Caleb, Willie, Pete and Teo were well into their fourth, maybe fifth, beer.
“King has to resign.”
“Why should he? You think MacDonald wasn’t crooked?”
“He has to, it’s the honourable thing to do.”
“Ha! Honour in politics! You’re taking the mickey, Pete.”
“All I shay is, ish not my shircus, ish not my monkeys,” Teo slurred.
The argument came to a dead stop. “What?” the others said.
“Ish old Polish shaying, means . . .” Teo scratched his head, shrugged, “. . . means not my problem.”
“Of course it’s your problem.”
“Only if you’re a damned Liberal.”
The debate went downhill from there.
#99WordStory #CarrotRanchFlashFictionChallenge #FlashFiction #HighamFamilyHistory #CanadianHistory #Politics #KingByngAffair #MargaretGHanna
The back story:
Caleb Higham, my maternal grandfather, liked to drink. My uncles have stories of him coming home after a night of drinking with his buddies, three sheets to the wind, drunker than a skunk, pissed to the gills (pick your metaphor). Plus, he often sported bruised knuckles, a black eye, and a swollen lip because once “liquored up” he often got into fisticuffs. How he managed to drive the six miles from Assiniboia back to the farm without killing himself remains a mystery. Grandma Higham, a confirmed teetotaler to her dying day, was not amused, as they say. She invariably tore a strip off him, but it did no good.
Caleb was also a staunch Liberal. His brother-in-law was a staunch Conservative. This led to many good-natured political debates around the kitchen table. What those same debates might have been like with Caleb’s drinking buddies is anyone’s guess.
The “debate” referenced in this story is the rather messy 1926 King-Byng affair. In the federal election that year, the incumbent Liberals under William Lyon McKenzie King won fewer seats that the Conservatives under Arthur Meighan. Governor-General Lord Byng suggested that King resign but King refused, claiming he could continue in power with the support of the Progressive Party that held the balance of power in the House of Commons.
Then word leaked that one of King’s appointees had taken bribes, whereupon the Conservatives claimed that corruption was rife in the government. The government took its usual approach and appointed a commission to investigate. Thereupon followed a lot of too-ing and fro–ing but eventually King asked the Governor-General to dissolve Parliament to let Meighan form government. Lord Byng refused, citing King’s prior claim.
King promptly resigned and asked Meighan to form the government, which he did. The Liberals and Progressives moved a Motion of Non-Confidence which the Meighan government lost. Parliament was dissolved and another federal election was held.
This time, the Liberal party won a plurality of seats and King was once again Prime Minister.
Who says politics is boring?
A Prairie Perspective 
“…….. damned liberal”, I like that, it has a certain ring to it! Any liberals in your country at present?
LikeLike
Until Trudeau Jr., “Liberal” in Canada meant a pragmatic party that was fiscally conservative and socially progressive. Trudeau Jr. and his “woke” bunch have ruined that. They haven’t a clue about the economy (not that we can see), they think solar panels will power everything in this country which is the primary reason they are ruining our economy, and they are so far left on social issues that, well, I splutter to find accurate adjectives. Oops, sorry, I didn’t mean to rant, but there it is. You did ask!
LikeLiked by 1 person
No rant Margaret, I gave you space to express your thoughts and feelings. Rest assured you will not be “no platformed” 🤣🤣👍🕉
Same here with the so called conservatives who have ruined our country too. There will be a reckoning soon and the politicians had better hope it only happens at the ballot box where one particular Party will almost certainly be eradicated. We will become a fully socialist country for one cycle then they will be removed forever too!
LikeLike
I think I’d take a damned liberal over the conservatives at this point. Bitcoin and blockades don’t seem like a stable way to govern.
LikeLiked by 1 person