Or, the imperial prime ministership: Richard Anderson, formerly known as Publius, on our political and media rot:
...Thus began two of the great themes of modern Canadian political life, the centralization of power in Ottawa, while in Ottawa power became centralized in the PMO. Cabinet ministers were transformed increasingly into clerks while MPs became ciphers. This was driven ultimately by the increasing size and scope and government, but aided mightily by Trudeau's own authoritarian instincts. There is a long tradition in French speaking society, as in most Latin cultures, of a strong man heroically leading his people to glory. When they executed their monarch they simply replaced him with generals on horseback (Napoleon) or tank turret (de Gaulle).
Trudeau's method of government, necessarily expanded upon by his successors of both parties...
...In the United States any backwoods Congressman can raise, usually in the most histrionic fashion possible, awkward questions of the powers that be. A figure like Paul Ryan, an intelligent critique of the Bush-Obama State, simply could not emerge in Canada. North of the 49th he would have been swiftly silenced by the party whips. In America the elected class is more afraid of the electorate than their leadership. I believe the Yankees call this sort of thing democracy.
While far from perfect America's democratic politics, fitted sometimes uncomfortably with its constitutional republican structure, allows for actual debate and criticism. Not always, but enough to keep new ideas churning into the body politic. Few new ideas are allowed to churn in Canadian politics without having first passed through the brain of a federal party leader, an often arduous and unfruitful process. Our rigid political oligopoly has helped breed our modern political stagnation...
"Few new ideas are allowed to churn in Canadian politics without having first passed through the brain of a federal party leader..."
That would seem to extend to Canadians living abroad, at least as seen through the prism of the Globe & Mail.
Does anybody else notice something about their Expats' "debate"?
"...but aided mightily by Trudeau's own authoritarian instincts..."
Sure. The rat knows when he's among the mice.
The risk of PMO being one man show is that after Harper federalism may crumble suddenly.
Martin, Dion, Iggy and now Trudeau.
I can't wait!
It easier in Canadian politics for a government to take drastic measures, since the PM is in essence dictator until the next election (at least in a majority parliament.)
Whether this is a good or bad thing depends on one's viewpoint.
One also tends to find less pork in the legislation, since support for it need not be bartered for.
rabbit, you are right, as the pork here is slightly more covert, such as spending in various constituencies to assist the local MP.
Trudeau, would he be one of the four horseman of the apocalypse?
Trudeau: Man On Horseback ? (in a Merc, actually)
Just like fellow Marxist Mao.
1973/1974 Mercedes 600 Pullman LHD C/N 100014-12-002025 Grey Metalic.
This car was owned and used by Chairman Mao Tse Tung.
£125,000 ono
www.classiccarsforsale.co.uk/classic-car-page.php?carno=5855
Hmm, I'm not so sure that I go along with this narrative. I certainly agree with his outline of 'the French way' but I don't think it applies quite so completely to Canada.
I agree with a lot of imperialism in Canadian politics. Our flag is one such imperialist example. But what about the US?
First, in the US, there is such a power as 'executive fiat', meant to be used sparingly but under Obama, it has become his mode of rule. He ignores Congress, ignores that financial affairs, war activities, must be put to Congress. He doesn't do this; he appoints people, sets up czars, sets up his EPA and has them make the rules...all the while ignoring Congress.
Congress rejected Obama's Cap and Trade. Obama simply has his EPA make the same rules. And the EPA is accountable to no elected body.
Then, under the Canadian system, a yearly budget is a necessity and the government will fall if this budget fails the vote. This is a powerful restriction. Obama has failed to have one single budget passed in his entire time as president. The US is without a budget!
I certainly agree that there is far more emphasis in the US on 'the will of the people'. Every election also includes referendum questions on social issues, everything from gay marriage, abortions and etc. Unfortunately we don't have this in Canada.
Trudeau: Man On Horseback?
Naw.
More like a buckskin clad b*st*ard in a canoe.
