...Now, prime minister, you can go down in history as a great prime minister if you sincerely commit to serious reform and are reelected...{snip}....Nobody expects you to have the magic bullet. To redo the way we elect MPs and the powers we give them is open to many options which must be thrashed out...{snip}There must be Reform! The stakes are very high, sir, since despite what you might think from 34 Sussex Drive, there is a lot of unrest in the land. Surely, the days when less than 40% of the popular vote achieve 100% of the power must be put behind us...
But here's the thing.
Mr. Mair wrote those words back in September of 2015 during the last days of the Stephen Harper regime.
Which brings us to something else that Rafe noted at the time:
Mr. Mair wrote those words back in September of 2015 during the last days of the Stephen Harper regime.
Which brings us to something else that Rafe noted at the time:
So.
If Rafe was with us today would anyone be surprised if he re-wrote this piece pointing out that the good Mr. Trudeau was for electoral reform before he was against it?
If Rafe was with us today would anyone be surprised if he re-wrote this piece pointing out that the good Mr. Trudeau was for electoral reform before he was against it?
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In case you missed it (or just haven't read it in awhile), Tom Hawthorn's obit of Mr. Mair is really excellent...
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6 comments:
It's amazing how winning 100% of the power with less than 40% of the popular vote changes a man's mind. What's that they say about absolute power?
Cap--
Good point and excellent question...
You also have to wonder if this absolute-ish state of affairs makes it easier to fan the flames of whackaloon initiatives like the one that 'sponsored' an event that took over a Canadian Tire parking lot last weekend.
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If Rafe were with us today would anyone be surprised if he re-wrote this piece pointing out that the good Mr. Trudeau was for electoral reform before he was against it?
When Rafe wrote that it was at the end of three power above all Harper govts, a majority, the prior two being minorities during which he shut down parliament twice to avoid losing confidence votes. Today we have another minority, would Rafe have settled for that as a workable rep. by pop. remains far off.?
Best Quote from Rafe describing the quality of politicians, and still true today.
“ if on a scale of one to ten everyone is a three, you only have to be a four to look good.”
Canadian Tire Link
The police did nothing because:
“It is the duty of the Halton Regional Police Service to respond to protests/demonstrations with the intent to maintain peace, prevent offences, ensure the safety of all in attendance or in the area and to enforce the law in a manner that respects the rights of all involved parties,” said Elms.
“The role of the Halton Regional Police is to safeguard the fundamental rights of people as guaranteed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and the Ontario Human Rights Code. Officers must remain neutral as to the underlying grievance (where possible), and facilitate the building of trust between police, protest participants and the affected communities.”
Sadly, we will not see the likes of Rafe Mair again.
Being a semi regular guest on his program, He was quite up front that he had checked me out and found that I was not "full of prunes" and in fact the subject and questions I posed on air greatly intrigued him.
I learned from being a guest at his CJOR digs, was that Gordon Campbell had him fired from 'NW, because Mair had the "goods on him" and Gordo knew Mair would roast him. If Mair was on ;NW, at the time of Campbell's Maui Whowie, he would have been forced to resign.
Mair would be spinning in his grave at what the Tyee has become, a daily whinge, afraid of contrary input and he would have shredded both Christi Clark and that damned NDP premier who now works for a coal company, as well as lesser foils such as Mayor Dithers.
Today's media needs not just one Rafe Mair but we need the likes of Mair, Webster and a host of real newsie's and mud rakers from before.
Sadly with Mair's passing, so did real news.
It's amazing how winning 100% of the power with less than 40% of the popular vote ............
And yet the victor announces that this gives him or she a MANDATE to pursue the objectives of the driving forces of dollars $$$ that elected she or him!
TB
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