Iain Dale 7pm - 10pm
James O'Brien Sums Up 'The Great Victory Of The Right'
27 February 2017, 13:27 | Updated: 27 February 2017, 13:57
James O'Brien takes a wider look at what's going on in the world, summing up what he says is 'the great victory of the right'.
In a discussion about disability benefit cuts, James O'Brien explains the attitude towards the policy typifies the current political climate.
Whether talking about Trump, immigration, or Brexit, the lack of compassion prevalent in today's society is the "great victory of the right", says James.
He said: "It was one of the callers just said 'I always try to imagine what it would be like to walk a mile in the other fella's shoes'. And that's gone now.
"This is the great victory of the right, if you will, for want of a better word. Whether you're talking about Trump, or whether you're talking about immigration, or Brexit, or whatever it might be. That wouldn't happen if you walked a mile in the other person's shoes.
"If you imagine what it would be like to be the woman who's lived there for 37 years and got deported yesterday. Imagine you were her, and you probably wouldn't be voting for these ideas that are happening.
"But you'll never be heard, because you were born here and so that's fine. Then look at what's happening in America, with regard to the Affordable Care Act, Republican vote, Donald Trump voters, queuing up in their thousands to essentially say 'I didn't realise the Affordable Care Act, which helps me, was Obamacare, which you described in such ugly terms and I believed you'.
"22 million people have got health insurance as a result of Obamacare, a significant proportion of them didn't realise they were voting to abolish it. Because of, well, Donald Trump's ability to bypass facts and reality, and label facts and reality 'fake news'.
"So now the Republican town halls, where you're supposed to go to complain to your senator or congressman, they're either avoiding them altogether or claiming that the people standing there saying 'I didn't realise, please don't repeal the Affordable Care Act, I was voting for something that you'd written Obama's name on, so I just presumed it was awful'.
"They're now accusing them of being paid protesters. This is, this is why Trump is trying to undermine trust in media. You know it's on the fascistic checklist.
"I don't know, I wonder whether we use the F. Word enough. I sometimes worry that we use it too much. I wonder whether we use it enough, when you see the control of mass media as being absolutely intrinsic to any fascistic that project.
"The reason why he's doing this is simple, because if you can say 'well all those protesters are paid and fake' and you can demonise media, then you're never going to get the truth.
"Who is going to tell you the truth about Donald Trump? If you can't trust the media at all. Well Donald Trump will. so who's ever going to tell you anything bad about him?"