The piece is so entertaining, I must paste the whole damn thing. :lol:
Majority report
Thoughts on a Conservative majority world.
The Ottawa Citizen‘s Dan Gardner argues that Stephen Harper’s “leftist critics” play a key role in keeping the Conservatives’, uh, conservatives quiet and happy while the Prime Minister governs unmolested from the centre. He cites one of Heather Mallick‘s more notable anti-Harper screeds, for example, in which she predicts a Harper majority would mean “guns on the streets, gated communities,” an end to women’s rights, etc., and he observes that “hardcore conservatives love hearing stuff like that. It means Stephen Harper is hated to the point of loopiness by people they loathe, and so they conclude that the prime minister must be doing something right.” Indeed. Well played, ladies and gentlemen.
The Globe and Mail‘s editorialists consider the Conservatives’ first year of majority governance and conclude that “on most of the issues that matter, on the economy, on reining in public spending, on addressing the long-term structural challenges of Old Age Security, on immigration and on the sustainability of health-care funding, the government headed by Stephen Harper got it right.” Issues the Globe thinks the Conservatives haven’t gotten it right include crime policy, and they are quite correct.
The Calgary Herald‘s editorialists, meanwhile, generally appreciate the Conservatives’ entire six-year record — not least on foreign policy, where they have ostensibly rescued us from the Liberals’ “anti-Israel and moral equivalency rubbish.” It’s not all sunshine, though. “If we were to recommend one reform,” they say, “it would be for the prime minister to end his preference for hyper-control over his colleagues in cabinet, adults he has appointed to help him run the country.” Sounds nice, but it doesn’t always turn out so well. We’d happily concede Harper his iron grip on the choppers-and-limos brigade if he’d just let smart government employees talk to the media.
If you want to know which former prime ministers get along with the others, the Globe‘s Jeffrey Simpson has the dirt for you. The short answer is “not many.” Harper appointing Jean Chrétien to the Diamond Jubilee Trust is a token of what Simpson is told is a “grudging respect” between the two men, but it is a rare example of inter-prime-ministerial graciousness.
Postmedia’s Michael Den Tandt wishes NDP House Leader Nathan Cullen good luck in his probably futile efforts to impose a modicum of decorum on the House of Commons. There are, he concedes, some arguments against cracking down: Elections provide an opportunity for Canadians to punish bad behaviour; and “heckling, jeering, catcalls and snide remarks have been a part of Westminster-style government for as long as anyone can remember” (true, but our MPs aren’t smart or witty enough to be part of that tradition). But the vast majority of the boorish behaviour is witnessed only by the MPs themselves, says Den Tandt. It therefore “has no redeeming public purpose at all,” he concludes, and “succeeds only in disgusting the MPs themselves, who all feel debased by it, as well they should.”
Sun Media’s David Akin debunks the idea, conveniently floated by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives just in time for the May Day marches, that Canadian banks received a “secret bailout” during the recession. Those banks were never at risk, says Akin, and thus could not be bailed out. In fact the government usedthe banks to distribute money to businesses that otherwise would have been denied credit. “Perhaps that’s something for the Occupy crowd to consider this week,” Akin concludes — “how small businesses depend on a healthy, functioning banking system.”
The National Post‘s Jonathan Kay notes the absurdity of the idea of denying Conrad Black a temporary residence permit when we let just about every convicted athlete, musician and actor enter the country to perform his or her trade. Grounds for denying such a permit include whether the applicant poses a danger. Well, says Kay — line of the day coming up — “no one will be fearfully crossing to the other side of Post Road when they see [Black] riding the other way on his bike — except perhaps Bob Hepburn.”
The Toronto Star‘s Tim Harper reports that the Prime Minister’s Office has requested that Finance Minister Jim Flaherty stop slagging off the Ontario economy every chance he gets. That has to be a good idea.
Talking of Ontario, the Globe‘s Adam Radwanski offers some common-sensical — if disturbingly basic — suggestions as to how the provincial government might avoid future fiascos like the Ornge air ambulance scandal. Advice includes things like “if the highest officials can’t be expected to keep tabs on every file — and, realistically, they can’t — then they need to delegate.” Yikes.
Duly noted
The Edmonton Journal‘s David Staples makes a surprisingly good case against the halftime snack ritual at kids’ soccer games. Down with snack! Toughen those kids up!
