Tuesday, June 27, 2017

When Progressives Shoot Themselves In The Foot



As you may know, one of the things that drives me wild is to see progressives attacking each other, instead of the real enemy.

Only to end up shooting themselves in the foot.

I've seen what that has done in Canada, and how it gave us ten years of Stephen Harper.

And more recently I've seen how it helped inflict Donald Trump upon us.

So needless to say when I saw this I was not impressed.



A supposedly progressive blogger, Lorne of Politics and its Discontents, quoting Cons to attack Justin Trudeau. 

And no ordinary Cons either, two of the very worst. The notorious Trudeau hater Kelly McParland, whose hatchet job has to be read to be believed. 

Even though Canada leads the Group of 7 countries when it comes to economic growth, is an oasis of tranquility compared to many others, and our country and our prime minister are the envy of the world.

As even McParland admits.

In a world of political turmoil, terrorist attacks and dismaying displays of intolerance – not to mention Donald Trump – Canada still often looks like a bastion of quiet sanity.

So his deranged rant can only be explained by the desperate situation at Postmedia...



And if that wasn't bad enough, Lorne then goes on to quote Andrew MacDougall, Stephen Harper's former director of communications.

Thanks to a tip from the Mound of Sound, a notorious Trudeau hater who once suggested that Justin should be raped in prison.

Even though MacDougall also admits that things aren't THAT bad:

Of course, not everyone is disappointed. The middle class have more money in their pockets, and environmentalists are happy with the Paris Accord and carbon tax, if not the approved oil and gas pipelines. The recent national security bill, while overdue, appears to have been worth the wait. 

For anyone peeking into politics occasionally – that is to say, most voters – they continue to see a smiling, upbeat Justin Trudeau on the national and global stages, getting mostly positive ink outside Ottawa.

But Lorne would rather not point that out himself, for like his darling Mound his hatred of Trudeau can only be described as pathological.

Like the two Cons he quotes, he attacks Trudeau for not balancing the budget and rejecting the politics of austerity. While still calling him a neoliberal.

He insists on blaming Trudeau for the failure of the electoral reform process. Even though the NDP must share the blame for what happened, by falling into the Con trap and agreeing to a referendum, which would almost certainly have failed and eliminated the possibility of electoral reform for at least a generation.

While also failing to recognize the Trudeau government's many achievements. Like restoring the long form census, reaching out to Canada's First Nations like no other government before them. Eliminating laws that would have given the government the power to deport people born in this country. 

Negotiating with the provinces like Stephen Harper never did for ten long years. Changing the law to allow provinces to set up needle sharing sites that will save thousands of lives.

While also working hard to improve the status of women, and advance the cause of gay rights, like no other leader has ever done before...



Something Lorne never points out, and doesn't seem to consider important. But still has the gall to suggest that younger Canadians share his backward views.

And has still not apologized for allowing the monstrous Mound, after the actress Ellen Page came out a few years ago, to state that gay people should be seen but not heard.



While ignoring my complaints about having been bombarded by that ghastly homophobe with some of the most ghastly anti-gay comments I have ever read. (More on that later.)

And continuing to lick him like a lollipop.

But then I suppose I shouldn't be too harsh on poor old Lorne who despite his claims to be a political "warhorse," is in reality a mediocre blogger, with a very poor grasp of politics.

Which explains why he went for the MacDougall story like a trout goes for a fly. Before the Globe included the fact that he had worked for Stephen Harper, which it had not mentioned when Lorne first ran the story.

Thanks to The Mound for pointing out this article in today's Globe which is also less than laudatory of Mr. Trudeau and his merry men and woman. The writer, Andrew MacDougall, offers an interesting view of our prime minister's persistent perambulations:

So he obviously had no idea who MacDougall was, and must have been VERY shocked when he found out.



Judging by that pathetic response.

Muahahahaha.

Is that a political warhorse or a horse's ass?

But of course it's not really funny.

We live in a time when we are locked in a vicious struggle with the Cons. And if we do not focus our efforts on the real enemy we could end up with a leader like this one...



Justin Trudeau is not above criticism. But those who use Con talking points to attack him should be seen as Cons.

And should be shunned by all decent Canadians...

26 comments:

Anonymous said...

Lorne and mound of sound are way more intelligent than you. Why don't you stick to what you do best and cover the fag parade?

Steve said...

For a drama teacher he is doing OK :)

Anonymous said...

These people are not progressive. They just believe in social programs for themselves and want to burn it the fuck down to the ground despite the pain that would inflict on everyone who isn't a white man.
Fuck em.

Willy said...

Sadly the only thing I agree with in your post is the first sentence.

Willy said...

Fuck off asdhole

e.a.f. said...

