After Charlottesville, Michael Harris writes, Donald Trump becomes the touchstone by which we judge our own politicians:
The Trump White House isn’t the only North American political institution that has lost touch with the real world. The Conservative Party of Canada must now confront a hard fact: Their current leader lacks the nerve to pull the party back to the centre of what might be called ‘responsible conservatism’. In the wake of Charlottesville, that matters. If Conservatives don’t wise up, they may become the pot-bellied pigs of Canadian politics: yesterday’s fad that just smells up the house now.
Andrew Scheer says he won’t grant interviews to The Rebel, the Breitbart News wannabe run by Ezra Levant, under its current editorial direction. That’s nice. So what was it about Rebel’s former, pre-Charlottesville editorial direction that made Scheer comfortable enough to appear on the website several times when he was running for the leadership?
The Rebel was then, and is now, a collection of chocolate-encrusted nutbars — the lunatic villa of the alt-right.
And it should be said also that Scheer didn’t have any problem with having his leadership campaign run by Hamish Marshall, who was on the board of directors of The Rebel and is now, we are told, severing ties with the organization. So Scheer’s attempt to pretend he has only a passing familiarity with Ezra’s work is nonsense.
Justin Trudeau will ultimately be judged by how he deals with Trump:
And for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, a postscript: Prime minister, you can coast a long way on selfies in a content-averse universe. But occasions arise when more is required of a leader than imagery. Donald Trump had already given the world his wish-washy take on Charlottesville. We didn’t need one from you.
What we needed from you was the straight goods. That means outing the racists by name and calling out the president of the United States for enabling violent, racist acts. That might have made your next meeting with Trump a little uncomfortable. But it’s a little like being told an off-color joke: If you don’t confront the person who told it, you might as well as laugh and walk away, realizing you have been diminished.
Trump is a force to be dealt with. He cannot be ignored. And he cannot be coddled.
Image: CBC
6 comments:
Increasingly, I think the public is starting to see the Conservatives as political opportunists seeking power for its own sake, Owen. Scheer's 'too-little-too-late' slight distancing himself from Rebel Media, presented as a principled stand, will fool very few, I hope.
It may eventually don on the Conservatives that Michael Chong was their best choice, Lorne. But that realization may take awhile. And I doubt they'll get a second chance to choose Chong.
Re,
The Trump White House isn’t the only North American political institution that has lost touch with the real world. The Conservative Party of Canada must now confront a hard fact
The 'real world' lost touch well before Trump was elected; indeed he was elected because the electorate lost touch with reality.
The USA had rotten choices for a President ; Hillary was little better than Trump.
The figgen millionaires WON the election ; let us not forget this as money takes over politics wherever we go.
TB
Good point, TB. We are increasingly comfortable with "alternative facts."
.. as always.. merci beaucoup for setting up Michael Harris & direct link.. he's such a genuine Canadian ! I always note the 'situational ethics' of political animals & partisans. Lorne nails it as well in his comment. Its never about being a responsible 'public servant' - faking it will do. Its always about the base, protecting the votes, the talking points, the evangelical posing, cashing in via politics as secure career with full pension. And its oh so clubby.. rich with endlessly repeated dogma, cant & faux concern for taxpayers & citizens. I have really never heard or read of specific concerns for riding constituents - coming from the respective elected MP's .. its lip service & the loyalty is 'brand loyalty' to political parties & or the 'leader' .. everything else is sold out.. TS
Your comment about "brand loyalty" is right on target, salamander. Politics is now an exercise in marketing and public service has been removed from the exercise.
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