Frum, conservatives and free speech

I consider David Frum a friend, so I was saddened by the news that his relationship with the American Enterprise Institute had been abruptly terminated.

And even though David is not coming out and saying so directly, it seems his termination was politically motivated ---the AEI didn’t like his attacks on the Republican Party.

Certainly, I can identify with all this.

After all, I was fired from my job at the National Citizens Coalition a few weeks after I had criticized the Conservative Party.

So it seems that in both Canada and the United States speaking out against politicians can be a risky career move for conservatives.

What a sad state of affairs for our movement.

Now don’t get me wrong. I vehemently disagree with many of David’s contentions concerning the Republican Party and conservatism.

In my view, he concedes far too much to the left and promotes a wishy-washy, watered down ideology that as a conservative I find completely unappealing and ultimately self-defeating.

But at the same time, I respect the intellectual power of his arguments.

And more than that, by raising legitimate and thoughtful questions, David forces us as conservatives to look in the mirror and to defend our beliefs and our tactics.

This makes our movement stronger.

Indeed, as conservatives we must and should welcome the ideological combat that takes place in a free market place of ideas.

It keeps us vibrant, it keeps us growing intellectually.

That’s why organizations like the AEI and the NCC should allow and even encourage criticism of the political powers that be.

Yes, standing up to a political party can take a little courage, but at the end of the day aren’t these groups supposed to be about ideas?

And one idea conservatives must always embrace is the importance of free speech.

The Final straw

Anybody out there still believe Prime Minister Stephen Harper is actually a conservative?

If so, check out this news report.

It says the Prime Minister slammed a Fraser Institute report, which suggested the Conservative government's recent spending binge had not really created much in the way of economic growth or jobs.

And in doing so Stephen Harper -- former president of the National Citizens Coalition -- uttered these words:

"Economic theory and history is clear, governments must … make sure [funds] are put to productive use in the economy to create jobs."

For him to say something so absurd, has got to be the final straw for anyone still harboring illusions that the Prime Minister has one conservative fibre left in his body.

I mean could you imagine Ronald Reagan or Margaret Thatcher or Mike Harris making such a statement?

But then again they were conservatives and conservatives believe only the free market can create real economic growth and real jobs.

For conservatives, the government is just an anchor to economic productivity. It's part of the problem not part of the solution.

Stephen used to believe that too. In fact, back in his NCC days, Stephen was a disciple of Hayek; today it seems he is a disciple of Jack Layton.

Anyway, I suppose we can expect the sharks in the PMO to go into full attack mode against the Fraser Institute.

Hope nobody loses their job.

Flatten that tax

I don't like taxes of any sort, but if we can't slash them the next best thing to do is flatten them.

That's my clever way of introducing this column I wrote on the idea of a Flat Tax. It's posted over at Libertas Post.

NCC Creates Worst Video of all time

Sometimes I am critical of my old friends at the National Citizens Coalition, mainly because since I left the group it has done nothing but go down hill.

But I have to admit they recently accomplished something quite spectacular: they have managed to produce the worst political video of all time.

I mean it. This video is the Plan 9 from Outer Space of political videos.

It's so bad, it's hard to single out its worst feature.

Is it NCC president Peter Coleman's hilariously speedy yet monotone delivery; is it the odd edits; is it the "man on the street" interview with a lunatic; is it the completely fake interaction between the "anchor" and the "street reporter," is it the letters from "Doug", "John" and "Dave", or is it the fact that the video starts out talking about the Alberta budget but ends up interviewing people in downtown Toronto?

You decide.

Loyal to the Core among Best Books of 2009

This just in ... OK it may have been in for a while, but I just found about it.

The Hill Times has listed my book, Loyal to the Core, as one of the Best Books of 2009.

So if you have been putting off purchasing my masterpiece, now is the time to buy!!

The problem with the NCC

Watching my old employer the National Citizens Coalition from afar I have reached two conclusions.

First, they try too hard to curry favour with the Conservative government.

Second, even when they do criticize the government they sometimes do so for the wrong ideological reasons.

Author and blogger, Paul Tuns recently picked up on this. Here's what Paul wrote about the NCC's response to the federal budget:

I couldn't help but notice the similarity between the National Citizen's Coalition and the Canadian Auto Workers:

CAW: "This budget does little to help Canadian workers secure their footing during a period of severe economic instability..."

NCC: "Instead of fixing the job crisis as it promised in yesterday’s Throne Speech, the Harper government appears to be coasting on last year’s stimulus budget, offering no meaningful new initiatives to get Canadians working again."

To be fair, the CAW veers further left and the NCC then goes to contradict themselves by calling for less government spending after indicating its displeasure that the government faltered in some way by "coasting" off last year's stimulus.

I'm just saying that the messaging from the NCC would have been clearer five or ten years ago; the NCC isn't supposed to be worried about job creation except as a talking point about lower taxes and less government.

Paul's comment reflects the weakness with the current NCC leadership. They have no clear understanding of true conservatism.

Sure they know that deficits are bad and that taxes are too high, but beyond that basic knowledge their grasp of ideology is weak.

Hence they often make statements which contradict conservative values (and sometimes long-held NCC positions).

Too bad.

Canada's conservative movement needs all the strong voices it can get.

In Praise of Maxime

I usually find it hard to praise politicians but in former Conservative Cabinet Minister Maxime Bernier's case I will make an exception.

What's to praise?

Well first, there's that excellent speech he made recently in Calgary where he put forward a case for fiscal conservatism as opposed to big spending Harper conservatism.

Second, a few days ago Bernier publicly expressed skepticism regarding aspects of global warming hysteria -- the first federal politician in Canada to do so.

And lastly and not leastly, when I met Bernier a couple of months ago in Ottawa, he bought a copy of my book, Loyal to the Core!

