The Canadian and U.S. election races look like passengers fighting over deck chairs on the sinking Titanic. The terrifying financial panic that has engulfed the entire globe seems to make all other human pursuits seem trivial.
But let's not forget an important political dimension to this crisis. The disaster would not have erupted had small "c" conservative economic and moral principles been followed.
Unfortunately, neither Canada nor the U.S. has a genuine moderate conservative political party, only power seekers and agents of special interests who masquerade as conservatives.
America's Republicans long ago deserted the conservative political, economic and foreign policies of the greatest true conservative president, Dwight Eisenhower. "Ike" believed in small government, avoiding foreign wars and entanglements, a non-aggressive foreign policy, low taxes, restrained government spending and keeping government out of the social domain.
This greatest modern American president called for nuclear disarmament and rightly warned his nation of the dangers of what he called "the military industrial complex." Half a century later, I still like Ike -- and am proud to call myself an "Eisenhower Republican."
Equally important, traditional conservative principles demand hard work, thrift and saving. One does not buy anything until saved-up cash is available. Governments spend only what they collect in taxes, not future generations' money known as "deficit spending." While necessary for long-term investment, borrowing must be strictly limited and tightly supervised.
Today's Republicans call themselves "conservatives" but are nothing of the kind. Under President George W. Bush, government size, spending and deficits have become gargantuan. "Conservative" in the U.S. has become synonymous with social dogmatism of the religious hard right and rural crassness and ignorance. Now, thanks to their "rescue package," Republicans (and Democrats) seem well on their way to socialism.
Under Bush, the U.S. has become a swaggering imperial power locked in two lost wars abroad. The president's only real conservative act was to cut taxes. But even this was folly when Washington was pouring $1 trillion into foreign colonial adventures -- almost all borrowed from China and Japan.
FINANCIAL TSUNAMI
Republicans helped unleash the current financial tsunami by addicting the nation to the financial steroids of low interest rates, creating an orgy of reckless borrowing and fraudulent finance. The 1930s Depression also was caused by run amok debt.
In spite of their name, Canada's Conservatives are not a traditional conservative party, either. Were Tories real conservatives, they would have cut taxes, reduced the size of Canada's bloated government and refused to support the pipeline wars in Afghanistan and Iraq as contrary to Canada's traditions and national interest.
Once again, many of the impulses of Canada's big "c" Prairie Conservatives can be traced to fundamentalist religious beliefs and a slavish devotion to the far right (but not conservative) ideology of the Wall Street Journal.
This is a great pity. Had the Tories cut taxes and government fat, and not blown $20 billion on Afghanistan, this country could have become a world-beating economic tiger. Canada needs a real conservative party to unleash its latent power.
Canada's Liberals are squishy centre-left apparatchiks, and the NDP unashamed, old-time socialists. But the NDP was absolutely right about Afghanistan.
MEDIOCRE JOB
America's Democrats love big government, bureaucrats, teachers and high taxes. They can always be counted on to do a mediocre economic job of running the nation.
But it's impossible to think of worse damage to America than was inflicted by the Bush/Cheney chest-thumping Republicans. Obsessing over Iraq, Afghanistan and al-Qaida caused the administration to spend recklessly and fail to prevent the greatest threat to U.S. national security of our era, the current financial meltdown.
The U.S. Congress also shares blame. But Calamity George was at the helm of the USS Titanic when it the iceberg of financial disaster.
Like Canada, America desperately needs some real conservatives of the type common to Europe's moderate centrist parties. But if the financial disaster worsens, we could end up with jackbooted demagogues rather than moderates.
http://www.torontosun.com/comment/columnists/eric_margolis/2008/10/12/7059671-sun.html
But let's not forget an important political dimension to this crisis. The disaster would not have erupted had small "c" conservative economic and moral principles been followed.
Unfortunately, neither Canada nor the U.S. has a genuine moderate conservative political party, only power seekers and agents of special interests who masquerade as conservatives.
America's Republicans long ago deserted the conservative political, economic and foreign policies of the greatest true conservative president, Dwight Eisenhower. "Ike" believed in small government, avoiding foreign wars and entanglements, a non-aggressive foreign policy, low taxes, restrained government spending and keeping government out of the social domain.
This greatest modern American president called for nuclear disarmament and rightly warned his nation of the dangers of what he called "the military industrial complex." Half a century later, I still like Ike -- and am proud to call myself an "Eisenhower Republican."
Equally important, traditional conservative principles demand hard work, thrift and saving. One does not buy anything until saved-up cash is available. Governments spend only what they collect in taxes, not future generations' money known as "deficit spending." While necessary for long-term investment, borrowing must be strictly limited and tightly supervised.
Today's Republicans call themselves "conservatives" but are nothing of the kind. Under President George W. Bush, government size, spending and deficits have become gargantuan. "Conservative" in the U.S. has become synonymous with social dogmatism of the religious hard right and rural crassness and ignorance. Now, thanks to their "rescue package," Republicans (and Democrats) seem well on their way to socialism.
Under Bush, the U.S. has become a swaggering imperial power locked in two lost wars abroad. The president's only real conservative act was to cut taxes. But even this was folly when Washington was pouring $1 trillion into foreign colonial adventures -- almost all borrowed from China and Japan.
FINANCIAL TSUNAMI
Republicans helped unleash the current financial tsunami by addicting the nation to the financial steroids of low interest rates, creating an orgy of reckless borrowing and fraudulent finance. The 1930s Depression also was caused by run amok debt.
In spite of their name, Canada's Conservatives are not a traditional conservative party, either. Were Tories real conservatives, they would have cut taxes, reduced the size of Canada's bloated government and refused to support the pipeline wars in Afghanistan and Iraq as contrary to Canada's traditions and national interest.
Once again, many of the impulses of Canada's big "c" Prairie Conservatives can be traced to fundamentalist religious beliefs and a slavish devotion to the far right (but not conservative) ideology of the Wall Street Journal.
This is a great pity. Had the Tories cut taxes and government fat, and not blown $20 billion on Afghanistan, this country could have become a world-beating economic tiger. Canada needs a real conservative party to unleash its latent power.
Canada's Liberals are squishy centre-left apparatchiks, and the NDP unashamed, old-time socialists. But the NDP was absolutely right about Afghanistan.
MEDIOCRE JOB
America's Democrats love big government, bureaucrats, teachers and high taxes. They can always be counted on to do a mediocre economic job of running the nation.
But it's impossible to think of worse damage to America than was inflicted by the Bush/Cheney chest-thumping Republicans. Obsessing over Iraq, Afghanistan and al-Qaida caused the administration to spend recklessly and fail to prevent the greatest threat to U.S. national security of our era, the current financial meltdown.
The U.S. Congress also shares blame. But Calamity George was at the helm of the USS Titanic when it the iceberg of financial disaster.
Like Canada, America desperately needs some real conservatives of the type common to Europe's moderate centrist parties. But if the financial disaster worsens, we could end up with jackbooted demagogues rather than moderates.
http://www.torontosun.com/comment/columnists/eric_margolis/2008/10/12/7059671-sun.html