What Do Stephen Harper and Britney Spears Have In Common?
Oops, he did it again. I know, that’s a rather weak opening, but really now, we’re not going to be talking about strength as a theme here either.
I’m not sure at which point this Prime Minister will understand the unending folly of thumbing people in the eye, but I suppose it may come to him after Jean Charest has either emerged as Tory leader or runs for the Liberals and literally wipes the Tories from the map (this isn’t just a rumour), save and except for Alberta and some parts of B.C. rural Ontario and one or two in the Maritimes (because no matter who he runs for, Quebec goes to him).
With the news over the last few days that the Tories have taken a 15 point lead (which I found a little artificial to begin with) and reduced it down to an almost dead-heat with the hapless Liberals, there are some lessons, that, I’ve been wrong before, a few of the arrogant and doctrinaire idiots surrounding Mr. Harper might benefit from reading–fat chance, perhaps, but here goes anyway…
1) Proroguing parliament was NOT a last-minute play. In fact, the plan (from months ago) was to do it again, and “concentrate on the economic agenda”. Whoever came up with such a summarily stupid strategy should be fired forthwith, or, testicular fortitude on display, should resign. They are incapable, foolish, mindless and therefore do not belong. The place to showcase an economic agenda, particularly during an economic rumpus, is before the people, in THEIR House and not after a three-month absence. Yes, taking the break might not be a huge issue, it isn’t, in and of itself, but it’s the messaging, the reason for going away that has been spectacularly mishandled. Think about this: The Liberals have had their best week in at least six months by simply pointing out that the people are missing out on seeing government work. All the while, a good portion of Liberal MPs are sitting in Cuba, Hawaii or Mexico while that message has been driven home, with little effort. Maybe they should stay away. Seems they do better when they do.
2) If the Colvin accusations have amounted to nothing, and I would argue that’s true, thus far…then where have the Tories been in the last week? Nevermind telling us that the PM and his Ministers have been busy working. Liberal MPs, most notably John McCallum and the insufferable Ujjal Dosanj have raised the abominable spectre of Canadian “war crimes”. This is so beyond the pale, so outrageous, so despicable, that no mea culpa could suffice. So have you heard about it? Sure, if you’re intelligent enough to read the great Ezra Levant’s website, but where is the notorious Communications Dept of the PMO? Nowhere, that’s where. For anyone to even hint that Canadian soldiers might have committed war crimes is such a disgraceful, anti-Canadian act that I cannot find the words to describe such insanity (The Toronto Star’s harridan, dark-priestess Linda McQuaig gets a pass for committing such a brazen act of idiocy in a recent column, since she’s had much practice and we would expect nothing less). But where is the pushback from the PMO? The PM himself? The military? Anyone?
3) It is becoming clear as day, that the Liberals, as currently constituted, will have a very difficult time moving past the 30% mark. Meaning: They are unlikely to beat the Tories on strength of policy or practice. A more likely scenario is that the Tories, should they lose, will be beating themselves. Why should the Grits do any heavy lifting? The Tories appear perfectly capable of defeating their own government and in spectacular fashion. For every bit of gain, the silo mentality that was such a problem for the Tories in previous years, raises its (very) ugly head, leaving us in the unenviable position of then having to listen to Canada’s naturally corrupt party tells us how they will wrestle the controls from Stephen Harper and lead us to the promised land. What are the geniuses in Mr. Harper’s bailiwick thinking? Moreover, what the hell are they waiting for? They spent many years without a plan. Are they back to square one?
Perhaps the timing of this minor setback for the ruling Conservatives is fortuitous, as it’s obvious there can be no election for some time. If they can make a dozen plus point gain disappear in a few months, then they can have at least another six months to a year to build it back. Why? The calculus is simple: The Liberals are insolvent and are not bringing in anywhere near the money required to fight even half an election campaign. At the current rate of fundraising they won’t be ready til 2011. Plus, they have no workable infrastructure in Ontario outside the clutches of the Rosedale mafia that have run roughshod through the party for Mr. Ignatieff. And in Quebec it wouldn’t be so bad if they were divided into just two disparate entities, but it’s more like three or four. In British Columbia, some of their best (remaining) talent have already lined up behind Justin Trudeau’s imminent (and entirely illegitimate, perhaps premature) bid to replace the floundering USS Ignatieff that will likely return to port in Massachusetts, should its sails be abruptly trimmed.
Where the Conservatives were previously showing the kind of moxie and substance that Canadians almost always reward with majorities, they are currently acting like a ‘five’ in a sea of ‘threes’.
At the end of the proverbial day, the PM is in charge of his Tory ship. He is responsible for the people he hires, and he, like Mulroney, Trudeau, Diefenbaker and Chretien, before him, can reject bad planning–it’s part of the damn job.
