'C-Can't We All Just Get Along?'
I've often heard people lament that the level of political speech is going downhill quickly via all the mud-slinging. I doubt that this is anything new, however. From the latter 1800's:
When William Gladstone attacked fellow statesman Benjamin Disraeli in front of the British Parliament by saying that Disraeli would die “either on the gallows or of a horrible disease,” Disraeli responded, “That depends on whether I embrace your principles or your mistress.”—Excerpt from Encyclopedia of 20th-Century American Humor
They were Victorian era British politicians; very proper, indeed.
2 comments:
Zing!
I'm trying to think of a Gladstone retort that could save some face.
'Feces don't have arms to embrace anything, they just float or sink. And that's my dog you're looking at, not my mistress.'
Disraeli: 'Are you a floater or a sinker? But the dog IS prettier than your mistress.'
Gladstone: ...
I've seen videos on the activities during the sessions of the British Parliament. Apparently a long tradition.
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