Agnew had the gift of gab, or at least the benefit of a heck of a speech writer in one Pat Buchanan, making a famous jibe, in which he called his opponents,
"an effete corps of impudent snobs who characterize themselves as intellectuals."
The phrase is just about all that remains of the man, things went downhill from there, with the press eagerly feeding and reporting on his misery as he fell from grace and the vice-presidency, charged with corruption and tax evasion.
Mr. Agnew contended that the Press didn't fairly represent the conservative body of Americans that he believed were in the majority.
Perhaps he was right, but picking on the media is never a winning strategy.
As for our Press, I don't believe that the corps accurately represents how annoyed Canadians actually are with the petulant enfant terrible that they perceive Quebec to be. Notwithstanding what Mr. Beaulieu says, if our media actually reflected the anger of English Canada towards Quebec.....Mr. Beaulieu's Quebec bashing report would be 1000 pages long.
If Mario Beaulieu, like Agnew before him, thinks he can browbeat the Press into submission, he couldn't be more miserably mistaken.
In fact, I'd venture to say that Beaulieu's campaign to vilify the media over perceived Quebec-bashing has the unintended consequence of unleashing the press dogs, ready, willing and able to rip into the hapless buffoon.
I am reminded of the Shakespearean line in Coriolanus;
"Do not cry havoc, where you should but hunt with modest warrant."
In other words......do not provoke, that which should best be left alone.
Yup. Beaulieu has declared open season on himself, poking the eye of the media beast, giving it a fair excuse to rip him a new one, where telling journalists what and how to report is tantamount to challenging them to do the opposite.
Some of those Beaulieu held responsible were absolutely giddy, relishing the chance to take on the buffoon directly, instead of just reporting on his actions.
One of his favorite targets is Don Macpherson of the Montreal Gazette who took particular enjoyment in penning a scornful rebuke, words palpably steeped in sarcasm, that virtually dripped off the page.
"My name is mentioned twice in the text and four more times in footnotes. That’s more than anybody else who is named in the report, so I guess that makes me Francophobe Public Enemy Number One.So maladroit was Beaulieu's action in baiting the Press, I was left wondering if he devilishly prescribed to the principle that any publicity even bad publicity, is good publicity .
I was delighted to learn that what I write in The Gazette has so often got under the skin of the likes of Beaulieu, notorious minority-baiting commentator Gilles Proulx, and the kind of people who would associate with them." Link
But nope, Mario is no brain surgeon, he's someone who makes it up as he goes along, like the interpreter at Nelson Mandela's funeral.
Check out this video I made a while back, exploring Beaulieu's creative interpretation of the facts.
And check out the video that proves once and for all that Beaulieu is a racist, calling on his minions to boycott stores named after their English founders (Reitmans, Birks etc.) Youtube
Beaulieu's an enthusiastic keener, like the kid in grade school with her hand permanently in the air, beseeching the teacher to "Oooh,Ooh! Ask me Ask me!"
He makes the rounds of the TV news channels, never flinching, always grinning like the Cheshire Cat, a polished whinger, who bounces off all criticism with aplomb.
Give him credit for getting on TV despite being roundly considered by the public to be an amusing imbecile.
Although he pretends to speak for a great many Quebecers, he doesn't really speak for anyone except a small coterie of haters.
Of the dozen or so videos of himself on Youtube, most have less than 100 views, and ironically, the most popular of all, is the one posted above, created by myself.
The insulting part in all of this, is that the Quebec government keeps him on as Président du Comité de la Fête nationale à Montréal essentially running the
With Mario on board as president of the annual Quebec day celebrations, a note to all those with non-francophone names, like Reitmans, Birks or Tony Hillfinger..... you are not welcome!