If Mr. Harper can’t make his vessel sail better than the other hobbled, rickety sailboats in the harbour, that have been feebly, but effectively, ramming him for six years, keeping him from the big journey, then he should step aside and let a new captain take the wheel of a ship that should be so far in front, as to seem at the horizon line, inspiringly cutting and smashing through uncharted waters on the high seas.
Canadians deserve better than this. We can’t afford the Liberals again.
It’s time for the Harper end of the Conservative party to deliver or go home. Only a PROGRESSIVE Conservative party will ever win another election, as Tories, in this country. Deny this at your peril, Mr. Prime Minister.
Or, is that at our peril?
I heard that remark, by McCallum to CBC host Suhana Meharchand on Jan12/10. Ive been waiting for some type of backlash over it, but nothing,zilch, until I read it in your column. Here is his quote.
” the fact that they may have been committing war crimes, handing over detainees knowing that they were very likely to be tortured, that is a war crime”
Here is a excerpt from that interview on CBC.
http://www.cbc.ca/politics/insidepolitics/2010/01/the-wc-puddledid-mccallum-step-in-it.html
He should be dunked head first in a vat of his own sh!t for saying such a thing, the S.O.B.
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Complete agreement. In fact, he should resign. But where were the Tories on this???
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The silence is deafening, isn’t it?
I gave up on the Conservatives during the 2008 campaign, with Harper’s gaffe about the entertainment industry being for elitists.
The Conservative campaign head quarters completely screwed up in my riding of Vancouver South. Their inept candidate came so close to defeating Dosanjh that it was a total surprise. Had they given the campaign more and better resources, the Tories should have taken it.
Also, the Conservatives screwed again in Quadra by nominating, yet again, Deb Meredith.
Talk about hopeless ineptitude.
The old adage is proven yet again, opposition parties don’t defeat governments, governments defeat themselves.
I’m sure that the centre left, under Dr. Iggy will not be as bad as first thought.
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I’m not convinced, Sean. I’m worried about their inherent elitism. I know some very prominent players supporting Iffy and it’s not because they like him…
Let’s see what happens. It’s a long way away form an election. Too man variables for any party and the only ones with any money are the Tories. Can’t run an election on fumes. I expect also that the Grits will want to change Iffy prior to the next election. He is really not playing well with the Liberal crowd both in BC and Quebec crowd–two key constituencies if he wants the brass ring. Great to hear from you!
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The national governing party needs a longer time-out after the ethical scandals of Chretien and associates. About 99 years would be appropriate.
I spoiled my ballot two out of the last 3 federal elections. I didn’t do that lightly because I’ve never missed an opportunity to vote in 4o years of federal and provincial elections But, when all of the choices are unacceptable, what is one to do.
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Total agreement. I am finding myself without a place to park. I like some of what the PM has done, but the Alliance nutbars who still kill alot of the good the party commits to are just beyond belief. I find that intolerable.
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I hope they read this column and others like it in Ottawa, it would also help if the Canadian voters would give a majority to the Conservatives, instead of complaining of “All the legislation they should be passing” and if after one term of majority, they did nothing, then the voters would have a very valid reason to complain.
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Harper’s government seem to think that, instead of acting decisively and being forthright, they can spin a story to pretend they have done something real. For example, changes to the criminal code are rather faint-hearted but, if you read their bumf, it pretends that giant steps are being taken. Apparently, the Tories don’t see guns and gangs as a high priority.
Despite saying all the right things about improving the RCMP, they have achieved almost nothing. In fact, by disabling the CPC, they’ve gone backward. Four years ago, the Brown report talked about wide ranging difficulties with the federal police. So have Commissions by Justice Iacobucci and Justice O’Connor, along with parliamentary committees and consultants. Yet the Conservatives are frozen in place and can’t figure out what improvements to make.
I think it’s also unfortunate they allowed Campbell’s government to trade infrastructure projects for Olympic cash.
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On that last point, it confound me (too!) that they were allowed to do this–made no sense. Otherwise, when they let so many bills die on the order paper…I was extremely disappointed. Ther ewas some god material there, that, yes, they could bring back, but it was done irresponsibly. Good to hear form you, as always.
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When I saw the title of this article, I thought that you were going to tell us that Mr. Harper was photographed exiting an automobile flashing his family jewels or forming a Beatles’ tribute band and going on tour.
I am not a supporter of any party anymore. I believe the current party system that we have is nothing but a democratic dictatorship should any party gain a majority. I have come to abhor the fact that we get to elect nothing but a robot that is either expected to follow party lines or walk the plank. The master says jump, and the lemmings can do nothing but say “how high”. Although I don’t fully understand the USA’s election system, I like the fact that members of a party can often publicly disagree with said party without impunity.
