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What happened to liberal politicians? Sadly, they got smart.

PMO Photo by Adam Scotti

Whatever happened to liberals? Sadly, they got smart.

For this insight I'm indebted to U.S. journalist Thomas Frank, whose 2004 book, What's the Matter with Kansas? explained the success of right-wing populism in the George W. Bush years and whose recent, Listen, Liberal, described the Hillary Clinton debacle in advance. He lectured in Toronto last month. It served as a booster shot.

I was always perplexed by Obama's infatuation with "smart guys" like Bill Gates or Larry Summers. I'd assumed anyone who knows these certified smarties must also know they come with limits and are less than advertised.

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workers liberals economic inequality poor politicians Intelligence political ideology professional class

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Columnists

Aversion to Hillary is part of a self-perpetuating cycle

Photo: Disney | ABC Television Group/flickr

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So why do they all hate Hillary? I'd like to opine on this week's pervasive puzzler, raised here and elsewhere. To begin, I don't think it's because she's a woman. There are too many strong-minded women in public life to make that plausible. If you say, "Yes, but not in the U.S.," I'd reply that Hillary evokes all-encompassing hostility far more widely, and offer myself as an example.

Tags:
U.S. politics hillary clinton politicians Democratic Party u.s. presidential race

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Columnists

We may be living in a non-leadership moment

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It's tempting to say Donald Trump is all leader and no ship: no party inclinations in any recognizable forms, nor typical policies, organization, strategy or scripts. It centres on him alone. Except for a literal ship, labelled Trump, that he flies in on and speaks in front of. He likes it so much, he flies it home to New York each night to sleep in his bed -- which is kind of touching -- then drops in again next day.

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U.S. politics leadership politicians UK politics Donald Trump Jeremy Corbyn

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Image: Twitter/@AndrewMLA
Andrew Younger's path to redemption in Nova Scotia politics
By
Stephen Kimber
| November 17, 2015

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Keep Karl on Parl

You wish he would stop. For his sake. But he doesn't. Andrew Younger seems constitutionally incapable of not hurtling down the same, self-immolating highway to the hell of political oblivion paved over -- and then over again -- by gone-but-not-forgotten former NDP MLA Trevor Zinck.

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Columnists

The perils and politics of acting human for public figures

Photo: Mohammad Jangda/flickr

The impact of Robin Williams' suicide seemed different. Celebrity deaths will always be with us, and they've multiplied since there have been more celebs, in endless gradations, living longer, then dying.

Tags:
Canadian politics lack of popularity politicians populism celebrities Justin Trudeau Popular Culture

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Columnists

Justin Trudeau's f-bomb and authenticity in politics

Photo: Justin Trudeau/flickr

There's much to learn from Justin Trudeau's brief moment of obscenity at a charity boxing gala last weekend.

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Canadian politics leadership politicians Justin Trudeau persona public figures

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A Palestinian view of Ariel Sharon's legacy

January 13, 2014
| Ariel Sharon died on Saturday. When Sharon fell into a coma in 2006, Ali Abunimah, cofounder of electronicintifada.net spoke with the Redeye podcast.
Length: 15:04 minutes (13.86 MB)
Photo: Chris Fane/Flickr
Parliamentary reform idea: Get out of the House
By
Seth Klein Shannon Daub
| February 18, 2013

Note: Samara Canada has been gathering ideas for reforming Parliament. All the ideas they have collected are being posted on their blog, which you can find here. What follows is our contribution.

Here's the big dilemma: Whatever reforms are made to Parliamentary practice and conduct, the simple truth is that, for now, citizens have lost faith in politicians. However, they trust their fellow citizens, and just as they do with juries, are prepared to delegate important decisions to them.

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in their own words

Rude and crude, eschewed

The boorish behaviour now so typical in Parliament has contributed greatly to Canadians' disenchantment with federal politics. It's not surprising that we're regularly asked what can be done to make the House of Commons more serious and relevant to our lives.

But it ought to be possible, even if it's not happening now, for Parliament to do what it's meant to do: to act as the country's main public forum of debate, reflecting the diversity of Canadians as indicated by the way they vote, and to do this with both passion and civility.

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Tags:
parliament political system debate politicians house of commons MPS

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Foreign influence of politicians another reason to ban secret donations
June 23, 2010 |
Democracy Watch calls on political parties to ban secret donations and lobbying in response to CSIS disclosure that several Canadian politicians are under the influence of foreign governments.
Tags:
CSIS politicians Democracy Watch Foreign influence
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