Dark clouds are gathering in the skies over Pleasant Valley, as the political machinery goes into overdrive and we all practice our emergency exit plan just in case...At this rate I may find myself in exile in Europe to escape the political waste-land in the "lost continent" of North America. Same-sex marriage legislation has just barely escaped the Conservative shredder, and will now continue to a second reading in the currently crumbling House of Commons, having survived by a narrow margin of 32 votes.
All I can say is, I hope to G-d that Stephen Harper's never handed the keys to 24 Sussex...
Alright, alright, I know I'm being a total drama queen, and just a little bit apocalyptic too, but I'm really frightened that an outraged and overly reactionary Canadian public will, in the heat of the moment, make a decision that we'll all regret once hot tempers have cooled.
I think of the American electorate's reaction to the Clinton sex-scandal that got 'Dubya into the White House (mind you, Al Gore was a bit of a Mr. Dithers himself...), and we all know how well that's turned out. What about the apoplexy brought on by the Harris (and then Eve) Tories in Ontario that brought to power the great "Fiberals" led by the Dithering Dalton McGuinty. Okay, okay, I know we've already got a Mr. Dithers at 24 Sussex, but he happens to be a reasonably harmless one - for now - and is being kept in check by his dithering minority status, not to mention the daily lambastes over all things Gomery, so he and his fellow "Reds" are not about to get up to anything too terrible.
How much public money was lost as a result of the sponsorship scandal? How much would an election cost? If that second figure even approaches the first then the Canadian public should be just as outraged if the poll-watching politicos surrounding Stephen Harper make the plunge, take a real risk and call an election that may end up costing Canadians more than the collected kick-backs of all the corrupt ad-men in Quebec combined.
As we hear "holier-than-thou" speeches coming from the opposition side, we should remember: the only thing politicians care about is politicians. In other words, they will say and do anything and everything if they think it will translate into numbers at the ballot box. And make no mistake, the other unquestionable truth of politics is: all politicians are self-interested opportunists.
Whether it's a Stephen Harper, Paul Martin, Gilles Duceppe, or Jack Layton, all politicians work from the same strategic playbook, and right now there is just too much emotion involved in the issues to trust any of the intellect working in the backrooms of Ottawa.
But such is the political machinery in Pleasant Valley. Those dark clouds may yet loom from quite some time...
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2 comments:
And I would have thought that Jean... our "beloved" former PM would have made the lovliest scapegoat... shows how much I know about politcs...
Power to the People! Wait a minute... I mean... um... remind me what a democracy is again?
I won't mention that I have a fatal attraction to Stephen Harper. Because I firmly believe he's a very bad man and will do very bad things if given power.
On the other hand, I count myself among the reactionist Canadians who are pissed off at the Liberals and wanting to send them a message that they can't just keep running rampant with taxpayers' dollars, bribing and skimming and thieving and covering their own asses. Not that Harper wouldn't do that... or Layton...
Frankly, I say we do away with do away with our parliament and just look to the Queen for governing. She's not busy, is she?
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