- Ms Kaye is a Tyee Builder. You can be, too.
- Mary Carlisle is a Tyee Builder. You can be, too.
- Prem Gill is a Tyee Builder. You can be, too.
- Nancy Flight is a Tyee Builder. You can be, too.
- Justin Everett is a Tyee Builder. You can be, too.
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- Nora Etches is a Tyee Builder. You can be, too.
- Edward Henderson is a Tyee Builder. You can be, too.
- Bharadwaj Chandramouli is a Tyee Builder. You can be, too.
- Dean Chatterson is a Tyee Builder. You can be, too.
- Marius Scurtescu is a Tyee Builder. You can be, too.
- Robert Parkes is a Tyee Builder. You can be, too.
- James Murton is a Tyee Builder. You can be, too.
- Susan Doyle is a Tyee Builder. You can be, too.
- Vincent Strgar is a Tyee Builder. You can be, too.
- Helen Spiegelman is a Tyee Builder. You can be, too.
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Just Don't Call Me Right-Wing
I was raised conservative, but look where I've ended up!
Sorry, no right turn here.
-
'Town Hells' Caught on YouTube
U.S. debate on health care reform turns ugly. Is this democracy?
-
Return of the Far Right
Global downturn drives new rise of ultra-con parties.
-
Harper's Aussie Advisor
Lessons from the hardliner down under.
Denouement: the outcome of a complex sequence of events.
As one whose lifetime has been involved in a complex sequence of events, my outcome has left me a bit bewildered at what I've become -- a severe opponent of "big C" conservatism because I see it as destructive of much of what I hold dear.
(Before continuing, a man named David Field representing Citizens for Green Energy keeps calling me a "right-winger" in his attacks on my views which he's been sending to community papers. The idea that I'm a right-winger will probably come as an unbearable shock to Premier Campbell who, having seen me campaign long and hard for the NDP last election, had assumed quite the opposite!)
My mother and father were Conservatives who always voted for Point Grey's Howard Green -- even when he supported the expulsion of Japanese Canadians from the B.C. coast in 1942. In fact, when my father "bought" a paper box company from the so-called trustee looking after selling the property of the internees at a 90 per cent discount, it was mostly seen as an act of patriotism.
Blame Trudeau
By the time I had reached university I was a Liberal. The CCF (Co-Operative Commonwealth Federation, now the NDP) were not looked at seriously where I came from, and the Conservatives were so very, very British -- opposing any efforts to diminish the country's "Britishness." I stayed a provincial Liberal until 1975 when I voted for myself, the Social Credit candidate for Kamloops. By that time, I was thoroughly fed up with Trudeau, especially over the so-called "Quebec Crisis" where it seemed to me that Trudeau and his government had taken leave of their senses.
Even though I didn't like what I saw in the Progressive Conservative Party, it was better than the Grits. It helped me to know that my lifelong friend John Fraser was a Tory -- a "Red" Tory who I could relate to.
I actually joined the Progressive Conservatives in 1974 to help fellow alderman Don Couch in his (unsuccessful) campaign against the Liberal Len Marchand. To say I was inactive would be to overstate my involvement. In fact, a Tory ran against me in 1979. In his autobiography Len said that nothing got done with the Conservatives without my consent -- considering I never even had a beer with Tories, let alone go to a Tory meeting, that was more than a bit of exaggeration!
Over my years in government and in radio, I started to drift "left," though not so far as to embrace the NDP -- until last May's election, on the issue of rivers. I fought against the Campbell Liberals who have found themselves where Tories used to be, thanks to the ironclad rule of Kim Il Campbell.
A cold way of thinking
Why is it, I asked myself on the way to denouement, that I dislike the "right" so much? The answer, as so often happens, came from my late mother. I can remember the day, when I was a boy, Mum looked up at the white clouds and asked if I could see the man on a horse. Of course I couldn't -- what a silly question! My mother looked at me and asked "have you no soul?" I began to see things in clouds -- I did with my kids, and still do to this day with their kids.
The "right" has no soul. It doesn't care for people outside the business community. When it helps the disadvantaged it's because it must do so politically, not as an act of compassion for those who need help. Indeed, Tories lack "compassion" in all they do -- performing the politically necessary "softness" with an attitude of revulsion towards those "weak" people they reluctantly help.
This is not an unfair statement at all. All one needs to do is look at mental health.
The NDP had created the mental health post, called the mental health advocate, to seek out areas of need. Nancy Hall, the first and only advocate, did a good job. In fact, it was too good, and she made the Campbell government uneasy that her findings would raise healthcare costs. Without the advocate, the mentally ill would be out of sight, out of reach and far removed from government help. Nancy Hall's contract was not renewed. I conclude that there's no place for caring people in that government.
Money trumps other concerns
The Sea-to-Sky devastation of the Eagleridge environment is another example of the mean-spiritedness I'm talking about. Opponents of that needless degradation of the environment maintained that using a tunnel would have been no more expensive, but the government went ahead anyway. To Campbell Liberals, no environmental consideration counts when tightfistedness and soullessness meet. Even if a tunnel at Horseshoe Bay would have been a bit more expensive, amortized over the life, it was a trifle. The point is that to Campbell & Co environmental assets are not to be taken into account. Money always trumps environmental concerns.
(Strangely enough, there is a living example of how governments can be sensitive. Back in the 1960s, when the Trans-Canada highway was being built, it reached a large tree on a farm that had flags and flowers around it in remembrance of a fallen soldier. The highways minister, Phil Gaglardi, scarcely a socialist, ordered the road to go around it.)
