Today's baby step towards redemption

Joan Bryden has an article which takes the top off the outermost petruska doll that is Harper's management of the economy. She didn't quite call it Disaster Federalism but the elements are laid out nicely.

It gets off to a good start:

"Opposition parties fear the Harper government intends to use the global economic crisis as an excuse to carry out ideologically-driven spending cuts. "

And Tom Flanagan can't help but blurt out:

"I'm hopeful there will be some ideologically-driven, neo-conservative cuts to government," political scientist Tom Flanagan, a former chief of staff to Harper, said in an interview.

Such cuts, he added, would be consistent with Harper's long-term goal of reducing the size and scope of government.

"I think that's always been sort of the long-term plan, the way that Stephen was going about it of first depriving the government of surpluses through cutting taxes . . . You get rid of the surpluses and then it makes it easier to make some expenditure reductions."

(My highlights in bold.)

Edmund Burke famously said: "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." Perhaps Canada, as a distinct political experiment, requires a slightly different version. I propose: "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men take part in the folly of leadership races and votes against throne speeches."Recommend this Post