In very short order you will begin to hear from the cowering, servile political pundit class all about the 'lesser of two evils' argument, which will ensure that nothing ever changes in America or Canada.
In America it will take shape in a cringeworthy plea from anachronistic neoliberal dems like Pelosi that voting for Joe Biden--the guy bought and paid for by Dupont chemicals, the guy who loved NAFTA, signed on to Clinton's racist crime bill, the discriminatory defence of marriage act and destructive welfare reform; the guy who supported the Iraq war and sanctions on Iraq, tax cuts for the rich, the bombing of Serbia etc etc--is the 'only' choice for 'progressive' voters.
After all, Joe's a regular guy, and surely a lesser evil than the present miscreant POTUS. The problem, once again, is that Biden (like Clinton before him) represents the very kind of politics that most Americans see through and utterly despise--the kind of politics that kept them away from the polling booths and secured a Trump presidency. It will become clear that what Jeffrey St.Clair accurately described as the 'decrepit plantation house run by septuagenarian (millionaire) democrats' will do everything possible to make sure that 'socialist' Bernie Sanders never gets elected--even if it means another four years of the current rapist in chief.
Think that charge is over the top? Read below:
In Canada the lesser of two evils claim will be pulled out by a similarly desperate and corporate shilling liberal class who will argue that their guy (someone who seems constitutionally incapable of grasping how bullying and privileged he appeared after the SNC Lavalin debacle) should get a free ride because, after all, he is a better choice than no-name Andrew Scheer--even though the hollow-headed Trudeau now has a lower approval rating than Trump.
Just as the Dems did with Hillary, the Canadian liberal class will unhesitatingly use fear to threaten voters: if they refuse to support Trudeau they will elect someone even worse.
What they won't say is that everytime we vote for a candidate that is marginally better than the worse choice we secure not only mediocrity but our own impotence--our capacity to actually challenge injustice and change things for the better.
What they won't say is that Trudeau's nauseating use of progressive language is little more than a hollow and cynical appeal in the form of a threat that if you vote your 'conscience' (NDP or Green) you will be morally responsible for the ensuing havoc a conservative Scheer government will wreak on all of us.
You will hear propaganda that lauds the balanced approach a liberal party has regarding climate change--an approach that rationalizes the completely irresponsible approval of the trans-mountain pipeline and supports continued oil sands development; propaganda that justifies full backing of American sanctions and imperialism in Venezuela and Honduras; that authorized a $15 billion military sale to a criminal Saudi king, famous for repressing minorities and indiscriminately bombing civilians in Yemen; that opposes a lawsuit by women employed in the Canadian Armed Forces; that refuses to comply with multiple orders from the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal to implement a protocol to end discrimination against First Nations people in providing public services; that pressed for the sale of $233 million in military helicopters to Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte; that continues to defend the deplorable environmental and human rights abuses of Canadian mining companies in foreign countries; that excuses the breaking of promises regarding subsidies to oil and gas industries and electoral reform; that supported and covered up corporate criminals like SNC Lavalin for the sake of present and future political favours.
What is clear in both of these cases is that the lesser evil argument rationalizes the perpetuation of regressive, irresponsible government, and rigs the system against more progressive ideas and policies.
Indeed, if you were a social scientist searching for a theory that might explain why people become apathetic and opt out rather than participate in politics, you would do no better than look at the long and sordid history of 'lesser evil' arguments here and across the border.
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