Oh, Canada! A Confederation of Dunces
Some readers of my most recent essay may have concluded that my criticism of Mr. Harper indicates that I have forsaken the Conservative cause and place all the blame on Mr. Harper’s shoulders for the chaos that was created by his latest terrible error in judgment. This is not the case. I believe it would be a travesty if this coalition successfully executed its coup d’etat.
While Harper handed the opposition the pistol with which to shoot himself, it seems clear now that the power-lusting duo of Layton and Dion may well have been plotting with each other and Mr. Duceppe for weeks to assemble this coalition, and couldn’t believe their luck when Flaherty handed down his economic update containing the two live grenades of election funding reform and the elimination of public sector strikes.
Is there a more pathetic picture of a confederacy of dunces than that of Stephane Dion, Jack Layton and Gilles Duceppe, seated around a table deciding on the fiscal policies by which Canada is to weather the global recession that clearly has beset us? Dion the failed leader, by every poll during the election campaign and by the clear voice of the voters in the last election, not the man in whom Canadians placed their confidence and trust to lead a government, particularly with respect to fiscal matters, is now to become Prime Minister?
In recognition of his abysmal grasp of fiscal and economic issues, he is to be assisted by a group of non-elected “wise men” – Paul Martin the last failed Liberal leader, Frank McKenna and John Manley, former Martin cabinet ministers and the NDP representative the spendthrift Roy Romanow. Can someone slap me awake from this Kafkaesque nightmare?
Canadians are expected to accept that because such a coalition is somehow constitutionally permissible we are to stand idly by while this gang hijacks the electoral process. It was difficult for me to hold down my lunch as I watched the smug and smiling trio of Ignatieff, Rae and Leblanc emerge from the Liberal caucus, gleefully proclaiming that this was an historical moment.
Cassius, Casca and Brutus came to mind as these three extolled the virtues of and pledged their loyalty to Dion's Caesar. These plotters have all the bases covered of course. If the coalition stumbles they have the walking dead Dion to blame, and if it survives they put the pallid professor out of his misery in May and one of them dons the new toga.
The mendacity of these men is breathtaking. There is no policy issue that justifies this coalition. The foolishly inflammatory components of the economic statement issued by the Conservatives on Friday have been dropped, there are numerous economic stimulus measures in the statement, the throne speech has been approved and budget is to be tabled the day after the House resumes sitting in January. This is a craven power grab to feed the unbridled ambition of Stephane Dion to be Prime Minister if only for a matter of months, and the final proof of the complete absence of any integrity on the part of Jack Layton.
Will Canadians stand idly by as the balance of power is handed to the separatists? After all we are a nation that happily settled Lucien Bouchard into Stornoway and gave him the role of leader of the Opposition while he led the separatist Bloc.
It is as though a thick fog of mass stupidity has descended upon Ottawa. Has it overcome the entire country? We have failed – it seems doubtful we have even seriously tried – to create in this country a form of democracy that Paul Elmer More said would result from the construction of some “machinery of social consciousness which shall ensure the selection from among the community at large of the “best” and bestowal on them of power – this is the true consummation of democracy.”
As we observe this chicanery, is it not apparent how far from the best we have elected to office? What measure of social consciousness is there in the examples of leadership we are witnessing from all the parties?
We must make our voices heard in Ottawa. This coalition madness must be exposed for what it is – a craven power grab that can only damage Canada’s economy and reputation on the world stage. Every opposition Member of Parliament must be made to know that there will be a consequence for him or her if they permit this hijacking to occur. Every government Member of Parliament must be made to know that the Prime Minister must take direct responsibility for igniting this firestorm, and make a clear statement to the nation in which he admits his error and commits to focus his efforts on the economic issues that are the principal concern and the first priority of the majority of Canadians.
The economic havoc that will ensue if they do not come to their senses should frighten every Canadian. Global governments and global investors will not look kindly to the uncertainty this creates. The prospect of the strongest economy in the Western world falling under the control of a cobbled together coalition of doctrinaire socialists and doctrinaire separatists, led by a rejected leader will be too unpalatable and we can expect more days like today where our major stock index fell by just under 10%.
