Ed Socks it to Them
May. 5th, 2011 02:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ltmurnauFrom Themark.com, Ed the Sock makes a very astute post-mortem, for an article of footwear - especially the last two paragraphs. We can no longer feel so smug and superior to the Yanks as we once did.
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Ed Socks it to Them
by Ed the Sock (TV Host; Cultural Commentator; Sock)
First Posted: May 05 2011 07:23 AM
In response to the madness that took place on election day.
As the election results came rolling in on May 2, a line from a Roddy McDowell ’80s horror flick kept running through my head: “Welcome to Frrrright Night.”
Despite all the crap about the vote being historic, very little was different about the mechanics of this election: The Liberals and the NDP split votes, giving the Conservatives a victory. Ignatieff and Layton swapped deck chairs on the Titanic.
What can we expect from the new Harper government? Considering the fact that Prime Minister Stephen Harper governed like he had a majority before he had one, more of the same: mean-spirited attacks on critics; the bankrupting of social services that represent opposition to Conservative social values (read: anything that varies from a Dickens novel); the building of prisons for phantom criminals, then the criminalization of more offences so they can fill those prisons; etc., etc.
One difference that we might see is an end to the non-stop campaign mode the Tories have been in. Without being afraid that they could be forced to go back to the polls at any moment, maybe Harper’s boys’ club can turn its focus away from constantly slagging opposition leaders and start acting like a government instead of a 24-7, one-stop propaganda shop.
What can we expect from the Liberals? Well, they won’t go quietly into that good night, but they’re done. When Harper cuts the public subsidy to political parties, the Liberals won’t have the means to rebuild. They have no inspiring figure to breathe new life into the party. The Liberal party has been a terminal case since the Chrétien-Martin fight destroyed it from within, and now the party is officially a corpse. Best to get it out of the sun before it starts to stink. Well, stink worse.
Sure, the Tories suffered a worse kick in the groin when they were reduced to two seats and they still made a comeback, but they were hobbling along until they were eaten by the Reform party. Similar absorption will happen to the Liberals, but with the NDP playing the role of Pac-Man.
Why did this happen? Why did a country that tossed out a Liberal government over a scandal endorse a party that had more scandals under its belt than the one it replaced? Simple answer: The Liberal scandal was about money. People react with indignation to the notion that their taxes are greasing crony palms. Contempt of Parliament? So what, everyone is contemptuous of Parliament.
Harper successfully convinced people that the rules he broke were technicalities that really were impediments to doing what’s best for the country. He’s like Starsky & Hutch or Axel Foley of Beverly Hills Cop – a hero forced to break the rules to save the day, all the while being nagged by an anal-retentive police captain whose love of the rules is depicted as a danger to the greater good. The role of the anal-retentive police captain was played by professor Michael Ignatieff. Take a bow, Iggy.
What does this say about us as a nation? That we’re not as superior as we think. Canadians are no less susceptible to slogans and greed hypnotizing us into voting against our own best interests than our American neighbours. The notion of Canada as a nation of fair-minded people with a deep social conscience has been effectively replaced by a nation of people who want big-screen TVs.
We were seduced by promises of more tax cuts, which will shortly be followed by cuts to services we will then have to pay for at market rates – costing us more than we are saving in taxes. It won’t be long until we see Tories shed crocodile tears for our social safety net, eulogizing that it was a wonderful concept but one that reality couldn’t sustain. What’s unsustainable is running a country with tax revenues choked off by tax cuts that are largely ephemeral to individuals but costly to the country – but don’t tell them that. Piss off Palpatine and he’ll Order 66 your ass.
Okay, let’s end this on a positive note by looking on the bright side: There won’t be any more proroguing for the next four years. (I know, that isn’t really comforting. But try not to think about it too much.)
***
***
Ed Socks it to Them
by Ed the Sock (TV Host; Cultural Commentator; Sock)
First Posted: May 05 2011 07:23 AM
In response to the madness that took place on election day.
As the election results came rolling in on May 2, a line from a Roddy McDowell ’80s horror flick kept running through my head: “Welcome to Frrrright Night.”
Despite all the crap about the vote being historic, very little was different about the mechanics of this election: The Liberals and the NDP split votes, giving the Conservatives a victory. Ignatieff and Layton swapped deck chairs on the Titanic.
What can we expect from the new Harper government? Considering the fact that Prime Minister Stephen Harper governed like he had a majority before he had one, more of the same: mean-spirited attacks on critics; the bankrupting of social services that represent opposition to Conservative social values (read: anything that varies from a Dickens novel); the building of prisons for phantom criminals, then the criminalization of more offences so they can fill those prisons; etc., etc.
One difference that we might see is an end to the non-stop campaign mode the Tories have been in. Without being afraid that they could be forced to go back to the polls at any moment, maybe Harper’s boys’ club can turn its focus away from constantly slagging opposition leaders and start acting like a government instead of a 24-7, one-stop propaganda shop.
What can we expect from the Liberals? Well, they won’t go quietly into that good night, but they’re done. When Harper cuts the public subsidy to political parties, the Liberals won’t have the means to rebuild. They have no inspiring figure to breathe new life into the party. The Liberal party has been a terminal case since the Chrétien-Martin fight destroyed it from within, and now the party is officially a corpse. Best to get it out of the sun before it starts to stink. Well, stink worse.
Sure, the Tories suffered a worse kick in the groin when they were reduced to two seats and they still made a comeback, but they were hobbling along until they were eaten by the Reform party. Similar absorption will happen to the Liberals, but with the NDP playing the role of Pac-Man.
Why did this happen? Why did a country that tossed out a Liberal government over a scandal endorse a party that had more scandals under its belt than the one it replaced? Simple answer: The Liberal scandal was about money. People react with indignation to the notion that their taxes are greasing crony palms. Contempt of Parliament? So what, everyone is contemptuous of Parliament.
Harper successfully convinced people that the rules he broke were technicalities that really were impediments to doing what’s best for the country. He’s like Starsky & Hutch or Axel Foley of Beverly Hills Cop – a hero forced to break the rules to save the day, all the while being nagged by an anal-retentive police captain whose love of the rules is depicted as a danger to the greater good. The role of the anal-retentive police captain was played by professor Michael Ignatieff. Take a bow, Iggy.
What does this say about us as a nation? That we’re not as superior as we think. Canadians are no less susceptible to slogans and greed hypnotizing us into voting against our own best interests than our American neighbours. The notion of Canada as a nation of fair-minded people with a deep social conscience has been effectively replaced by a nation of people who want big-screen TVs.
We were seduced by promises of more tax cuts, which will shortly be followed by cuts to services we will then have to pay for at market rates – costing us more than we are saving in taxes. It won’t be long until we see Tories shed crocodile tears for our social safety net, eulogizing that it was a wonderful concept but one that reality couldn’t sustain. What’s unsustainable is running a country with tax revenues choked off by tax cuts that are largely ephemeral to individuals but costly to the country – but don’t tell them that. Piss off Palpatine and he’ll Order 66 your ass.
Okay, let’s end this on a positive note by looking on the bright side: There won’t be any more proroguing for the next four years. (I know, that isn’t really comforting. But try not to think about it too much.)
***
