December 14th, 2005
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I had the pleasure of a couple of beers with Kevin Grace this afternoon. As we enjoyed American smokes and 8.4 Euros Kevin noted the fact that no one had blinked an eye at the facts that a) Scott Reid is, apparently, the voice of the Liberal Party, b) John Duffy is his official echo.
We lamented the days when people like Cabinet Ministers or, Hell, MPs or even unelected Liberal candidates, were assumed to speak for the Liberal Party. Silly us. Now, if you are not in the PMO you’re nobody.
Better still, MSM (sorry Kathy) has become so lazy that they cannot be bothered going outside the charmed circle of the PMO for comment. Makes everything very cozy.
There was a time where there were chaps - and they were mainly chaps - who had independent political power and who would have been on the phone to the PM to explain in rather straightforward terms that Reid needed to be fired, more or less, now. Now we have limp non-entities whose political base is limited to their spouse and their campaign manager who don’t have the PM’s number and never will.
Kevin dispairs, I take bets.
Written by jay on December 14th, 2005 with 3 comments.
Read more articles on Canadian Politics and Liberals and media.
I can’t resist a furrther reflection on Ambassador Wilkins’ speech. Imagine the effrontery of the man, in the face of Rick Mercer, pointing out:
Wilkins noted the United States has a better track record on cutting its greenhouse-gas emissions, as a percentage of its total, than Canada does.
Since Kyoto was signed, Canada’s greenhouse-gas emissions have gone up 24 per cent over 1990 levels, while U.S. emissions have climbed 13.3 per cent from 1990 to 2003.
“I would respectfully submit to you that when it comes to a ‘global conscience,’ the United States is walking the walk,” Wilkins said.
cbc
The bastards!
Imagine reducing emissions without a bureaucracy or having to declare CO2 a toxic gas or even carbon credit trading….I blame Bush.
Written by jay on December 14th, 2005 with 8 comments.
Read more articles on Canada US Relations and Canadian Politics.
“It may be smart election-year politics to thump your chest and criticize your friend and your No. 1 trading partner constantly,” Ambassador David Wilkins said in a speech to the Canadian Club in Ottawa on Tuesday.
“But it is a slippery slope, and all of us should hope that it doesn’t have a long-term impact on the relationship.”
He said Canada and the United States have one of the best relations in the world, but warned that he often wouldn’t know it by comments made in the election campaign or stories in Canadian media.
“It’s easy to criticize the United States, we’re an easy target at times,” Wilkins said. “…But the last time I looked, the United States was not on the ballot.”
cbc
Sadly there is a long and inglorious history of the United States being on the ballot in every Canadian election. It’s there because there is a long and inglorious history of anti-Americanism in Canada which stretches back to the United Empire Loyalists and has never really left.
I am not talking about the day to day policy disagreements with the US. Sovereign nations will and should differ. I am talking about what amounts to an envy and a loathing which infuses out political debate.
If a Liberal or NDP politician wants crowd reaction he or she merely has to insert the words “US style” in front of a particular policy noun. Try it: US style healthcare/gun control/education. If a poll were to be taken with the question, “Would you be willing to eat potatos grown US style?” I have no doubt that a working majority of Canadian respondents would answer no.
US Ambassador David Wilkins is in a lamentable position. On the one hand he has goofy Paul Martin rushing to embrace liberal icon Bill Clinton and waggling his stubby little finger at the US for not agreeing to talk about more Kyoto (guess cutting emissions is not as important as talking about cutting emissions) and generally dissing the US. As the US Ambassador it is his job to defend American interests and speak out against this sort of irresponsible rhetoric. But, the minute he does he scratches the anti-American itch and actually increases support for the loathsome Liberals.
Damned either way the Ambassador decided, or was instructed, to speak his mind. Good for him. Too bad it will be good for the Liberals as well.
Written by jay on December 14th, 2005 with 3 comments.
Read more articles on Canada US Relations and Canadian Politics and Liberals.