It was the same with the Tsawwassen overhead power lines. Decent people would have been deeply concerned for the health of citizens, especially the children over whose school the lines were to run. Obeying the "precautionary principle," the government would have accepted that it was their duty to demonstrate its safety -- not for the people to demonstrate its harm. The Campbell government's attitude? To hell with the citizens and their kids -- money trumps the health of the people.
Atlantic salmon fish farms prove the point again. Discarding the "precautionary principle," the government has placed the onus for proving fish farms harmful onto opponents -- who, I might say, have discharged that onus completely. There is absolutely no doubt amongst the world's independent scientists that sea lice from fish farms wipe out migrating wild salmon smolts. But again, money trumps the environment and the health of those who eat its grisly product.
Private power on public rivers is again a demonstration of the right-wing Campbell government. It matters not that the horrendous damage to rivers is evident and that ecologies must be destroyed for the power plants to exist. It's of no consequence that the power to be generated and the money to be made goes to large corporations, mostly outside of Canada. Right-wing dedication to the Fraser Institute's far right dogma that a river should be owned by private interests trumps the public interest in lands, including its fauna and flora, supposedly held by the Crown for them.
Shed a tear with me
Back to Tsawwassen and environs. It's clear that the South Fraser Perimeter Highway will cause huge environmental loss and depletion of farmland; again private profit trumps public interest.
The Harper government's approach to crime shows another side of the "right" I can't abide. Never mind what research shows, throw more people into jail longer and you'll develop safe communities. That jail provides little help -- and the fact that prisoners graduate even better at their criminal tasks -- never worries Harper & Co. While you're at it, send an MP (with the appropriate surname of Hanger) to Singapore to see how public flogging is a useful and appropriate way to combat crime. And let's have another look at the noose as another valuable tool. Potential short term votes always trump long term policy based upon research and scientific expertise.
It goes on. Flinty fundamentalist appealing to bottom-feeders is the natural basis for "right-wing" policy, whether it involves public land, healthcare for the mentally ill or plain justice for gays.
Thus my denouement for all to see -- from a limp wristed ("small l") liberal.
But pay no attention to me, for such is my weakness of character that I believe that the world would be a better place if more men cried more often. ![[Tyee]](http://thetyee.cachefly.net/ui/img/ico_fishie.png){kind=small}
- BC snuffs out AirCare test program
- AFN national chief Shawn Atleo to launch re-election bid
- Citizens group releases video to fight undead Bill C-30
- Conservative MP says he might vote against budget, then 'clarifies' his position
- Genetically modified plants won't take root with councillors in Richmond, BC
- Hundreds at Vancouver rally to support Quebec students
- Could Fort Mac become an eco-tourist hotspot?
- Rick Hansen's Man in Motion anniversary tour concludes in Vancouver
- The Gem of Canadian Science that Harper Killed
- Who Mowed Down the Premier?
- Canada's Economy, Deconstructed (by a 12 year-old)
- Death in Remand: a Tyee Inquiry
- Now Is the Time to Talk up Big Ideas
- Sexism Tinges Criticism of Teachers' Job Action
- Bill C-38: the Environmental Destruction Act
- Death In Remand: 'A Gut Feeling'
- Bias in BC's Pesticide Decision? Follow the Bouncing Verbs
- The Ethics of Addiction Studies
- The Gem of Canadian Science that Harper Killed
- Sexism Tinges Criticism of Teachers' Job Action
- Now Is the Time to Talk up Big Ideas
- The Ethics of Addiction Studies
- Bill C-38: the Environmental Destruction Act
- Alberta Fills Pipes with Corrosive Denial
- Bias in BC's Pesticide Decision? Follow the Bouncing Verbs
- How Our Immune Systems Exaggerate Fear
- BC biotech company seeks approval for GM apple
- What's Behind BC's Doors?
- Should You Run from that Medical Test?
- 'The Dictator'
- Death in Remand: Stacked Deck
- 'Moonrise Kingdom'
- From Financial Advisor to Occupier
- Seven Goals to Build the Conservative 'Dream'
- How Our Immune Systems Exaggerate Fear
- Who Mowed Down the Premier?
- Does Simon Fraser University Need a Men's Centre?
- Now Is the Time to Talk up Big Ideas
- Double lung recipient dances on Ellen show
- ISS astronauts grab DragonX space capsule by the tail with Canada Arm
- Metro Vancouver gas prices peak at record levels
- Ottawa posts $9-billion deficit in March despite pledge to avoid spending spree
- BC phases out AirCare to focus on fighting bigger vehicle emissions
- Tsunami senors to be dropped into deep sea off of Vancouver Island
- Student groups file court challenge against Quebec protest law
- ...while on the streets, pirates and ninjas put aside mutual animosity to join student protests
66
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OilbertaRedTory
2 years ago
Abandoning Partisans
There are too many good ideas from a wide spectrum of political viewpoints to tolerate the constraints of our electoral system much longer.
When Mulroney abandoned Tory economics for the neo-liberals, he sealed the fate of conservatives. The Reformation of the PCs has led them to a Straussian wasteland of partisan strategizing PR as a substitute for public policy.
Pity the careful voters. We're left with TINA.
OilbertaRedTory
2 years ago
Abandoning Partisans
There are too many good ideas from a wide spectrum of political viewpoints to tolerate the constraints of our electoral system much longer.
When Mulroney abandoned Tory economics for the neo-liberals, he sealed the fate of conservatives. The Reformation of the PCs has led them to a Straussian wasteland of partisan strategizing PR as a substitute for public policy.
Pity the careful voters. We're left with TINA.
samuidave (not verified)
2 years ago
A small "c" conservative
is just a cautious small "l" liberal anymore, with a leaning toward paternal-styled governance, no?
