Macleans' Andrew Coyne earns his paycheque this week:
So: Parliament has been prorogued. What is to be done about it? Answer: not bloody much.
Certainly there’s no evidence the public is up in arms about it, notwithstanding the Star’s typically tendentious headline. Smug Tory types whose response to every principled objection is “nobody cares” are, unfortunately, right: the 38,000 plus who have subscribed to that facebook page are indicative of very little: most, I would bet, are opposition partisans. Were their situations reversed, they would be saying the same things the Tories are.
Or, Andrew, a number of those people might actually be saying the very same thing because they have, you know, principles. That don't depend on context.
Principles, Andrew. It's not surprising that you don't recognize them.
AFTERSNARK: Over at TGB, Boris introduces us to the Facebook Group For Proroguing, created by the criminally insane Adam Yoshida. Yeah, that Adam Yosihda.
CC HQ's own PSA takes Adam out to the woodshed here.
6 comments:
He's way behind. 80,000+ now, and counting.
I think Coyne is probably right. But that doesn't bode particularly well for the New Conservatives. Their partisan base is really quite small.
I must confess CC, I'm amused that we both went straight for the Sadly, No archives when Yoshida's name came up. I linked to the same spot in the Galloping Beaver comment thread before I ever came over here. What does it say about Mr. Human-sized microwave oven that the first thing that comes to mind when his name comes up is mockery?
And I must confess, Rev., that I recalled that post only after reading your comment over at TGB. So don't be overly impressed. :-)
I don't know CC, Coyne is really a right-wing shill but he does seem right in his article.
He also zeros in on:
It’s not prorogation, on its own, that puts us on the path to despotism. It’s the cumulative weakening of our democratic defenses, and more important, of our democratic instincts. Each new precedent conditions us to accept the next, and the next, to the point that if we ever do arrive at the end of the Tyranny line, no one will even know, let alone care: we will have nothing left to compare it to.
That itself seems a strong enough condemnation.
Of course, at the moment, there is no opposition representing Canadians...
Oh, I dunno. The New Conservative agenda is dead for now.
Post a Comment