Ottawa - the other world of whacky politics
Enough has been said for the time being about the provincial election results in British Columbia. For that matter, enough has been said about the "almost" election in Ottawa but I'm going to say a few things more, beginning with this gem:
Thank God for Ottawa!
British Columbia has heretofore been the place Canadians could and did look to when seeking examples of all that's wrong with the contemporary political system: dysfunction, polarization, electoral disproportionality, etc., etc. But in the past two weeks Ottawa has freed the Left Coast from its holding of the theatre of the absurd politics crown. The federal capital is now about as nuts a democracy in action as any you're likely to see around the world.
No doubt, Paul Martin and his gang would - were they to stumble upon this post - point their cronied fingers at the Conservatives and assert Mr. Harper's antics as the principal reason for the demise of political discourse in the nation's capital (were it that something resembling intelligent political discourse has been occurring in Ottawa in recent memory). Just as likely the Harper crowd would continue to shout about the Liberals lacking the "moral authority" (whatever that means) to govern.
Jack Layton and the NDP are too busy holding open the sacks for the money being shoveled off the back of the Treasury truck to say much of anything.
Yes, it's true; the Gomery inquiry shows that the Liberals have been less than forthright stewards of the people's money (shocked! you say). But this is Canada: this is not a nation that fights elections over single issues. We can be as angry as we want at the federal sponsorship program and its managers' ineptitude and outright corruption but that alone will not spell the undoing of the governing power. At least not as long as the alternative has Stephen Harper driving the U-Haul from Stornoway to 24 Sussex.
Belinda Stronach's crossing to the Liberals - as crass an example of political opportunism as that was, and it was - only goes to show even further that the Conservatives aren't ready yet to win the trust of the Canadian people. Ms. Stronach was a senior member of the party for Heaven's sake and she couldn't bring herself to stick around. That she showed such an extraordinary lack of principle as to defect to the wholly inept Liberals rather than resigning and sitting as an independent in protest is the subject for another day, but it certainly does nothing to reduce the view of Ottawa as the repository of the insane asylum inmates that have been bounced from all the closed-down mental health facilities of BC.
Follow Ms. Stronach's defection with allegations from Conservative Gurmant Grewal of quid pro quo job offers from the Liberals in exchange for votes - complete with secretly taped "evidence" to support his claim - and you've got the making of a B movie on political intrigue, more likely a C+ movie at best. This coming from the man already under investigation for his alleged practice of requiring potential visa applicants to post $100,000 bonds in exchange for his assistance. Isn't that what his $130,000, taxpayer-funded salary is for?
No, we don't need an election in Canada. We need a padlock to pen up the political inmates in the House where they can be treated and protected from one another. And most importantly, the public can be protected from them. If the treatment works and they learn to behave, we'll let them face the electorate in due course.
Thank God for Ottawa!
British Columbia has heretofore been the place Canadians could and did look to when seeking examples of all that's wrong with the contemporary political system: dysfunction, polarization, electoral disproportionality, etc., etc. But in the past two weeks Ottawa has freed the Left Coast from its holding of the theatre of the absurd politics crown. The federal capital is now about as nuts a democracy in action as any you're likely to see around the world.
No doubt, Paul Martin and his gang would - were they to stumble upon this post - point their cronied fingers at the Conservatives and assert Mr. Harper's antics as the principal reason for the demise of political discourse in the nation's capital (were it that something resembling intelligent political discourse has been occurring in Ottawa in recent memory). Just as likely the Harper crowd would continue to shout about the Liberals lacking the "moral authority" (whatever that means) to govern.
Jack Layton and the NDP are too busy holding open the sacks for the money being shoveled off the back of the Treasury truck to say much of anything.
Yes, it's true; the Gomery inquiry shows that the Liberals have been less than forthright stewards of the people's money (shocked! you say). But this is Canada: this is not a nation that fights elections over single issues. We can be as angry as we want at the federal sponsorship program and its managers' ineptitude and outright corruption but that alone will not spell the undoing of the governing power. At least not as long as the alternative has Stephen Harper driving the U-Haul from Stornoway to 24 Sussex.
Belinda Stronach's crossing to the Liberals - as crass an example of political opportunism as that was, and it was - only goes to show even further that the Conservatives aren't ready yet to win the trust of the Canadian people. Ms. Stronach was a senior member of the party for Heaven's sake and she couldn't bring herself to stick around. That she showed such an extraordinary lack of principle as to defect to the wholly inept Liberals rather than resigning and sitting as an independent in protest is the subject for another day, but it certainly does nothing to reduce the view of Ottawa as the repository of the insane asylum inmates that have been bounced from all the closed-down mental health facilities of BC.
Follow Ms. Stronach's defection with allegations from Conservative Gurmant Grewal of quid pro quo job offers from the Liberals in exchange for votes - complete with secretly taped "evidence" to support his claim - and you've got the making of a B movie on political intrigue, more likely a C+ movie at best. This coming from the man already under investigation for his alleged practice of requiring potential visa applicants to post $100,000 bonds in exchange for his assistance. Isn't that what his $130,000, taxpayer-funded salary is for?
No, we don't need an election in Canada. We need a padlock to pen up the political inmates in the House where they can be treated and protected from one another. And most importantly, the public can be protected from them. If the treatment works and they learn to behave, we'll let them face the electorate in due course.
posted by david russell | 9:25 PM
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