Danielle Smith sees a political language problem when she looks in one direction
CBC
The attempted assassination of Donald Trump was, for many in public life, cause for reflection.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith used it as a moment to reflect on how bad the rhetoric from her political rivals has gotten.
"I certainly hope that some of the progressive politicians here are careful of their language because they've been talking about conservative politicians in the same way and they need to dial it down," the premier told reporters as a premiers' conference began Monday in Halifax.
Two days earlier, a 20-year-old with a semi-automatic rifle pierced the former president's right ear with a bullet — and no motivation has since been established. That has not prevented some of Trump's fellow Republicans, including his new vice-presidential running mate, from blaming the heinous act on rhetoric from President Joe Biden and other Democrats.
Absent from their political swipe was any self-criticism of violence in conservative rhetoric.
Up north, in a country with a comparatively negligible history of revolution or attempts to murder leaders, Smith pointed a finger at the language of New Democrats and Liberals against herself and the federal Conservative leader.
"Have you not looked at the headlines about how Pierre Poilievre is described as dangerous?" the premier said. "How the leader of the Opposition in Alberta has described me as dangerous? When you start using that kind of rhetoric, that ends up creating an elevated risk for all of us."
It's true that Naheed Nenshi, the Alberta NDP's new leader, has taken to repeatedly slagging Smith as "immoral" and "dangerous," often with "incompetent" to form a triad of epithets. He wields the D-word that Smith despairs of because of her forthcoming transgender rights policies, though Nenshi uses such terms in more sweeping, broad-based ways than his predecessor Rachel Notley had.
It would help Smith's case for reproaching only progressives if she was angelic on this front. She's not — who in our nose-bloodying politics is these days?
Her most they-are-apocalyptic rhetoric has long focused on the federal Liberals, once saying Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's father "almost destroyed our province" and the son "wants to finish the job" with an energy-sector profits tax (which Liberals never enacted or proposed).
Earlier this year, Smith told famously inflammatory commentator Tucker Carlson she wanted him to put Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault in his "crosshairs" — and had accused the federal minister of "continued treachery" against Albertans because of his climate positions.
Smith was asked about those comments, shortly after she cast blame on others for calling her and Poilievre "dangerous." She offered no regret for demanding Guilbeault be fired, and said she'll "continue to be robust" in her commentary about him.
One partisan's cause for elevated risk is another partisan's robustness; or sometimes it's the same partisan, but it depends whose mouth the words came from.
Trudeau has said the anger his chief opponent is drumming up is "dangerous for Canadians" — Poilievre last week called Trudeau and the NDP "extremists," "ideological lunatics" and more. You could single out one side for their tone, while outside observers may declare a pox on both their houses.
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