Grumpy
2 years ago
Political ideology doesn't exist anymore.
Today in Canadian politics we have the corrupt or "on the take" party; the wanting to be corrupt or "want to be on the take" party; the "I wish I could be on the take party"; and finally "teach me how to be on the take party".
sunshine coast girl
2 years ago
Welcome to the left, Rafe..
It's nice to see that you've got a soul. Perhaps there's hope for some of those right-wingers after all.
Fiat lux
2 years ago
The real problem today is
The real problem today is not necessarily this silly and meaningless "left vs. right" nonsense that no longer means anything, but the crap being taught in our universities as "neoclassical market economics" and the fraudulent definitions of economic efficiency and GDP.
These fraudulent theories are licencing a mafia like corporate sector to commit the biggest crime wave in human history, with our politicians just standing there, like pricks in cold water, not daring to point out what really is going on ?
The textbook definition of economics is "The science for the management and distribution of scarce resources".
Can anybody remember when economics may have been used for these noble purposes ? What is so sacrosanct about the people who are pushing the destructive theories that nobody dares to question, or attack them ?
Especially now with capitalism collectivizing power and global economic control in the hands of a multinational corporate mafia in the best tradition of Soviet communism, destroying real private enterprise, the environment and humanity.
Ed Deak, Big Lake.
anarcho
2 years ago
My question
I always ask "What exactly do today's "conservatives" wish to conserve? The environment, a decent living standard for ordinary people, old buildings, family farms, small business, community - its folks on the left seek to conserve them not the "conservatives" who are actually destructive greed and ideology-driven radicals.
freebear
2 years ago
As people age and gain wisdom...
the blinders come off.
Unfortunately too often; too little, too late!
Van Isle
2 years ago
I really don't think that
I really don't think that you have changed that much Rafe; it's the politians and the politics that have changed and not really for the good at all. We have bought into economic stupidity. Economics was devised to serve society but now we've go it ass-backwards where society is to serve economics.
Jerry Munro
2 years ago
Honest Rafe...
Doubtless you and I are not positioned to agree on everything Rafe, but I know a good man when I see one. And you are a good honest man.
KWD
2 years ago
why did the politician cross the floor
to get to the other side.
The unfortunate part about most confessionals is that they are framed by half truths. ‘Tis true that the “right” may lack soul, they may not care about the disadvantaged and their compassion can be measured in dollars, but politicians are, by necessity, reactionary: they bend under the weight of popular economic and social ideological realtities.
And because societies have evolved to the (present) state where “success” is all about money/wealth … more is better, growth is good, living in the Lions, lolling about on destination beaches … political leanings are moot.
The reality is, all politicians in power have no soul, they don’t care for folks outside the business community and they have no compassion … unless it’s profitable politically. To do so would be to commit political suicide.
Today’s voters are only interested in hearing from politicians that will reinforce their belief that endless growth is possible, environmental destruction is necessary because it’s a source of wealth and if you don’t take advantage of the opportunities presented, someone else will.
Despite the cynicism, there are evolutionary forces at work that will change the face of politics, not just in BC, but globally. The planet has a limited supply of resources and many, not just salmon, fresh water, trees and oil, have peaked in terms of satisfying human demands.
It remains to be seen how soon the struggle … not just politically … for survival will unfold.
alive
2 years ago
always too confident in yourself Rafe
Are we supposed to be impressed that you eventually learn?
I have more admiration for a man who stays on the sidelines untill he gets the picture and know he can make a difference.
Bullying ahead with half a message is not a good trait Rafe, and that is what you did.
How about telling us about all the bills you helped pass while in office, bills that you by now must realize were not in the interest of the average Joe?
Skywalker
2 years ago
Well done Rafe!
Every political party will eventually disappoint but some will disappoint more than others. I too was raised in a right wing
household and it was the Socreds which finally convinced me that one should question a parties motives quite often. Patience with a political party depends on its membership and for some reason the "right-wing" party membership has far too much patience for me. This does not seem to be the case with the left. There if people are unhappy the vote with their feet.
I'm with Fiat Lux on this one. We really need to get back to some of the basic virtues of a caring society and base our policies on those.
DPL
2 years ago
Good article Rafe. I've
Good article Rafe. I've never voted for a right of center government because I agree with the issues you raise. There are too many fast buck artists in governments and lots of supporteres of them. I guess the supporters hope the right wingers will include them in splitting up the rewars, something that really doesn't happen. PET did, in my view go overboard on the FLQ event. We hauled the airborn down to Montreal and it was near panic down where the troops were gathering.The precautions were blown way out of normal. But it got some guys re-elected which was part of the plan as I saw it. Keep writing Rafe, and folks will keep reading
soleprobe
2 years ago
A cleverly promoted illusion backed by centralized wealth
The left/right illusion’s not working anymore. Mr. Mair, people are waking up to this grand hoax. They know that Liberals, NDP, Conservatives all take their marching orders from the same criminal cabal. One party gets elected and proceeds with the criminal cabal’s agenda until they get turfed and then the other party gets elected and continues with the same criminal agenda by breaking all their campaign promises. Then they get turfed and the other party comes in (whether it’s NDP, Liberal Conservative) and the same thing starts all over again until the criminal cabal has achieved all its objectives which is the complete pillaging of our wealth and the destruction of our sovereignty.
Ed Deak seems to touch on this when he identifies them as the “multinational corporate mafia.”
The continuing exposure of these criminals is not coming from the mainstream press or from you Mr. Mair. Although you do point out a lot of injustices within the left/right illusion your solutions only serve to keep Canadians trapped within it and further the interests of the criminal cabal. Whether you do this intentionally or by ignorance you know the answer to that. But one thing this criminal cabal has is wealth which is becoming increasingly centralized into their hands to the point where the world is approaching the point of two camps: those who are “on the take” and those who are not.
