There are many reasons I dislike Peter MacKay, starting with the way he sought to pleasure his master Stephen Harper, by trying to turn this country into a prison state.
The way he attacked our precious Supreme Court for daring to stand up for our Canadian values was absolutely disgusting, as was his ugly serial misogyny.
His Great War on Marijuana was right out of Reefer Madness.
And made him look both dumb and dangerous.
As well as bolstering his reputation as the poster boy for binge drinking.
Which is a far greater threat to the lives of young Canadians than marijuana will ever be.
And this is yet another reason he should never be prime minister.
His total inability to speak French properly, which had both the Journal de Montréal and the Journal de Québec last Sunday, mocking his ignorance on their front pages.
And with good reason.
For as Stephen Maher reports, MacKay's French is not just bad, it's execrable.
You can keep in mind, if you like, that the CEO of Quebecor, which owns the papers, is Pierre Karl Péladeau, ancien chef of the Parti Quebecois, no friend to federalist politicians. But you can also watch the video, where MacKay does actually say, at the key moment of his speech: “J’ai sera candidate.”
He ought to have said: “Je serai candidat.”
In three words, he made three mistakes. It would be like saying in English: “I have be candida.”
So bad in fact it should raise some questions about his candidacy. And why after so many years in government, he didn't bother to work on his French.
For it does matter, and if you want to lead this country it's important.
Part of the job of prime minister is to bridge the two solitudes, which you can’t do if you can’t don’t speak both languages. And political strategists are loathe to write off any number of attainable seats, let alone the hundred or so where francophones can constitute the margin of victory.
I admit I am biased on this question. I live with a French-speaking companion, and when we first met years ago both of us had to struggle to better understand the other.
But boy was it worth it, and I like to think that celebrating our two official languages is part of what makes Canada the country we know and love.
A country that would not long survive the contempt of people like Peter MacKay and his ugly American Cons.
And for that and so many other reasons make him unfit to be its prime minister.
He never should have come back.
And he can't ride off into the sunset soon enough...
None of the so-called Con leadership candidates has ponied up the $200,000 entry fee, the $100,000 compliance fee and the 3,000 signatures. I don't know why the media is speculating about any of them. A tweet saying "I'm in" doesn't cut it. As always, watch what they do, not what they say.
ReplyDeleteHi anon....When it comes to dealing with Cons watching what they do not what they say is the only way to go. Anyone who doesn't is likely to get their pockets picked. It's also true that the Con Erin O'Toole has only been able to raise about $25,000 and if his main opponent Dumbo MacKay looks like he is pulling away in the polls Too might find it hard to collect the rest of the money. But for the time being I will consider that they all a clear and present danger to this country and attack them all...
DeleteRosie Barton of all people even has an article on this. I'm sure she and Chantal will have plenty more to say, whether "Pierre" MacKay comprehends it or not. This issue is not going away and if Pete didn't learn the language in 17 years, how is he going to become fluent in 2?
ReplyDeleteShould the leader of a federal party in Canada be required to speak both of Canada's official languages? Just how bilingual is bilingual enough? How does a candidate's facility in both languages affect the ability to win?
Maybe we should be asking a different question: Why would anyone who doesn't speak both languages well even bother applying for the job?
Hubris is why, and pandering to prejudice. The party base is out West and hates Quebec. Yet they're so blinded that they don't realize there are Francophones outside la belle province (and Alberta has the, um, Gaul to talk about national unity). Acadians, hello Pete? Or are they just dogs in your own backyard? Even weak Andy photobombed Justin at the Acadian Day parade, and made an ass of himself in two languages!
I hope to find out that Liberal ad targeting in Francophone ridings, especially in the Maritimes, ends up being absolutely brutal. Yeah, there's the favorite son factor, but at some point there has to come a realization that the favorite son is incompetent. I look forward to seeing Chrystia Freeland or Mélanie Joly slap him in QP when le chauviniste Pepe le Pete, after his first day of French lessons, blurts out "voulez-vous coucher avec moi"?
Hi Jackie....As I said in my post, I thought Dumbo MacKay's pathetic French was an insult to French-speaking Canadians and Quebecers. He had the time and the first-class educational opportunities. But he is just too lazy and too dumb, and if he ever finds himself in a debate with Justin Trudeau he will be made to look like a fool....
DeleteYes, even Radio-Canada was mocking MacKay's "French".
DeleteThe Reform-a-Cons wrote off Quebec support a long time ago so Pete fits right in. Their view of Canada is similar to a self interested family of individuals held together by a dominant patriarch that can evoke banishment into an example setting Haitian style political wilderness as the ultimate punishment if all other forms of coercion fail.
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Hi RT....Harper proved that the Cons can win without Quebec, but I very much doubt that people like MacKay can get away with that again. There are also many French Canadians all over the country, and in some ridings that can affect the outcome. And I like to believe that many English-speaking Canadians will look at the pathetic Cons who can't speak one of our official languages properly and deem them unfit to lead this country....
DeleteI had forgotten how MacKay passed all those authoritarian bills, and how lucky we were to have a Supreme Court that blocked them for being unconstitutional, and Justin Trudeau's government that scrapped them almost as soon as they took over the government. The Canadians defeated the fascists, and as you keep saying Simon, the Cons cannot be allowed to govern our country again.
