Lady Thatcher would despise today’s vision

The Financial Times (U.K.) ^ | May 3, 2009 | Maurice Saatchi

[Stoat]

Everyone wants to be immortal. Few are. Margaret Thatcher is. Why? Because her values are timeless, eternal. Tap anyone on the shoulder anywhere in the world, and ask what Mrs Thatcher believed in, and they will tell you. They can give a clear answer to what she “stood for”.

How did she do it? Lady Thatcher knew that in politics, as in law, the jury seeks motive and intent. This is why she told Philip Larkin that her favourite line of his poetry was: “Your mind lay open like a drawer of knives.”

On the day of her election victory, 30 years ago, Lady Thatcher’s mind lay open. She had a definite motive – Britain can be great again – and the intent to bring it about. To prove it, she developed all the winning arguments of our time. She presented a wonderful ‘ism’: Conservatism.

She was proud of Conservatism and what it could do. For example, she said: “Caring that works costs cash

The Good Samaritan showed that first you need the money in order to do the good works. She said: “A bigger cake means a bigger slice for everyone.” But first you had to create the wealth to make the cake bigger. She said: “A rising tide lifts all ships.”

[Stoat]

My apologies for the severe editing of this article....this was done in order to remain in compliance with Free Republic rules pertaining to the posting of articles from The Financial Times.  Please click on the main article link to see it in it's entirety.

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This article was brought to my attention as a result of a "Tweet" from Newt Gingrich who described the article in this way: "great article on the timeless values of Lady Thatcher"

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Readers may also be interested in this recent Free Republic thread:

A Tribute to Margaret Thatcher--30 Years On

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Yep. They’re definitely living in a post-Thatcher world over there.

Sad.

And even sadder? We’re not all that far behind them! Grrrrr!

(Mrs. Thatcher and I are smack-dab on top of one another when charted on ‘The Political Compass.’ She’s one of my heroes.)

http://www.politicalcompass.org/

[Mac n Jac]

Did I miss something? This article reads like Lady Thatcher was dead. I certainly missed that news if it happened.

[onedoug]

More Thatcher in Reagan than Reagan in Thatcher, I suspect.

[Stoat]

 

[colorado tanker]

Thanks for the ping. She's a great one for the ages.

It drives me crazy to hear the snide cracks pseudo-intlectual liberals make about her. IMHO she saved modern Britain, which had been brought to ruin by the post-WWII socialists. They ought to be thanking her, naming schools for her, building monuments, the whole bit.

[surely_you_jest]

Did I miss something? This article reads like Lady Thatcher was dead. I certainly missed that news if it happened.

A few months(?) ago it was announced, by a member of the family if I recall correctly, that Lady Thatcher now suffers from Alzheimer's.

[Deb]

When Thatcher got done with you, you’d been “hand-bagged”. I always loved that.

[alarm rider]

I have always admired Mrs. Thatcher. I read a couple of biographies about her, most they seemed a bit snarky.

She was a strong leader when strong leadership was needed.

From what I read and occasionally see on BBC America, she does not get any respect from the present day British folk. Sad, I hope she is remembered kindly and may God bless her forever.

[Fast Moving Angel]

She’d been suffering from dementia since before Ronald Reagan’s funeral ... yet she made the long trip anyway.

[naturalman1975]

From what I read and occasionally see on BBC America, she does not get any respect from the present day British folk. Sad, I hope she is remembered kindly and may God bless her forever.

There's a lot of respect for her, but she's an incredibly polarising figure. People generally regard her as the greatest PM after Churchill, or as the worst of all time. There's no middle ground. But the group that views her fondly is as large as that which loathes her. She also managed to appear in the '100 Best Britons' and '100 Worst Britons' list simultaneously when voted on in 2002 (Tony Blair and the Queen managed to do the same).

[alarm rider]

Good information, thank you.

And thank you for your
service.

AR

[Churchillspirit]

I will never forget President Reagan's funeral and Lady Thatcher's contribution. Very moving.