American Politics: It’s all about the money

By the time you are reading this, given the vagaries of newspaper deadlines, Brett Kavanaugh will have likely been confirmed as the newest member of the United States Supreme Court.

If this is so, then it’s a travesty of justice.

In his appearance, last week before the Senate committee reviewing the nomination of his appointment, Brett Kavanaugh, went into the most injudicious, hate-filled, political rant ever seen by a person who supposedly wants to fill one of the top judicial positions in America.

Granted, he was provoked by the tactics of some of the Democratic senators sitting on the committee. But, his tirade was a gross over-reaction.

Mr. Kavanaugh already sits as a Federal Court judge. He knows how judges must behave. The New York Times reports that in a speech he gave in 2015 he said, “to be a good judge and a good umpire, it’s important to have the proper demeanor.” Judge Kavanaugh also said judges need, “to keep our emotions in check.”

But, he failed his own test. His performance before the committee makes it virtually impossible to believe he can set aside his biases when he failed to do so in such a critically important moment of his own career.

But, that won’t deter a good many Republican senators from supporting him. Politics in the States have become so divisive, so harsh under President Trump that people have lost sight of the bigger picture. Now, it’s us vs them. It’s all about scoring one for the team.

In Canada, while elections are hard fought, the participants don’t go to the extremes that we see in the States. But, there are too many differences between our systems and form of government to make direct comparisons.

For openers, given the number of political parties, we have a greater choice. Canadians are not limited to ‘A’ or ‘B’. We have two major parties, two minor ones, plus a plethora of regional or special interest parties.

Also, the rules and the boundaries for our federal elections are established by the national government. In America, the federal district boundaries are laid out by the state governments, as are many of the rules. So there is a great variance of who, when and where people can vote in American federal elections.

But, the biggest difference between our two political systems is the role money plays. Canada has relatively tight control over the amount of money that can be spent, and when it can be spent. In America, there are no spending limits, and as a consequence, American elections cost hundreds of millions of dollars. Running elections is a profession, replete with experts and consultants who do nothing else. The election of just one senator may cost more than one of Canada’s major political parties would spent in all 338 districts across the country.

One of the primary duties of a politician in Washington, is raising money, particularly the men and women in Congress. They face an election every two years. They are constantly in need of money and nobody knows this more than the lobbyists.

Lobbyists, like the Dairy Farmers of America, who turned what was a minor irritant, access to Canada’s relatively small market, into a national issue, by using their dollars to get the attention of a few senators and congressmen. This week Canadians found out just how successful they were. They forced Canada to allow some of their heavily subsidized dairy products into our market as part of the new free trade agreement. After more than 50 years without them, Canada is now talking about subsidies for its dairy farmers. This is progress?

If, as you read this, Judge Kavanaugh is dusting off his seat at the Supreme Court, then Donald Trump will have another notch on his gun. If he’s still stuck on the Federal Court, then maybe the Republicans have turned the corner, and sanity is returning.