Maybe in days of yore the leaders were kept in check by their subordinates, but nowadays they become wallflowers only to be summoned for an opinion during a vote in the House of Commons which is really just a formality as the wallflower must toe the party line.
Why is it wrong for a member of party A voting for legislation of party B if they agree with said legislation whether the leader of party A approves or not. Ultimately, the people we send to Ottawa are supposed to be there to represent their constituents and moreso the betterment of Canada as a whole, not the ideals of some leader who may be more interested in creating a legacy. I feel better getting that off my chest.
I look forward to the day that the ballot gives the option of “none of the above”. It may be considered a wasted vote, but I’m sure that if a decent number of voters opted for such a choice, the politicos would come to realize that there is a lot to be desired with our current political system. There has to be a better way!
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Geezus Cranky! There’s a visual I don’t need!!! LOL! On a serious note, I agree that free votes are more often than not, a useful part of democratic expression. Wish they used them more…
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McCallum should stick to critiquing the finances of the DOD. After all, he was chief enonomist of the Royal Bank before the Grits came a courtin’. Ujjal would better serve the process by working the backrooms with Rae to facilitate a merger between pragmatic NDPers and centre-left Grits. That would force centre-right Liberals over to the Tories, making them progressive Conservatives in all but name.
But Charest won’t cut it as a national leader–not after joining with McGuinty and Toronto Mayor David Miller in their smackdown of Alberta and Saskatchewan energy policies at Copenhagen.
Harper’s toast if he can’t get a majority next election. My money’s on Iggy squeaking in with a minority that will collapse as party incoherence rips the Grits apart.
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Hi Rich. Thx for stopping by…yeah, in general terms, I agree, although Iffy is untested and while the PM has blown yet another chance at a majority, I wouldn’t count Mr. Harper out. He has shown surprising resiliency. Let’s see what happens in the next month or so. It will indeed be interesting. Much appreciation for your great comment.
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Will the Liberals use Canadian “war crimes” as an out for Afghanistan as they did for Somalia.
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Good question: The situations are markedly different. Somalia was a dog’s breakfast to sort out. This is really quite simple. A terrorist or terrorist sympathizer may have been slapped around AFTER Canadian forces turned him over to Afghan authorities. Do you care? I don’t at all. A guy who was raised to use my kids as target practice got a black eye from a countrymen. On, how my hear bleeds…boo-hoo. They should have gutted him like a fish. Terrorists don’t understand any other way. you cannot reason with a killing machine.
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Why don’t the boys and girls in the PMO stick their heads ou of the office once in awhile and ask the people on the ground (and not neccesarily just Conservatives) what they think about issues like proroguing??
What the hell happened to “trial balloons?” Easy to send up, and easier to say “Hey, it was just a thought”.
Maybe Steve is more paranoid than I thought. Too bad, because he has been tactically great till now.
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You said it my dear… BTW, how is Tiger? Since you’re not his wife, he must be sexing you night and day! LOL!
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RE: my last comeent
What they think about proroguing given that the opposition won’t be dumb enough to be caught out like they were the first time.
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Just do what I will do, or more precisely, will not do.
In the next Federal and Provincial Elections, I will not even bother to vote.
Back in May, the Provincial race was so boring here in Vancouver-Langara, that there was only a 44% voter turnout! We only had the BC Liberal candidate, Moira Stillwell, and a New Democrat and Green Candidate to choose from.
It’s not that I’ve given up on the system, it’s just that there is nobody worth voting for.
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I did that in the last provincial election and felt terribly empty. We have no reasonable choices as Norman Farrell quite astutely put it.
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Don’t get me started on Tiger. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
Now, where did I put that Bubble Burner?…
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Check the sex toy chest Tiger left with you…
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A spoiled ballot is nothing more than a piece of scrap paper. Why would anyone waste their time going to the poll just to destroy their ballot? Why not just stay home and watch Oprah?
And speaking federally, just the history of the Liberal party should be enough to make anyone who can read vote to make sure they never, ever get their corrupt hands on the strings of government.
I once voted for Trudeau. I’ve been trying to make up for it ever since. Doubt I’ll live long enough to even get to a saw off.
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You once voted for Trudeau…oh we all have our crosses to bear…
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Dear Alex, after some sober second thought (and I wasn’t drunk when I wrote it) I think we should just forget the last posting, as I am being provincial and mean-spirited. I’m having one of those bad days, when everything that is done these days seems to be a personal slight to my over-wrought self righteousness. The world isn’t the same as it was even 20 years ago, and I must either live within it, or bid adieu. I don’t have to like the present day’s mores though … you understand that surely?
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Larry, you are welcome here any time, but i DO very much appreciate your note and have not published your previous note. Happily, it’s gone. But you are still here, and we’re all happy about that.
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