NCC Endorses Unelected Senate

Once upon a time the National Citizens Coalition stood for Senate reform.

Those were the days when it was an independent truly conservative voice.

No more.

Now it's impossible to figure out where the Conservative Party spin machine ends and the NCC begins.

Sad.

Americana

Things I have had a hard time adjusting to in the United States:

* Round-abouts.

* Paying for gasoline before you put it in your car.

* Getting used to Fahrenheit temperatures again.

* Remembering to ask people where the "bathroom" is instead of "washroom."

Political GPS

I just bought one of those GPS car navigation systems to keep me from getting lost as I travel through the wilds of America. (I often get lost even in the wilds of Oakville.)

And I got to say it's a pretty cool device. It not only shows me which way to go, but it actually speaks to me.

"Turn here," says a robotic voice.

Plus you can apparently change the voice to suit your fancy.

This got me wondering what these GPS devices would sound like if you could program them to sound like our political leaders.

They might sound a little like this:

Stephen Harper GPS voice: "This car won't move until I say it can move. Now prorogue this vehicle immediately."

Michael Ignatieff GPS voice: "You are travelling along Highway 401 ... at least I think it's Highway 401 ... I don't know this country all that well."

Jack Layton GPS voice: "Turn left .... turn left .... turn left."

Gilles Duceppe GPS voice: "Sorry I only give directions inside Quebec."

I'm off to America!

Canada’s conservative movement will somehow have to get along without me for the next little while.

That’s because I have just signed a deal to work for an American political consulting firm, meaning I will be temporarily relocating to the United States.

I will be attached to a Senate campaign down there which will keep me pretty busy for the next few months.

Consequently, I expect my blogging activities will be greatly reduced for the foreseeable future.

But fear not, when I return from my American tour of political combat duty, I plan to resume blogging at full steam.

In the meantime, wish me luck.

Facebook Fury

It seems "grassroots" Canadians are in a fury over Prime Minister Stephen Harper's decision to prorogue Parliament.

Or so says the Toronto Star.

And what's the Star's evidence of this fury?

Well, it seems more than 28,000 people have joined an anti-prorogation Facebook page.

OK that's impressive.

It certainly shows that lots of people on Facebook disagree with the prorogation.

But clicking a link on Facebook is no measure of emotional intensity.

And it's emotional intensity which fuels "grassroots fury."

You need such intensity to pick up the phone and complain to your MP or to a radio talk show host, you need such intensity to get citizens marching on Parliament Hill or to attend rallies. You need such intensity, in short, to mobilize the grassroots.

So far I don't see any evidence of such emotional intensity among Canadians when it comes to shutting down Parliament.

And that's not surprising. The fact is, people rarely get all that worked up about process or procedural issues.

It's the kind of thing which excites constitutional scholars, political columnists and partisans, but nobody else.

Anyway, if you want to have a say on this issue, you can vote on the latest Libertas Post survey.