On his radio program a few days ago, comedian & talk show host, Dennis Miller, went through example after example of the ‘geniuses’ on the Left side of the political spectrum in America. Talk with any devout member of the Left and you will be told, with absolute conviction, that all of the following people are geniuses: Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Harry Reid, Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, Andrea Mitchell, Paul Krugman, Katie Couric, the ladies on The View, and even Ed Schultz.
Listen a little longer and you’ll be informed that not only are they brilliant but they’re also well balanced, thoughtful moderates who are striving to do nothing more than save America from the “hateful” Republicans.
Up here in Canada, things aren’t altogether different. For years we were told that Stephen Harper is “evil” and “has a hidden agenda”, that Mark Steyn & Ezra Levant are “hatemongers”, and that anyone who supported the Tories was greedy, unenlightened, and lacking “Canadian values”. Such “progressive” rhetoric has been subdued of late after Canada’s self-proclaimed Natural Governing Party (aka the Liberals) were dealt a massive knockout punch in the recent federal election. But the antipathy towards conservatives hasn’t gone away. Just wait until after the summer and the first “controversy” in Ottawa comes to the fore. The Leftist fear mongering will return like a hungry bear coming out of hibernation.
What seems apparent is that a civil war of sorts is afoot, especially in America. Let’s just hope the temperature of said war doesn’t change from cold to hot. But in the coming years, when the U.S. comes to grips with the fact that its public sector commitments are well beyond affordable and need to be pulled back … watch for the violence of Greece & Spain to come to America! 🙁

It would be interesting for a pollster to find out if there’s a growing concern amongst non-Quebecois Canadians about what plans Monsieur Jack Layton has for Quebec over the next four years. In this comprehensive column, Jeff Jedras carefully outlines a number of data points that justify much concern. Here’s a snippet:

What they can’t do, however, is try to have it both ways. They can’t tell Quebecers one thing and Canadians another. They can’t say Sherbrooke is their policy but claim support for the Supreme Court opinion and the Clarity Act, because the two aren’t compatible. They need to pick a position, own it and stand by it in all of Canada.

Layton is like a 12 year-old boy playing with firecrackers, except that he’s not using his own fingers but rather those of the Canadian public. Fueled purely by his own ego, he’s opening up a can of worms that is likely to be more than a little rancid. Do the majority of Canadians really want to spend this next decade dwelling on Quebec sovereignty issues … yet again?!
One thing’s for sure: when this doesn’t turn out well, and it won’t, Jack will accept NO responsibility for the disastrous results. For that would require character. To quote Dennis Prager, “one of the beautiful things about being on the Left is never having to apologize for anything!”
Update: Charles Adler discusses the issue with Dan Cook and then with Lorne Gunter.

Rex Murphy provides a few words of support to newly anointed Liberal leader, Bob Rae.
This Murphy video from 2 years ago is well worth a watch too.
Anyone care to predict how things will transpire for Monsieur Rae over the next 2+ years?
Featured comment:
“Bob Rae stepping in as leader is roughly the same as Wiley Coyote having a stunt double jump in half way down the cliff. The good part is that the end result will be the same, a coyote shaped hole in the ground…..” — Ian Vaughan

Michael Savage (aka Michael Weiner) is a loud-mouthed, often arrogant talkshow host in America. No one is quite sure though why anything he has ever said precipitated the UK’s Labour government to ban him from their country and the newer Conservative-Liberal coalition to uphold this ban.
Mark Steyn shares his thoughts, touching upon his own horrendous treatment here in Canuckistan.
For those not familiar with Savage’s work, here are some great examples.

The Globe and Mail’s Lawrence Martin has convinced himself that the 24/7 news cycle is the reason why the Canadian public is not listening to him and his fellow Harper-hating Media Party members. Here’s a sampling:

Much wonderment has been expressed recently on why stories of abuse of power don’t seem to hurt Stephen Harper’s government. The stories don’t stick, it is said. The reason may well be, to cite Mr. Thomson’s cautionary words, because we in the media don’t stick to them. It’s episodic journalism. We report one story, then move on. We don’t probe deeply. If a Watergate was happening, the public would never know it.

Chris Selley has a somewhat different idea.