Before writing for the Toronto Star, Salutin promoted proportional representation voting reform. After he was hired, his position on the issue — for some unfathomable reason — abruptly changed. Now he says PR doesn’t matter.
I suppose this has absolutely nothing to do with the Toronto Star being fiercely against voting reform and real democracy.
Star agenda
Presently the Star’s agenda is to weasel NDP votes for the Ontario Liberal party.
But of course, this had no influence on Salutin who recently wrote Andrea Horath is a “right-wing populist, full out.”
He also postulated, Horwath is Rob Ford, Mitt Romney, Margaret Thatcher and Mike Harris all rolled into one.
This sleazy rhetoric could not be further divorced from reality.
Pathetic Liberal gripe
Besides making these ridiculous accusations, Salutin regurgitated an old Liberal partisan gripe: it was Jack Layton’s fault that the federal Liberal party never delivered on national day care.
Of course, this leaves out the fact that the Liberals were in power for 13 years after first promising day care, breaking their promise 4 elections in a row.
So we are supposed to believe by 2006, the Liberals really, really, really meant it that time around?
Promises, promises, promises
Salutin also blamed Horwath for “killing” Wynne’s pension plan promise. (This issue is far from settled yet.)
But what this leaves out is the fact that in the Liberal 2013 budget, Wynne had promised: home care for seniors; a 15% discount on bloated auto insurance; and a financial accountability office.
But instead of keeping those promises, she broke them all and made a whole bunch of new ones in her 2014 budget.
I imagine Salutin must have Amazing Kreskin-like powers of the mind that inform him when the Liberals are telling the truth and when they are engaged in political opportunism and outright lying.
Can Andrea Horwath really be faulted for not having the same gift?
Andrea’s platform
The NDP is unveiling their platform day by day as the campaign rolls out. That is not unusual. It’s typically how parties do it.
Claiming the NDP has no plan on health and education is absurd considering the campaign started two days ago. These issues were central to their 2011 campaign, as was pension reform. They obviously will be this time around.
Here are some of Horwath’s position on the issues, so far. Judge for yourself if she’s “right-wing” or an actual member of the progressive left:
Home care for seniors (Wynne "killed")
15% discount on auto insurance (Wynne "killed")
$12/hr minimum wage, indexed to inflation (Liberals promise single bump to $11/hr)
End Liberal cuts to social assistance and disability; index benefits to inflation
End failed Liberal corporate tax cuts for the rich (Canada has lowest corporate tax rate among all major economies)
Lower hydro bills — under the Liberals, rates have skyrocketed from 5¢ kWh to 13.5¢ + 7% HST
Stay tuned for more.
Conclusion
Partisan Liberals keep attempting to distract voters from their corruption and broken promises with outrageous smears against the NDP. The NDP is not boosting Hudak by being fed up with Liberal lies. That’s not how it works.
The simple fact is the Liberals are not entitled their entitlements. If they want to govern, it’s up to them to EARN the right to govern and get opposition support if it’s required. That’s how our democracy works.
Thanks for this.
ReplyDeleteSalutin has been hanging out with the wealthy elites too long, and obviously has too much money. Perhaps he is angling for a senate seat like Mike Duffy. His column was full of BS Liberal propaganda and illogical, self-contradicting gibberish. Perhaps senility has caused Salutin to forget the differences between right-wing and left-wing positions.
Wanting tax increases for high-income people and profitable corporations, while wanting financial breaks to the workers and small businesspeople is not right wing. Workers are the makers; capitalist parasites are the takers. Small businesses are the job-creators; big multinational corporations are the job-destroyers.
Wanting to cut wasteful spending is not right wing. When tax money is wasted, it is diverted from health care, education, infrastructure and everything else we need. Left-leaning candidates at all levels need to emphasize their opposition to the waste of tax dollars, instead of ignoring it and letting right-wing candidates own that issue.
Unprincipled Liberals pull this trick every election, claiming that a vote for the NDP is really a vote for the Conservatives, due to vote splitting, and claiming that the NDP is actually the same as the Cons because they both oppose the useless, corrupt Liberals (but conveniently ignore the fact that the two parties criticize the Liberals from different directions).
The Libs are the ones who are almost like the Cons, with their corporate tax cuts, no-strings-attached corporate subsidies, privatization schemes, and increased fees and taxes for those on the low end of the economic spectrum. The only thing that Liberals ever offer to progressive-minded voters is "We aren't as bad as the Conservatives".
Hopefully Ontario voters won't fall for it again.