During Monday morning’s Fox & Friends broadcast, the longtime political strategist and Fox News contributor chimed in on President Obama’s weekend virtual commencements speeches. During a conversation about whether it was appropriate for the former president to tacitly criticize his successor during his addresses, host Brian Kilmeade prompted Rove to respond to President Obama’s past criticism of the Bush administration. In response, the one-time Bush political strategist didn’t mince his words:
“It is so unseemly for a former president to take the virtual commencement ceremony for a series of historically black colleges and universities and turn it into a political drive-by shooting,” Rove replied.
By tying together a sentence that mentions black colleges and universities with the racially-loaded language of drive-by shootings, Karl Rove seemingly once again injected the issue of race into a political conversation. And by using racially-coded language on national television, he did nothing to diminish to his long-time reputation as not being afraid to use ‘racial dog whistles’ in criticism of political adversaries.
Karl Rove at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on April 29, 2019 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by … [+] Michael Kovac/Getty Images)
Getty Images
Aside from the weekend war of words between Obama and Trump however, there are troubling signs that race – long a mainstay of American politics – is poised to become an inflammatory issue in the months ahead. A high profile killing of an unarmed black man in south Georgia has once again put race-based violence on the national stage. The coronavirus has also laid bare troubling truths about income inequality and racial disparities in healthcare, education and job security across America. All of this is while there continues to be a concerning increase in hate crimes and race-based violence.
But it is the return of racially-coded language in politics that might be equally as troubling. As the nation gears up for a contentions presidential election, Roves’ language might be an indicator that he and others will not feel restrained from using the kind of language that has been provocative in the past. Rove has long been criticized for the use of race in politics – particularly accusations that he deployed a racist whisper campaign against John McCain during the 2000 presidential primary campaign while Rove was advising George W. Bush. But it is comments this week that are the newest ones to raise eyebrows.
As the nation settles into what will likely be a long and difficult economic recovery, there are meaningful issues that need to be debated in order for the country to regain its footing. Yet Rove’s words lay bare the troubling truth that despite the fact that the coronavirus has rapidly changed so much in our society, race remains not only America’s original sin, but also its politician’s worst political crutch.
The era of drive-by racial politics is back – if it ever left – and unless it is addressed head on, it threatens to sicken us just as much as any virus could.
OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the NDP is caving to political pressure from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre when it comes to their stance on the consumer carbon price.
Trudeau says he believes Jagmeet Singh and the NDP care about the environment, but it’s “increasingly obvious” that they have “no idea” what to do about climate change.
On Thursday, Singh said the NDP is working on a plan that wouldn’t put the burden of fighting climate change on the backs of workers, but wouldn’t say if that plan would include a consumer carbon price.
Singh’s noncommittal position comes as the NDP tries to frame itself as a credible alternative to the Conservatives in the next federal election.
Poilievre responded to that by releasing a video, pointing out that the NDP has voted time and again in favour of the Liberals’ carbon price.
British Columbia Premier David Eby also changed his tune on Thursday, promising that a re-elected NDP government would scrap the long-standing carbon tax and shift the burden to “big polluters,” if the federal government dropped its requirements.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Simon Jolin-Barrette, minister responsible for consumer protection, has tabled a bill to force merchants to calculate tips based on the price before tax.
That means on a restaurant bill of $100, suggested tips would be calculated based on $100, not on $114.98 after provincial and federal sales taxes are added.
The bill would also increase the rebate offered to consumers when the price of an item at the cash register is higher than the shelf price, to $15 from $10.
And it would force grocery stores offering a discounted price for several items to clearly list the unit price as well.
Businesses would also have to indicate whether taxes will be added to the price of food products.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