The one thing those who are not “on the take” have is truth, and truth is beginning to show itself to be more powerful than wealth.
unk harry
2 years ago
epiphany
Don’t ya just love it when a political hack, or a captain of industry has a “road to Damascus” experience—they pull a 180 degree turn, spraying metaphorical gravel to get our attention to their epiphany. It is particularly precious when this illuminating realization is in diametric contrast to a previous life. I have seen it most glaringly in forest company executives who, after retiring to a Gulf Island waterfront mansion with their fat pension built on stumps, cry manifold crocodile tears about the looting of our collective conifer piggy-bank by their remaining pencil-necked comrades.
So, Rafe, old buddy, pardon me if I view your comments with a raised eyebrow. I remember you and your gang quite well. And even if Bill VanderZalm has arisen from a political gulag to supposedly fight the HST and hence his old party buddies, I know that a whisper in the ear would bring the neo-con troops back into order if faced with anything approaching an NDP government (shudder!)
No, I do not hold either of our present choices in much regard. We own a small logging/forestry business—the proverbial mom & pop & sons outfit, harvesting about sixty truckloads of wood annually. Even though we are, by definition, entrepreneurs, there is no room for us at the Campbell table for we are too small, too insignificant. Nor does the NDP think too highly of us, for I do not toe the party line on many issues, and have let my union membership lapse as insignificant. I also have burned into my aging, but still somewhat functional mind, the memory of the ill-fated NDP leadership race that put the slick Ujal Dosinjah up against the populist, plain-spoken Corky Evans. The IWA lobbied for the former. Soon after this, several IWA porkchoppers such as the blowhard Jack Munro and loudmouth Dave Haggard abandoned the “left” to jump on the federal Liberal bandwagon or to work as a pimp for industry.
So a skunk may change his stripes, but underneath it all he still stinks. You aren’t the first to have a personal feeling of elation, awe and wonder at discovering your previous life has little to be proud of, nor will you be the last.
Realist
2 years ago
NDP guilty too
I find myself in an unusual position of wanting to call a pro NDP person on their stuff but... It was the NDP that bowed to neo-conservative ideology when Riverside was closed. The goal of closing the institution to allow the mentally ill to be treated in the public was indeed valid. What was not valid was not putting the required community services and agencies required to maintain the mental health of those released, in place. It was a half A$$ed effort that has led to the situation we have today. (not that the B.C. NDP were alone in this gaff as I lived on the west end of Church Street in Toronto when their government of the day did the same thing to the Toronto mental health instittution with identical results. as the days went by and more and more mentally ill individuals wandered aimlessly and had the meds in their systems slowly decrease and their illnesses return in force, the area became more and more sureal). I would also sight the removal of extra financial aid to disabled who have children, but do not have custody more than a ridiculous, formulaic, stratagy which calls for a so called 50% custody situation. I am disabled and I have a son who is with me everyday and weekends but due to NDP created qualifications I have to pay for him to be with me out of my already meager monthly benifit. I am closer aligned to the ideals of the NDP than any other party but the NDP have moments of being extremely biased by neo-con ideologied also.
samuidave (not verified)
2 years ago
Slagging Rafe's past life is ancient history
My recollection of his efforts to get the correct message out stem back to the mid 1980s when he was the morning man on CKNW radio. That is some 25 years ago, a not so insignificant time.
Haven't we all made errors in judgment in our political views at some point, only to learn the ramifications of the error of our ways at a later time?
I think it is called wisdom. I belief Rafe has earned his due respect as a voice of the people.
onthebay
2 years ago
re-thinking ideologies
An excellent article and excellent comments - a learning experience. There are many of us waking up to economic realities and re-thinking ideologies - thank goodness.
We may think Canada is a wealthy country, and many of us may think we are middle class, but if the country is going into debt to stay afloat, and we are going into debt to provide our families with the basics of life we attribute to middle class, then we aren’t a wealthy country and we aren’t middle class.
There may be some pain, but we really have to give up some of our illusions and reassess where we are at, what we are doing (especially to Earth), and where we are going.
As for politicians - it doesn’t seem to matter what political party is running the government - they are all currently doing the same dance: the “Bend Backwards for Business Boogie” to the same corporate tune: “We Want Wealthy Wallets.”
Skywalker
2 years ago
Both Realist and unk harry have jaded memories.
Whenever the NDP sqeeks into power it is after a few decades of right-of-center rule. The cupboard is always bare, social deficits monstrous and expectations are in the stratosphere. Last time there was a deficit of a few billion dollars to contend with. After the NDP does not deliver it all in the first term the knives start to come out to add to the knives from the corporate sector. Comparisons are always tainted by the jaded experience of a few who expected more than could be delivered. We all pay for the short-sightedness. Just imagine the mess an NDP would inherit if it took over tomorrow.
If you don't have a lot of money you have to shift resources and there's the rub. You have to take from one and give to another hoping that the benefits will be revealed quickly enough to mute the opposing voices. It never happens in the time the public tolerates the NDP. If the public was as patient with the left as it is with the right there might be a chance to really turn things around. I reject completely any notion of a "mafia' behind all parties the proof that a whole bunch of NDP hacks made fortunes in the 90's just is not there. If you go one step further and compare then and now the differences are huge.
And, as I have said before if the public was informed (ie. we had an impartial media) there might be a chance to make a change. Till then I welcome and can identify with were Rafe is at.
Tangler
2 years ago
Whew .. thanks Rafe!
