From the careful what you wish for file comes the vote in the US Senate on continuing the ban on Canadian beef. Who lead the charge? The same Democrats that Canadians were drooling over in the last election. Who will veto such a bill, the head of the evil-empire himself, President George W. Bush. But Canadians voting (or polling as the case may be) against their personal interests is nothing new, unless all they care about is Da Canadian Values.
Check out the column by Sheldon Alberts in the National Post.
...Imagine the horror among liberals (and Liberals) north of the 49th parallel, then, at the scene that unfolded yesterday on the floor of the U.S. Senate. Asked to take sides in the dispute over cattle shipments to the United States, several of the Democrats who are most popular among Canadians lined up against Canuck beef. Kerry, Hillary Clinton, Teddy Kennedy — all three voted for a Democrat-sponsored resolution to keep the American border closed to Canadian beef. Without their votes, the protectionist measure would have failed. So much for returning Canada’s love.
...The irony is rich. If the wishes of most Canadians had come true on Nov. 2, John Kerry would be president, and would likely be pressing for the maintenance of trade restrictions that have cost the cattle industry $7-billion and counting.
...Frank McKenna, the new Canadian ambassador to Washington, made headlines this week by lashing out at the U.S. for failing to resolve such “festering” trade issues as softwood and beef. Given the heated rhetoric recently between Bush and Martin over missile defence, McKenna’s remarks were interpreted as a shot across the U.S. President’s bow. But if McKenna didn’t know it already, the Senate debate on Canadian beef showed him the good guys and bad guys come both in shades of Republican red and Democratic blue.