Start your letter writing my friends. We only have a week to make our voices heard.
While Harper handed the opposition the pistol with which to shoot himself, it seems clear now that the power-lusting duo of Layton and Dion may well have been plotting with each other and Mr. Duceppe for weeks to assemble this coalition, and couldn’t believe their luck when Flaherty handed down his economic update containing the two live grenades of election funding reform and the elimination of public sector strikes.
Is there a more pathetic picture of a confederacy of dunces than that of Stephane Dion, Jack Layton and Gilles Duceppe, seated around a table deciding on the fiscal policies by which Canada is to weather the global recession that clearly has beset us? Dion the failed leader, by every poll during the election campaign and by the clear voice of the voters in the last election, not the man in whom Canadians placed their confidence and trust to lead a government, particularly with respect to fiscal matters, is now to become Prime Minister?
In recognition of his abysmal grasp of fiscal and economic issues, he is to be assisted by a group of non-elected “wise men” – Paul Martin the last failed Liberal leader, Frank McKenna and John Manley, former Martin cabinet ministers and the NDP representative the spendthrift Roy Romanow. Can someone slap me awake from this Kafkaesque nightmare?
Canadians are expected to accept that because such a coalition is somehow constitutionally permissible we are to stand idly by while this gang hijacks the electoral process. It was difficult for me to hold down my lunch as I watched the smug and smiling trio of Ignatieff, Rae and Leblanc emerge from the Liberal caucus, gleefully proclaiming that this was an historical moment.
Cassius, Casca and Brutus came to mind as these three extolled the virtues of and pledged their loyalty to Dion's Caesar. These plotters have all the bases covered of course. If the coalition stumbles they have the walking dead Dion to blame, and if it survives they put the pallid professor out of his misery in May and one of them dons the new toga.
The mendacity of these men is breathtaking. There is no policy issue that justifies this coalition. The foolishly inflammatory components of the economic statement issued by the Conservatives on Friday have been dropped, there are numerous economic stimulus measures in the statement, the throne speech has been approved and budget is to be tabled the day after the House resumes sitting in January. This is a craven power grab to feed the unbridled ambition of Stephane Dion to be Prime Minister if only for a matter of months, and the final proof of the complete absence of any integrity on the part of Jack Layton.
Will Canadians stand idly by as the balance of power is handed to the separatists? After all we are a nation that happily settled Lucien Bouchard into Stornoway and gave him the role of leader of the Opposition while he led the separatist Bloc.
It is as though a thick fog of mass stupidity has descended upon Ottawa. Has it overcome the entire country? We have failed – it seems doubtful we have even seriously tried – to create in this country a form of democracy that Paul Elmer More said would result from the construction of some “machinery of social consciousness which shall ensure the selection from among the community at large of the “best” and bestowal on them of power – this is the true consummation of democracy.”
As we observe this chicanery, is it not apparent how far from the best we have elected to office? What measure of social consciousness is there in the examples of leadership we are witnessing from all the parties?
We must make our voices heard in Ottawa. This coalition madness must be exposed for what it is – a craven power grab that can only damage Canada’s economy and reputation on the world stage. Every opposition Member of Parliament must be made to know that there will be a consequence for him or her if they permit this hijacking to occur. Every government Member of Parliament must be made to know that the Prime Minister must take direct responsibility for igniting this firestorm, and make a clear statement to the nation in which he admits his error and commits to focus his efforts on the economic issues that are the principal concern and the first priority of the majority of Canadians.
The economic havoc that will ensue if they do not come to their senses should frighten every Canadian. Global governments and global investors will not look kindly to the uncertainty this creates. The prospect of the strongest economy in the Western world falling under the control of a cobbled together coalition of doctrinaire socialists and doctrinaire separatists, led by a rejected leader will be too unpalatable and we can expect more days like today where our major stock index fell by just under 10%.
Start your letter writing my friends. We only have a week to make our voices heard.
posted by Ben Buan | 1:57 p.m.
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