in other European countries. Go to Park Guell while you’re in Barca- it’s very cool.
And don’t forget Sagrada Familia cathedral! Totally awesome.
clipper,
your main problem in BCN (and no doubt in Madrid) will the thousands of romanian gypsy pickpockets that infest the city. Other than that, it should be fun.
Just back from Barcelona; spent a week there on business, and do so several times each year. No issues in Barcelona except the ongoing conflict between gypsies and tourists over the ID and wallets of the tourists. Leave all of your possessions in the hotel safe, carry only Euros (less than 200 divided in both front pockets) and one of your credit cards. Leave passport in safe and carry either no ID or DL (any issues and have taxi take you to hotel to show ID).
Avoid Port Olympic and the Casino (crappy overpriced slop and a lame casino) and also be on guard for much of what goes on in Las Ramblas and the Gothic Quarter after dark, the place is swarming with hustlers and petty criminals; if you choose any of the many neighborhoods outside the tourist zones, you will fine better food at better prices with almost no gypsies (but fewer people speak English).
BTW, the Museum National d’Art de Catalunya (MNAC)in the Palau National is spectacular, and has an exception collection of Catalan art. A much better visit than the Picasso Museum.
I live in Barcelona. Perfectly safe. Nothing to worry about.
How much am I bid for this never-used solar panel? Do I hear 20 Euros? 20? 20? 15?…
Anyone wanna go back a couple of years ago, and point to the Left’s constant stream of promises that, like Spain, the USA would see tons of jobs from “Green energy” as well as massive government spending?
All aboard the Wayback Machine!
Since I have been watching Rocky and Bullwinkle episodes the last few weeks I just can’t resist nit-picking. If this is a reference to the show it’s WABAC machine. The acronym meaning is unknown but meant to mimic the big science projects of the 50’s that mostly ended in AC.
Van Jones is still doing that.
Every country has its San Francisco…
SamIam makes a key point. Obama whined for 2+ years about the situation he inherited, all the while proceeding to make it worse with the help of a Democrat-controlled Congress. After four years of the Chief Community Organizer’s fumbling it will truly be a disaster, and no Republican President will be allowed to get by on “He did it.” and “This is a hard job.” There will be expectations of rapid improvement from the right and constant criticisms from the left, who will oppose any and all conservative proposals to cut costs, eliminate stifling regulations and shrink government. Reality going forward from January 2013 will not be pretty.
Reality is not pretty now.
Heh. I was born in Spain, Majorca to be specific, and spent many summers in the Canary Islands, where my parents owned a house. It’s interesting to see the results of this election.
My mom can remember seeing the Spanish housewives doing their laundry in streams by the roadside 30 years ago in Gran Canaria. Hopefully Spain’s current economic woes will not cause Spain revert to those days!
who’s to say they were not content with life. Is an iPod so important?
The technology to create one is a wonderful thing, and far better then the ignorance which it’s absence implies. And yes, it is a terrible thing to do back breaking labor until you die, all so watermelon greens can stay on their high horse.
Which is the least of what is awful about what the lack of household appliances carried forth to this day and age would imply. Do you imagine it would be a compromise to settle on a hand cranked washer?
Scott, I wonder if you’ve ever lived like that. Growing up in the mountains of North Carolina in the 1950′s 1nd 1960′s I have seen my maternal grandmother do wash over a wood fired pot, wringing by hand and hanging to dry. I’ve cut, split, stacked, and carried my share of wood, carried water from the spring house to the kitchen, and went to the outhouse at 2:00 AM when it was zero outside. My friend, if you think that life is happy, you can have it.
They voted in a gov’t based on disgruntled crazy Muslims blowing stuff up. Who knows what they based their vote on this time? “Please don’t hurt us” didn’t work out so well.
The Right has fallen into the trap set by the Left.
The Left has created irremediable economic problems, so when the Right imposes painful measures yet still fails to solve the problems, they will be subjected to the wrath of the Spanish people.
Suckers.
I was in Spain the last time they voted the socialists in. June is right. Fear is a poor motivator. It’s funny that a bankrupt ETA being dismantled was being touted as a reason to vote PSOE. Obama will say the same about killing bin Laden.
America: If you want to see what will happen in 2013 after Obama is ousted in 2012, look at Spain in 2012. The similarities are (will be) striking:
1. “Conservatives” ousted for socialists (Spain first, then the US)
2. Money crises, bank crises, housing and employment crises (Spain then US)
3. Socialists unable to deliver their utopia are soundly beaten in a country that has forsaken Judeo-Christian values in favor of secular humanism (Spain first, then the US)
4. “Conservatives” attempt to fix the problems (Spain now, US…???)
5. Liberal media does its best to sabotage efforts at fiscal responsibility, etc. (El Pais first, NYT/US MSM next?)…
Sad that we in the US can’t seem to figure this out on a larger electoral scale. Why does Obama still poll in the 40s? Mind-boggling…
“Why does Obama still poll in the 40s? Mind-boggling…”
Because media polls always over sample Dems. And poll the general population not likely, or registered voters. Not to mention that some people will say they like that clown just so they can’t be accused of “racism”.
Catalunya is the San Francisco of Spain. A great place to visit, but I wouldn’t want to pay taxes there.
BTW, blue has historically always been the conservative color and red the left-liberal color, and the current reversal in US political terminology is just hogwash–liberals could not DARE to be called red, and their control of the narrative prevailed.
As elMatador comments the Frisco of Spain is Barcelona (or at least it’s elites,, which have set the tone of the Zapatero regime) Seville is perhaps the most social conservative capital in Spain (which is not to be confounded with prudish), and more even so in the working class areas. (I live there since the late 90′s and I got my cultural “shock”), but it has been the bulkward of the Socialist Party the last 30some years.
But mark, the city hall has since last year an owerhelming PP majority, and the difference of votes in the whole province went from 300.000 in 2008 to 30.000 now (a bit over 2% of the votes). Andalucia has been the only real area of growth of the PP