Of course, none of the above will make Maxime Bernier any friends in the PMO, but it does give a little hope to those Canadians who believe in more freedom and less government.

American Political History

History from New Hampshire.

This building in Exeter is the site where the Republican Party was founded in 1853.

Here's me in the Exeter Town Hall, where Abraham Lincoln once gave a speech.

Pretty cool eh?

Visiting the Bush estate

Did a little sight-seeing in Maine recently and paid a visit to the Bush family's Kennebunkport retreat.

Unfortunately, no one was home.

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.

Looking back at 2009

The year is drawing to a close

And except for the wars, the world-wide economic recession and the never-ending Tiger Woods saga, 2009 was pretty good.

It was an especially amazing year when it came to Canadian politics.

Don’t believe me?

Well here’s a brief recap of 2009’s top political highlights:

* A Constitutional crisis nearly occurs when it’s found no one in Parliament knows how to pronounce the word “prorogue.”

* A Health Canada campaign instructed Canadians on the proper way to cough into their arms. This helped stop an H1N1 flu epidemic; unfortunately it triggered an epidemic of infected elbows.

* The Queen awarded former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien with the prestigious “Order of Merit.” An ecstatic Chrétien celebrated by throttling a nearby protestor.

* To battle the recession, the Conservative government implemented a bold and exciting plan, which mainly entailed spending millions of tax dollars on TV ads telling Canadians the government had a bold and exciting plan.


* A photo op went tragically wrong when a giant cardboard novelty “economic stimulus” cheque government MPs were handing over to local politicians in South Porcupine, Ontario suddenly collapsed destroying several buildings and injuring dozens of onlookers.

* After wowing the nation with his singing performance at the National Arts Centre Gala, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced he will appear as a contestant on American Idol. In unrelated news, Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson were both appointed to the Senate.

* The Canadian government’s budgetary deficit soared to a record-setting $56 billion. However, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty promised the budget will soon be balanced thanks to the expected royalties from Prime Minister Harper’s newest CD, which includes the hit single “What Afghan detainees?”

* A new political star emerged in 2009: the Conservative Party logo. The logo showed up on Canada’s Olympic sweaters, on government “economic stimulus” cheques and most amazingly of all, on the forehead of CBC anchor Peter Mansbridge.

* Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff announced Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s “time was up” and declared he was ready to force a Fall election. Later, Ignatieff explained to reporters that he really meant the Fall of 2016.

* Beleaguered Liberal MPs desperate to reverse their sagging poll numbers reportedly plotted the overthrow of their leader Michael Ignatieff. Mentioned as possible replacements for Ignatieff were Bob Rae, Justin Trudeau and the Conservative Party logo.

* Hacked emails from a global warming research institute revealed a startling fact: former Liberal leader Stephen Dion’s dog, Kyoto, is actually named “Coal Burning Plant.”

* To protest a planned re-enactment of the Battle on the Plains of Abraham, Bloc Quebecois Bloc MPs donned 18th century military uniforms and stormed Parliament Hill. The stunt backfired, however, when the Bloc MPs were captured by Canadian military personal and handed over to the Afghan army.

* Governor-General Michaëlle Jean made headlines when she ate a raw seal’s heart. To gain similar publicity, NDP leader Jack Layton ate a pound of raw tofu shaped to look like a seal’s heart.

So you see 2009 was politically speaking a banner year.

And 2010 promises more of the same.

But try and have a Happy New Year anyway.

These wars need better names

And now, because I have nothing better to blog about, here is a list of some wars with dumb names.

* The Eight Saints War

* Gulgers'War

* War of Jenkins Ear

* Holy Wars of the "Mad Mullah"

* War of the Oranges

* The Pastry War

* Red Eye Brow Rebellion

Chrissy Snow

Merry Christmas!!

And I have posted this picture simply because Suzanne Somers played the part of "Christmas Snow" in that wonderful old TV series Three's Company.

Outrage Prize

Hey, just as Barack Obama won the Nobel Prize, it seems I am a prize-winner too.

Media Alert

I am scheduled to be a guest on the Tom Young Show, this afternoon at 1:30 PM EST to discuss my Eco-Christmas blog.

Have yourself an Eco-Christmas -- that's an order

It didn’t get a lot of press, but the recent Copenhagen Climate Change summit issued a series decrees concerning the Holiday Season.

These decrees have essentially established new environmental Christmas traditions.

If you want to legally enjoy Christmas you must now adhere to the following rules:

All festive sing-alongs must include the song “I’m dreaming of a non-globally warmed Winter season.”

Santa Claus must now wear green instead of red and he must look like Al Gore.

Instead of reindeer, Santa’s sleigh must be portrayed as powered by solar panels. (The same goes for Rudolph’s nose.)

Burning of yule logs or any other non-renewable resources is strictly prohibited, unless the burners have first paid a carbon tax.

“Christmas” lights are banned unless they draw their energy from windmills.

On Christmas Eve, all parents are now required to read their children a poem which begins, “Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house not a creature was stirring, except for David Suzuki, who was snooping about looking for illegal beer fridges.”

Instead of receiving a lump of coal, naughty children will now receive recycling bins stuffed with environmentally friendly products.

Christmas trees are now forbidden; instead families will now decorate a pesticide-free “Christmas tree seed”, which must be planted the following spring.

All food served at festive gatherings must be “organic” and “grown locally”. Since this is Canada and since nothing grows here in the dead of winter, all meals will therefore consist of whatever walnuts, fruitcakes and candy canes are left over from last Christmas.

Instead of hanging up stockings, Canadians must now hang up reusable canvas bags, the uglier the better.

So those are the new Eco-Christmas rules and regulations.

Happy Holidays!

(Please note these rules do not apply to any Third World Dictatorships)