I know exactly what you mean.
UKIP have been taking off in a big way over here in recent months. I hope this doesn’t take the wind out of their sales. Farage really does tell it how it is without being overly rude or obnoxious. He can humiliate the opposition with pure intellect and charisma alone. That is something I haven’t seen in my life time, with the exception of looking back at the Reagan and Thatcher years!
I honestly believe he could take on Cameron within the conservative party and defeat him in a leadership contest. He would without question get a big majority in a general election thereafter....unfortunately, he is unlikely to do so with UKIP which is after all, only an off shoot of the Conservative Party.
It seems that both the UK and the US are hampered by the preconceived and thoroughly ingrained perceptions surrounding any conservative.
I have long contended, that given our current culture, it is not the message, it is the messenger.
Conservatives speak = Blah Blah Blah, in one ear and out the other.
Liberals speak = WOW, isn’t that fantastic, he really cares.
It doesn’t matter what is said, what matters is who is saying it.
I need to share a funny story.
I have this friend from London, seemingly intelligent, very liberal.
He and his wife came to visit/work a few years ago and since I live near Washington DC, we had to spend the day on the mall for a full celebration of the 4th of July.
The irony.
While he took some time to rent a car and travel up and down the east coast, I was interested in what his thoughts were. Keep in mind, this is someone that would take any and all opportunities to bash the United States.
So, I asked him about his travels etc...
He said “you Americans have no creativeness, virtually all your cities and towns are named after places in England”
I shot back in an instant “We weren’t Americans then”