Andrew Potter put out a very interesting post yesterday about self-help for partisans, given the tone of the rhetoric right now, and it came at a particularly apropos moment given how unreadable my Twitter reply column has become since the publication of my fact-check piece for Maclean’s. And no, it’s not just Conservatives who are sore that their team has been caught out, it’s also an equal number of their opponents who are utterly obnoxious in using the piece to prove something about the Conservatives.

What has really gotten me, however, are the number of partisans whom I’ve worked with, who have been sources for pieces I’ve written that have savaged the Liberal government, who are taking to Twitter to accuse me of bias. And I had to step back from my reactions to realise something that Potter articulated in his piece:

And maybe that’s the big problem — that everyone has stopped arguing with their opponents, and has decided to simply perform for their supporters.

And this is it exactly – they’re not engaging critically with what I wrote or acknowledging that I have a record of being just as critical on the government on very substantial issues (as opposed to cheap outrage and the usual hairshirt parsimony that means nothing). They have to take to social media to denounce me in order to perform their partisanship. And I get it. But it’s really, really disappointing.

But as Potter also points out, this is also reflecting itself in how Parliament is operating these days – MPs aren’t debating with one another. They’re performing for their base, and we can see that in the way that we went from debate to reading speeches into the void, and from QP that engaged on issues to one that is now solely focused on generating outrage clips for social media. Parliament is ceasing to be about debate or ideas, or about governance or accountability – it’s about performing for your base so that you can win a few more votes. And that’s not only sad, but it’s terrifying for what it means for the future. And that’s why I think we need to have a rethink of where rules changes have gotten us, and start reshaping those rules that will force MPs to re-engage with Parliament in the way it’s intended to run, rather than allowing it to further degrade into this puppet show we’re careening toward.

Good reads:

• Justin Trudeau called Donald Trump to offer condolences for the newspaper shooting in Maryland, and to say he had no choice but to slap retaliatory tariffs.
• The final retaliatory tariff list was announced yesterday, as well as measures to support affected industries. Here’s how the tariffs will work.
• Canada is taking measures to prevent steel bound for the US being dumped in our market, but it could raise home prices.
• Catherine McKenna says the government may introduce a bill to make a healthy environment a right in a future parliament (never mind that it’s a bad idea).
• A new report on the Phoenix fiasco estimates it could take five years and billions of dollars to stabilise. The minister disputes this, saying it uses outdated assumptions.
• Here’s an interesting look at the decline of affluence in Atlantic Canada post-Confederation.
• The Canadian Press’ Baloney Meter™ tests the claims that the majority of irregular border crossers’ asylum claims are doomed to be rejected.
• Andrew MacDougall thinks the PMO leaked Harper’s trip to Washington DC as a distraction from the Trudeau “grope” story.
• Susan Delacourt suspects that Trump is creating a bit more of a “Canada first” sentiment north of the border as we approach Canada Day.
• Andrew Coyne is alarmed that the government has been trying to politicise the kinds of investments the CPP Investment Board is making.
• Martin Patriquin has little sympathy for Michelle Rempel’s taking to Twitter to whinge about how unfairly she thinks she’s treated while she espouses falsehoods.
• My weekend column looks at how things in the “new” Senate may not be as rosy as some people seem to think they are.

Odds and ends:

The federal Conservatives have barred their former colleague (and current Manitoba MLA) Stephen Fletcher from running for them again and won’t say why.

When will shovels finally break ground again on Kinder Morgan’s #TransMountain pipeline expansion? Turns out finding an answer isn’t easy. Take a look… pic.twitter.com/ERey4kz9Og

— Power & Politics (@PnPCBC) June 29, 2018

Programming note: I’m taking Monday off like most people in this country. Enjoy your Dominion Day/Canada Day long weekend.

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