National Affairs by Claire Hoy — Tony Clement ‘no dim bulb’ : Caledon Citizen : https://caledoncitizen.com

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National Affairs by Claire Hoy — Tony Clement ‘no dim bulb’

It must be really difficult to be a genius while so many people around you are complete idiots.
Just look at the sad plight of all those brilliant elitists from the political-academic-media-business class who are being forced to cope with the fact that the British public — or, more to the point, the great unwashed among them — actually voted in favour of leaving the European Union (EU) and taking their chances as an independent nation once again.
“How could they be so stupid?” cry the elites. How could they possibly have not taken the best advice and voted to leave the bureaucratic nirvana being run out of Brussels?
Yes, indeed, they moan, this is what happens when you are stupid enough, as then prime minister David Cameron was, to actually ask people their opinion on an important matter. It's not as if the people know anything, for heaven's sake. Why not just take your advice from the elite and carry on?
As veteran left-leaning backroom boy Robin V. Sears put it in his Saturday Star piece on the Brexit vote, “In a functioning representative democracy, referenda are almost always a bad idea. They necessarily reduce complex policy choice to a light switch. They never unite, but divide — nations, communities and, painfully, families.”
You get the drift. It's far too democratic to ask everybody, particularly those who are not charter members of the elite. They are too simple-minded to understand the complexities of their own lives. How can they possibly be trusted to give the “correct” answer when they can't comprehend the question?
Sears went on to dump on “dim bulb Canadian Conservatives” such as veteran Tony Clement — who called the Brexit referendum a triumph for democracy — by opining he has probably never read Edmund Burke, the intellectual father of British conservatism.
I've known Clement for several decades, and whatever one thinks of his politics he is certainly no dim bulb. I suspect he could cite Burke and others in greater depth than Sears, but then, how would Sears know that since he clearly didn't bother to ask Clement before suggesting Burke was far too advanced for Clement and his ilk.
But then, when you're as smart as Sears deems himself to be, there is no need to ask. You simply know these things.
I shouldn't be surprised — and actually I'm not — by the widespread reaction from the self-declared genius class, who are totally outraged that a majority of British voters — 52 to 48 per cent — voted to leave despite the best (worst?) efforts of the elite to scare them into continuing an alliance they are unhappy with.
The dire predictions of doom and gloom mirrored the same fear-mongering used by the Canadian elite mob to convince us to accept Brian Mulroney's Meech Lake Accord years ago. Once again, the simpletons prevailed, yet despite warnings about the end of Canada as we know it, we still seem to be muddling along okay.
Yes, there will be disruptions over Brexit. There already have been significant swings in the stock market and elsewhere. But it's too will pass, just as it did in Canada.
In addition to labelling the “leave” voters as idiots — not to mention racists and other unsavoury things — the latest tack is to opine that the vote doesn't really matter anyway because the Brits are staying.
In his Sunday Star column, former CBC honcho Tony Burman wrote, “Don't be surprised if Brexit never happens.” Belittling the decisive vote as “slim,” Burman offers a series of scenarios why politicians won't let it happen. Then again, how could they? Clearly the people are wrong and that's that.
Another veteran political advisor, however, offered a contrasting view.
Jaime Watt writes, “The media, political elites and business leaders have criticized the recent U.S. (primaries) and U.K. electoral results as racist and ill-informed. By doing so, they are playing into a narrative they helped create.
“By attacking people who are deeply concerned about their own futures and who distrust institutions, they will exacerbate tensions.
“As nations, we must do better. We must remember those who have been left behind in our incredible success and growth. And we must take steps to rectify the disconnect.”
Then again, Watt is a Conservative. So what does he know? hoy

Post date: 2016-07-13 15:35:21
Post date GMT: 2016-07-13 19:35:21
Post modified date: 2016-07-13 15:35:21
Post modified date GMT: 2016-07-13 19:35:21