Monday, January 25, 2016

Tipping Over The Edge

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Last week, Justin Trudeau appointed Michael Wernick Clerk of the Privy Council, replacing Harper appointee Janice Charette. The change caused a great deal of weeping and gnashing of teeth among Conservatives, who claimed the Trudeau appointment was partisan. Michael Harris writes:

That was Jason Kenney’s cue to morph into Jason Fallon and crack up the Twitter-sphere.

“The CPC government never appointed a partisan to a PCO position. We would have been (rightfully) pilloried had we done so.”

One wonders what planet he is living on:

Reality check? The public service under Harper was about as independent as Paul Calandra practising his non sequiturs in front of a mirror. Harper wanted senior civil servants to remember who appointed them and to do what they were told, full stop.

Now there is no question that Ms. Charette is intelligent, qualified, likeable and highly respected; after all, she had been deputy clerk of the Privy Council before her elevation to the top job in 2014.

But it is also public record that Ms. Charette was once Chief of Staff of then federal Conservative leader Jean Charest, that charming chameleon of Canadian politics who can’t quite decide between spots or stripes. Before that, Charette worked in the offices of senior Mulroney cabinet ministers Don Mazankowski, Michael Wilson, and Kim Campbell. Partisan? Maybe a teenie bit?

But Kenney wasn't fooling anybody:

The Twitter-sphere’s BS-o-meter twitched like a bisected snake. For two hours, the “reminders” of a decade of the Harper government’s sins and peccadilloes rained down on Banquet Boy like a monsoon. This was now not about the PCO, it was about everything. The bodies popped out of the ground like extras in a zombie flick.

The CPC was scorched for deleting all gun registry data and then backdating legislation to make it legal; blasted for falsely accusing the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of doing something “unseemly” on the illegal appointment of Mark Nadon to the court; ripped for greeting Chinese panda bears at Pearson Airport instead of native walkers who endured a two-month march through the dead of winter from Hudson Bay to Ottawa; and denounced for keeping Green Party leader Elizabeth May out of climate conferences and TV debates….

On and on it went, a deluge pouring down on a man without an ark. And it was all well deserved.

Last week, south of the border, Donald Trump claimed that he could shoot someone and remain a popular choice for president.

Insanity is generally defined as losing touch with reality. Clearly, modern conservatism has tipped over the edge and become a cult.


10 comments:

Lorne said...

It seems clear to me that the Conservatives have learned nothing thus far from their electoral defeat, Owen. The current round of patent hypocrisy, lies and carping criticisms of the new government suggests they are still fighting yesterday's battles and doing nothing to expand their base. It's sad that they have such contempt for the electorate at large.

Owen Gray said...

They stopped paying attention long ago, Lorne. And until something or someone changes that situation, they will spin their wheels.

The Mound of Sound said...


Owen I always thought gargoyles were mere images carved of limestone and marble. Now they're animated. They move and they speak. Look at the contorted face of Trump and the babble that spews from his mouth. This effortless detachment from reality is the hallmark of this transformation. They all act as though the past never happened or was erased by some magical 'reset' button. It speaks volumes of their powerful need to re-invent themselves that they go to such depths of intellectual corruption.

Owen Gray said...

"Intellectual corruption" captures these folks precisely, Mound. They have no idea that they are spouting absolute imbecility.

Unknown said...

What nasty, suspicious people we have here, eh. How could anyone believe the CRAP party has a partisan bone in its body. Tell me this is the joke of the day. Its too funny to read the stuff that's coming out of them. Next they'll start attacking JT for making policy outside of parliament. Any decent person would crawl into a hole and be quiet.

Owen Gray said...

We tend to forget, James, that these people chose the acronym CRAP as a party moniker. They unwittingly chose an abbreviation which fits them to a tee.

Scotian said...

The only quibble I have is when the tipping point to a cult happened, aside from that...*sigh*

Anonymous said...

Lorne is absolutely correct Owen in that the Conservatives have learned nothing by their electoral defeat. It seems their supporters have taken to the internet basically threatening, "Just wait until we regain power in 2019!" They're almost like the Khmer Rouge hiding in the jungles plotting their revenge on all of us once they get back into power.

mr perfect

Owen Gray said...

They came to Ottawa to get even, Anon. They still want to get even.

Owen Gray said...

They've been a cult for quite awhile now, Scotian.