Today’s Bob Rae, meet a real NDP government

What’s this we read about Today’s Bob Rae being in Manitoba this weekend?

Readers will doubtless recall that it was only yesterday that the Liberal Party got caught smearing the NDP as “neanderthals” for daring to oppose the Harper-Dion coalition’s agenda to put every remaining cent of the federal treasury into another $50.5 billion of corporate tax cuts.

For his part, Today’s Bob Rae was incredulous that Jack Layton would refuse to accept that the 18th century is upon us and let the invisible hand push him into bed with Adam Smith, Stephen Harper and Stephane Dion.

Of course, everyone knows that since 2001, federal business tax rates already decreased a whopping 30%, and with Liberals cheering all the way, the Harper government has put them on track to fall another 23%. And not embracing pre-Cambrian economics and hollowing out the federal coffers makes the NDP “neanderthals.” Of course.

Incidentally, timeless Conservative cabinet minister Vic Toews was so moved by his flawless interpretation of the Ayn Rand comic books of his childhood that he embraced Today’s Bob Rae as he might a long-lost son: “Mr. Speaker, I welcome the member for Toronto Centre here to the House of Commons. I was quite taken with his comments. Although he has moved part of the way, he could have come a little further and sat on this side of the House because the comments I heard from him today were very much in keeping with the philosophy of our government.”

So, Today's Bob Rae will be confused to find himself in Manitoba this weekend.

The same Manitoba where Gary Doer’s NDP has governed successfully since 1999 with a balanced social democratic agenda.

The same Manitoba where the NDP decreased business taxes 18% (not 46% like the Liberals and Conservatives in Ottawa), while at the same time increasing the minimum wage 42% and lowering tuition 10% and freezing it for years.

The same Gary Doer who spoke at the federal NDP Convention in 2006 saying: “The Manitoba NDP is proud to support Jack Layton, and tonight I want to reiterate our support for him and the federal caucus and the great work they are doing in Ottawa for Canadians. They really have become Canada’s defacto official opposition, because they are organized, unified and able and willing to take on the new federal government and its regressive policies”.

The same Manitoba where the Liberal Party eked-out fewer votes and only two seats in the last election.

Yup. That Manitoba.

Note to Winnipeggers: if you find a confused Bob Rae on your streets this weekend, be kind to him. He’s never heard of your province, and doesn’t know what year he’s living in.