Here it comes: Trudeau Derangement Syndrome

By Michael Harris

THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Michael Harris

It’s nice to see that Rona Ambrose managed to keep her word about a new tone in Parliament … for about a week.
‘Nannygate’ is for nincompoops. The new PM has shuffled responsibilities in the official household to add two nannies to help with the young kids. No additional cost to the public. Even the Canadian Taxpayers Federation affirmed that, without additional costs, this is not only a dog that won’t hunt, it’s a dead dog.
But the Conservatives couldn’t resist the urge to exploit this non-issue — and why would they try? They spent ten years in power playing smear-and-fear politics against anyone opposing Stephen Harper. The facts never mattered then and they don’t matter now. Trust me — whatever Ambrose says, this is still the party of Steve and it will stay his until they wrestle the remote control out of his cold, blue hands and change the channel.
One can already see the familiar attack lines emerging from the Official Opposition. They’re personal, hitting everything from borrowed baubles to glossy glam shots. Is Nannygate the first sign of Trudeau Derangement Syndrome? Do they really think they can skewer the new PM as a rich and entitled hypocrite for spending the same amount of money on his official household as his predecessor?
But wait … isn’t this the party that wanted to spend billions of taxpayers dollars on the doomed “cash for kids” program — even for rich people who didn’t need the help? And didn’t they backdate that election bribe by six months so that when the cheques showed up just before the election, opening the envelope was an unforgettable experience?
Nobody was surprised to see the newly-downsized Cons chirping about Trudeau’s recent spread in Vogue. Justin and Sophie Grégoire-Trudeau could be the world’s new political power couple. The point of attack against “the hottest first lady in the world” and her “hot” hubby could be the dress Sophie was wearing in the photo — an Oscar de la Renta creation. Someone will almost certainly ask why she wasn’t wearing a Canadian designer. You know, someone with the big issues in mind.
The Cons also would like to remind people about Justin’s Reefer Madness. But since Stephen Harper found time to pose for photos with a former crack-cocaine user during the dying days of Election 2015, maybe that wouldn’t be such a good idea. Still, we should expect a torrent of anti-marijuana fear mongering as legalization approaches from the same people who were (with the exception of Jason Kenney) stone-silent about Rob Ford’s crack use. Family values, you see.
And then there’s the excitement that Trudeau’s election is causing in the United States. He has hearts fluttering everywhere from The New York Times Magazine to the White House. Other world leaders say he’s already making a big impact. Not bad for a guy who ‘just wasn’t ready’. Beats the hell out of locking yourself in the bathroom, right?

There’s more content in a fortune cookie than in the Conservatives’ rants. If the goal is to lose fifty more seats in the next election, that’s the right approach.

What’s really making the Cons cranky? Losing, mostly — but it’s also a bad case of leader envy. I don’t recall anyone calling Harper hot. He simply never was Vogue material (although I wouldn’t rule out a nice spread about Steve and the missus in The Calgary Herald — you know, one of those ‘where are they now’ jobbies).
And then there’s President Barack Obama promising the red carpet for Prime Minister Trudeau’s visit to Washington. Mr. “No Brainer” never even rated the back door mat treatment.
Nor did he get much of anything else from our biggest trading partner, unless a cold shoulder qualifies. Harper’s attempt to dictate to the Americans (“We won’t accept no for an answer”) demonstrated his wide delusional streak. The Conservatives should drop the delusions.
Instead of fake indignation over Nannygate, every member of the caucus should be asked whether they approve or disapprove of the former PM’s sleazy “future appointments” that could cost taxpayers $18 million to rescind. Every bureaucrat in the Privy Council Office who helped pull off this pre-dawn raid on our democracy should be named and fired (Steve, of course, has already been fired).
It would also be a nice gesture from the Official Opposition if they endorsed the government’s request that 33 of these future appointments voluntarily give up their patronage plums without court battles or a huge outlay of public money.
After all (and thanks to the excellent reporting of Elizabeth Thompson of iPolitics), we now know that the PMO directly intervened to renew the mandates of selected individuals well before they were due to expire. Does Ambrose really endorse governing from the grave? How can the Official Opposition say this is the government’s problem when their former leader created it? Or is the new Rona-tone just Steviophonics with less bass?
One of the obvious benefits for the Official Opposition of continuing with the politics of personal destruction is that it plays well with the true believers. Party leaders were told a long time ago to borrow generously from the U.S. Republican Party playbook: war, deregulation and privatization. Crush all opposition. Lie reflexively. Pander to the born-agains. Trash all opponents. And stoke that fear machine like there’s no tomorrow.
And, oh yes — keep it simple, very simple. Got a problem with illegal immigration? Deport 12 million people and wall out Mexico. Got a problem with terrorism? Ban all Muslims from entering the United States, put the rest in a database and, of course, ramp up the bombing so that radicalization can proceed apace in the very group you are trying to pacify.
When he was in power, Steve’s version of the Republican way was to scapegoat individuals, muzzle everyone in government, shun the press and treat Parliament as a minor political obstacle.
At election time, he dialled up the hot button issues as though he and Donald Trump once sat beside each other in school. Create the Zero Tolerance for Barbaric Cultural Practices Act, ban the niqab, and suck up to the Ford brothers. It was full speed ahead towards the iceberg. The rest is history. Canadians grew weary of the Dark Ages.
The survivors of the sinking of the SS Harper recently rejected the throne speech and are now back at the familiar work of slagging Trudeau. There’s more content in a fortune cookie than in their rants. If the goal is to lose fifty more seats in the next election, that’s the right approach. Informed dissent is the essence of effective opposition.
For Conservatives, the long road back to respectability — and power — does not run through Nannygate. The base is not as stupid as they think.