National Post
Chris Selley’s Full Pundit: The loony left’s gift to Stephen Harper | Full Comment | National Post
Majority report
Thoughts on a Conservative majority world.
The Ottawa Citizen‘s Dan Gardner argues that Stephen Harper’s “leftist critics” play a key role in keeping the Conservatives’, uh, conservatives quiet and happy while the Prime Minister governs unmolested from the centre. He cites one of Heather Mallick‘s more notable anti-Harper screeds, for example, in which she predicts a Harper majority would mean “guns on the streets, gated communities,” an end to women’s rights, etc., and he observes that “hardcore conservatives love hearing stuff like that. It means Stephen Harper is hated to the point of loopiness by people they loathe, and so they conclude that the prime minister must be doing something right.” Indeed. Well played, ladies and gentlemen.
The Globe and Mail‘s editorialists consider the Conservatives’ first year of majority governance and conclude that “on most of the issues that matter, on the economy, on reining in public spending, on addressing the long-term structural challenges of Old Age Security, on immigration and on the sustainability of health-care funding, the government headed by Stephen Harper got it right.” Issues the Globe thinks the Conservatives haven’t gotten it right include crime policy, and they are quite correct.
The Calgary Herald‘s editorialists, meanwhile, generally appreciate the Conservatives’ entire six-year record — not least on foreign policy, where they have ostensibly rescued us from the Liberals’ “anti-Israel and moral equivalency rubbish.” It’s not all sunshine, though. “If we were to recommend one reform,” they say, “it would be for the prime minister to end his preference for hyper-control over his colleagues in cabinet, adults he has appointed to help him run the country.” Sounds nice, but it doesn’t always turn out so well. We’d happily concede Harper his iron grip on the choppers-and-limos brigade if he’d just let smart government employees talk to the media.
If you want to know which former prime ministers get along with the others, the Globe‘s Jeffrey Simpson has the dirt for you. The short answer is “not many.” Harper appointing Jean Chrétien to the Diamond Jubilee Trust is a token of what Simpson is told is a “grudging respect” between the two men, but it is a rare example of inter-prime-ministerial graciousness.
Postmedia’s Michael Den Tandt wishes NDP House Leader Nathan Cullen good luck in his probably futile efforts to impose a modicum of decorum on the House of Commons. There are, he concedes, some arguments against cracking down: Elections provide an opportunity for Canadians to punish bad behaviour; and “heckling, jeering, catcalls and snide remarks have been a part of Westminster-style government for as long as anyone can remember” (true, but our MPs aren’t smart or witty enough to be part of that tradition). But the vast majority of the boorish behaviour is witnessed only by the MPs themselves, says Den Tandt. It therefore “has no redeeming public purpose at all,” he concludes, and “succeeds only in disgusting the MPs themselves, who all feel debased by it, as well they should.”
Sun Media’s David Akin debunks the idea, conveniently floated by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives just in time for the May Day marches, that Canadian banks received a “secret bailout” during the recession. Those banks were never at risk, says Akin, and thus could not be bailed out. In fact the government usedthe banks to distribute money to businesses that otherwise would have been denied credit. “Perhaps that’s something for the Occupy crowd to consider this week,” Akin concludes — “how small businesses depend on a healthy, functioning banking system.”
The National Post‘s Jonathan Kay notes the absurdity of the idea of denying Conrad Black a temporary residence permit when we let just about every convicted athlete, musician and actor enter the country to perform his or her trade. Grounds for denying such a permit include whether the applicant poses a danger. Well, says Kay — line of the day coming up — “no one will be fearfully crossing to the other side of Post Road when they see [Black] riding the other way on his bike — except perhaps Bob Hepburn.”
The Toronto Star‘s Tim Harper reports that the Prime Minister’s Office has requested that Finance Minister Jim Flaherty stop slagging off the Ontario economy every chance he gets. That has to be a good idea.
Talking of Ontario, the Globe‘s Adam Radwanski offers some common-sensical — if disturbingly basic — suggestions as to how the provincial government might avoid future fiascos like the Ornge air ambulance scandal. Advice includes things like “if the highest officials can’t be expected to keep tabs on every file — and, realistically, they can’t — then they need to delegate.” Yikes.
Duly noted
The Edmonton Journal‘s David Staples makes a surprisingly good case against the halftime snack ritual at kids’ soccer games. Down with snack! Toughen those kids up!
National Post
Chris Selley’s Full Pundit: The loony left’s gift to Stephen Harper | Full Comment | National Post