Many thanks Rafe. You are clearly a more patient man than I.
For years now, I've tried to articulate specific reasons for my growing distaste of the "conservative mentality". Unfortunately, all I've managed to do is acquire a reputation as a crotchety old man who mumbles and curses under his breath while reading newspaper accounts of the latest Campbell/Harper affront to human dignity.
Well, that's not strictly true. I've also managed to empty a number of bottles of red wine while contemplating how a once-thoughtful, progressive nation like Canada has fallen so far that it is now barely distinguishable from the slightly-mad republic south of our border.
Thank you also for reminding me that qualities like empathy and compassion (for other humans, and for our planet) are not character flaws. Given the 24/7 ideological bombardment from the mainstream media, I was very nearly convinced to check myself into a re-education center, along with other subversives.
Realist
2 years ago
Skywalker
I agree with your point just as this time the NDP will be elected and be faced with the olympic debt which a short termed memoried public will likely blame on those in power. However, this does not excuse throwing out the entire population of Riverview into the streets without first putting social safety net in place. The NDP does end up with cupboards bare to work with (this time it will also include the complete decimation of corporate taxation public income. Billions lost that will not be there to fix the mess) but, this requires carefull thought as to what order things should get done.The only people that do noy make mistakes are those who do nothing and in this regard everyone is guilty at one time or another (we have ferries and they have olympics and convention centres). This is my point we can all learn from past mistakes and no party is perfect. I'll still vote NDP as I understand that the economy is here to support society (NDP) while society is not here to support the economy (B.C. Liberals, Conservative etc.).
Realist
2 years ago
Ha!
Freudian slip on the spelling of not!
shepsil
2 years ago
@ Rafe Mair
Men allowing their egos to take them into battle, instead of showing compassion for others [snip]...I believe that the world would be a better place if more men cried more often.[snip]
Thank you for stating what most men don't relalize in their lifetimes and what is one of our human conditions and possibly why we need more women at the helm.
Why I believe being humble and compassionate (not necessarily in that order) is more important than all the head banging that goes on daily in our lives, in particular on this site.
Thank you again Rafe for stating the so hard to admit obvious!
Skywalker
2 years ago
Realistic
Never underestimate the power of the double standards that measure right-wing or left-wing governments. A right-wing government can run deficits and nobody bats and eye but let a left-wing government do it and all hell breaks loose. It doesn't matter what the justification. So the option of spending to house the mentally ill when a deficit might be the result is less palatable for left-wing parties. The pressure when a government has just squeaked in by a narrow margin is substantial.
I recall our union meetings in the construction industry could go wild because the Harcourt government did not move fast enough to level the playing field for union and non union firms. The Harcourt government said to be always mindful of the need to attract a larger voter base, exercised caution and it cost them next time around.
The mainstream media is complicit in this farce and before I get to "a pox on all your houses" I will reserve my healthy contempt for the system that perpetuates this dishonesty in our democratic institutions and for the few who think this is just fine because the end suits their greedy souls.
We need more voices like Rafe even though I know that his comments have probably forever killed any chance he has of ever getting to be the host of another talk show. Pity. I almost wish CBC would hire him to replace the boring Almanac.
Jerry Munro
2 years ago
KWD
"... but politicians are, by necessity, reactionary: they bend under the weight of popular economic and social ideological realtities." writes KWD.
Ooooo, you cut a little to close to the bone on this piece, KWD. Go to the front of the class.
And Realist, after reading that other Realisticman, you are a breath of fresh air. I will never get you two mixed up again.
Tangler
2 years ago
Equal Time Madness
Skywalker Said: "We need more voices like Rafe even though I know that his comments have probably forever killed any chance he has of ever getting to be the host of another talk show. Pity. I almost wish CBC would hire him to replace the boring Almanac."
No, that would be a mistake. Almanac serves a completely different purpose (and a very good one, I might add ... like, local coverage of local interests).
What the CBC needs to do is give Rafe the same kind of time/emphasis that they give other regular "columnists" - a specific, dedicated, scheduled time slot in either the morning or afternoon drive time shows. Including him in the weekly Early Edition "political panel" is insulting and pointless. Why a man of that experience and intellect should be lumped in with Liberal (read: conservative) lightweights is beyond me.
No, I lie. I know why the CBC does that. They mistakenly believe that "equal time" is the same as "balance". But, it isn't of course. That's why we continue to see climate change denial experts granted "equal time" with credible scientists.
If a hundred experts are on one side of a debate, and five are on the other side, CBC will insist on interviewing one expert from each side ... for "balance". They do the same with letters and emails.
It's enough to drive a person mad.
Skywalker
2 years ago
Tangler
I agree with your version of CBC's view of how they define "balance" but I think it comes from their misguided notion that it proves they are impartial. It does the exact opposite and also proves they are a bunch of incompetents. I'd still trade Almanac for a more thought provoking show. Once we have that then I might concede that such things as gardening and some local event are at the forefront of the public's concern province wide. We all have local stations so unless the local issue is of provincial concern it isn't province wide news.
It just seems as though the CBC is deathly afraid that they might offend somebody...it leads to boredom. Maybe if they had a really good show on provincial issues more people would listen. But hey... that might upset the upper class.
Jeffrey J.
2 years ago
Intelligent self reflection
Rafe, your work is very compelling. Very few people today have the knack to speak openly about political issues. It used to be more common. I've been immersed in reading many of Gandhi's publications, and he was able to self reflect--publicly--with deftness.
Bertrand Russell also wrote poignantly in the same way, balancing issues that were troubling with clarity of thought. Believe it or not, Helen Keller was also gifted in writing about social policy and was able to point out obvious hypocrisies.
