Tomorrow

Craig Westcott rants, quite nicely, and concludes by rhetorically asking:

Yesterday, it was the blacklisting of reporters and the rewarding of cronies.

Today, it's the premier or the education minister running the university.

What will it be tomorrow?

What will it be tomorrow?

Tomorrow, it might be the Premier making personal attacks on a sitting judge in a court case. Except that tomorrow is already here.

Tomorrow, it might be the Premier and his hench-suckups making personal attacks on a judge presiding over a public inquiry. Except that tomorrow is already here.

Tomorrow, it might be the Minister of Justice announcing that he will openly ignore the decisions of the highest courts in the province and the country. Except that tomorrow is already here.

Tomorrow, it might be the government, and the Premier, attempting to circumvent a statutory limit on its powers and usurp those of another order of government, and in the process carrying on a reprehensible personal vendetta. Except that tomorrow is already here.

Tomorrow, it might be the provincial government intervening for crass partisan political reasons in a decision of a statutorilly-delegated body exercising its lawful authority. Except that tomorrow is already here.

Tomorrow, it might be the appointment of partisans to oversee what used to be the non-partisan process of electoral boundary reform. Except that tomorrow is already here.

Tomorrow, it might be the appointment of a partisan to oversee the democratic process. Except that tomorrow is already here.

Tomorrow, it might be the provincial government making a multi-billion dollar arrangement for the exploitation and development of a major natural resource, without letting the public know the terms of that deal. Except that tomorrow is already here.

Tomorrow, it might be Alice in Wonderland electoral laws that let you vote in elections that aren’t taking place yet. Except that tomorrow is already here.

Tomorrow, it might be blatant and brazen patronage to a degree that would make Mulroney or Trudeau blush. Except that tomorrow is already here.

Tomorrow, it might be a government descending into Soviet-style secrecy, all the while professing openness and accountability, and proving Orwell right. Except that tomorrow is already here.

Tomorrow, it might be the condemnation by the government of public critics of the government. Except that tomorrow is already here.

Tomorrow, it might be a government obsessed not just with its media image, but with manipulating that media image. Except that tomorrow is already here.

Tomorrow, it might be a government using, or withdrawing, its advertising dollar, as a media-messaging carrot and a stick respectively. Except that tomorrow is already here.

Tomorrow, it might be a 21st-century government using the public purse as a 19th-century electoral carrot and stick. Except that tomorrow is already here.

Tomorrow, it might be the election of an MHA and Premier who has open contempt for the Parliamentary institution he was elected to. Except that tomorrow is already here.

Tomorrow, it might be the withering away of that Parliamentary institution itself. Except that tomorrow is already here.

And tomorrow it might be the erection of an elaborate cult of personality around a Westminster-style first minister in a first-world liberal democracy. Except that tomorrow is already here.

And all these tomorrows have come to pass, in less than five years, with barely a peep from the press; with hardly a word from civil society groups, if there are any left whose loyalty hasn’t been rented or disloyalty appropriately cowed; with hardly a word from would-be, could-be, or should-be whistle-blowers; and with hardly a word, and often the overt co-operation, of the elected opposition, even when that opposition was four times its current size.

What will it be tomorrow?

Just look around today.