Flaherty: Not-so nice guys finish last

A couple days ago, I wrote a blog on Jim Flaherty that took the politically correct position: Flaherty was a good person, but not-so-good finance minister.

Today that got me thinking how political correctness tends to make hard-right conservatives, like Flaherty was, want to puke.

Therefore, I thought, why not walk a mile in the shoes of your typical angry, white, male conservative and take the politically irreverent position that Jim Flaherty was actually a mean, nasty son-of-bitch?

Not-so nice

I base this on an article written by fellow Progressive Blogger Warren Kinsella which was published in the Toronto Sun three weeks ago: Not-so nice guys finish last.

Here’s an excerpt (taken without the author’s permission, of course — like any ranting and raving blogger is going to bother with that!):

In federal Conservative circles, stories about Flaherty’s temper and temperament are legion. Just before his sudden resignation last week, in fact, one Conservative very close to Prime Minister Stephen Harper told this writer about how disliked Flaherty was by Hill staff and many of his colleagues.

Flaherty had a bad temper, the Harper loyalist said, and he did not ever hesitate to rain opprobrium on those below his station. He could be, and frequently was, “very nasty to those with less power,” said this veteran Conservative.

Bonus indignity

While Canadians take pause to remember Jim Flaherty on this solemn day, let us not forget last December when Flaherty — on the floor of the House of Commons — screamed “Shut the fuck up!” at Jason Kenney for daring to suggest Rob Ford should resign.

Happy ranting! And just remember: being conservative means never having to say your sorry — or ever believe you did anything wrong!