The thrill is gone - Shawn Loughlin editorial
Apologies in advance, as this column is going to equate politics with the word “thrill” and we all know that isn’t the case. Not. One. Bit. The title references a B.B. King song. I suppose that’s kind of cool.
Just the other day, my smartphone reminded me that it had been exactly six years since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau came to Walton to be part of the International Plowing Match. We took pictures with our cameras, but there, on my phone, was the head honcho, in a field and on a tractor, surrounded by people working to catch a glimpse or take a picture.
What a difference six years can make.
Trudeau is just one example. It’s hard to look at our political landscape right now and not be disheartened, fatigued and uninspired.
There’s that famous quote from The Dark Knight, “You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.” A lot of our politicians have followed that trajectory, though it’s fair to question if they ever even really started out as heroes.
When Trudeau was elected, his ascendance was met with excitement by many. In his early 40s when first elected Prime Minister, Trudeau was coveted by other countries (remember in 2017 when Rolling Stone asked, “Why can’t he be our president?”). And he was progressive (who could forget 2015’s “Because it’s 2015” and a cabinet half full of women).
In the years since, the old Trudeau has been dismantled, scandal by scandal and misstep by misstep. Now, you won’t find an “F Trudeau” bumper sticker on my car, but it’s getting hard to find Canadians who have the confidence in their leader that they may have once had.
On the other side of the aisle is Doug Ford. Elected Premier in 2018, Ford wiped the floor with Kathleen Wynne and the Liberals in a historic defeat that has decimated that party.
Ford’s election was a bit more polarizing, as some people were sure he was not awesome right off the bat, but he was new and different.
He came in and started changing things. He scrapped the Green Energy Act, which, while well-intentioned, came with consequences that disproportionately played out in rural Ontario. He promised to get our finances in order and quench our thirst for the change in our pockets.
Now, Ford is as low as he’s been in the mind of the average voter, plagued by scandals, flip-flops and corruption with the Greenbelt.
It’s as if a politician can’t exist without the stain of corruption leeching onto them. It may take one year or 10, but it’s destined to happen.
They’re tired, they’re worn out and, frankly, they’re probably doing us a favour by fading away. But, if not them, then, who?
I had to Google who the leader of Ontario’s Liberal Party is (boy, did Dalton McGuinty and Wynne send that party straight to hell) and anyone who has ever read my column should know you won’t find any support for the leader of the federal Conservatives here. That walking dog whistle can board a freedom convoy destined for the moon as far as I’m concerned. (I know a lot of our dear readers like him, so, I say this with all due respect - I don’t care. Not even a little bit.)
There’s always the NDP, but the provincial party is in a state of transition and Jagmeet Singh has maybe backed himself into a corner. Support Trudeau - annoy the Conservatives and NDPers. Criticize him - lose the Liberals.
Anyway, back to how the mighty have fallen. It’s hard not to look at Ford and Trudeau as pitchers whose first pitch came with so much promise. Now, here we are, in the late innings, they’re getting battered all over the park and no one’s in the bullpen warming up.