Wednesday, November 16, 2011

My one and only face to face run-in with Joe Clark

Joe Clark!  That proud old progressive wind bag who couldn't hold a minority parliament together for more than 9 months and actually sided with the Liberal Party over the Reform Party.  The template Red Tory and benefactor, mentor and inspiration to Alison Redford. 

We only met once and I don't care to repeat the encounter.

It was cold. So very cold that day.  Liberals were in power.  The West was out.   Klein was in.

Downtown Calgary was a deserted windswept canyon of polished stone and glass.  I was a broke student, on my way to the Y to workout.

I exited the LRT and was immediately blasted with blowing -40 Celsius.  I'm not really into windchill.  It just seems like hyperbole to me.  "Holy jump'n its -80 C with windchill!"  That really means nothing to me.  Wind changes and is especially unpredictable amid the tall buildings.  I want to know the real temperature.  I expect wind.  Its winter.  How cold would it be if I hid in a car without the engine running?  That's what the daily "High" is all about.  Its the best temperature you can expect for the day.  

Any temperature below -20 is kind of irrelevant.  -20 or -40 is just too damn cold.  A high of -40 will literally freeze your eyelids shut.  When you make it back indoors, the vitreous fluid in your eyeballs stays cold for a few minutes.  It's an odd feeling.  Your circulatory system regulates your body temperature among other things but it doesn't interact with your vitreous humor.  You can't feel your vitreous humor, its just a space with fluid in it.  You can feel the heat lost form the little blood vessels all around your eye.  Once your fingers and toes stop burning, a perceptive person will realize their eyes are cold.

There I was in that kind of weather.  I started down 3rd street.  The Y was 7 blocks away.  I walked the first block and then I started running.  It was a simple decision, less time in the cold, more heat generated by the activity, and I was heading to the gym for exercise anyway.

I'm running along, breathing hard, tears streaming down my face.  Eyelids sticking shut with every blink.  I stop at a stop light on 4th Avenue.  I know.  I'm a well trained citizen.

Standing there at the light with his wife (I presume) and decked in fine furs was Joe Clark.  There was Joe Clark sneering at me.   

'F--k you,' I thought and jaywalked (ran) across the road then all the way to the gym.

Not much of a meeting, but I'll never forget it.  Whenever I think of Joe Clark or progressives in general I see that sneering elite in furs judging me.

Smashing the progressive disease is not only good for the country and good for the whole world.  It's good for all of us as individuals.  Had I never run into Joe Clark, I would still do my best to stamp out progressive attitudes and ideas wherever their ugly specter rises.  There is a personal satisfaction in it for me however.
Vitriolic Humour

Those professional politicians that kiss babies for the camera's but sneer at random people on the street, their day is gone.  Their wordy nap-inducing pacifying verbal hypnosis is utterly meaningless.  We know them now.  We can spot progressives; smell them from around the corner before they even come into view.  What are these sneering progressive elites but Liberals who've convinced themselves they are too good for Liberals?  They might be fine bankers or whatever, but snobs like these should never have the wheel of public office for long.  Like a self serving taxi driver, they won't take us where we really want to go and leave us with a huge bill when its over.    

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

had joe been a real conservative and talked to stanfield he might have lasted longer than he did. being just another liberal doesn't cut it.

Unknown said...

That's before my time really. What I know about Joe Clark's time as PM comes from my Dad. He would say that he "governed like he had a majority," and that he was stupid for doing so.

Politically, I remember him as the big road block to uniting the right. More proud than smart and it hurt the country. Liberals could act like they owned the place while Clark was around.

This is why Peter MacKay will always be honoured as an important founder of the CPC in my mind. Deep down I think he's progressive too but he makes a very capable Defense Minister.

Sean M said...

IMO, Clark was always a fraud. Never a Conservative bone in his body, just a useless "Progressive" who had no problem handing back the reins of power to that deranged, radicalized nut case Pierre Turdo. Actions speak louder then labels and Clarks actions reek of a man who shared the same warped ideology as the Turdo led "Liberals". "Progressive", "Liberal" same shit different pile.

Anonymous said...

I miss the fiscal discipline of Paul Martin. Federal and provincial tories completely lack the skill set to make tough decisions and balance the budget. Tories always buy votes and friends with taxpayer money.

It should come as no surprise that a party in power for 40 years has a wide spectrum of people in it. Alberta is a liberal province and the Tories have occupied the liberal political spectrum for a long time.

Don't beleive Alberta is liberal? Here are a few conservative ideas that have never been implemented in Alberta, despite massive majorities: recall legislation, balanced budgets, elected judges, abortion is legal and paid for by taxpayers, death penalty is non-existent, no provincial police force, no provincial pension plan, gay marriage and Human Rights Commission.

Oh yeah, Ralph Klein was a liberal.

Unknown said...

I don't agree with half of what you say, but it doesn't matter. The PC Party has to go. The sooner the better. They will do most of the work towards that goal, but we are still going to fight like its uphill against the wind. Down with Redford!

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