<strong>Written By:</strong> Lex
<strong>Date:</strong> 2007-10-17 14:32:10
<a href="/article/121456108-number-two-stephen-harpers-second-speech-from-the-throne">Article Link</a>

His belief is based in part, (though I doubt Harper would admit it) on opinion polls giving his reconstituted Conservative party an 11 point lead over the Liberal opposition; it's not enough for a clear majority, but close enough, given the unpredictable events attending any election, to hold some promise of the so far elusive popular mandate.

So far absent from State media reports on the reaction to Harper's speech, and the possibility it will trigger an election, is the tacit understanding: The Liberals not only do not oppose the core policies of the Tories, but initiated many of them.

This was made clear in the after-speech clutch interviews with opposition parties: Bloc Quebec leader, Gilles Dusieppe was quick to declare his party would vote against adopting Harper's course of action saying, of the five concerns the Bloc had brought forward to the government, not one had been adequately addressed.

New Democrat number one, Jack Layton said the NDP too would give a thumbs down, based on the Tory determination to lengthen Canada's involvement in Afghanistan, and reverse on Kyoto. Layton said his party will oppose the government on all bills they feel are not in the best interest of Canadians.

And, Liberal leader Stephane Dion? Dion after a brief salve to the effect of Canadians not wanting a third election in just three and a half years, gave over the party's reaction to erstwhile leadership competitor, and current deputy leader, Michael Ignatieff.

The pro-Afghanistan Ignatieff voiced what he says he believes to be the intense desire of Canadians to rather hold their collective nose and suffer the war policies of Stephen Harper than be inconvenienced by a Fall election. Where and how the patrician Harvard educator reached this illumination was left unsaid, but Ignatieff's conviction, (later expressed with a passion this reporter found unnerving) simply stated was that he believed Canadians were "election-ed out."

What Ignatieff's ken of the "Canadian Mind" means, if indicative of party sentiment, is: He and the party will not oppose Harper's extremist policies, policies already deeply unpopular in the country, for Canadians' sake.

In essence; because the Liberal party would hate to impel the electorate endure the weary duty of determining how the country will proceed into an increasingly uncertain future, Stephen Harper will be allowed, with a minority government and meagre public support, to take the country further down the Republican path, whilst Liberals huff and puff and fail to oppose, Democrat-style.


And, the American parallels don't end there.

More:
source
<a href="http://www.pacificfreepress.com/content/view/1754/81/">http://www.pacificfreepress.com/content/view/1754/81/</a>

   

God I hope so ... could you imagine Dion as PM or worse Taliban Jack! Precisely why I am voting conservative whenever the next election is though I must admit that if Harper continues the brilliant moves he has been making so far then it may just be oct. 2009 like he said it owuld be!

   

There is no doubt that this new Conservative Party is nothing more than an bunch of ignorant goons. After listening to the racket they were making, to the point one could not hear Dion's speech, I underlined to me why I left the party after the merger.

This was the same kind of tactics they used to prevent any debate or discussion both before and after the merger. You cannot respect those who should such total lack of respect for others and proper decorum. I witnessed the same kind thing at at a PC event last weekend when a federal MP stood up and try to bully those in attendance with the most vindictive speech imaginable.

I am ashamed that a Prime Minister of Canada would condone or even possibly inspire this kind of behaviour.

   

I can't imagine any of them as PM.

If Stevie is doing so well, how many of his campaign promises died on the order paper when he called this new session of Parliament, instead of continuing the old one?

All in a bid to get another minority government. I'll give it to him, he is playing politics well. But, that isn't why he has that job. Politics later, legislate now.

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The preceding comment deals with mature subject matter, however immaturely presented. Viewer discretion is advised.

   

Did I mess up that last post!!!