Now I have to go and get some paper towels to wipe the spit of my screen....
Glengarrian. Betcha I know what got you...the "man" part, right?
I mean, when we think of horses and Trudeau, there's only one part of a horse that comes to mind....and it sure isn't the animal's back.
And right below him, all his whiffle-sniffers - jostlin' and elbowin' to be first in line to receive his offerings...
Oh, stuff and nonsense. Which country addressed its fiscal nightmare first? Bleatings by leftards aside, how many people in foreign lands has Little Stevie Harper ordered killed? Bambam's drone count is over 3,000 and rising. Are the enviroweenies at Environment Canada telling farmers that they can only till their fields if they don't raise any dust? How many industry czars are there in Canada? (Last count: Zero).
In short, the US system seems to allow what I would politely call crackpot ideas, such as extrajudicial killing and the ruination of California's Central Valley farms to save the snail darter, to rise quickly to the surface, while the slightly more important issues of getting one's fiscal house in order and rebuilding the economy stagnate. The Canadian system operates in the reverse. I know which I prefer.
"Oh, stuff and nonsense. Which country addressed its fiscal nightmare first?"
Which country elected a Conservative government first?
"Are the enviroweenies at Environment Canada telling farmers that they can only till their fields if they don't raise any dust?"
They would be if Princess Dionky or Count Iggula had a majority.
Maybe it's because of my old Reformer roots that turned me into admiring other political masochists; but I like Conservative M.P.'s that play "Whack a Mole". Lets see ; John Cummins & Native Land Claims "Whack"; Garth Turner & fiscal proprietry "Boink"; & the guy that couldn't stomach Quebec as a Nation "Splat". It's about time that an Alberta M.P. took their turn "Thwack"
Our problem in Canada is not at the Federal level, it’s at the Provincial/municipal level.
In Canada our budget (assuming it holds up) will end up with the Feds representing only 12% of GDP out of a total of 40% GDP of all 3 levels. That 12% is down from a high of 16%. In the USA it’s going the other way.
Under Bush/Clinton the Feds averaged 19 -20% of GDP. Obama has taken that to 25%...and that’s before ObamaCare fully kicks in with health representing 17% of the US economy; so who knows how high Obama will take government intrusion?
Richard deludes himself if he thinks the US is fundamentally different from Canada as far as power oligopoly, concentration of political power, growth of government and weakening of representative power is concerned.
The US is in essence a single party state which changes branded parties but retains the political agendas of the political power oligarchs regardless of the partisan make up of congress.
Case in point- Obama was elected to get "change" from the Bush era of concentrating power in the oval office through executive orders and paying for war and economic growth shortages by running the printing presses at the mint 24/7
- Result? No change – an alleged Marxist at the helm and the executive orders increase obliterating most constitutional constraints on congress, growing government and consolidating more congressional power in the oval office - the financial oligarchs continue to make out like bandits getting the biggest chunk of "stimulus" to underwrite their private banking/corporate losses with tax funded bailouts - the grey men continue the white collar crime spree on Wall street shielded from prosecution for all the banking and market fraud - the fed is printing tons of monopoly money to back fill the hole in the economy this debt has created - what changed?
We go to round 2 of hopey-changey with Romney and Ryan - the side kick talks like a fiscal conservative but never sites the Fed and monetary reform as core to economic stability - and Romney just smiles and waves a lot with out committing to any type of substantive reforms needed to get the zombie banks and the financial/corporate parasite class off the necks of the taxpayer and middleclass - one of the largest parasites at the trough is the government- Has either of them talked about putting government back into its constitutional box? That would solve a lot of problems associated with big government - but the GOP hopey-changey team are mum on the subject.
As we go to the campaign cycle we will again be treated the oligarch’s media hijacking political debate away from the real issues that need to be addressed to regenerate both the republic and its once solid economy. They’ll go off on a dozen different petty diversions as always and when we wake up the day after the poles close we will ask again what the whole campaign was about and why things that concern us were not addressed.