I don't know if shunning by all Canadians is the way to go. What the others have said, although we don't like it, is free speech and that is what makes us a democracy. I don't like what was written, as you have point out, I agree with what you wrote, but people do have the right to write it and say it.

Now if they think they can find a better leader, have at it because the majority of us don't think there is one in Canada right now. Yes we have a deficit, but really what would these people have the Liberals cut from the budget? Oh, nothing which they benefit from just what others benefit from. That won't work so they need to get over it.

The budget didn't balance on the other hand more money is being spent on First Nations, children, families. I don't consider that a deficit, that is an investment in our country's future.

Trudeau has handled the Americans well. it is best to remain polite and work behind the scenes to get what Canada needs. Going in punching like crazy in the first round never works especially if you are much smaller and won't be able to achieve that major knock out in the first round. you wait until the opponent is tired in later rounds. Trudeau looks like he is pacing himself and going the full 15 rounds with Trump, and over time if necessary. As Trump creates more and more problems for himself and other countries isolate the Americans, they will be easier to handle.

As to changing our voting system; as CBC reported this morning the 3 major parties couldn't agree on a system which they could all agree on. Each party wanted a system they thought would work for their party which in fact would have worked best for the federal Liberals. Right now first past the post will have to do until we find something which will work for us. Right now Quebec has home grown MPs, we have the big 3 and Elizabeth May of the Greens. If the Greens work long and enough at it they could pick up a few more seats. The CCF/NDP didn't spring from the ground in one election. B.C. now has 3 Green M.L.A.s up from one. It can be done. Its just not easy.

Having been an NDPer since the days of Tommy Douglas and will remain so for the rest of my days, I do not overly object to the direction Trudeau has taken the country or his leadership. Yes, more could/should be done for Aboriginal people and Trudeau and the federal Liberals will have to pick up their feet on that one.

Anonymous said...

I agree with you Simon. When progressives spend all their time attacking each other something is terribly wrong. It's the American election all over again, and it will end with the same result.

Jaundiced Eye said...

The electoral reform referendum was not a Con trap the dippers fell for, it was a Liberal trap that the Cons fell for.

JT didn't miss that by every measure voters want to weigh in on the status quo, so he had to retreat from his unworkable plan to unilaterally disqualify SMP as an option. He did everything possible to disguise it, including relinquishing the Liberals' majority on committee, ruminating out loud about his personal preference whilst deliberations were going on, appointing a lacklustre rookie minister to liaise, indeed, encouraging a highly partisan pissing match most inappropriate to the task of researching electoral systems and potentially selecting the most impartial one.

The Cons took the bait, naturally; they appreciated the public mood and desire for a referendum; they're duty bound to oppose; they enjoyed watching the NDP's Nathan Cullen make an ass of himself with his partisan petulance. It provided the Cons with a small victory after a huge loss and slight respite from enduring voter antipathy against them. It was the NDP that took the sinker even though, all along, JT was the stinker. He either made his unworkable campaign promise by mistake and went through these gyrations to save face, or he was more cynical and made the promise to help come from behind with no intention of keeping it, indeed, emplacing a way to pay lip service, only, before the whole thing died its inevitable death.

Cullen's misery as he conceded the referendum position was mostly the deserved discomfort of his own lather. If the NDP was seen as responsible for not meeting the consensus mandate, it might condemn invitation to such deliberations in the future. There was no other option and he realized too late that all his predictable antics and tired pro-rep rhetoric were losing support for his cause. NDP popularity measured lower during his incessant daily tantrums, and immediately turned around when the committee concluded and we didn't have to listen to him anymore.

All in all, nothing condemned the committee more than the raw partisanship displayed by every party, the Liberals merely wearing, not speaking to, their own. Nothing recommends disqualifying politicians from the electoral reform debate than what we saw in that dysfunctional process.

Anonymous said...

PM Trudeau came out swinging at a presser this morning...see National Newswatch Laura Payton's story. Good for him.

JL

Anonymous said...

That Mound is a nasty piece of work with the dirtiest mouth on the blogosphere. Shame on Lorne for enabling that bigot.

Anonymous said...

Anon 9:26, is that you MC using your mommy's computer?
Idiot.
JD

Anonymous said...

I once made the mistake of commenting on something the Mound wrote and he was unbelievably rude to me. He seems to be obsessed with anuses, so I can only imagine what kind of messages he might have sent you. Don't let it bother you Simon he's just jealous.

Anonymous said...

Jesus S. Thompson, I never thought such toxic venom even existed in Canada! Raped in prison?!? Makes the trash that Ezra Levant puts out seem like pigtail-pulling nyah-nyah taunts by comparison. Justin Trudeau is a father, a husband, a brother, and a son who's endured numerous heartbreaks since childhood and still managed to get up and fight again. Why do people hate him so much? Disagree, fine. But hate him???

