Conservatives like to talk about "corruption". A lot. But do they mean the same thing most people mean by the word? I think many people would consider a political party doing something that does not benefit the people, but rewards their friends as corruption. 1/22
#cdnpoli
Say, for example, a Minister of the Crown who passes legislation liable to directly benefit a family member or themself, to the detriment of the public good. That seems like corruption.
pressprogress.ca/albertas-healt…
2/22
Or a government that invents panels & advisory positions for friends & donors & arranges for these panels and advisors to return reports and recommendations that mirror what the governing party wants to do, but with the guise of "research" and "impartiality". Seems corrupt.
3/22
Or, a government that changes electoral boundaries and/or rules to favour their party in the next election. Or makes backroom deals where advantages are offered in exchange for funding PACs and promoting the party. Those seem like corruption.
6/22
The James McGill Buchanan definition is subtly different. I now present you with a quote from @NancyMacLean5 's book, "Democracy in Chains" which illustrates this point...
10/22
"Buchanan believed with every fibre of his being that if what a group of people wanted from government could not, on its own merits, win the freely given backing of each individual citizen, including the very wealthiest among us, ... 11/22
any attempt by that group to use its numbers to get what it wanted constituted not persuasion of the majority but coercion of the minority, a violation of the liberty of individual taxpayers." 12/22
In other words, he viewed governments who do things the majority (or large groups of citizens) wants, in order to get re-elected, as corrupt, if those things impinged upon the wishes of anyone (particularly the wealthiest). 13/22
So, current Canadian conservatives (who seem to be advocates of the Buchanan school of thought) would feel that, for example, a government raising the minimum wage against the wishes of wealthy business owners, is corrupt. 14/22
Obviously, a government that is run on Buchanan's principles would do nothing in crisis situations, if the wealthy did not like the action. The CPC have strongly indicated that they feel CERB and other pandemic relief is deeply suspect. 15/22
They want to have a committee to examine the "corruption" of the Liberal government in setting up programs to help people. They have signaled that they would have done nothing. Just as Harper did not want to act on stimulus spending during the recession of 2008. 16/22
The Buchanan philosophy gives the wishes of the extremely wealthy preeminence, because he felt their rights were being infringed by any government action that interfered with their ability to be wealthy and continue to amass wealth. 17/22
Remember, from my first instalment about Buchanan, that his theories emerged from a deep resentment of having to treat black citizens in the southern US equally, and the associated costs of that to the wealthy taxpayer. 18/22
Buchanan's philosophy is predicated on the notion that people are not equal. The wealthy are more important and must not be victimized by the not-wealthy, even though the not-wealthy have far greater numbers. 19/22
Most of us understand democracy as a system in which people vote for a candidate from the party they feel will most benefit their community or the country. And the governing party tries to work to the public good, thus pleasing the people, and being re-elected. 20/22
In pleasing the people, in a system where number of votes matters more than people's bank accounts, large groups of not-wealthy people have power. Buchanan would say this "pleasing the people" is corruption, because it doesn't protect the interests of the wealthy few. 21/22
It is important to understand when conservatives speak these days that their terms of reference may not be the same as most people's. Likewise, their goals may be completely at odds with those of most Canadians.

Stay tuned, there will be more about Buchanan soon! 22/22

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More from @Norlaine

21 Oct
This argument that "Alberta has fossil fuel gunk in the ground so we have to dig it up and ship it out" is weird. It's like saying you have to keep eating a cake even after you start to feel sick and are having regrets... Because there's still cake... 1/6
It's like saying "you've spent an hour at this party and you're having a bad time, but you have to stay until the end because the party is going on..." 2/6
It's like saying "we haven't caught all the fish in the sea yet, so we have to keep fishing. We have to build more, bigger boats and huger drag nets, we have to grow and expand until there is no life in the oceans...." 3/6
Read 6 tweets
17 Oct
In 1955, the US Supreme Court issued its second Brown v. Board of Education ruling. They called for dismantling of segregation in public schools, across the US, "with all deliberate speed". #cndpoli
Now, some people in Virginia, including the president of the University of Virginia, Colgate Whitehead Darden Jr, were appalled by this. They felt it seriously over-reached into "states' rights".
Any state, they felt, should be able to discriminate against any people they felt were inferior, because of race, religion, gender, or whatever damn thing they chose. They saw it as a deliberate attack on the cherished values and way of life of southern Americans.
Read 20 tweets
15 Oct
I have read it. Here's my take on what it means.... #ableg
1/12
Policy 1: Cutting services to reduce debt
Policy 2: Referendum about equalization
Policy 3; Right to Work legislation/union-busting
Policy 4: Support to O&G
Policy 5: Out-of-court traffic charges settlement
2/12
Policy 6: Control spending and dramatically reduce size of government (i.e. fire public employees and cut the programs they deliver)
Policy 7: Privatize all support services
Policy 8: Take Alberta pensions out of CPP
Policy 9: Reassurances about elderly in care
3/12
Read 12 tweets
10 Oct
While all conservative premiers are moving in the same direction - allowing more for-profit health care, encouraging private education, gutting environmental & labour laws - I think Kenney is the test balloon to see how fast this can be done to all of Canada if the CPC form gov't
Of all the conservative premiers, Kenney is the most ideologically driven, almost fanatical. And he really doesn't care much what people think. The others are a bit more timorous, worried about backlash. Kenney is going in guns blazing...
And, by conservative calculation, Alberta is the most ripe for harvesting. The far-right has a stronghold here, more so than any other province. There are fewer voices that will stand up and call the UCP out.
Read 13 tweets
1 Oct
Shane Getson put his foot in it at a town hall in Alberta recently when he suggested Albertans receiving CERB are lazy and spending the money on cheesies and drugs while watching cartoons.

Seems like political suicide to say that about your constituents, eh? 1/25+
Only, not only did Kenney not ask for his resignation, he backed Getson up. And then his issues manager, Matt Wolf, got busy doubling down. 2/25+

Employers are complaining that their employees are refusing to go back to work because of CERB. But let's unpack that a bit, shall we? 3/25+
Read 30 tweets
1 Oct
Ever have thematic problems? One year it was water problems. The basement flooded 2x. Then a toilet mysteriously overflowed while we were out & damaged the drywall in the basement. Then the septic alarm went off in the middle of the night & we had to get an emergency service 1/5
Then the outdoor tap froze and cracked and created a huge ice sculpture attached to the side of the house. And the shower leaked and had to be seen by a plumber 3 times before it was resolved. And then the dishwasher hose came unattached... 2/5
Another year it was mice. Mice got into the cottage in the summer. Then mice got into the house just before Xmas (we think they came in from the garage in a box of ornaments). It took ages to be mouse-free. Now our mouser dog inspects anything coming in from the garage. 3/5
Read 5 tweets

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