Do we really need to go down this path?

If you are like me, you have been watching what has been going on politically in the United States over the last few years with a combination of horror and concern. It’s ugly, and, again if you are anything like me, you thank your lucky stars you are Canadian, and proud of the fact that our politics hasn’t denigrated to that extent.  

In the U.S., politics is so polarized that it has actually become tribal, in that your side can do no wrong and the other side can do no right. The problem with this, of course, is that it pre-empts any possibility of civilized debate. 

Steve Outhouse. Photo Credit: Acadie Nouvelle

But any appreciation that we aren’t like that, is mixed with the realization that whatever trends unfold in the States, eventually find their way to Canada. It’s a legitimate concern, and while I in no way want to suggest we are anywhere near that level of dysfunction, there are nonetheless troubling comparisons with the Republican-style rhetoric the Conservative Party here in New Brunswick has adopted for its provincial election campaign.  

A month after offering to pay people to go to door-to-door on the party’s behalf, a function that is usually done by volunteers sufficiently committed to their party that they don’t require a paycheque, party campaign chair Steve Outhouse, in his latest donation pitch, says the door-to-door campaign is going well.  

But then he gets into the rhetoric. In his latest fund-raising pitch, the operative Blaine Higgs brought in to organize his campaign, references the “woke mob” and the “Liberal-friendly media”. This is a page taken directly from Donald Trump’s playbook. In that one sentence, Outhouse characterizes Higgs as a victim who doesn’t get a fair shake from the media, and disparages anyone who doesn’t agree with his policies as not having a point of view worthy of consideration. Sound familiar? 

It's discouraging that here in New Brunswick, one of our mainstream parties has chosen this path.  

Photo Credit: National Catholic Register

I have no idea if Outhouse realizes what “woke” means, but no matter, his purpose in using it is to try to delegitimize anybody with an opinion that isn’t in lock-step with Higgs. Policy 713 is a prime example. Teachers, guidance councillors, child psychologists, social workers, the Seniors and Youth Advocate, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, District Education Councils and several of his own MLAs have serious concerns about the policy. You would think with that big a cross-section of opposition, a responsible leader would reflect that maybe he’s missing something and invite a serious debate on the pros and cons. After all, you have to believe that at least some these professionals have the best interests of all children at heart, so maybe their views deserve to be considered. Higgs response though, has been to dismiss the views of the lot of them as being nothing but the views of the extreme left. That’s the Trump playbook pure and simple and until now, it has had no place in New Brunswick politics.  

Policy 713 protest at NB Legislature. Photo Credit: CBC

In ignoring the opposition, Higgs has boiled it all down to the parents right to know what their kids are up to, that that is all that matters. But if a parent’s right to know is all there is to it, why does he only focus on the kids who are struggling with their sexual identity? What about the straight kids who are sexually active? Teachers often know when their students are having sex. If Higgs is all about a parent’s right to know, why he is not demanding that the teachers tell those kid’s parents what their children are up to? And what about a Muslim girl who removes her hijab once she leaves the house as a way to better fit in at school? Should teachers be obliged to report them to their parents as well? See where I am going with this?  

And it’s not just Policy 713. Remember “data my ass”, Higgs way of dismissing research that challenged his point of view? And now, thanks to the CBC getting their hands on a letter from the former J Division RCMP Commanding Officer Larry Tremblay to then-RCMP commissioner Brenda Lucki, it appears Higgs didn’t get him fired because he wasn’t doing enough to deal with illegal drugs, that was just the reason trotted out for public consumption. According to the letter, the real reason was Higgs failed attempts at political interference in how the RCMP dealt with various issues, including protesters. And that’s just the kind of reporting that got the CBC on Higgs and Outhouse’s naughty list.  

I guess it was inevitable that American-style politics would make its way here, as it has in some western provinces and at the federal level. But it’s sad nonetheless, and not good for civil political discourse or for democracy. And I’m not just saying that because I’m apparently woke. But given that “woke” is a term that gained legs during the Black Lives Matter movement to refer to people who have an empathy for the struggles people who aren’t just like them go through, I guess I am. However I realize when Outhouse uses the term in his donation pitch emails, he means it in a more derogatory way. He has shown a fondness of these Republican tactics, where to the MAGA crowd empathy for what people who aren’t just like them are going through, is seen as weakness. It’s not a good look on them, or on Higgs and company. Which goes a long way to explaining the exodus of so many fair-minded Tories who simply don’t want to be associated with what Higgs has molded the current party into.

I feel compelled to repeat that I am not suggesting we are anywhere near as bad as the U.S. is politically. But by allowing Outhouse to introduce such polarizing language into our political environment, Higgs is taking his party in that direction. It is an unfortunate path, and one that if we go too far, we may not be able to come back from.

Late last year I published a blog that is related. You can find it here.

Thanks for reading. As always, shares are appreciated. Cover photo credit: CTV News