Prog failures and populist change

[Anonymous]

Progressivism is an elitist ideology that hates and harms average working people

The political left is having trouble digesting the rise of populism around the world.



They still can't fathom how or why donald Trump won office in 2016 and continue to not only discount the concerns of fellow Americans and Trump supporters, they bitterly and utterly reject them.



And now europe's giving them more reason for moral panic.



The recent election results in Italy saw voters put the boot to traditional and centreleft parties in favour of anti-establishment and populist ones — leaving politicallyleft politicians and media hysterically attributing the results to a rampant rise in fascist, racist, authoritarian and antimigrant sentiment.



hysteria compels attention, but fails to address the cause or motivation for dramatic political change.



Italy's swing to the populist and the centre-right was a consequence of years of high unemployment (it's hovered above 30% for years), a stagnant economy that's just beginning to show signs of life, a flood of male, economic migrants posing as refugees and perceptions Italy's getting a raw deal from the european union.



The electoral success for centre-right and populist parties in europe — France, Germany, the Netherlands, Austria and elsewhere — is similarly [size=150]rooted in the failed programs and policies of centre-left ideology, and the high debt, punishing taxes and elitist indifference to average people that characterize left-wing parties. [/size]Sound familiar?



Justin Trudeau's federal liberal government and kathleen Wynne's ontario liberal government both share a debt addicted penchant for social justice and progressive policies that claim benefits they rarely deliver.



[size=150]Trudeau's national carbon tax for example, pretty much does zilch for the environment. It effectively, however, kills jobs, raises the cost of living and lowers the standard of living — especially for poor and middle class Canadians.[/size]



Wynne's ontario government, in power far longer, is attempting to make a virtue of waste, scandal, political corruption and living beyond its means by claiming it is making the province more "fair."



Canadians, like voters elsewhere, increasingly are seeing through that lie.

[Anonymous]

I wasn't a fan of Joe Oliver, but he is right about about out of touch elities who loathe average working people.

The usual suspects — Liberals, Dippers and various Red Tories — are out of the gate, attacking Doug Ford, the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, and comparing him to their arch enemy Donald Trump.



A shared offence is that they are both populists, which the dictionary defines as someone who supports or seeks to appeal to the interests of ordinary people.



At first blush, that may seem like quite a commendable trait, anchored in our democratic tradition. But not if ordinary people are deemed to be knuckle-dragging, uneducated bigots. And that these deplorables ignore their betters and mindlessly succumb to the hate-filled rhetoric of a demagogue whose raving incompetence will lead to economic disaster and social strife.



Back in the real world, elitists ignore at their peril the populism behind Trump, Brexit, the rise of right-wing parties in Europe and Doug Ford.



Elitism can come in many forms — social, financial, cognitive, educational and political. At its core, it connotes a superior attitude and behaviour on the part of those who believe that society should be



Unlike populism, elitism is fundamentally undemocratic. People excluded really resent being looked down on by a contemptuous and entrenched establishment and are angered when their concerns are ignored as irrelevant and their votes delegitimized as aberrant behaviour.



They will naturally respond to a politician who accords them respect, empathizes with their angst and proposes policies that address their needs. While authority figures view them as barbarians at the gate, they see themselves as citizens Storming the Bastille.



The progressive bastion of Old Toronto is impenetrable for a conservative populist. Its majority Liberal identity is unalterable, although privileged residents will exceptionally vote red Tory or NDP. Downtown Progressive Conservatives unhesitatingly abandon the PC Party if they cannot relate to an objectionable political style, like Ralph Klein grassroots conservatism, which Doug Ford embodies. They won't admit to being intellectual snobs, but a rough and ready outsider running the province is too unsettling for this delicate professional class.



For urban sophisticates, billions in wasted spending is more forgivable than an occasional grammatical error or crass utterance. Broken promises are less problematic than impolitic language. Political correctness repeatedly trumps common-sense. Deficits are viewed with equanimity and high taxes evidence a caring society. City progressives believe in Keynes, revere Pierre Trudeau, read the Toronto Star (for non-partisan coverage) and can't decide if they prefer Jagmeet Singh's turban to Justin Trudeau's hair.



Outside that political wasteland, Ford Nation has a significant presence. Its suburban members are racially, ethnically, socioeconomically and gender diverse. Their identity is pragmatic, family-oriented and commonsensical, rather than ideological, alternative lifestyle and obsessed with identity politics.



They demand a government that is accountable to the people and not just special interest groups, like public sector unions. Most are not social conservatives, but they want meaningful parental participation in sex education so their children have time to grow up. They care about the environment, but resent hugely expensive green boondoggles that give government bragging rights, yet do absolutely nothing to actually address climate change — hello a carbon tax.



Many are bitter about the war on cars, sky-high electricity rates and crushing taxes that make it hard to afford a decent standard of living and support their families.



Doug Ford clearly speaks to those people and has the enormous advantage of opposing a deeply unpopular Premier. For them he is authentic and represents change; he listens, cares and will act.



The hostility of the elite will only reinforce his appeal.

[Anonymous]

I liked Joe Oliver as a finance minister. He was better than Jim Flaherty and and certainly better than Bill Morneau. Not that that is much of an accomplishment.

[Bricktop]

All true.



Socialist principles are killing the world.