My guess is that the GOP candidates have been vetted by the oligarchy and found to be “marketable” enough to fool the voter into trusting them. The oligarchs dumped Obama the minute his rhetoric was no longer creating numbers, better go with the new hopey- changey team if we want our long term agenda carried on. Neither of these two guys has the balls to tangle with the power elite so they will just keep on rolling as usual – the worse the economy the more tangible assets they can suck up for pennies on the dollar to replace the unrecoverable debt of their failing derivatives con.
When I see the degenerated mess that both US and European politics and economics have become due to an avaricious financial oligarchy and an authoritarian hegemonic political oligarchy, I think Canada is a haven by comparison. Thy have no way out of their spiral into authoritarian statism but popular revolt - their political systems are OWNED.
By comparison Harper has shown som incredible strength in trying to roll back the kleptocratic quasi police state our authoritarian Trudeaupia political cabal have built but he will ultimately succumb to the negative pressures focused against him. When Canadians vote for change they really get it, unfortunately the next change will be back to authoritarian kleptocrats. Then we il tire of them and change back to rational populist center politics to repair the damage - that's been our political sysle here for 70 years. Our greatest enemy is apathy and political nativity both the product of the worst news media on earth.
Excellent, Occam.
God save us from that evil spawn of Satan Justin Turdeau.He will be the personification of the destruction of Canada.He is like his worthless father a Seperatist through and through no matter what the CBC,CTV, and global tell you.
That's why I call him Kim Justin-il. We should all refer to him this way until the MSM picks it up! And keep doing it!
It's all part of siccing Alinsky's Rules for Radicals no. 5 (ridicule the bad guys) on his ass.
"Kim Justin-Il"... funny, appropriate, and a little scary... awesome. I've been referring to the little phony as Justine Zoolander of Trudeau... which IMO is nightmarishly appropriate. Is there potentially anyone in Canadian history that has damaged this country more then that duplicitous abomination Trudeau? Besides Pearson. Good thing the internet hadn't been invented when Trudeau was destroying the country and remaking it into his own warped image or he would have surely set up an army of bureaucrats to make sure all Canadians (except french) would be restricted from speaking out against the Trudopian State.
Splendid, Occam. Splendid!
Two book recommendations, both by Thomas di Lorenzo, economist/historian:
Hamilton's Curse: How Jefferson's Arch Enemy Betrayed the American Revolution – and What It Means for Americans Today (2008)
The Real Lincoln: A New Look at Abraham Lincoln, His Agenda, and an Unnecessary War (2003)
Learn how the "American system" (American fascism: corporate subsidies, protectionism, nationalized money) via Hamilton, Clay, Supreme Court Justice Marshall, Lincoln destroyed the republic).
Occam may sound like a cynic but he's not: he's a realist who has thrown over the fabulistic fables we've all been force-fed.
CAUTION: Don't read these books if you enjoy partisan politics like, say, NHL hockey.
Anyone notice that there were no ex GOP presidents at this GOP convention? Where were the Bushes? Would you parage them infront of voters and remind them how lousy they were for the economy?
Thanks Dhimmi, those are two books I will be looking for. I'm aware of the historical/economic significance of these two Americans but more in depth analysis will clarify a lot of questions I had.
Another great defender of free market laissez faire capitalism was Andrew Jackson who took seriously Jefferson's warnings of the evils of a private central banking system its financial monopoly and undue influence on government. Jackson prided himself on beating the foreign owned central banking cartel who were attempting to set up an American financial/currency monopoly and consolidate their political power by owning both parties through debt attrition. Like Lincoln and Kennedy he faced assassination for screwing with the central banksters - but his assassin failed. So we are left with his journal of what occurred and who were the plotters and their motives - riveting read for those who love real history - Andrew Jackson's Battle with the "Money Power" by Bray Hammond