ReplyDeleteStart getting the word out then: he's the preferred candidate for the gun lobby. He just tweeted some bullshit about gun control from Post Millennial, and has been endorsed by a pro-gun MP. It was the so-cons that were the deciding factor in the last race. This time it's the CCFR/NRA. The #1 support group for insecure manchildren with Peter problems.
Deletehttps://twitter.com/kick1972/status/1222227150427783168
https://pressprogress.ca/conservative-mp-pushing-for-easier-access-to-ar-15-rifles-says-peter-mackay-is-on-the-same-page-on-gun-control/
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/peter-mackay-poses-in-pro-gun-no-compromise-t-shirt-1.2748676
Hi anon....MacKay is such a dim bulb that it's easy to forget what a scary right-wing authoritarian he became to try to impress his Great Leader. As I've said before, I have a mountain of files on most of the leadership candidates, and will use them against those shuffling Trumplings all the way to their Con clown convention....
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Hi Jackie....only a complete Con clown like MacKay could not only defend the sale of AR-15s but wear one on a t-shirt, even though that weapon has been used in one horrible massacre after the other. If he loses any more IQ points he'll have to be locked up in a green house and watered like a weed.....
DeleteMacKay does deserve some credit for tweeting out his support for marching in a Pride parade. That alone makes him better than the other candidates, albeit in only one official language.
ReplyDeleteInsincere pandering, as he retweets Post Milllennial hate blogs and sissifies Trudeau with his bullshit macho dog-whistling. Yoga vs. hockey, and what he would have done to Trudeau in the 2012 boxing match had he not chickened out. Actual LGBTQ+ people aren't stupid, as they are demonstrating all over social media. The Cons are transparent as glass.
DeleteThe fact that socons are still welcome in the party and a neckbeard troll like Derek Sloan is given a platform speaks volumes. Other politicians marched and have a record of standing up for the community. Including Joe Clark who Judas betrayed in 2003 as he now comes crawling back for his 30 pieces of silver. Pink Pistol Pete is just expediting for attention, media praise and votes. Remember when Trump was going to be the most gay-friendly president ever?
Gary Mason sums up Pete's pugilistic pettiness here. He is an irredeemable vessel of toxic testosterone. He can't speak French but dare I say he is Trump sans l'orange. A fraud and a phony who thinks the rules don't apply to him. Not as advertised. Just not ready, nice helicopter though.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-the-strange-pugilistic-fantasies-of-peter-mackay/
Hi anon@4:07 PM....I suppose MacKay does deserve some credit for saying he will march in a Pride parade. But not very much. The fact is he voted against marriage equality, and in all his years in government he did absolutely nothing to support LGBT Canadians. So nobody should trust him....
DeleteHi Jackie....As a former fighter who could take down a toxic braggart like MacKay in about ten seconds, I am disgusted to see him threatening Justin Trudeau, who in my opinion would shatter his glass jaw in less than a minute. As you say, he's just another fraud in an increasingly corrupt bigot party, and the only ones who are going to hit the canvas are themselves....
DeleteEvery reform a con tackled pot with the same ambition. Lets keep funding more and more SWAT teams and private prisons to lock up people with an illegal smile.
ReplyDeleteJustin has never got credit for the political courage to legalize or maybe it was his buffer against the scheer force of stupidity in the last election.
Hi Steve....I don't like smoking anything, but I got to try a legal pot cookie the other day, and believe me I was very grateful to Justin Trudeau for having had the courage to legalize marijuana. He deserves a lot of credit for that, and hopefully people will remember that in the next election....
DeleteEverybody, please remember that the word "marijuana" has an ugly (racist) connotation. Pot, weed, are fine slang, but the real name is cannabis.
DeleteI've probably smoked less of it that practically any other boho-artist type person of my generation, but that was because my dad died of chain smoking when I was 15, so smoking repelled (like a child of alcoholics would get upset if someone was enjoying a beer).
But the legalisation will benefit me now as it means far easier access to cbd, which greatly alleviates arthritis without the negatives of over the counter medications or prescription opiates. Yes, Trudeau deserves praise for this, but no, I'm not voting for the Liberal Party.
Millions of Canadians will vote for JT as long as he wants to run, simply for legalization. Millions of Canadians, who were otherwise completely law abiding citizens are now completely law abiding. They now no longer have to feel like they live in a house of cards that could any time give way to a jail cell and a record for smoking a joint.
ReplyDeleteI can't think of another PM who has actually done something that is such a large direct benefit to me.
Hi anon...You are absolutely right. The War on Marijuana was an absolute travesty. It ruined many mostly young lives for no sane reason. And being able to consume it without worrying about being arrested is a very big deal. The Liberals are reluctant to boast about that achievement, so we should do it for them...
DeleteI thought the “J’ai sera candidate.” on the front page of Le Journal de Montréal was a joke! Maybe some play on the song "Que Sera, Sera"?
ReplyDeleteBut he actually said it! I never thought Peter was too swift but this is reaching Trumpian levels of illiteracy if he cannot read a teleprompter.
Hi jrkrideau....I feel the same way. It's absolutely outrageous that a candidate for higher office should mutilate the beautiful French language like MacKay did. In my opinion it only shows what a dilettante he is, and why he deserves to be given the heave ho as a complete Con clown...
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