He remained, even in his obituaries, the less famous brother, even though he was the elder. Former American senator and federal judge James L. Buckley died on Aug. 18 at age 100, 15 years after his younger brother, William F. Buckley, Jr. In his own way, his brief electoral career contributed to the rise of conservative politics, as did his brother’s writing, publishing and television work.
Politics
Raymond J. de Souza: James L. Buckley heralded the rise of conservative politics in the U.S.
Robert F. Kennedy, the other New York senator, had been assassinated that year. Liberal Republican Gov. Nelson Rockefeller appointed Charles Goodell to fill RFK’s seat. In 1970, Goodell ran for election on his own as the candidate of both the Republican and Liberal parties, against Democrat Richard Ottinger.
Jim Buckley ran for the Conservative party, charging that the liberal Republicans of New York were little different than their Democratic rivals. With the vote split between the two establishment candidates, Buckley won the seat with 39 per cent of the vote, the first third-party candidate to win a U.S. Senate seat in 30 years.
Buckley was a comparatively minor figure in all that, less important than his brother Bill, but nonetheless his win in New York suggested that a new conservative wave was coming. Reagan would carry New York in both of his landslide presidential victories.
Today, the idea that a conservative could win in New York — or California — seems crazy. Buckley’s win signified a frustration with the elites from both parties, a lesson relevant today, even if the gentlemanly lawyer of traditional Catholic sensibilities was hardly a populist. In weakening liberal Republicanism in the northeast, Buckley’s brief rise also accelerated the hammerlock Democrats would gain in the region.
Of relevance to Canadians, his legal passion was the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which entrenches the principal of federalism — the federal government only has those powers enumerated to it, and all the rest belong to the states. Buckley decried the use of the federal spending power to overwhelm the authority of the states, a perennial matter of debate in Canada.
James L. Buckley, RIP.
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.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Quebec wants to curb excessive tipping.
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.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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