O Canada!

Like most people in the United States, I really haven't paid much attention to our neighbors to the North: Canada. Some Facebook conversations with a Facebook friend who lives there caused me to dig a bit deeper... and I was surprised by what I found.

Before reading the rest of this post (or perhaps instead of), search on Stephen Harper Tea Party. You'll be surprised by what you find. I'm sharing one example, Canada's Tea Party-Stephen Harper and Ford Nation. If you don't like this article, you'll find many more using the same tone. Thanks to Stephen Harper, The two establishment parties that ruled Canada for its first 130 years, the Progressive Conservatives, and the Liberal Party, the folks who brought Canada free-medicine, gun control, and a relatively open immigration policy, are wiped out.

On the surface, Stephen Harper, a member of the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) is very attractive to a Libertarian. This anti-Obama Conservative studied Hayek, Mises and Friedman at the University of Calgary and speaks the small Government, low (or no) taxes mantra that "we" love. The "bad news" for a Libertarian is that he (and his Party, the CPC) also favors getting the Government involved in those socially divisive issues that "we" consider none of the Government's business.

I'm surprised this wasn't "bigger news" in the United States. The Tea Party (in principle) just quietly took over Canada (like I said, search on Stephen Harper Tea Party) without "firing a shot" and threw out 130 years of liberal Government.

I always look for "the man behind the curtain". In this case, it's a gentleman by the name of Rob Ford, Mayor of Toronto. Mayor Ford made a couple of shrewd political moves that assured Stephen Harper's victory... and Ford's place as "kingmaker" in the political landscape. I think we have a "Mayor Rob Ford" or two on our political landscape. Sarah Palin comes to mind. I don't think she want's to "be President", I think she wants to be the one who "decides who is President." The later is much more lucrative and almost as powerful as being President.

Perhaps there's a lesson or two in this for us. The Tea Party should look closely at what Stephen Harper and the CPC did right. The Liberal Left should take a look at what they did wrong. I'm not endorsing Harper or Canada's move to the right. I'm just reporting it... and wondering why no one else noticed.

I plan to pay a lot more attention to Canada... we may see our future in their present.