BONOKOSKI: Influential American eyes dimming on Trudeau liberalism

February 8, 2018

While our prime minister continued in the United States Thursday with his NAFTA love tour, this time in the progressive commune of San Francisco, the contradictions in his schtick are finally getting noticed by some influential U.S. media.

And what they see is also what more Canadians need to see.

In the Washington Post, for example, columnist Molly Roberts warned Wednesday there is a lot wrong with Justin Trudeau once his “hunky liberal hero” image is set aside, and all the swooning bedazzlement — by Americans, too — begins to ebb.

“Trudeau has his charms, but even his victories come with caveats,” writes Roberts. “On the gender front, Trudeau has promised legislation closing Canada’s pay gap time-and-time again, but none has materialized.”

Ditto with his backtracking on Canada’s open invitation to all the refugees in the world fleeing real tyranny, as well those fleeing the perceived tyranny of Donald Trump.

He’s all talk with little action.

“Far too many here in the United States are content to cheer Trudeau on for his sometimes surface-level commitment to liberal causes — and look how cute he is with these baby pandas — while ignoring the ways he isn’t liberal at all,” said Roberts.

A case in point, she notes, are the attack helicopters the Trudeau government is set to sell to Philippine dictator Rodrigo Duterte so he can either more expeditiously murder the undesirables among his populous or, as his military chief more delicately put it, “use them for internal security operations.”

Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland has now said the deal will be reviewed, and that the export of the choppers could be blocked if it appears they are destined to become gunships.

This comes after a spokesperson for the federal Global Affairs told reporters that the department’s impression was that the helicopters were to be used for humanitarian purposes like “disaster relief, search and rescue, passenger transport and utility transport.”

Seriously?

As Roberts put it, however, the helicopter deal with the Philippines should have surprised no one who has studied Trudeau beyond his global eye-candy appeal.

Remember, Trudeau had few qualms signing a $15-billion armoured vehicle deal with Saudi Arabia so the monarchy could wage war on Yemen while effectively cracking down on its own civilians.

“And,” notes Roberts, “though Trudeau has served up some stern talk on Chinese repression, it hasn’t stopped him from cozying up to the country as he tries to open trade talks.”

The trouble, as Roberts notes, is that such contradictions to real liberalism don’t get the attention they deserve.

“American progressives can’t seem to get enough of Trudeau, but they also don’t bother to learn enough about him,” she writes.

“He’s not Trump, after all, and he has adorable dimples. It’s the same way with other world leaders, from (France’s) Emmanuel Macron to (Germany’) Angela Merkel.”

“These politicians are miles better than far-right alternatives. They’re miles better than Trump,” said Roberts. “But that doesn’t place them beyond reproach.”

People — especially liberals and their collective of elites, including their kindred spirits in Canada — need to therefore put on their thinking caps, and look beyond the nice hair, the themed socks and the charm offences.

“Americans who call themselves progressives should hold politicians to the very code they keep so close, said Roberts.

“At the very least, they shouldn’t blindly celebrate leaders who miss the mark.

“Think these are really liberal heroes?” she asked.

“Come on, man — or women, or people(kind)!”

In other words, get real and wise up.