‘Defeat? I Do Not Recognize the Meaning of the Word!’ Margaret Thatcher, R.I.P.
Posted on | April 8, 2013 | 29 Comments
When my daughter Kennedy was 11, Margaret Thatcher came to Washington to give a speech — sponsored by the Heritage Foundation, as I recall — and I managed to get Kennedy inside on my media pass. While I don’t recall exactly what Baroness Thatcher said on that occasion, I was deeply grateful that my daughter got to see and hear the former British prime minister, who died today at age 87:
One of the most influential world leaders of the 20th century, Thatcher was elected to Parliament at age 34 as a member of the Conservative Party and spent the next two decades ascending the ranks to become Prime Minister in 1979. She set about reversing many socialist economic policies of the British Labour Party, famously saying, “The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people’s money.”
Thatcher’s resolve was tested in April 1982 when Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic. The British military had been weakened by years of neglect under Labour leadership.
When she was advised that the nation should not risk defeat in a distant and strategically irrelevant conflict, Thatcher famously replied: “Defeat? I do not recognize the meaning of the word!” . . .
UPDATE: Linked by Becca Lower and Da Tech Guy — thanks! — and ViralRead managing editor Nathan Martin got a statement from Iron Lady star Meryl Streep praising Thatcher as “a figure of awe for her personal strength and grit.”
The British Left has reacted to Thatcher’s death with the kind of crude viciousness you’d expect of the British Left.
As for this “tribute,” well . . . later.
ELSEWHERE:
- NBC News: Margaret Thatcher, ‘Iron Lady’ who led conservative resurgence in Britain, dies at 87
- New York Times: ‘Iron Lady’ of British Politics Dead at 87
- CNN: Margaret Thatcher, Britain’s first female PM, dead at 87
- London Telegraph: Margaret Thatcher dies: latest reaction
Comments
29 Responses to “‘Defeat? I Do Not Recognize the Meaning of the Word!’ Margaret Thatcher, R.I.P.”
April 8th, 2013 @ 10:40 am
RT @smitty_one_each: TOM “Defeat? I Do Not Recognize the Meaning of the Word!’ Margaret Thatcher, R.I.P. http://t.co/HNdBLaE305 #TCOT
April 8th, 2013 @ 10:42 am
God Bless Margaret Thatcher.
April 8th, 2013 @ 11:04 am
[…] we have heard a statement from the President before we had one from Erick Erickson Robert Stacy McCain? Or Matt Lewis at the Daily […]
April 8th, 2013 @ 11:12 am
Laree Lee liked this on Facebook.
April 8th, 2013 @ 11:24 am
[…] Update 4: My kids never heard Thatcher in person but Stacy McCain’s Daughter did. […]
April 8th, 2013 @ 11:34 am
Rest In Peace Iron Lady…
April 8th, 2013 @ 11:44 am
What a fiercely awesome woman she was. These are dangerous time we live in for not having her level of strength on the world’s stage today.
I hope she lets President Reagan know how much we miss him. RIP to them both.
April 8th, 2013 @ 12:36 pm
RIP. The woman amazed me.
April 8th, 2013 @ 12:36 pm
The “tributes” are truly pathetic. Weigel’s is inexcusable.
April 8th, 2013 @ 12:44 pm
[…] ‘Tramp the dirt down’: George Galloway’s extraordinarily crass tweet leads the Left’s sickening ‘celebration’ just minutes after Baroness Thatcher’s death — George Galloway has provoked criticism after writing a ‘distasteful’ comment following the death of former Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Business Insider, National Review and The Other McCain […]
April 8th, 2013 @ 1:18 pm
You know, Stacy, Viral Read reads and looks worse with every passing day. It stinks in look and feel and needs to be fixed in the worst way. It’s a walking stalking failure. Currently it would seem they can’t even crop an illo of Thatcher correctly. What is it with that site? What is its major malfunction?
April 8th, 2013 @ 1:36 pm
Martin Bashir acts like a poo throwing monkey…
April 8th, 2013 @ 2:30 pm
I just had to unfriend someone on Facebook over nasty remarks about Baroness Thatcher. What is the matter with people? “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.”
April 8th, 2013 @ 3:27 pm
And this is different from his usual behavior?
April 8th, 2013 @ 4:57 pm
Giving them a piece of his mind, eh?
April 8th, 2013 @ 5:38 pm
Margaret Thatcher was a true warrior for freedom. She fought to make you the owner of your own property. RIP.
As for Dave Weigel, he’s a dick that may be safely ignored.
April 8th, 2013 @ 6:15 pm
No way! He doesn’t have any left.
April 8th, 2013 @ 6:19 pm
As long as he can digest food, he can keep replenishing it.
April 8th, 2013 @ 7:13 pm
Her worth will be proven by the number of Labourites and Liberals leap to claim her as their political godmother. Obama did the same to Reagan.
April 8th, 2013 @ 7:58 pm
[…] Defeat? I Do Not Recognize the Meaning of the Word! […]
April 8th, 2013 @ 9:30 pm
[…] Read, Stacy McCain has posted a nice and balanced video report by The London Daily Telegraph. and a personal recollection over at his […]
April 8th, 2013 @ 10:30 pm
Good god Coulter is such a dumb bitch!
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2013/04/08/coulter_thatcher_wanted_to_teach_palin_how_to_speak_proper_english.html
April 8th, 2013 @ 11:14 pm
Ahh, those “renewable resources” crop up again.
April 8th, 2013 @ 11:24 pm
I see someone down dinged that. It’s a hard truth, but I can’t find a single thing to argue with in it.
However, has it really had a “Roll out” yet? Any marketing push? AFAIK, we’ve been looking at the barebones, “beta” version.
I wish someone would just re-do the graphic at the top to get rid of the blurry effect of those light colored pixels.
Oh, and to whoever is programming it: jquery is your friend.
April 8th, 2013 @ 11:35 pm
I wondered how old that interview was. The youtube page for it says it was posted just recently. Hmmm.
Yeah, I’m gonna just go with what you wrote.
April 9th, 2013 @ 12:51 am
If we’re talking when or after Palin became McCain’s running mate, there’s just one small problem with that:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/profiles/2652365/Profile-Carol-Thatcher-daughter-of-the-revolution.html
April 9th, 2013 @ 3:07 am
I can’t help but think that Anne’s new boyfriend is having a deleterious effect upon her judgment. Like making her into a Lib or something.
April 9th, 2013 @ 7:44 am
I thought of Palin upon this sad occasion, too. Why? Because Palin scares the left in a way that few can do.
Humble roots, common sense, and courage.
April 11th, 2013 @ 11:26 am
Margaret Thatcher pulled the Left’s pants down and gave it a good spanking for all the world to see.
Basically, what you see now is the sulking resentment of a thwarted child that got a dose of reality/discipline.