Barrel Strength

Proving that Google is the kryptonite of Canadian journalism. John Ibbitson serves up one confusing mess to the chattering classes in today’s Globe and Mail when comparing American and Canadian political discourse:

U.S. society is far more polarized. Most Republican senators will vote against confirming Judge Sotomayor, in part because the National Rifle Association fears she may support gun-control laws.

Canada doesn’t have an NRA, and there was little conservative opposition when Paul Martin chose to appoint Rosalie Abella to the Supreme Court, despite her long record of liberal and judicially active rulings. It would have been poor form.

For a start, Canada has no advise-and-consent mechanism like the United States: MPs at the time of those appointments could not even call the nominees to appear before a parliamentary committee. And the critics of Abella went beyond conservatives to include Douglas Fisher, journalist and former CCF MP.

This can lead to scenes like the one in South Carolina, where an angry voter warned Congressman Bob Inglis at a town hall to “keep your government hands off my Medicare.” Mr. Inglis, according to The New York Times, tried to explain that Medicare actually is run by the government, but the voter “was having none of it.”

In contrast to such Yankee ignorance, our sumo pundits had nothing to say about the typical Canadian voter’s understanding of our constitution during the prorogation flap of last winter.

Facts, dear boy, facts.