Mustafa's shock and horror

My goodness, my old Points of Information nemesis Mustafa Hirji has been kicking up a storm lately, being his Western Alien self.  He is extremely angry at Layton, apparently, for agreeing to prop up the Liberals in the budget deal, and he repeats a lot of old tropes about the budget deal.  But he totally misses the point: the budget deal's purpose was not for itself, but to (rightly) change the subject to other matters.  Ironically, the NDP loses if it looks like the Conservatives are going to win (rush of swing voters to the Liberals).  And there are issues that we need to vote on other than the silly sponsorship scandal, which has about 50% bored me by now.

Layton is not a prostitute for making this deal.  He is performing the role that the NDP should perform, what its most stable base wants it to perform, which is, above the din of sordid, transitory political scandal, to make the point that there are issues in Canada that are perpetually neglected.

Comments

[Jones]

Nice reasonable post here (and a good blog you've got going).... It's sad to see these guy's rag on Jack for making our Parliment work.

Do you think Mustafa could recycle Andrew Coyne's postings a little more?

[Mustafa Hirji]

1. I have no problem with Jack making our Parliament work. I have no problem with Jack negotiating a deal on the budget. That's part of his job. I _do_ have a problem with the price of that deal being support for corruption. Anyone who thinks propping up a government that is in reckless violation of the principles of parliamentary democracy, that is spending money outside of the oversight of parliament, and has used intimidation and death threats to cover-up scandal, is someone who is a danger to Canadian democracy. That is a line that should _never_ be crossed. Layton cross that line. This is the kind of thing that happens in banana republics; not in established democracies like Canada. It is unconscionable and surreal that it is happening here. And it is very disturbing that people are just brushing this off. This is serious.

2. I could recycle Andrew Coyne's postings more (he really is that good), but I figure other Coyne fans already read his blog.

- Mustafa Hirji

[verbatim]

Anyone who believes that Parliament is something other than a bald power struggle is, well, fooling him or herself, in my opinion. Layton did what he was elected to do --- advance the NDP agenda. I don't vote NDP for them to be irrelevant. I think Layton realizes that if there is an election, there is a significant possibility of a minority Conservative government, and a significantly less significant possibility of a Conservative majority. In that case, we really *will* become a banana republic, and there will be no chance of socialist policies ever seeing the light of day.

Also, I have been asking everyone I can about this Gomery thing, and quite frankly the only people who are really outraged are those whose outrage is fuelled by a considerable amount of appreciation this represents for the Cons. As in, the outrage is strategic. Everyone else is saying "Wow. What do you know. Corruption in the Liberal party. Knock me over with a feather." Some of the people who say this are strategic Liberal voters. Most people seem to be more concerned about the possibility of a Conservative government than the actual corruption. I have to say I share their concern.

That is not to say I endorse the corruption at all. Obviously. It's just that it's kind of an isolated thing, whereas the risk of a Conservative government is much more frightening to me. I can handle a certain amount of shit-headedness amongst the political class. I cannot handle a government that wants to sell off and give away our interests and openly denies the rule of law.

[Mandos]

Thank you for writing that, verbatim. It is exactly what I wanted to say. How disingenuous is Mustafa's incredible hysteria. I have written this before, so I am not just picking on Mustafa.

As for Andrew Coyne, this is from the man who writes in a laudatory manner about Diane Francis, blech, and thinks that David "Lion's Share" Frum has any credibility. Deliver Us From Blowhards.