Busting up the Treehouse

Stop the presses because I think I figured out the whole Jody/Justin/Gerald thing.

Regardless of what Gerald said before about Justin winning the government for the Liberals because he's all that and more, Gerald has always really believed that he was why. And so, instead of backing off after the election, he doubled down.

The first rule of Canadian politics?

Behind every male politician, there's a backroom boy. Americans have their first ladies and beards and whatever, but up here, backroom boys.

Meanwhile, Jody, who got herself elected - just like Justin did except with a lot less charisma and no Gerald tidying up all the loose ends behind the scenes - thought Justin meant all the blah blah about being a team and ministers running their own portfolios and so on and so forth and more of the same etc etc.

And Justin probably thought he meant it, too.

But Gerald knew he didn't. Because that is NOT how the Canadian government has operated for many decades now. It isn't how any of our provincial governments operate, either, although I really just know about Ontario. Power is centralized in the office of the Prime Minister or Premier.

Same deal in opposition party leader offices, too. Been there, watched that.

So far? Watching this government? Only Chrystia knows how to play the game to her advantage.

The thing is, nowadays, girls have their own ambitions. Jody didn't run for public office to be bossed around by Gerald, who didn't run for public office at all. And when Justin took Gerald's side and not hers, she decided, "Fuck you, Justin. You're not all that. I'm all that. You're just another to-the-Canadian-political-manor-born white man with a tattoo. I'm an Indigenous WOMAN. And my dad predicted I'd be Canada's first Indigenous woman Prime Minister, and he's never wrong, so suck it."

But that's considered a no-no in Canadian politics, because even though the team thing is feel good bullshit, everybody's supposed to pretend that it isn't, that it's as real as the need for pipelines.

(Also bullshit but a whole 'nother level of bullshit.)

The thing is, times have changed.

Grrl power is real, boys.

So best get used to it.