People will always yearn for honest reflection from those who experience with our elites. We are facing a particularly bleak time in this area, as we see two dimensional leaders like Campbell, Harper, Ignatieff, all spear-headed by 8 years of Bush. It is a very alienating style of rule.
Which is why so many people enjoy your work. Keep it up. I look forward to reading your column every week!
ME2
2 years ago
There's hope. eh?
Cheer up, Skywalker, the Toronto Cognoscenti who control BC programing have already sliced Almanac's time in half, from 2 hrs to 1.
Since Alamanac has always devoted it's time to issuues relevent to BC'ers, paying little attention to far more important Toronto and Ottawa themes, I'm sure the writing is on the wall for what remains of Mark Forsythe's excellent program.
I'm sure you'll enjoy more of Michael Enright's truly boring dredging in the CBC archives, plus even more time for exciting docudramas on how FN leaders - as they "recover" from white oppression - are now having successful bowel moveents.
Luke
2 years ago
Rafe...
Well it's good to see that you still remain true to your roots and have not turned into a socialist.
Are you ever going to get over that? Remember it was the NDP with their "600 river" IPP policy for micro-hydro from the 1990's!
As for embracing the NDP, here's something to chew on.
Brian Fisher is running for the presidency of the NDP and here's his philosophy:
http://www.publiceyeonline.com/archives/004502.html#more
And, Stephen Elliott-Buckley, the guy running for the NDP vice-presidency has this to say:
http://www.publiceyeonline.com/archives/004504.html
And to top it all off:
http://www.straight.com/article-270838/vancouver/leadership-convention-not-sight-ndp
And then their these internal NDP party postings about "financial chaos within the NDP":
http://www.rabble.ca/babble/western-provinces/financial-chaos-within-bcndp
That's certainly a train wreck waiting to happen.
If they can't get their own affairs in order, how can BC'ers trust them to get BC's house in order (micro hydro IPP's from your perspective)?
Skywalker
2 years ago
Luke
I really have not missed your "copy and paste" posts which attempted to make everything the fault of the the NDP almost nine years ago. At least you dropped the "Skywalker" on your name. I see you still avoid addressing the real issues but use every article to point fingers at the past.
Skywalker
2 years ago
ME2
Enright at least does not have a phone in show. He does not have to cut people off if it looks like they may have a different point of view or try to pin down the slippery government spokesperson he has on as a guest. Any comparison is flawed. Given a choice I'll take Enright. At least he can be interesting.
Skywalker
2 years ago
On behalf of Luke I post
"An Angus Reid Strategies poll released Saturday found 47 percent support for the NDP to 33 percent for the Liberals"
He forgot to include this and I just thought I would show how easy "copy and paste" is.
Luke
2 years ago
Skywalker...
Angus Reid Strategies released a similar poll in November, 2008 (prior t the May, 2009 election) showing the NDP in the lead. A week in politics is an eternity.
Mustel also just released an opinion poll with this
caption:
http://www.mustelgroup.com/pdf/20091120.pdf
Anyway, David Bieber, director of NDP party communications for the BC NDP from 1997 to 2009 had this to say today:
http://www.vancouversun.com/business/needs+demonstrate+economic+competence/2255694/story.html
And he has been running the show for the BC NDP for the last 12 years! Imagine that! ;)
Skywalker
2 years ago
Yep imagine that.
"An Angus Reid Strategies poll released Saturday found 47 percent support for the NDP to 33 percent for the Liberals"
Bailey
2 years ago
A passion for compassion
In reality, we are humans, each and all of us.
In our fantasies we are whatever we wish, cowboys gangsters or victims or vampires. But these are only phantoms, these roles we play. They must not be allowed to become so compelling that we forget who and what we are in reality.
Humans.
All values are human values. There are no others. When we substitute financial values, or political values, or petty advantage for them we betray our true natures for a cheap fantasy.
Humans we are, and we are all in this together. As we journey through the world we encounter the truths we are capable of. Many people, these ones you mention, insist on denying the lessons they learn. Pilgrims they are, but they make no progress.
You have no apologies to make, Mr. Mair. You have travelled from position to position as a human should, learning the lessons on offer, and becoming what you must become as a result.
It's an honorable and an honest path. Beware of those who see, but never learn. Those who never change whatever happens are never to be trusted.
That path denies the truth of what humanity is, must be, about.
Frank
2 years ago
Brad
If you spent half as much time forming reasoned arguments rather than searching the internet looking for dirt on the NDP more people would listen to you.
Luke
2 years ago
Skywalker...
You were bang-on when you stated this:
http://thetyee.ca/Blogs/TheHook/BC-Politics/2009/11/23/ProvincialPolls/#article_comments
Premier Dianne Watts it is.
Frank
2 years ago
Brad
"Angus Reid Strategies released a similar poll in November, 2008 (prior t the May, 2009 election) showing the NDP in the lead"
Really? How similar? That the NDP were leading by 14%? Somehow I don't recall that, could it be that it didn't happen?
As for Dianne Watts, she's been totally incompetent in Surrey addressing that city's homeless problem. Therefore she'd be an excellent Liberal leader.
Luke
2 years ago
Frank...
Brad? Just call me Bubba. :D
Here's your November, 2008 Angus Reid Stategies poll showing the NDP in the lead by 5%:
http://angusreidstrategies.com/uploads/pages/pdfs/2008.11.15_BCPolitics.pdf
Here's your Mustel poll, 5 months later, showing a 17% Liberal lead.
http://www.mustelgroup.com/pdf/20090414.pdf
And here's your Angus Reid Strategies poll from 2 months ago showing Dianne Watts with the highest ratings for "BC Premier".
http://www.angusreidstrategies.com/uploads/pages/pdfs/2009.09.05_BCPolitics.pdf
BTW, Carole James is way down the list in 10th spot with a negative -27 rating (compared to Dianne Watts' rating).
