I think it's fair to say that he was a better person at the end of his political career than he was at the beginning.
He did reinvent himself from a pit bull to something vaguely resembling a pragmatist.
He did become more human.
And I'm sorry he died before he could spend more time with his family, or on the golf course, as he well deserved.
But it also must be said that he was a prominent member of the worst government in Canadian history, and this is part of his legacy.
Because a legacy is the sum of everything we did when we were alive, the good and the bad.
And on a day when praise is flowing like water, in a country where we have a truth deficit, that truth must be told.
And that is that while Flaherty did some good things, like help the disabled, and was said to be a warm man, he never could shake his insatiable desire to kill government.
He was just a money manager, with no vision to transform or prepare this country for the challenges ahead.
He would rather squeeze the poor and the elderly, than his friends in Big Business. There was all the money in the world for the Porky Action Plan ads, but none for the country's veterans. He caused an enormous amount of suffering, and on the day he died this too is his legacy.
CBC/Radio Canada will axe at least 657 employees over the next two years, reduce regional programming and dramatically scale back its sports coverage as it tries to stay out of the red.
A little more of the idea of Canada killed or shrunken for no good reason, more Canadians unemployed.
In a country never more grubbier or fractured.
By a leader he served so well...
The one who today was praising him extensively. But who on the day Flaherty left hardly mentioned his departure.
As if to punish him for daring to leave, and daring to disagree with him on the question of income splitting.
Still, I do believe that in his last year, Jimbo as I used to call him, finally realized the true nature of Stephen Harper and was starting to distance himself from him.
I believe in the power of redemption. I look for the good in everyone.
If he could move a man like Tom Mulcair to tears he must have had some good human qualities.
And while I will fight his disastrous right-wing policies, and his ghastly Cons, until the day I die. In my own way I'll also miss him.
For I always did portray him a little more gently than the others.
While making a not so subtle comment on his tragic lack of vision, and the sum of his economic legacy.
And after so many years, I will miss him standing there on his tiny molehill...
Rest in peace Jim Flaherty.
Good night Jimbo...
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19 comments:
I FELT DURING QUESTION PERIODS HE LOOKED SORT DISGUSTED DURING THE SENATE SCANDELS HE PROBLEY COULD NOT WAIT TO GET AWAY FROM THAT PACK OF LYING CROOKS HE COULD NOT CLAP HALF THE TIME WHO WOULD WANT TO BE AROUND THE HARPOCRITES
All politics aside, I convey my condolences to the Flaherty family. Rest in peace James.
JohnAnon
It speaks volumes to see a man recognized across the political spectrum and that is the only positive thing to happen on the Canadian political scene for a very long time. I, like you Simon deplored his policies and the company he kept, but he also did a lot of good in his life and cared deeply for his family. May he rest in peace.
Well spoken, Simon. While we grief for Flaherty the man, and for the loss his family must feel, we must also remember that Flaherty was an accomplice, or at least an enabler, of the nastiness associated with the Harper government. Very likely he was not given a free hand, and was just following the orders of his Dear Leader, but following orders also did not cut it at Nuremberg, and does not cut it here too.
Some of Flaherty's dubious legacy: (1) omnibus bills that were rammed through Parliament without much review (we saw the negative consequences of one such omnibus bill very recently when the SCC refused to admit Nadon), (2) the contempt for Parliament he and Harper had shown by announcing, or "leaking", parts of his budget at places other than at Parliament (I wondered if Ralph Goodale and Tom Mulcair were thinking of their own criticisms of this practice, but I suspect they were praising Flaherty the man and were being polite, as they should be), (3) cutting the GST and reducing government revenue while increasing spending and turning the surplus that the Liberals had left into a huge deficit (he and Harper have the dubious distinction of the biggest deficit in the history of this nation at about $50B), and the second largest cumulative gross national debt (at about $150B, so far), second only to that left by Mulroney (4) cutting the federal health transfer and tying it to the GDP so that the poorer provinces which need help the most will not get the help while rapidly growing provinces like Alberta will get increased health transfer payments (this damage to our public healthcare will live outlive Flaherty), (5) abetting the mismanagement and abuse of public funds (e.g. the Porky Action Plan Ads) or channelling them to help the relection of their Party/friends (Tony's gazebo in Muskoka), etc.
