David Maclean Leaves Canadian Taxpayers Federation
Mr. Maclean's extreme right wing world view has been the source of a lot of blog posts for the progressive Left.
Will we miss him? ..... will I miss him ....?
I am of the opinion that David brought a nasty, snarky tone to the debates on Public versus Private in Saskatchewan and Canada. There seemed to be a constant, steady knee jerk move to condemn and vilify anything 'public' because Mclean's ideology says that someone in the private sector should be profiting from it.
In David's world, the concept of a crown corporation is evil incarnate. His contempt for the civil service and our public health system is legendary.
He is clearly part of the extremist free market group that has sprang onto the Canadian political scene from Alberta. He stands ideologically with Manning, Harper, Kenney, Levant, Day, Anders et al in their belief that the unrestricted free market will solve ALL challenges for a society. It is a false ideology. David is one of its most devoted disciples.
Extremist capitalism is not something that the Canadian mainstream society wants. Thank gawd.
Maclean exits ... and the air seems to be a bit fresher!
POSTSCRIPT: I will let David have the very last word on this particular post. August 11th -
I'm sure David's *cough* resignation *cough* had nothing to do with this.
Posted by Robert McClelland | 7:49 pm, August 09, 2007
You mean he's not running for office to become a Harperite? Doughboy would love the former president of CTF in cabinet.
Keep tuned.
Posted by Anonymous | 8:06 pm, August 09, 2007
Except these lying hypocrits believe in a free market about as much as Mussolini did. What they believe in is a corporate controlled and limited market. What they ignore is their beloved corporations are the creations of government and have been fed, watered and diaper-changed by government. Corporate capitalism wouldn't last a week without government. Or as I always say "Corporate capitalism is the state-socialism of the rich!" Their ideology is nothing more than a smoke screen to hide greed, power-lust and social-darwinist class hatred.
Posted by Larry Gambone | 9:12 pm, August 09, 2007
Did his sock puppets quit with him?
Posted by bigcitylib | 9:03 am, August 10, 2007
I am told that they are ALL moving to Alberta!
-The artist formerly known as ...
-Moneybagsforme
-Tommy Douglas
etc., etc., etc.
Posted by leftdog | 9:09 am, August 10, 2007
The fact that David has been able to get under your guys' skin so easily makes clear how effective he was in articulating an opinion in a public policy debate that runs counter to the "government will save us" ideology you all so dearly love.
Trust me, we'll miss him.
And given the fact that many of his recommendations have been adopted almost verbatim by the NDP, it is clear he was right more often than he was wrong.
Joe Mufferaw-size boots to fill in SK that's for sure!
Posted by Adam Taylor | 10:18 am, August 10, 2007
Except that under various false names, on 'company time' he peppered debate on numerous blogs with hateful, hurtful crap.
I always gave the benefit of the doubt to the CTF that Maclean's most venomous opinions were his OWN and not the official policy of the CTF.
Your pronouncement here causes me to wonder if the verbal abuse he spouted is official policy of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. Maybe the blogosphere needs to take a look at that.
Let's start with these!
Posted by leftdog | 10:35 am, August 10, 2007
Wow Leftdog, do you really hate David that much?
Posted by John Murney | 12:28 pm, August 10, 2007
John - he trolled mercilessly on my site as 'the artist formerly known as..'.
He was abusive and repulsive. He is the reason I had to put my site on comment moderation.
He would have us living in a country without public health care, where the vast burden of taxation would be on the backs of working people.
I do not hate the individual, but I have nothing but utter contempt for his world view and the tactics he used to advance them in this province.
So .... at 5:00 pm today, I expect that he will cancel his SGI (Sask Government Auto Insurance) AND he will also take out his chequebook and write a big cheque for his Alberta Health Care Premium!!
So loooooong!!
Posted by leftdog | 1:58 pm, August 10, 2007
LD said, "He would have us living in a country without public health care, where the vast burden of taxation would be on the backs of working people."
Umm, where _exactly_ do you think it is now, eh?
Posted by lance | 3:26 pm, August 10, 2007
The current system is not direct user pay - 'You pay or you die' as the unfettered free market would demand.
Seniors who are over 65 and receiving the Sask Prescription drug plan also benefit from our resistance to the unfettered free market approach that SO many on the Right would impose on us!
Posted by leftdog | 4:01 pm, August 10, 2007
Hi Leftdog - fair enough! Although I can't say for sure, that my blog didn't go through the same experience, I tend not to hold grudges and resentments. But that is me.
You are certainly justified in your comments; if I had proof that David had anonymously made a nuisance of himself on my blog, I would be glad to see his heels as well.
I have to be truthful when I say that although we disagreed on many things, including medicare, there was never a cross word between us, and my dealings with him in an official capacity were always civil and pleasant. I often had to deal with many people who were horrible to me, so it was refreshing to deal with someone who was actually nice to me.
Posted by John Murney | 10:12 pm, August 10, 2007
In retrospect, I wish I had NOT deleted the abusive and vile poison that was posted on my site by 'the artist formerly known as..' -
When we all found out that it was DM, I was literally stunned because some of things he had said in the deleted posting would have been career ending .
I kick myself for deleting them.
Giant Political Mouse did a wonderful expose.
Posted by leftdog | 10:46 pm, August 10, 2007
I'll miss you, Leftdog -- especially your extreme paranoia.
Posted by David MacLean | 1:01 pm, August 11, 2007