Manning: To engage Canadians, we must invest more in our politicians
Posted on 30 September 2008 by Jack
Many Canadians profess to being more attracted to the U.S. presidential election campaign than to their own federal election. Why is that, and what can be done to restore politics to first place in our political allegiance?
In the United States, the news media tend to aggrandize and dramatize everything political - the personalities, issues, blunders and achievements - making politics seem “bigger and better” than real life. That may partly explain the attraction for Canadians, especially those whose only involvement is watching on television.
But there is another explanation: Americans invest more time, energy and money than Canadians do in preparing the politicians and supporting casts for their roles and responsibilities on the political stage.
In the United States, there are scores of think tanks, covering the entire political spectrum, that constantly generate compelling ideas, policies and communications pieces for their politicians in a timely and effective manner. In Canada, our think tanks are much fewer in number, chronically underfunded and seriously constrained by tax laws.
Popularity: 22% [?]
September 30th, 2008 at 2:19 pm
We already “invest” enough in our politicians, in wages, pensions and a subsidy to their Party, each and every time we vote. It’s frankly, time for some payback from these publicly paid goofs in the form of better governance, instead of the constant preening and puffery these clowns practice in the HoC and in public.