There ya go! ;)
Frank
2 years ago
Skywalker
Is it true the BC Liberals are at just 33% and the federal Liberals have lost 60,000 of their 70,000 members in BC?
Imagine that indeed!
BC is on its way to being a Liberal-free zone and it can't happen soon enough.
Frank
2 years ago
Brad
"Here's your November, 2008 Angus Reid Stategies poll showing the NDP in the lead by 5%:"
That's not really "similar" is it? In fact, the difference is almost 3 times that isn't it? Methinks you're trying to downplay the poll results.
"Here's your Mustel poll, 5 months later, showing a 17% Liberal lead."
Which turned out to be quite wrong didn't it? In fact, we told you at the time it was wrong but you insisted it was right and voters changed their minds after the poll snapshot was taken. Not very convincing in my opinion since its simple just to say the Mustel poll was wrong.
"And here's your Angus Reid Strategies poll from 2 months ago showing Dianne Watts with the highest ratings for "BC Premier"."
Based on the fact no one knows her abysmal record.
"BTW, Carole James is way down the list in 10th spot with a negative -27 rating "
Yet she has the support of almost half the people of BC. People must really hate the Liberals if they'd prefer James over your guy.
Seems to me the polls have shown the NDP in the lead for quite some time now.
Frank
2 years ago
A poll I'd like to see
A majority of voters saying Liberals care about the problems of the average joe and the poor.
Of course, there's never been such a poll result has there?
The Blackbird
2 years ago
I'm tired of crying
Nice one, Mr. Mair.
Born and raised in fascist Italy, my mom was 12 - 16 years of age during WWII.
Born and raised in Canada's conservative democracy, my dad was a trade unionist for much of his adult life.
I grew tired of crying a long time ago. Now I'm just mad as hell.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/blackbird_hollow/4063701682
Aulde Pfardt
2 years ago
Young and Old
Funny how socialist I was as a kid... As I reach retirement, I am ready to embrace it again.
carfreed
2 years ago
bang on!
"lack compassion"
that's IT!!!. .
smudgersmith@shaw.ca
2 years ago
Very Right Wing
Sorry Rafe. I remember the Socreds in my early days in Canada and the whole gang were anti-labour, anti-poor, anti-working class, anti-everything that made life bearable for working people in BC. This elephant doesn't forget. You were so pro-rich, pro-business and generally intolerant of dissent that I have no hesitation in calling you right wing. Remember the centre was a lot further left than it is today. As for your flopping about, that may be due to your feeling of guilt over benefiting from the box factory your father 'scored' for 10 cents in the dollar. Have you offered restitution to those who were dispossessed, or is some Uriah Heep hand-wringing all you've got to offer? I don't know how you can live with yourself knowing you benefited from a racist crime. It's like looting. I wish Tyee would drop you and find a leftie with some credibility to replace you. Sorry, but that's the way I feel.
sicntired
2 years ago
Join the club
From Bill Buckley to Milton Friedman,age seems to make conservatives abandon the right for a kinder,gentler reality.Perhaps it's just the fact that age makes us a member of the weak,if only in physical being.Everything you said about the right is true.It would seem that the machinations of Leo Strauss and the big lie have so enamored the right that kindness is seen as weakness and caring is foreign as is truth.
sunshine coast girl
2 years ago
Luke...
Quote:
voters have come to expect fiscal competence as a prerequisite for parties aspiring to government.
That doesn't sound at all like the BC Lieberals currently in government, does it? The NDP has NEVER mismanaged finances as badly as these guys and have always been forced to clean up the messes of the right wing governments in power before them. Can't believe you can't see that.
Village Idiot.
2 years ago
Rafe Mair comment
Amazing how ex politicians Mair and van der Zalm come to their senses at a later age. Or or they true to themselves?
It is high time that the federal liberals make it crystal clear that they are not associated with that u
neasy alliance called the provincial liberal party.
Luke
2 years ago
Sunshine Girl...
Sigh... You are kidding, right? :D
http://www.bivinteractive.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2013&Itemid=32
dirk
2 years ago
Nice to see the old axiom
..."the older one gets the wiser one gets" ,still rings true,at least for some of us, myself included of course ;)
For a better world
2 years ago
Good effort Rafe Mair
Recognizing misdeeds of the past indicates wisedom.
As some age and reflect on their exploitation of mankind among other things, they feel a need to redeem themselves because they are afraid of shoveling coal in perpetuity.
Many well known curmudgeons have sought ways to rectify their wrongs by being philanthropic. I don't think Mr. Mair fits into this category, because for several years he has provided genuine viewpoints that are not supported by the rich and powerful.
Mr. Mair's persistant exposing of unjust situations is worthy of accolades.
Des
2 years ago
Conversion
is not just another way to say "Con-servative," is it, Rafe?
I remember you from before, Rafe, and when I found The Tyee and you were on it, and you showed "yer cryin' side" I rejoiced.
So now I can hope that what happened once upon a time to you will happen at least once again and we can rejoice in the conversion of our Prime Minister into a human being. (Well, it's possible - Laureen got him to play the piano, and a Beatle song, at that.)
Chris Keam
2 years ago
Triple A ratings
"Thursday, 05 November 2009
Moody's Investors Service has confirmed the province's triple-A credit rating."
One can only wonder how many of the banks and other companies that imploded a year ago were boasting triple A ratings just a couple of years back. If such were the case, then clearly credit rating doesn't necessarily indicate competence.