Especially when you consider how much of a feral sociopath and sexual predator Donald Trump is, how he's clearly got a fondness for Russian mobsters and genocidal strongmen, how the callous, Dickensian GOP is basically telling the poor and disabled to "hurry up and die because we want to get rid of this healthcare law to stick it to a black guy we hated," they're the ones deserving of being spat on! (Not shot at, mind you. Steve Scalise's would-be assassin is an a%&h*le and he does not represent legitimate liberal resistance.)

Yet people -- some of them, like Ezra Levant and this Postmedia guy (who sure is a mound of "something," that's for sure), who have the temerity to proclaim themselves "journalists" -- somehow find it in themselves to spew the most sickening venom at Trudeau? Considering the fact that Trump is what you'd get if Biff Tannen from "Back to the Future" was German chancellor ca. 1933, while Trudeau is equal parts Jimmy Stewart, Tom Hanks, and Mister Rogers (or Mister Dressup in Canada)... how the fuddle-duddle can ANYONE find ANYTHING to hate about a preternaturally polite Canadian who is, by all accounts, the human equivalent of a CARE BEAR???

Simon said...

Hi anon...well one thing is for sure, you're the dumbest of us all. Tell me bigot, are you animal or vegetable so we know whether to feed you or water you? Now drop dead...

Simon said...

hi Willy...I'm sorry about that, because you I do respect. But I have to be consistent with what I believe in. I didn't vote for Trudeau, but I find the way he has been demonized after only 18 months in office to be bizarre and deeply disturbing. And I'm tired of Mr Dirty's hate messages, having received the last one only about ten days ago. Was bullied once, never again...

Simon said...

hi e.a.f....you're not alone. Polls show that almost 50% of NDP supporters approve of the job Justin Trudeau is doing. And as I keep reminding people he has only been in office 18 months. If Harper had been attacked as ferociously as Trudeau has been he would have been in office about four months instead of ten years. How soon people forget. But I don't, and I don't want to see progressive leaders torn down so we can get a religious fanatic like Andrew Scheer as our leader. No thank you....

Simon said...

hi anon...yes I find the situation frightening, and we should all learn from what happened during the American election. The precious left fighting itself, and allowing Donald Trump to become president. If progressives didn't learn their lesson then, they never will...

Simon said...

hi Geoffrey...I don't disagree that the Liberals handled the whole affair badly. It's clear from what Trudeau said yesterday, that he should have made his position on a ranked ballot clearer. And his decision to relinquish his majority was in the end a disaster, for the NDP and the Cons took advantage of that to suit their own purposes. Maybe I'm biased because I favour a ranked ballot, but I don't think many Canadians appreciate what a referendum might have done. A referendum with PR on the ballot would almost certainly have been defeated, and after a divisive exercise, and almost a billon dollars, the issue of electoral reform would have been buried for a generation. As it is it remains alive, and I'm pretty sure it will be back in the next mandate...

Simon said...

hi JL...yes I saw that, and I thought he was very frank and very eloquent. I just wish he had made his position that clear while the debate was still raging, for it would have saved us a lot of money and effort. I think he tried to be too decent, and when he gave the NDP and the Cons an inch they took a mile...

Simon said...

hi anon...yup, I have received thousands of filthy anti-gay messages during my time as a blogger, but his are the worst. He is the closest thing I have ever known to a Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, a foul creature if ever there was one...

Simon said...

hi anon...don't worry I don't let him bother me, I will however take no more nonsense from him or anybody else...

Simon said...

hi anon...I know it's bizarre isn't it? I can't quite explain it myself, except by the very Canadian tall poppy syndrome. How on earth can people hate such an obviously nice person that intensely is truly sick. In my book being nice counts for a lot, and I have no respect whatsoever for the ugly people who don't respect that...

Anonymous said...

So, it is the source, not the content, of the criticism that is important. Got it.

Anonymous said...

Simon, so much of what you've written here- I did not know. And, although I'm ultra-possessive of some particular words...I do know that words belong to all of us equally. So, while I find bullyism in all of its various forms, completely off-side...I do find that those same people can offer much with which to be educated.

Thank you for all that you do, my friend.

e.a.f. said...

A. 9:26 a.m.

if you don't agree with what M.S. writes why bother coming to his blog. I might add your age is showing. its no longer called "fag" parade. It is named the Pride Parade. As to Simon covering it, all the msm does that, so he is hopefully sticking to what he does best, politics and social commentary.

Anonymous said...

e.a.f.

I find "Turn the other cheek..." to be useful on a multitude of levels. Sometimes, it is the Lord's gracious way of saying..."turn the channel, then...".
Or, how 'bout- "Mind Your Own Business, people...MYOB".
Yup. Works real well. Too bad they just can't quite grasp the concept, eh?