Ok which one of you is responsible for this? (Clarkson for PM petition)

edkwon

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080104/wr_nm/britain_topgear_clarkson_life_tech_dc_1

this article was dated 1/4/08 so i know it can't be a repost

LONDON, Jan 4 (Reuters) - He's the host of one the world's most popular television programs and now many people in Britain apparently want him to be prime minister as well.
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Jeremy Clarkson, the gruff and opinionated presenter of Top Gear, a program about cars watched by 350 million people from Finland to Australia, is the subject of an online campaign being waged in the very heart of British government.

A petition, posted on the official Web site of Prime Minister Gordon Brown (www.pm.gov.uk), calls for Brown to step down and make Clarkson, 47, prime minister instead.

As of Friday, 30,311 people had signed the petition, making it the sixth most popular posted on the site, which since November 2006 has allowed any citizen to make a proposal and try to garner popular support via online signatures.

The campaign for Clarkson, submitted by someone called Joseph Dark, now outranks arguably more pressing issues such as "Reduce the rate of fuel duty" and "Reverse the decision to cut vital UK contributions to Particle Physics and Astronomy," which have 11,700 and 10,050 signatures respectively.

"We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to make Jeremy Clarkson Prime Minister" reads Dark's submission, which has nearly four months to run before it closes on April 17.

Clarkson, who has become popular in Britain for his forthright opinions on everything from immigration to fashion, as well as his stock-in-trade views on fancy cars, has not commented on the online campaign, but Downing Street is apparently taking it seriously.

In the section on petitions, the prime minister's Web site explains that humorous, joke or offensive petitions will no longer be accepted and will be removed.

"Initially we accepted humorous petitions on the grounds that they did no harm and were often funny," the site says.

"However... We have decided no longer to accept petitions that are obviously intended as jokes."

Since the Clarkson petition remains, the inference is that it is regarded as serious.

Parts of the British media have rallied behind the campaign, with the conservative Daily Mail newspaper running a full page of suggested policies Clarkson should adopt if he were to suddenly find himself running the country.

The paper also revealed on Friday that Dark is a 20-year-old fan of Top Gear who has never managed to secure tickets to be in the audience for the program, one of the most popular in Britain over the past six years.

Dark was not reachable for comment.

The person who thought this was a good idea to push is pretty ignorant on the way the world works and needs to get a life, heres my thoughts why:

1. his political views are so polarized, inflexible, and black n white they would never work IRL

2. he hates the real world of politics and has been quoted multiple times in interview why he has no interest in running for office, saying hed rather put his life in danger screening the britsh bases for hidden mines in the killer heat in iraq, then run for office.

3. hes a journalist and says he loves to comment and sling mud at politicians but never wants to be the target himself.

Those of you who think JC would be a terrible PM, would be right and clarkson would be the first to agree. Plus theres about 100 more SUBSTANTIAL socio-political causes Mr Dark could have actually directed that energy towards.
 
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I love clarkson, I love his views on things, I love everything he is in, and look for everything I can that deals with. That said he would be a horrible PM. He's not the type to lead a great nation. He's incredibly intelligence but intelligence doesn't mean you are a great leader. That said he would be better then bush is over here. :p

Do you suppose if he does become PM he will follow through on his promise to make James the minister of transportation? :D
 
its a joke, I'm not a terrorist

its a joke, I'm not a terrorist

if someone started a renegade battleforcesquad to overthrow Brown and put Clarkson in his place I'd join. Forget political debate when you've got 20,000 AK47s on your side :)
 
As the article says, the guy is clearly doing this as an attempt to score tix to the show, he's obviously some hardcore fan.
 
Do you suppose if I sign it I can get a plane ticket from the middle of the US and tickets to the show?
 
Do you suppose if I sign it I can get a plane ticket from the middle of the US and tickets to the show?

No. I tried to sign it but you have to be a British citizen. Too bad Canada no longer counts... 8)
 
I joined the petition. I love the idea, but it would never happen.
 
One thing I REALLY hate about this bloody petition that there are so many petitions that deserve more attention, such as ones preventing the introduction of the ID cards which will cost the tax payer billions...and billions...and billions. Yes I guess Clarkson would get rid of ID Cards but realistically that petition is going no where. if he stood as the head of a party then yes he could get into No. 10!

End of Rant.
 
even the man himself realises and says that he'd be a terrible prime minister. he even said in his sun column today that if he was in power he'd undo every new law and legislation introduced since may 6th 1997 (something about this day being the last day labour made a good decision) and then go on holiday because the EU will run everything anyway. he'd come back from time to time to check on things, then have another holiday.

yes our current labour government are about as useful as a pack of chimps, but i hardly think clarkson will be any better.

also, 30K people? yeah thats a lot of people, but in a country of 60million it really isnt is it.


im gonna go sign a petition while im here tho.... the partical physics one, because that is genuinely useful.
 
Rent the movie 'Man of the Year' with Robin Williams to get an idea what it would be like if a political television presenter/personality were pushed into running for office (specifically Pres of the US)

man%20of%20the%20year.JPG


and then substitute 'Clarkson' and 'PM' in my above summary.
 
even the man himself realises and says that he'd be a terrible prime minister. he even said in his sun column today that if he was in power he'd undo every new law and legislation introduced since may 6th 1997 (something about this day being the last day labour made a good decision) and then go on holiday because the EU will run everything anyway. he'd come back from time to time to check on things, then have another holiday.

yes our current labour government are about as useful as a pack of chimps, but i hardly think clarkson will be any better.

also, 30K people? yeah thats a lot of people, but in a country of 60million it really isnt is it.


im gonna go sign a petition while im here tho.... the partical physics one, because that is genuinely useful.

At least he'd do more work than John Prescott....
 
Wow, that's 30,311 more votes than the liberal democraps
 
i honestly think he couldn't make this country any worse than it already is....
 
im gonna go sign a petition while im here tho.... the partical physics one, because that is genuinely useful.

that's probably the only blessing about this petition, is that it draws people's attention to other actual important causes.

Im not sure how it works in the UK since you guys apparently have a multiparty system, but in the US with its essentially bipartisan political system (dominated by democrats and republicans) a third party candidate (which there have been several of in the past) have never been able to garner enough votes to win, but their presence simply draws critical votes away from one of the other two dominate party candidates.
 
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i honestly think he couldn't make this country any worse than it already is....

that much is true


there really isnt a single worth while party (that at least has a remote chance of coming to power) in the whole of the UK. i dislike every single one of them, but i do dislike labour just a little more than the rest.
 
At least you guys have something in common with the US.

Chin up guys you could have bush for PM.
 
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