Frank
2 years ago
Brad
I can't help but notice you didn't post anything about the Liberal record on job creation (worse than the NDP), poverty reduction (didn't happen), health care wait times (even Falcon prays he won't get sick), taxes (the bottom half pays more) or median wages (falling).
Sunshine Coast girl is right, just like in Saskatchewan, the NDP always has to clean up the mess.
onthebay
2 years ago
The Triple A has no clothes on!
A credit rating is a credit rating - it doesn’t mean that money is being spent wisely or ethically. I can get an excellent credit rating from the bank while at the same time be not feeding or clothing or housing my family adequately. Same with a government’s credit rating. The banks doesn’t see, or care about, the other side of the coin.
onthebay
2 years ago
It's early!
banks don't see
RickW
2 years ago
Ed (Fiat Lux)
Just one correction, Ed. Our politicians seems to be taking a much more active part in the degeneration of things - even the NDP. Their "just standing there" is much like those who didn't bother to coast a vote in either the last BC provincial election, or the last federal election. Their apathy is actually an act of support for the transfer of wealth into fewer and fewer pockets.
RickW
2 years ago
And Kris/Sunshine Girl
Luke is an idiot for thinking the Libs are managing thiings much better than the NDP. In this forum, he is much like the court jester -- good for a laugh, but easily dispensed with.
The only regret is that he is representative of a world being increasingly run by clowns......at least for now. But that phrase of Thomas Jefferson's keeps coming to mind......
Tangler
2 years ago
More Evidence ...
I was reminded of this article again today, when I read the comments by Nova Scotia MP Gerald Kennedy who accused the unemployed of his province of being "no good bastards" ... essentially, lazy whiners who won't work for a living.
(Hilariously, Kennedy later said that he didn't mean to offend anybody! Duh.)
Rafe had it right when he said:
"Indeed, Tories lack "compassion" in all they do -- performing the politically necessary "softness" with an attitude of revulsion towards those "weak" people they reluctantly help."
For conservatives, compassion is just an "act", much like "sincerity" (as some comic once said, once you can fake sincerity, you have it made).
For too long, "we" have accepted the explanation that outbursts from people like Kennedy are simply mistakes. They are not mistakes. They reveal the inner beast of political conservatism, and we should all be afraid ... very afraid.
North of Hope
2 years ago
It's the issues!
I, like Rafe, was born and raised a conservative. As were my brothers and sisters. Some left this "religion" and became NDPer's. None became Liberals as the were as hypocritical as the Conservatives. Recently I communicated with my brother in NS about Dexter leading in the poles before he became Premier. He replied that Dexter was an "issues man." This means that Dexter, the NDP leader in NS, wanted to solve problems. My brother supported him, as did NS, because he wanted to solve problems. He talked about the issues, not about the party you are in.
Look at the attacks on Carol James here in BC. They said she was too nice for the blood-sport of the BC Legislature. She changed a bit and got more stern, so then she was attacked for been too "attacky."
The point is we have to listen and see what the politicians have to say about the issues and how the are going to solve them. We do not need the attacks, esp. from the BC Liberals. Their handlers say this is the way to handle the opposition but it is time for a change. It is time to discuss the issues, not some fictitious political dogma that is only used to get or keep one in power. The NDP has to get their solution to these problems out to the people. It is very hard for them to do that as the press is aligned with the BC Liberals.
In this regard, Rafe is on the mark. He has identified some issues and is working hard to rectify and solve these problems. Keep ti up Rafe!
North of Hope
2 years ago
Sorry!!!
Some may need to read my message more than once to get its full impact.
RickW
2 years ago
North of Hope
What you said (several times) can be found in our Health Minister's remarks when questioned about the practice of paying for an expensive (but Health Canada approved) drug, then allowing doctors to substitute a cheaper (not approved by HC) drug, and pocket the difference:
http://www.cknw.com/Channels/Reg/NewsLocal/Story.aspx?ID=1168535
"Maybe in the communist world they say you only get one choice and that's all you're gonna get doctors and that's it, but that's not how it's gonna work in our world."
Pure deflection! The hallmark of this government.
brg61
2 years ago
One of your best Mr. Mair.
A well written vindication of your informed vote.
I formed my political views while growing up in a solid middle class family in small town BC. My parents were conservative in many ways. They saved money and avoided frivilous debt. ( My dad used a credit card only if he had car trouble or ran out of gas.) The mortgage was paid off when I was in elementary school and they never considered further real estate speculation. While I went to mass, my siblings were free to opt out.
My dad loved fishing and owned two rifles for hunting. Mom has always been fond of the monarchy and her grandfather was a senior officer in the British military.
These are traditional values that conservatives claim to defend from destruction by the liberal left. Well, my parents AND their four kids never drank that right wing kool-ade.
I am sick and tired of radical right wingers on talk radio and political web sites calling me and other progressives "clueless, lazy, socialists waiting for the state to do everything for us."
My older brother enrolled his kids in catholic schools from k-7th grade, helped them through university and has always been a homeowner. My younger brother's two children are thriving in school and planning for university.
My sister and I are professionals in our careers.
We are well informed, hard woking tax payers with strong values.
Left of centre voters are much more diverse than pollsters or the media realize. Indeed a major reason for sustained drops in circulation at daily newspapers is their routine,sometimes insulting dismissal of the left, while allowing frequent submissions from the Fraser Institute and others promoting a corporate conservative agenda. Many liberals expect and tolerate opposing commentary but many more (myself among them) are bored with the same product day after day; we've found better information sources.
Cold war political strategy should have crumbled with the Berlin wall, but the right has nothing to replace it with.