Thursday, May 19, 2016

Entertainment And Politics


So you think Canada would never elect a Donald Trump? Think again. Debra Van Brenk writes:

Conservative voters would be more more likely to choose outspoken TV personality Kevin O'Leary as their party leader among a field of seven declared and potential candidates for Stephen Harper's old job, a Forum Research poll suggests.

But among voters generally, not just those likely to vote Tory if an election were held today, former cabinet minister Peter MacKay leads the pack. 

All it would take would be a party of crazies -- people who are seething with resentment and not very bright -- to make it happen. And a culture that confuses entertainment and politics. Consider the field of potential Conservative leaders:

Forum asked more than 1,500 randomly-chosen adult Canadians who would be the best Conservative leader from among a field of seven that includes party stalwart Jason Kenney, the already-declared Maxime Bernier, interim party leader Rona Ambrose and former cabinet ministers Lisa Raitt and Kelly Leitch, the latter of which was a children's orthopedic surgeon in London before entering federal poltiics.

 O'Leary is as prepared as Trump to change his positions:

And just as Donald Trump's actual political leanings confound some in the U.S. Republican party, O'Leary's take on politics has to be decidedly unsettling to established Conservative candidates. O'Leary has said his main aim is advocating for tax-paying Canadians and he hasn't even ruled out running for the Liberals for the next election.

Something to think about.

Image: kevinoleary.com

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Two things:

1) The popularity of both Trump and O'Leary rests with their name recognition and willingness to jettison "conservative" (read neo-liberal) policies when necessary. Voters are finally beginning to realize that neo-liberal policies have never led to wide-spread prosperity. It baffles me why the Cons, Libs and NDP continue to espouse them.

2) Just because Leach is a physician doesn't mean they're not looney tunes. Leach's willingness to set up a barbaric cultural practices snitch-line shows her to be just as unfit for office as Bennie "the Blade" Carson.

Owen Gray said...

Two points well taken, Anon.

Unknown said...

Any leader the Cons.choose Owen, will have to share the same beliefs as their base. They control the purse strings. Should be interesting.

Owen Gray said...

And, like the Republicans to the south, the base lives on the fringe -- and expects everyone else to do the same, Pam.

Steve said...

he is going to need the roseat stone, uniligual DOA

Owen Gray said...

O'Leary should know better, Steve. He was born in Montreal.