Queen Praises Tommy Douglas

Gee, I hope she says the same thing to Klein, 'you know I remember a great Canadian Premier, you had one time, ole Tommy Douglas, wasn't he terrific, he really cared about the people, not the power, wasn't that great. Don't make 'em like that anymore!' hee hee

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If I stand for my country today...will my country be here to stand for me tomorrow?

Tommy Douglas- THE GREATEST CANADIAN!!! Man, could we use another like him! Sadly, the NDP ( minus Susan, of course) has none like him.

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Dave Ruston

Bill Blaike is of similar fabric to Tommy Douglas.

I have to agree Bill Blaikie is an honourable politician, he was the first to bring the Lockheed Martin Census to light in the house, he has stood tall for Canadians, we don't have many but he is one.

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If I stand for my country today...will my country be here to stand for me tomorrow?

A new one comes to mind. How about Jack Layton?

I wouldn`t put Blaikie in the same league as Tommy Douglas, but yeah, he`s alright.

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Dave Ruston

Dave, I don't even think historically there is another man or women that would be in the same category as Tommy Douglas, as he was selfless, he didn't aspire to political power or prestige, he used his positions to make the world better for people. That is a quality rarely found, today or yesterday, but let us hope we will see it in tomorrow's politicians.

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If I stand for my country today...will my country be here to stand for me tomorrow?

I second you on that one Whelan. In fact I don't think we will ever see his like again. He came out of a time when it was still possible for a person to be both a politician and have honour and selflessness. But I think those times have passed forever.

Why does she think ---> why does she believe we care what she thinks, everytime she is here it costs us as Canadians Millions, I think if it was up to Tommy he would be the last one to invite her here.

Milton, I fully understand what you are saying, but there is something that perhaps you haven't considered. Tradition is something that keeps a family together and that is the same for a country. I have no problem with the Queen coming to Canada, I have no problem with her being a ceremonial head of the country. All Canadian traditions are being watered down, or turned into Disney like images, and I think we should be proud of our history, and I don't think that relatively speaking the Queen's visit cost us as much as some of our unpatriotic decisions, made by so called rep's of this country. To me it is a symbolic link to the past, and she doesn't interfere with our country's internal affairs, hence the decision to not talk politics around her visit.

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If I stand for my country today...will my country be here to stand for me tomorrow?

I think Tommy Douglas would have been delighted to invite the Queen. Douglas headed a movement, but he also believed in Parliamentary democracy.

The main importance of the Queen is legitimacy. The whole constitutional structure she is part of is something that has evolved through history. It is difficult to destroy because it has the weight of legitimate and sober change behind it.

This legitimacy is one of the bulwarks against radical movements like the one Harper leads. This is why the Cons could only be elected with Red Tory leaders. The Red Tories were the heirs to that legitimacy -- and that is the "Tory touch" the Loyalists brought to Canada after the American Revolution.

I think when people talk about the Queen making us distinct from the US, this is what they are talking about. The Americans rejected this legitimacy in the Revolution, Canadians chose to keep it. On the whole, it has made us a much healthier society.

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If you don't like these ideas, I've got others. --Marshall McLuhan

I have to confess to liking this Queen, and I'm a little shocked to admit it.
She has a calming influence on me, in a time of radical technological change and cultural confusion.
I'm not really surprised that she had kind words to say about Tommy Douglas.
Other posters are correct when they say that Tommy would have been pleased to host her as well.
Does anyone else have a similar experience to mine, where you are becoming less critical of the monarchy as you get a little older?
My beliefs in social justice haven't changed over time. If anything, they've deepened.
But a decade ago you I wouldn't have had a lot of positive things to say about the fact that we are a constitutional monarchy instead of a republic.
And although we desperately need to change our parliamentary system to make it more representative, and senate reform is of course a good idea, I wouldn't change the main governance structure.
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"The very fact that the concept "anti-American" can exist exhibits a totalitarian streak that's pretty dramatic." Noam Chomsky