Flip-flop (politics)
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A "flip-flop" (used mostly in the United States) or a U-turn (used in the United Kingdom) is a sudden real or apparent change of policy or opinion. Usually it will occur during the period prior to an election in order to maximize the candidate's popularity.
The charge was originally used to attack politicians for making election policies that they either had no intention of keeping or decided not to keep for political convenience.
Example 1: "Candidate A, after finding out that weapons of mass destruction won't likely be found in Iraq, flip-flopped to keep Candidate B from using his previous stance against him."
Example 2: "During his previous campaign, Candidate B promised to regulate the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide as a pollutant, but declined to do so after taking office. Candidate A could now cite this as a flip-flop."
The charge has more recently been used to attack politicians and in some cases other public figures for any change of policy for any reason whatsoever, including new information becoming available or a change in circumstances. Such changes in policy are considered evidence of a lack of political conviction.
Example 3: "C opposed the treaty on greenhouse gas emissions but has since changed his mind". An opponent of C might describe this as a 'flip-flop' while C might claim that both positions were based on his interpretation of evidence at the time.
This term was used extensively in the 2004 U.S. presidential election campaign. Initially, it was used by Republicans as a catch-phrase attack on John Kerry for "flip-flopping" on the issues. By the end of the race, the term was also being used by Democrats to attack George W. Bush in the same way.
The term "U-turn" in the UK was famously applied to Edward Heath, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970-1974. Prior to the 1970 general election, the Conservative Party compiled a manifesto which highlighted free-market economic policies. Prime Minister Heath abandoned such policies when his government nationalised British Leyland (hence the actual "U-turn"). The Conservative government was later attacked for such a move because nationalisation was seen (by the Thatcher era) as antithetical to Conservative beliefs. This later led to one of Margaret Thatcher's most famous phrases "You-Turn if you want to, this lady's not for turning".
