A Make or Break Moment for Sanity in Politics
2016 looks like it’s going to be a pretty weird year for politics; if current trends continue, it’s only going to get weirder. Canada’s mostly avoided the worst of the lunacy that seems to be taking hold of the United States, but between Kevin O’Leary thinking about running for the federal Conservative leadership and Doug Ford salivating at the prospect of any kind of future political career, a disturbing pattern seems to be emerging. Donald Trump may be a regular source of concern and/or comedy for a Canadian populace currently governed by moderates, but we have two similarly questionable figures preparing to throw their hats in the ring. Conservatives in North America seem to be going through some kind of existential crisis, and—unfortunately—the political right currently seems bent on telling rational thought to shut up and sit down.
Admittedly, I find the situation unfolding in the United States to be quite frightening. I’m not entirely certain that Donald Trump isn’t just trolling the GOP to stay relevant. He’s essentially a walking parody of neoliberal conservatism, and there’s a damned good chance he’ll actually win the nomination. The best-case scenario would involve him bowing out at the last second, saying this was all a convoluted attempt to make the Republican Party take a hard look at the monster in the mirror, but that would be giving the man too much credit. With every passing day, this whole situation becomes less of a joke, and more the political equivalent of a racist relative’s drunken tirade at a Christmas party that leaves everyone wondering how to distribute their embarrassment among the assorted guests and hosts.
It’s not like the GOP alternatives are any better. One runner up is Ben Carson, a brain surgeon who seems to have gained support because he’s a black man who’s smarter than Herman Cain and apparently hasn’t sexually harassed his employees. Unfortunately, he’s pulling the same “dramatically oversimplify the taxation system and propose something akin to tithing that would send the US economy into a death spiral before the end of his first term” thing that Cain proposed (remember his 9/9/9 plan? No? Probably because it somehow wasn’t the dumbest thing he did). The sad fact is a lot of Republicans in the US are eating this up, basically because they—somewhat fairly—think a brain surgeon can’t be stupid. Sure, maybe he can’t be stupid, but he can be ignorant or dishonest, and it’s starting to look like he’s a whole lot of both. The other seven contenders don’t warrant mentioning, since the only difference between them and these two front-runners is that they aren’t as audacious in their idiocy. Cruz and Rubio apparently snuck into second and third place in recent weeks, but the less said about either of them, the better. When Jeb Bush is ultimately the smart one, you’re in serious trouble.
Hopefully, two things will happen in the current political landscape, because if they don’t, politics in this continent is going to get a whole lot crazier. First, the political left and centre need to bring their proverbial A game. One can scoff at your Trumps, Palins, and Fords all one likes, but in the end, too many screw-ups like the provincial gas plant scandal can only ruin a party’s credibility. The media jumped on Trudeau’s use of public funds to pay for nannies, something that’s entirely common practice. Everything a politician does is subject to ludicrous scrutiny, and as much as “nannygate” became nothing more than a punchline in short order, even a slight misuse of public money can have serious ramifications. He needs to keep his doorstep spotless, as do any and all moderates in this country.
The second thing that needs to happen is that the political right has to get its act together. Stephen Harper was so crooked he needed assistants to screw on his pants in the morning (to quote Hunter S. Thompson’s assessment of Richard Nixon), but the guy knew how to keep the fringe elements of his party in check. It was part of what made him so simultaneously impressive and terrifying. He was conscious of the fact that doing something like reopening the abortion debate would be political suicide, and when the “Great Recession” happened, he knew the Canadian public would figuratively crucify him if he played the austerity card. He was corrupt, narcissistic, power-hungry swine, but he was smart, and as much as I hate saying it, he was competent. Canada is better off without such an amoral person in such a position of power, but if his replacement doesn’t somehow balance the grim, calculated pragmatism of rational conservatism with the skill and shrewdness needed to run a country of over thirty million people, we’re in trouble. When engaged in a competition, you can’t improve unless faced with an opponent who at least matches your skill, and if our country’s left or centre isn’t up to the task of facing a worthy foe, said foe deserves to govern, even if only by default.
In the end, that’s what terrifies me most about the situation unfolding in the US. The Republican candidates are all completely morally bankrupt, pathetically incompetent, or both. A well-meaning buffoon can ruin a country by accident. A skillful monster can ruin a country by design. I don’t want to know what happens when a monstrous buffoon is put in charge of the most powerful country in the world. Rob Ford caused enough problems for a city of less than three million, and he was effectively neutered by a city council that knew where to draw the line (I also get the impression that he meant well, but his ignorance, personal demons, and sycophantic supporters prevented him from even getting close to reason). Donald Trump has a chance of governing a country of over three hundred million people—I wouldn’t be surprised if he set the world on fire just to prevent anyone else from enjoying it.
Hopefully, rational thought will prevail across the political spectrum, and Trump will become a sad historical footnote like Dewey or Hubert Humphrey. Unfortunately, victory over lunacy cannot be assumed. All that needs to happen for the barbarians at the gates to succeed is for smart, moral people to fail. If we end up with Trump as the US president or Doug Ford as the Canadian Prime Minister, it won’t just be the fault of an uninformed, selfish electorate: it will also be the fault of complacent moderates who took victory for granted.