FREE TRADE OR FREE JAZZ?

In 1988, Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney sang Irish songs with President Ronald Reagan, and signed the US Canada Free Trade agreement.

In 1992, George Bush Sr.and Bill Clinton, the saxophone playing Governor from Arkansas, faced off in a debate. But there was also a wild card on the bill named Ross Perot, a Texas tycoon, who mounted a third party campaign.

While Bill Clinton serenaded Arsenio Hall with his sweet sounding sax, Ross Perot said, "Then they will have heard the harsh reality of what we have to do. I'm not playing Lawrence Welk music here tonight."

In one of the debates, Perot made a prescient remark in his opening statement, that there would be a "giant sucking sound" caused by the rush of manufacturing jobs going to Mexico.

During one exchange, Perot commented that Democrats and Republicans were both to blame for the deficit, but that neither were willing to take responsibility. He joked "somewhere out there, there's an extraterrestrial that's doing this to us, I guess."

“We have got to stop sending jobs overseas. It's pretty simple: If you're paying $12, $13, $14 an hour for factory workers and you can move your factory South of the border, pay a dollar an hour for labor, ... have no health care—that's the most expensive single element in making a car— have no environmental controls, no pollution controls and no retirement, and you don't care about anything but making money, there will be a giant sucking sound going south.
... when [Mexico's] jobs come up from a dollar an hour to six dollars an hour, and ours go down to six dollars an hour, and then it's leveled again. But in the meantime, you've wrecked the country with these kinds of deals.”

Describing himself as a Man of Action, Perot summarized his views with the statement that "if they want to keep slow dancing and talk about it and not do it, I'm not your man."

In many ways, Ross Perot was an early draft of Donald Trump. He was a populist, who spoke off the cuff, in a blunt, folksy manner. When he spoke of “ the giant sucking sound,” he was not talking about Clinton’s sax playing. That was a giant “blowing sound.”

At that same time, I was playing with a band called Rhythm Mission. It was a great band, with a lousy name.

We played a song we called Chilli Pat Carney, about Free Trade and Conservative Pat Carney, represented Canada in the negotiations, along with Simon Reisman.

The lyrics went like this:

Chilli Pat Carney

Bad meat baloney

Chilli Pat Carney

Let’s trade Mulroney

Free trade is no free lunch

We’ll never get nothing free from that bunch

Reisman to Murphy and Brian to Ronnie

From the west came a rumbling

When they called in Pat Carney

Chilli Pat Carney

Big Macs and Sony

Chilli Pat Carney

Let’s trade Mulroney

People ask me ‘bout free trade

Say what are the benefits?

A raw deal, it’s rough trade

Of course it’s the shits

When the Yanks get through

With their budget cuts

We’ll be using the maple leaf to wipe our butts.

Turner says he’d give the deal the ax

But he’s up to his neck

Pulling knives from his back

Ed moves his bed to the middle of the road

If the NDP won

The Yanks would overload!

Load up on Chilli….that Right Wing Phoney

Chilli Pat just gives me gas

She’s the Minister of Mamma Cass

Gas like that should be sold by the gallon

If they really want a deal

They should call up Bruce Allen.

Densemilt 1992?

With shout outs to Liberal PM John Turner, Simon Reisman, Peter Murphy, Ed Broadbent, and Bruce Allen. Featuring our Conservative Minister of Trade— Pat Carney.

Chilli Pat Carney was a topical song, which is prone to devaluation. Just add time, and the references become arcane.

It was also mean, fat shaming, derogatory to anyone and everyone. That was how I rolled in my Twenties and Thirties, and to be honest, how I continue to roll on. And who doesn’t need a good roll-on?

This post started off with the little survey we handed out to audiences, with the question Free Trade or Free Jazz.

I was reminded of that the other day when Michelle and I went to see Jamaladeen Tacuma, former bass player with Ornette Coleman.

Rhythm Mission opened up for Ornette at the Commodore Ballroom, an historic venue in Vancouver. The predominantly Jazz audience was a bit puzzled with our inclusion on this bill, but that kind of brave programming to crossover audiences was common in the 1980’s.

I remember Jamaladeen wore a Lime Versace suit, as I saw an identical one at Mark James, a restaurant/ high end men’s fashion hybrid in Kitsilano. It was $1500, marked down from $4500, a bit over my budget at the time, working as a baker.

I can’t find the Ornette Poster, but it was a black silhouette of Ornette. I think we were billed as Special Guests, not even credited, but once again the memory fails.

Here is part of a poster I did for Rhythm Mission with John Turner, who was being asked about his fondness for alcohol.

Who doesn’t? If I ever run for office, and that is something I would never do, I would be on the Good Party ticket.

I would be hesitant to criticize, because criticism requires good judgement. Good judgment comes from experience, and experience, at least in my experience, comes from bad judgement.

Besides, I like me a good party.

Except now, I am sober as a Judge. Or is that supposed to be “drunk as a Judge? “