   

My God,what chicken shit politics this is. None of those parties has was it takes to call an election! Lets face it,whether ir is Lib,NDP,or Conservative,it will be a minority government.
There is no leadership in canana. There are only puppets that are pulled by the whim of Georgve Bush and the powerful few in this country. How dare they say that Canada isn't ready for an election,how bout they put thier respective parties were there mouths are and call an election. I for one would love a vote.
Either way mine would be a vote against all three.

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General strike could be coming to a place near you...are you ready?

   

Cheap Arrogance!

   

psiclone wrote:
"if Harper continues the brilliant moves he has been making ..."

The brilliant moves that count are those that cater to public support, a brilliance Harper obviously lacks.

There are only two things going for Harper,

1) His opponents are complete dunces.
2) Harper is getting most of the attention, and even the mostly bad press is still better than nothing at all. When voting time comes, people will recognize the "new" PC check box while wondering what those other boxes are for. Ignorance con only help people like Harper win elections.

   

If Jack Layton supporting diplomacy with all citizens of Afghanistan garners him
the foolish name "Taliban Jack" what should Harper be called while supporting
murder, warlords and an opium mafia?

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"The most sustainable product is the one you never bought in the first place."
Alex Steffan

   

Harper is accumulating negative baggage at a rapid rate and that is why he is eager for an election. While Harper is being applauded and lauded by the media he may be too "cute" by half and generate a backlash.

(1) He made what is essential a vague promise to Nova Scotia to provide some kind of compensation for abandoning the Atlantic Accord. There is no signed agreement and he wants an election before he has to actually put anything into legislation. The general consensus is that his promise to MacDonald is a pre-election scam so he needs to force an election. The longer it takes for him to force an election the more likely it will become clear that MacDonald was fooled a second time by Harper.

(2) There are at least three investigations into potential unethical behaviour as it relates to the party. Harper is refusing to answer questions as to his involvement in the money laundering scam the party was engaged in. He needs to get through an election before these potentially damaging issues come to a head.

(3) His behaviour, along with the behaviour of his party, during Dion's throne speech reply provides a public display of his bullying tactics and the pack mentality he has generated. Many Canadians expect a Prime Minister to behave with respect and not as the leader of a goon squad.

(4) As he tries to force through legislation without due process he will appear even more authoritarian and disrespectful of Parliamentary Democracy.

   

This is why minority governments are so good for Canada. Had Harper got his so-called majority government (with a minority of the popular vote), we'd all be holding our breath waiting for his term of dictatorship to come to an end. Once elected, no matter how much lying and thieving goes on, the government remains in power with no recourse for the people to kick it out. Even with a minority, the opposition cannot help but show its true colors by feigning opposition yet going along with the ride. The opposition always claims that it opposed all the bad things that took place and explains that is why they must be elected next. After getting elected, the opposition - now in power - continues to pillage away while the opposition hoots and hollers. This game has played itself over so many times, I cannot understand why people continue to remain blind to it.

   

"Many Canadians expect a Prime Minister to behave with respect and not as the leader of a goon squad."

Aren't you expecting a bit much from a lying hypocrite who is morally corrupt and has a warped sense of values?

   

"Aren't you expecting a bit much from a lying hypocrite who is morally corrupt and has a warped sense of values?"

Don't you think you're laying it on a bit thick here? We all have a tendency to vilify politicians we disapprove of, but all the hyperbole, hypocrisy and just plain over-the-top crap I hear about Harper on here is simultaneously humorous and distressing.

As for "goon squads", nobody was better at that kind of politics than the Liberals back in the "rat pack" days.

I like the fact that both Dion and Harper are introverted thinkers would interested in ideas instead of just power for its own sake. It's nice to not have to watch the phony smiles and smarmy sentiment of the "people person" types of politicians. Chretien was an arrogant thug and Martin an indecisive boob. Harper's a good PM, and I hope the Canadian people let go of their fear of self-reliance long enough to pull themselves away from the statist teat and give Harper a majority. I find that his "warped sense of values" resonates far more with me than the brothers' keeper paternalism that many Canadians have mistakenly embraced.