What's wrong with Politics these days?

Well, in short, everything.

On both sides of the border there seems to be a vast mix-up about who is in charge of what, how much power one should exercise, morality of political action (and activism?) and, perhaps most importantly, how much an Illinois senatorial seat should go for. Well, that last point mostly pertains to the US but who knows what the story would be if Conrad Black were still in charge of the Tribune.

Increasingly jokes are being made of these crises, but really one can begin to think of the Canadian state and at least the state of Illinois (if not the US) as failed democracies. And here the joke is on us, more than on the politicians - or at least it should be if we do in fact still live in democracies.

In Canada the legitimacy of the federal political system is increasingly mired in shameful action. You know its bad when the American political comedy community decides to take a swipe at us. But who is to blame for this mess up in northern North America, is almost impossible to say. It is certainly hard to point a finger at one particular political figure.

Although it is tempting to point the finger in Canada at Stephen Harper alone (our power hungry, out-for-blood PM), I think there is more to the story than just him. True, if you introduce a mini-budget, that virtually promises a halt in funding (and subsequent bankruptcy) of the federal political opposition parties, you gotta figure it's going to upset them. Why this political risk and gamble didn't occur to Mr. Harper and his Minister of Finance Jim Flahrety before they made the announcement is more than beyond me.

But Harper probably didn't take my HIS 120 class - Force and Statecraft - where we were constantly reminded by our professor that the actions of actors are almost always ones that guarantee their survival. People are self interested. That's why Harper decided to cut off funding to the opposition parties, and why the opposition parties decided to band together.

It's also why Stephen Haper decided to prorogue parliament. And, make no mistake, it was his decision not really the Governor General's. That decision by Harper is also barely constitutional, and completely undemocratic. One can hardly imagine that when the Fathers of Confederation sat down in Charolettetown to enact this portion of the BNA, that allowed Governor Generals to prorogue parliament, they did so to save Stephen Harper's ass. In all probably it was meant for it to be used in times of national or international crises only - not personal power crises.

Then there is the Governor General herself, Micheaelle Jean. Remember back in school when your teachers talked to you about how the Governor General's role really wasn't that important? That his/her duties were mostly ceremonial? Well, not so much anymore huh? Jean is perhaps the most politically active Governor General we have ever had. Unfortunately her action has largely been inaction, and allowing for the laissez faire.

That inaction as political action, the unmitigated desire to fulfill the Prime Minister's requests even when HE is the largest benefactor, can only be evidential of the stupidity of the role. The problem with the "largely ceremonial" ideal is that we started to pick largely ceremonial candidates to be GG. Think about it - what the hell does hosting a program on the CBC have to do with qualifying you to act as the head of state?

God, I miss the Mulroney years (yeah, I can't believe I'm saying that) because at least QUALIFIED individuals were Governors General. Remember Jean Sauve (a judge in the Supreme Court) or Ray Hnatyshyn (former MP)?

I do love the Heather Mallik piece on this. You have to wonder if Jean even had the idea of the morality of her actions ever enter her head? My guess is no - she is honestly too underqualified to have even considered the political nature of her actions. She was too busy planning her next tea party. A largely ceremonial one, I'm sure.

Then (ah, yes, then) there is the flagging morality of the Liberals. How a group of individuals can be so conspiratorial on a consistent basis is beyond me. Not even the Conservatives can mimic this. I find it hard to believe that both party leadership candidates LeBlanc and Rae would spontaneously decide that the leadership of the Liberal party was not for them without some sort of external influence thrust upon them. Nor can I see how Dion would go from hero to zero so quickly after nearly leading an Opposition Coalition to the overthrow of the party of power.

It makes you wonder what exactly is threatened in these instances. I mean this is a party that has had two Coronations of leaders. You gotta wonder if Ignatieff, and Martin before him, do literally employ a band of thugs. Maybe its weekend work for the Rock Machine, or Hell's Angels? I suppose it would be an additional source of income for biker gangs, and makes for such a good 'in' should the leader ever become PM.





(A friend of mine on his Facebook status had the audacity to say he was "ready to party" after news broke about Ignatieff ascendancy. With all my might I had to hold back the urge to comment "Yeah, XXX - you always did love a good coronation")

So you see America - all of this Canadian political conspiracy makes the actions of Gov. Blagojevich seem rather inconsequential. I mean you caught him for one thing, didn't ya? Try wrestling with a slippery Liberal or Conservative on legal issues and watch them squirm out of it. Trust me, we've tried to pin stuff (really obvious stuff) on our politicians and it doesn't work. Which to my mind really adds credence to my biker gang-political party connection - heck we even have some evidence of it.

So as much as it sucks to be from the state of Illinois right now, and Governors seem to have a spotty track record generally in the US (think Clinton, Spitzer, Blagojevich), you can sleep safely knowing that politically active Attorney Generals, and FBI agents are keeping you safe at night.

Mind you, that's probably because these legal overseers are generally qualified for their jobs.

Canadians can't even trust their head of state, unless she's throwing a largely ceremonial tea party.