Post 21: Wherein People Whine About Politics

Samuel here.

People whine about politics: FACT. Usually this is good. The success of self-governance depends on people whining about politics. But sometimes they do it for the wrong reasons.

Lately there has been a reasonable hubbub, at least among my fellow liberal-socialist-commie-pinko-elitist-war-on-religion-types, about Stephen Harper launching an attack ad against Bob Rae, the leader of the Liberal Party which isn't even the official opposition, on the day of a by-election. While Canada does have rules against campaigning in an election on the day it's held, this video bypasses them nicely by not mentioning the by-election once.

Seems fine to me.

I have never seen anything wrong with using the rules of the game to your advantage. In my opinion, the only meaningful political boundaries are whether it is legally possible to do something and whether or not you think it contributes to the sum total good in the world. If it does both, you cannot be blamed for doing it. So, yes, I'm in favor of exploiting legal loopholes to air videos that you think will contribute to keeping the right people in power. I am not in favor of something like the nuclear option, because I think it would fundamentally alter the functionality of the senate in a way that does more harm than good (again, sorry that every time I need a reference it's to American politics. It's just that here in Canada we are slowly realizing that our last election was maliciously and intentionally rigged by the people who currently run our country and what we choose to bitch about is by-election youtube videos, so you'll understand if I have a bit of a hard time studying the functionality of, say, our unelected senate that has veto power over every law our elected representatives try to create. Yes, every one of those words has a different link). Mine is a pretty straightforward legalistic utilitarian argument. It's pretty easy to make and hard to challenge. It would make for some super fun devil's advocate. But I imagine you guys are more interested in why I think the Conservatives were right to release this video (much as I'd like to talk about political ethics for ages).

Does it fit my criteria?
Well, so far as I've read, it is legally possible. The obvious response is that "it goes against the spirit of the law." This I do not understand. Why should it be up to a political operative, probably the head of some Conservative federal video editing team, to interpret the law? I bet you there wasn't a single lawyer involved in the creation of this video. The only lawyers involved are the guys who would have said that technically, it would not be illegal to release a video on the day of a by-election if the video ignores the by-election. And they were doing their job and they were doing it well. Whom exactly are you blaming if you say that the video goes against the spirit of the law? Who is supposed to step up and say that the law should be taken to mean something that it does not say? Personally, I'm just as happy that the Conservative majority's lawyers are telling the truth to our elected officials, and I'm even happier that the cinematographers who actually constructed the commercial aren't interpreting Canadian election code.

Does it contribute to the sum total good? I'm going to say no, but the people who launched the video would of course disagree. And I think this is probably the biggest public misconception about government. Nobody understands the types of people who get involved in politics. Sure, there is money and influence and fame in being a member of parliament. Agreed. There is only poverty and obscurity in being the guy who makes videos for the Conservative party, or in being the guy who decides that a video will be made and why and when and how. If you don't hold elected office, you're not there for money and you're not there for power. You are there out of a genuine desire to effect positive change. This is why it pisses me off when people complain about "spin doctors" or "hatchet men". You do what you have to do to change the world for the better. Sometimes it may seem manipulative, sometimes it may seem destructive. But I'm a utilitarian, and chances are you are, too.

Calm down.