The Monarchist 1.0
Defending the British Crown Commonwealth and the English-Speaking Peoples
[+] HONOURING OUR PATRON, SIR WINSTON CHURCHILL, VICTOR OF THE ENGLISH-SPEAKING PEOPLES
[+] HONOURING OUR QUEEN, ELIZABETH THE SECOND, ON THE 80TH YEAR OF HER BIRTH (1926 - 2006)
[+] HONOURING OUR KING, SAINT EDWARD THE CONFESSOR, ON THE 1000TH YEAR OF HIS BIRTH (1005 - 2005)
[+] HONOURING OUR HERO, LORD NELSON, ON THE BICENTENNIAL OF THE BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR (1805 - 2005)
[+] HONOURING OUR SONS, THE QUEEN'S COMMONWEALTH SOLDIERS KILLED IN THE 'WAR ON TERROR'
Chief Warrant Officer Robert Girouard, 46, Royal Canadian Regiment, Nov 27, 2006 (Afstan)
Staff Sergeant Sharron Elliott, 34, Intelligence Corps, Nov 12, 2006 (Iraq)
Private Jacob B. Kovco, 25, Royal Australian Regiment, April 21, 2006
[+] HONOURING OUR VETS ON THE 150TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE VICTORIA CROSS (1856 - 2006)
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
A Tale of Two Tories
It appears we may be on the precipice of some political progress, not to mention the thrilling realization that one’s generation is on the cusp of power and for the first time is seriously contending for national leadership. For those of us who were born in the 1960s, this is now the case in both Canada and the United Kingdom, and as luck would have it, both youngish leaders, Stephen Harper (46) and David Cameron (39), happen to sit -- at least nominally -- on the Tory side of the fence.
But as much as I’m exhilarated by the prospect, I’m also naturally concerned that my generation gets it right, that we are able to restore to the country the principles, virtues, respect and substance missing in today’s “Third Way” politics. Because to serious thinking people, the Third Way is nothing more than gaseous, middle-of-the-road style politics that tries to be – altogether now – all things to all people, which interestingly enough is the political charge all too often falsely pinned on the political left. It is a falsehood because the people on the principled left do not attempt, for example, to be anything to the people on the principled right. They say quite clearly that we are wrong. It is the proponents of the Third Way who by definition try to be everything to everybody, who come across as unprincipled, vacuous and ambiguous; all style and no substance. It is intellectually dishonest to strut principled Third Way in a principled two way political universe.
Stephen Harper understands this, unlike his Tory counterpart across the Atlantic, Britain’s new Tony Blair. Harper wouldn’t be caught dead with ridiculous vapid notions like “modern compassionate conservatism”, while in the very same breath incredulously telling us that he believes in a “new style of politics”, that he sees himself as something of an anti-politician. Incredulous not because it’s by any means old style politics, but because “modern conservatism” is precisely the recipe that requires one to be the total politician, the total public relations man, the relentless spinmeister. It is phoney. It is a bunch of Blair hooey. It is conservatism so counterfeit, that one is left to assume at this point that David Cameron is in it for no other reason than for his own vainglorious pursuit of prime ministerial power.
Mr. Harper, on the other hand, comes across genuinely as the reluctant politician, the reclusive policy wonk who doesn’t suffer fools gladly, who so obviously labours when mixing personally in retail politics. But he doesn’t talk about it – it simply shows. Yet for all his cerebral iciness and aloofness, the man with Kennedy hair is deceptively charming and charismatic. A man who is firmly grounded in principles and substance without coming across as a rigid ideologue, such that when he moves left to broaden his appeal, Tories instinctively know exactly where he stands on the issues.
That’s the trick in politics. If you’re firmly grounded in the first place, people will give you a long leash to sell the party platform, all the way out to the breaking point.
And so of Cameron and Harper, the tale of two Tories can be summarized thusly: One appears eager to replicate the status quo, the other is profoundly antagonistic to it; one will make a fashionable politician, the other will make a great Prime Minister. And both are well on their way to doing just that.
POSTED BY: The Monarchist AT 4:36 p.m. | LINKS |
It appears we may be on the precipice of some political progress, not to mention the thrilling realization that one’s generation is on the cusp of power and for the first time is seriously contending for national leadership. For those of us who were born in the 1960s, this is now the case in both Canada and the United Kingdom, and as luck would have it, both youngish leaders, Stephen Harper (46) and David Cameron (39), happen to sit -- at least nominally -- on the Tory side of the fence.But as much as I’m exhilarated by the prospect, I’m also naturally concerned that my generation gets it right, that we are able to restore to the country the principles, virtues, respect and substance missing in today’s “Third Way” politics. Because to serious thinking people, the Third Way is nothing more than gaseous, middle-of-the-road style politics that tries to be – altogether now – all things to all people, which interestingly enough is the political charge all too often falsely pinned on the political left. It is a falsehood because the people on the principled left do not attempt, for example, to be anything to the people on the principled right. They say quite clearly that we are wrong. It is the proponents of the Third Way who by definition try to be everything to everybody, who come across as unprincipled, vacuous and ambiguous; all style and no substance. It is intellectually dishonest to strut principled Third Way in a principled two way political universe.
Stephen Harper understands this, unlike his Tory counterpart across the Atlantic, Britain’s new Tony Blair. Harper wouldn’t be caught dead with ridiculous vapid notions like “modern compassionate conservatism”, while in the very same breath incredulously telling us that he believes in a “new style of politics”, that he sees himself as something of an anti-politician. Incredulous not because it’s by any means old style politics, but because “modern conservatism” is precisely the recipe that requires one to be the total politician, the total public relations man, the relentless spinmeister. It is phoney. It is a bunch of Blair hooey. It is conservatism so counterfeit, that one is left to assume at this point that David Cameron is in it for no other reason than for his own vainglorious pursuit of prime ministerial power.Mr. Harper, on the other hand, comes across genuinely as the reluctant politician, the reclusive policy wonk who doesn’t suffer fools gladly, who so obviously labours when mixing personally in retail politics. But he doesn’t talk about it – it simply shows. Yet for all his cerebral iciness and aloofness, the man with Kennedy hair is deceptively charming and charismatic. A man who is firmly grounded in principles and substance without coming across as a rigid ideologue, such that when he moves left to broaden his appeal, Tories instinctively know exactly where he stands on the issues.
That’s the trick in politics. If you’re firmly grounded in the first place, people will give you a long leash to sell the party platform, all the way out to the breaking point. And so of Cameron and Harper, the tale of two Tories can be summarized thusly: One appears eager to replicate the status quo, the other is profoundly antagonistic to it; one will make a fashionable politician, the other will make a great Prime Minister. And both are well on their way to doing just that.
POSTED BY: The Monarchist AT 4:36 p.m. | LINKS |
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