Monday, February 9, 2015

Eve Adams makes me Laugh . . . and Cry.

Nowadays, it takes a lot to drag me to the keyboard to bother to write about politics. For one thing, there are other bloggers out there who, given the terrible shadow that has been cast over this country, do a better job than I, with more rhetorical and emotional force (which is exactly what is called for now). For another thing, I am emotionally spent for now concerning politics. With the gradual rise of a new fascism in many countries, the return to adventurist militarism (despite the lessons of both the Vietnam era and the disastrous Iraq war), and the erosion of basic democratic rights and processes, I am feeling rather bleak about the future now.

But occasionally a little event occurs in the upper echelon of politics in Canada that is just so amusing and depressing at the same time that it is just worth talking about, if for no other reason than to vent a little spleen. Just such an occasion came today with the crossing of the floor of one of the darlings of the Conservative Party, Eve Adams. As everyone now knows, in a surprising move the woman who once seemed to have a great future in the Conservative Party (but had gradually fallen from grace) crossed the floor and joined the other conservative party (ie., the Liberals).

The reason that this event is so interesting is that it demonstrates so many things at once. On the one hand, Eve Adams, though one of the most dim-witted souls in the current Conservative caucus (and this is saying a lot given how collectively dim-witted that caucus is), said things in her news conference that hit the political nail on the head. She said that she can no longer support the "mean-spirited" politics of the current Conservative Party. Though she may me entirely disingenuous with this claim, it is finally a Conservative MP telling truth to power and it is right on the nose correct. The worst indictment of conservative politics in this country has been the unwillingness of conservatives to criticize the poison politics of the current Conservative Party leadership. This silence on the part of party members and fellow travellers demonstrates that conservatives are perfectly willing to abandon democracy, rights, and integrity for the sake of power. I believe that Conservative Party policies are terrible and dangerous to our future, but it is their willingness to abandon basic principles of democracy and fairness that really prove that they are an evil force in Canada. Because your politics can be misguided, but your actions demonstrate your real political spirit.

Eve Adams also hit the nail on the head when she said (and I am only paraphrasing) that she can no longer support a Conservative Party that has become the party of the rich. Well the conservatives have always been the party of the rich and Eve Adams was blind if she couldn't see this, but that doesn't take away from the truth of what she said.

But of course, all of this comes against the back drop of Adams' past (and present). She was an ardent supporter of Conservative Policy for years and not only did she never voice these concerns publicly before, but she was often just as mean-spirited as those she now claims to oppose. But more troubling is the fact that she continues to be engaged to Dimitri Soudas, a guy who was more or less the back-room representative of Harper's mean-spirited, and sneaky politics.

But what makes the whole thing both amusing and depressing, is the fact that it highlights better than anything could the hypocrisy at the heart of present-day politics in Ottawa. Last week, for the Conservatives (despite her nomination troubles etc) Adams was one of the gang and represented the principles of the party. The PMO distanced itself from her to a degree because what she was doing was garnering bad-press, but she had long been one of the Party's darlings and they defended her many times despite her hopeless dim-wittedness. Now the CPC will unceasingly criticize Adams, suggesting they never really liked or trusted her. Then the CPC will say that Trudeau's new support of Adams demonstrates his political ineptitude, despite the fact that they themselves supported her last week. Meanwhile, the Liberal Party criticized her roundly for years and now suddenly they will laud her as a woman with integrity and political savvy. It is a terrible demonstration of the worst aspect of politics - blatant hypocrisy. Political parties will defend (or even praise) a person or action from their party that they vociferously condemn from another party. And sometime it just gets sickening.

So the two lessons of the Eve Adams defection are 1) The truth of a message is not determined by the integrity or intelligence of the messenger, and 2) the hypocrisy of the Ottawa gangsters knows no bounds.

9 comments:

The Mound of Sound said...

Ya nailed it, Kirby. Although I'm now a committed Green, I had hoped Team Justin would evolve into something even if only vaguely reminiscent of his father. She had to lose two nomination attempts before she went red. There was nothing left for her in the Tory camp. She was beyond damaged goods. I wonder what Liberal's electoral aspirations will now be buried under Adams incumbency?

As for your preliminary remarks, I fully agree. I've come to the edge of burn out more than once. It's rare to find coherence in politics today whether globally or domestically. It seems so chaotic.

And, while there are some who point to the spread of democracy, they rarely mention how that is outpaced by the growth in "illiberal" democracy. There are plenty of places where people have a vote but it doesn't matter. The US is a clear example of a state in which the government rules, more often than not, against the popular will. That can happen when the apparatus of government is "captured". FOX News, Team Murdoch, has proven that, with enough money and effort, a great many people can be made to believe the craziest lies. Once reduced to a confused state, manipulating their votes is childs' play.

the salamander said...

.. I wish you would write far more often.. surely there is a mainstream outlet that would be grateful for such observations.

In the same breathe I note how Andrew MacDougall, PR guru gets to whip out the lipstick from foggy London, England to help with cosmetics of John Baird suddenly jumping ship - nothing happened here (over there) - move along little doggies

So Eve n Dimitri.. th hell you say ! Was she worse than Rob Anders, Calandra, Del Mastro, Peter Kent? MacKay? But what a wonderful distraction from the anointing of one Jason Kenney as Minister of Defense (th hell you say ! ?)

We need voices.. articulate, passionate & active.. even to just seem as fireflies in the dark.. Or lighthouses, beacons, foghorns, smoke signals..

Keep up the fine work !!

Owen Gray said...

So sad and so true, Kirby.

Kirbycairo said...

Thank you for the supportive words Salamander. I am too burnt out I suppose to write more regularly. We have lived through a depressing time from any left (or even just principled democratic) point of view. I really do think that the mood is changing and that the millennials are going to be looking for a more proactive and environmentally sound approach to government. But such paradigm shifts are very slow and it is sometimes difficult to keep up the fight. I turned fifty this year and I think I am going through a reconsideration about life and work. I am trying to write a novel that will help me put it all into perspective. At this point art is probably better therapy than politics. But I am sure as the election nears I will, I am sure, be writing more, in an act of wilful optimism. Thanks again.

Omar said...

Eve Adams of all people. Fiancée of Dimitri Soudas no less. This is the final nail. Any inkling I had left for voting Liberal in the upcoming election just went out the fucking window. Could I change my mind? Call me when Michael Chong announces his defection.

Anonymous said...

And there is the third possibility which you did not mention: Liberal, Tory, same old story ..... Lol

Brian said...

Michael Chong isn't going to be defecting, Omar. I'm also confused as to why people view him as some kind of principled democratic warrior - apparently he's to be admired because he supposedly objects to all the PMO control and centralization of power to the PM, but deliberately wrote his (neutered) democratic reform bill to only take effect after 2015, so that it wouldn't get in the way of one Stephen Harper, whose actions are what gave rise to it. Talk about trying to have it both ways. Reminds me of David Wilks in BC, objecting to Harper's 400-page omnibus budget bill, then parroting the CPC's talking points that he would proudly vote for it because it promoted "jobs and growth" after the PMO pulled him into the office and reprogrammed his brain.

Pierre Poilievre got promoted to Employment Minister today. This Eve Adams thing isn't even close to the most twisted thing that happened today.

Kirbycairo said...

Indeed Brian, a country in which Pierre Poilievre is the employment minster is one seriously screwed up nation.

Omar said...

No shit, Brian. Chong was more an "off the top of the head choice" from what is pretty slim Conservative pickings. Though he'd make a better floor crossing catch than Adams, no?