Couple of other points:
Recall how Flaherty had smeared Kevin Page over the costing of the F35 jets, calling Page incompetent and wrong and so forth. If memory serves, Flaherty never did apologize to Page even after it became clear that the latter was correct in his estimation of the real costs of the jets and that Flaherty, Harper and MacKay were at best, misleading the public, or at worst, telling lies.
However, I do believe that Flaherty deserves praise for calling out the income splitting issue and publicly distancing himself with his Dear Leader and suffering the attacks from his own caucus for his courage.
Finally, I also do believe that relative to many in his Party, Flaherty was relatively one of the least nasty.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcXi-VYy_Yw
You said it all, Simon, and you said it all so very well as only you can in your own special way! My condolences to his family! I don't think he was a happy man. I felt that towards the end during Question Period when he no longer stood up to answer questions.
As I tweeted last night @BrianDundas
You ever notice that it's always conservatives who have death's door second thoughts? McNamara; Lee Atwater; Flaherty. Shame
I won't vent my feelings about the man at the moment and perhaps he did change significantly over the years, but I cannot forget that he tried to criminalize homelessness whilst working with the Harrisites to ruin Ontario.
p.s. Love your blog. Keep the fire burning!
If someone smiles while they give you the shive should you admire them. Flaraty was not the worst, and he did a good job during a huge economic crisis. How special is it to run the deficit up by 100 billion, the NDP could have done that and I bet more to show. Where is our HSR Toronto to Montreal? And least we forget, Master Jim gave Ontario the 407 bend over.
hi Dave...yes I noticed the same thing. Flaherty did look disgusted as the Cons tried to stonewall the Senate scandal. And unlike the other Cons didn't try to answer any question with some attack on the Liberals or the NDP. Better late than never I guess...
hi anon...well that goes unsaid. I'm sorry his family lost him just as he was going to be able to spend more time with them. Because of them I might not have written anything about Flaherty. But the chorus of praise in the MSM was so loud, I thought I should try to balance his legacy...
hi bcwaterboy....Jimbo definitely was better than most of them, and the reaction to his death in the House of Commons did offer us an idea of what a decent Parliament could look like.I never would have attacked previous Con governments like I do the Harperites. I never would have voted for them of course, but at least they acted more like Canadians, while the Harper Cons act like some alien cult....
hi anon...thanks, I tried to be as fair as I could, and as I explained above I probably would not have written anything if the MSM wasn't trying to make Flaherty into some kind of genius economist. When in fact, he didn't see the recession coming, he didn't want to stimulate the economy until he was pressured into doing so, and his policies since then have been disastrous. But as I said, I really do look for the good in almost everyone, and I think I was able to balance his legacy in the gentlest way possible. And of course I really will miss little Jimbo the Garden Gnome .... ;)
hi anon...when Thatcher died I did celebrate, I mean mark the occasion, with not one but TWO posts...
http://montrealsimon.blogspot.ca/2013/04/the-ghastly-legacy-of-margaret-thatcher.html
http://montrealsimon.blogspot.ca/2013/04/margaret-thatcher-even-worse-than-i.html
But I'll use the video you provided as one of the many songs I'll be playing to celebrate the defeat of the Con regime...
hi anon...thank you for that kind comment. I did try to be fair, and although I hate the Cons for what they have done to Canada, I could never be as mean as they are. As for Jim Flaherty I do believe that he was starting to see the light before he died, as I said I do believe in the power of redemption, and of course I do feel sad for his family...
hi Brian....yes I have noticed that. But then politically speaking, they do have so much to apologize for, so I'm not surprised. I suppose all of us look back at the measure of our lives as we approach the end, and goodness knows I 'll have a few things (OK a long list) to regret. But so far at least I can truthfully say I've never deliberately hurt anyone, and Cons do that all the time...
hi anon...I actually had his threat to jail the homeless in the first draft of my post, but I took it out for length reasons, and because I wanted to be as gently balanced as I could. And thanks for the encouragement...
hi Steve....I think I covered most of the bases while trying to balance the record in the face of a MSM reaction that I thought was excessive. I don't mind them mourning the man, but I couldn't let them get away with praising his economic record because it was appalling, and the truth will set us free...
Hey try typing your reply in ALL CAPS again. Everyone loves ALL CAPS. It says a lot about you as a person.
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