Unite the Left Part Deux

The Rae mobile express is going full steam ahead. Bob Rae speaks:

"I think it's important for people who call themselves progressive to really think about the situation.

"There's a progressive record that's shared by a majority of Canadians, but so far, we have not succeeded in becoming a majority in the House of Commons, so we must think a bit about how that can happen."(link)

The man could not be more irritating. For those Yanks looking at this blog post, you may be confused, but Canadian Socialists have deluded themselves into thinking they are higher beings in this country. So much so that they started calling themselves "progressive" not too long ago.

See, 'cuz the rest of us are all backwards folk. We're the "regressive," "Barbarian," "unenlightened" hoard that don't have the distinction of living in a major urban center or in appreciating the circus-child paintings some people pass off as "art."

Bob Rae's language could no more be an irritant than it already is... Going through this Liberal leadership campaign is going to be rough on this uncivilized barbarian for one...

"We do not have time for an agenda which says, we can take the pie for granted, all we have to do is decide how to divide it up. What we have to recognize as a country is that the key to our future lies, above all, in the space between our ears."
...
"If the federal government just becomes a cheque-clearing service for the provinces, then we won't have that much left to really build a strong and united Canada."

You know Bob Rae once spoke about what Canada could do to help rebuild in Iraq besides the regular cashy money or soldiers with guns way... His response was that Canadian Confederation gave Canada unique experience with creating a confederation of provinces that respects their differences. He argued, that in a country like Iraq, with many warring factions, a confederation where those same factions would have most of the power would be ideal. Canucks, he said, could help them build a country that would be decentralized but could hold itself together.

I almost feel off my seat when I heard that. I thought "Holy smoke he's turning Tory!"

Apparently that was just conversation talk. Because now Rae is concerned about Ottawa "becoming a cheque clearing house" for the provinces. Guess What? Constituationally, through that very same Confederation he so admired, that's all that Ottawa is allowed to do. Confederation gives Education and Healthcare as well as licensing as the prime areas of provincial jurisdiction. Ottawa can cut healthcare and education "transfer" cheques to the provinces, but that's the limit that they can go. Even doing that, I fear, already violates the original intention of the founders of the Dominion.


The provinces were given so much power precisely to avoid the problems of having the "two solitudes" of Engligsh Canada (Ontario) and French Canada (Quebec) from being governed by one central power. Those problems being seperatism and the eventual dissolution of the Dominion of Canada.

Then he talks about "dividing up the pie"... In a free market system it would be the people that decide how that pie get's split up. In Bob Rae's world, I'm thinking it would be him and him alone that makes those choices.

Well, apparently I'm not "progressive" enough to understand the enlightened utterings of Darth Rae.

Unite the Left I