I probably spent the best part of the nationalized health care debate listening to this idea that 'Canada does it, therefore it works'. A lot of conservatives challenged it from the idea that, 'nuh uh, it doesn't work'. Even dating back to the mid to late Bush administration, we were being treated to random guy who knows a Canadian who moved here because the waiting list for 4 stitches was 11 months. Likewise, hard left types love to bring up random canuck who they know who randomly caught Ebola while backpacking Africa and after a short plane ride back to Canuckistan, was immediately treated with the Canadian magic pills and cured .

Truthfully, I never really understood how it mattered one way or the other. Canada is not the United States. Despite the geographical proximity, the sometimes cultural similarities, and a mutual disdain for Detroit, we really don't have much in common? I mean what is it? 10 times the population? 10 times the GDP? So why even bring it up? Even if it is a sustainable option for a more backwoods country, it sure doesn't mean that it's something that nationalized health care is good for us. At best, it's a horrible comparison, at worst it's just a non sequitur.

Now I get why it's done. In the politics-as-professional-wrestling type dialogue, the object is to get the issue from those pesky details and the practical analysis thereof to the more sexy end conclusions. Fastest way of getting it done: one form of hyperbole or another----like say---"HUSSEINZOBAMA SOCIALIST" or "it works in Canada". I guess it's a great way for the least common denominator to get involved in a political discussion, but as far as producing meaningful dialogue.....

I was always under the impression that conservatives were really only engaging in the Canada-US comparison because they were provoked and not really smart enough to realize that it just doesn't matter. I never really thought I would see it where conservatives were using this shit on their own.

Ed Morrissey surprises and disappoints:

Actually, we can test the hypothesis in this case, at least to some extent.  The financial collapse also battered our northern neighbor, Canada, although not quite to the same extent it did us.  (Canada has more conservative banking and lending policies, which shielded them from the worst of the problems.)  Instead of using a blizzard of government spending to correct a downturn in unemployment, Canada tightened its belt and rode it out.

For those who have trouble recognizing it, that’s what a recovery looks like.  Canada’s job creation really has gone in the right direction, not simply plateaued at the nadir of the curve.  Maybe Canada’s private sector has been hiring because it doesn’t have to worry about the price signals of the massive government interventions created by the Obama administration that the US private sector has to deal with

For extra giggles check out the comments:

Hmmmm. Might this have something to do with Canada being led by a Conservative and the USA by a Marxist America hater?

Righto!