You know, sometimes the myopia of my fellow Kossacks astounds me. As a dual citizen who's spent his life in Canada, I fully realize that American politics is the place to be. It's important, momentous, and for the past several years, damn terrifying. Still, sometimes something happens up in my little country that you would think would peak our communities interest, and yet lo and behold, there appears (although after a very lazy search)to be no notice whatsoever.
Please, my friends and loyal Kossacks, join me below the jump for some news on a name that puts a bad taste on many of our mouths.
First, a little back story. 30 some odd years ago two young, politically active students shared a room at the University of Toronto's Victoria College. Tonight they battle for control of the Liberal Party (sort of like the Democrats, except they win most of the time).
There are good and bad things about this party. Good: they legalized gay marriage, forcefully stayed out of both the Iraq War and the Intercontinental Missile Defense Treaty, and they gave this country thirteen years of wealth, largely through sound management. Bad: To provide this wealth they stripped bare many social programs, downloaded enormous costs onto provinces (like states, but with more land and less people), and despite a three party system, are truly a defacto ruling party.
They are also a shining example of what it means to be a big tent party (I do ot vote Liberal, btw). After the unification of the right a few years ago, a strong percentage of the soft right party (The Progressive Conservatives, aka, the oxymorons) jumped ship and joined the Liberals. Despite the fact that the Liberals had been drifting farther right for the duration of jean Chretiens term (sort of like Clinton had he actually had power), they maintain a large number of very left-wing politicians as well. This weekend a battle is going to occur between the two sides of this tent, former roommates, both of whom have become distinguished in their own fields, one of whom is a name used mainly with scorn around these parts.
Ladies and gentlemen, Michael Ignatieff, of Bush Iraq War and Torture support fame, is the frontrunner to be the next Prime Minister of Canada. Now, you might argue (if you thought at all about primary politics of an oposition party in Canada) that it's a little presumptious to call him the front-runner while the party is out of office. It says something about my country, though, that without a leader, and with the two main choices being either a failed left-wing premier (hmmmmmm..... Like a cross between a governor and a senator and a hot dog), and a Bush apologist intellectual who's spent most of his life outside of Canada, recent polls still show the governing Conservatives lagging. There's the issue, though, the one that I felt might interest those pitiful few bored and lonely enough to be reading my rambling prose.
Micheal Ignatieff, the former chair of Human Rights at Harvard, ht e celebrated intellectual, and reviled Bush supporter, is currently battling his old university roommate (at least as far to the left as Howard Dean, who is incidentally supposed to be the Keynote speaker at the convention) for the right to be the next Prime Minister of the country that brought you..... ummmmm...... Jim Carrey? Mike Myers? Wait, I got it, Insulin (and biological weapons, same guy, weird story).
Just thought I'd share. bored now.
(note to Canadians, if, on the outside chance, Dion wins, I will vote for him. Otherwise fuck it. I like Rae's politics, but he's still a failed premier).