The Harper illusion: Can it last another 10 days?

By RALPH SURETTE
Sat. Oct 4 - 5:41 AM
Halifax Chronicle Herald

IN THE DEBATES, with a couple of brief exceptions, whenever Stephen Harper spoke, the sound level dropped a couple of octaves – the attacking voices of the opposition leaders brought down to a calm and measured tone. In tenor and body language, he was the reasonable one as he fended off the assaults.

To what extent did this cool image, this projected air of everything being under control (and he’s good at it, in French as in English – he reminds me a bit of Pierre Trudeau in that sense) trump the fact that he was mostly defending the indefensible?

In reality, the ground is giving out from under him, which is plain to see for anyone who wants to look – the only question being whether he can drag out the pretense that nothing is happening for another week and a half, and whether a plurality, unimpressed by a fractured opposition, will continue to buy the illusion right into the polling booth.

It’s not just the economy, although that’s the main thing. Even if the fundamentals of the Canadian economy are strong, as Harper claims, who actually believes they’ll still be strong much beyond election day with both the U.S. and Europe melting down?

The broader issue is that pigeons are coming home to roost on the whole policy front, all for the same reasons – as consequences of a failed ideology of free enterprise extremism, militarism, social reactionism and so on.

For example, the question of our failed foreign policy hit the news this week, although it took a weird kink – the now-famous plagiarized speech – to get it out. The point is that Harper was dogmatically certain that our holy duty was to follow George W. Bush into the Iraqi disaster.

Keep in mind that Australia’s John Howard, from whom the speech was cribbed, Britain’s Tony Blair, Spain’s José Maria Aznar, plus the leaders of Poland, Slovakia, Ukraine, Norway and Hungary have all been given the bum’s rush mainly for that one reason: their support of Bush in Iraq. With a victory, Harper will be the lone survivor of this dead-wrong gang, although he finally did admit in the English debate that he indeed had been wrong. And Canada will look even sillier if the Democrats win in the U.S. and change course, which it looks as though they will.

Just as bad, under Harper, Canada’s reputation in the world has been trashed, along with that of the U.S. The assault on Kyoto, our unco-operative mood at the UN, our abandonment of peacekeeping in favour of a red-clawed militarism, support for U.S. torture policies (which no other government did), the abandonment of an even-handed approach in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and a string of other things have left our erstwhile allies bewildered. This screams out for a reversal.

On domestic policy, the issue of poverty is suddenly up as well, as is the question of day care and childhood development – with the figures showing Canada lagging increasingly behind in literacy and education. And we haven’t even mentioned the environment. The Harper Conservatives have basically nothing to say about social policy, except to cut taxes. Give people an extra hundred bucks off their taxes, as the ideology prescribes, and they’ll work it out for themselves.

Alas, with deficits looming, perhaps catastrophically so, not to mention other mayhem, the era of tax cuts is over, no matter what the parties promise, either here or in the U.S. Furthermore, the utopian right-wing presumption that private action alone solves everything is also over – the U.S. bailout of the failed money creed putting paid to that. The fact is that we will now need wise government action to guide us through the shoals ahead.

The Harper government doesn’t believe in public action, wise or not. That’s a problem, but we may not know how much of a problem until after the election when government action is increasingly called for, but the Harper government, virtually alone in the world, is ideologically opposed to it.

( rsurette@herald.ca)

Hypocrite Jim

Jim Flaherty preaches financial literacy. Yet issues 18 pages of blacked out documents as ”proof” of tax leakage. Meanwhile Canadians lose $35 billion?


Conduct befitting a snake oil salesman:

Speech by the Honourable Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance, at the International Conference on Financial Education

Washington, D.C.

Check against delivery

Good morning.

I am delighted to be here to discuss financial literacy and its growing importance in an ever-changing world of financial services.

As you know, we are in a period of economic uncertainty. The global economy is slowing and we are seeing increased volatility in our financial markets.

Clearly, some of the flaws of our financial system have bubbled to the surface. Blah blah blah.....why does Jim Flaherty issue blacked out documents to prove the existence of alleged tax leakage from income trusts? Is it because he is shy? Or because he is lying about tax leakage? How is financial literacy advanced by blacked out analysis. That’s like asking a person to learn to read, by providing them no books to read. Jim is making no sense whatsoever. He is not credible.

By the way, did I mention Hypocrite Jack, as in Jack Layton? He thinks blacked out documents is the way to go as the latest thing in government accountability Way to go Jack!

Ignatieff Speech to the Economic Club of Toronto

Monday September 29, 2008
Click here

Bubble Boy is Canada's answer to Sarah Palin

Stephen Harper: Canada's answer to Sarah Palin
Joanne Chianello, The Ottawa Citizen
Published: Monday, September 29, 2008
What's the difference between Stephen Harper and Sarah Palin?

Lipstick.

The two 40-something hockey parents trying to position themselves as your average mom or family man, looking to exploit the cult of personality that has become so crucial to modern election campaigns. OK, Harper is trying to establish that he has a personality, but close enough.

They are both known for their eyes: hers, sparkling behind her designer rimless specs; his crystal blues shooting lasers at opponents and media alike.

Neither had any foreign policy experience when they hit the national stage. When Harper became leader of the newly formed Conservative party, he'd never travelled outside North America. Palin's international experience amounts to being able to spot Russia from her house on a clear day.

They're both seen as frontier-style renegades. While Palin has bagged a defenceless moose, Harper has gunned down an innocent public servant trying to do her job. (Remember Linda Keen? She was fired as president of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission for keeping a nuclear reactor shut down because she said it wasn't safe enough.)

And both of them, looking to win the second-highest and highest offices in their respective countries, have a history of, shall we say, "regionalist" sympathies. Palin's husband was a member of the Alaska Independence Party, and the couple attended the separatists' convention in 1994. And after she had been elected governor, reports the New York Times, Palin recorded a video greeting that the party played this year. "Good luck on a successful and inspiring convention," she said. "Keep up the good work, and God bless you."

In 2001, Stephen Harper co-wrote a letter urging then-Alberta premier Ralph Klein to take steps to protect the province from the federal government's predations. "This means resuming control of the powers that we possess under the Constitution of Canada but that we have allowed the federal government to exercise." The fact that the letter talked of building a "firewall" around Alberta didn't help dampen suspicions that Harper and his poli-sci buddies were closet separatists.

And in different ways, Palin and Harper are both looking to woo female voters.

Palin is drawing Republican female voters who suddenly think it's a great thing for a mother of small children to be seeking public office, while Harper is wooing female voters with a sweater vest and an expanded mat-leave program.

But last week, the clearest parallel between the Palin and Harper camps was the impenetrable bubble they've created around themselves.

Since being tapped as the John McCain's running mate, Republican campaign organizers haven't let Palin speak spontaneously to reporters -- which is unheard of in a national campaign. Last week, while in New York for a crash course in foreign affairs, Palin met with international leaders, including Afghan President Hamid Karzai -- and was again shielded from the media. That changed only after CNN anchor Campbell Brown flipped her lid on air, charging that protecting Sarah Palin like "she was a delicate flower" was sexist. On Thursday, Palin met with select reporters -- not the entire press corps -- and fielded only a few questions.



Stephen Harper's not quite that bad, but virtually none of his events during this campaign have been open to the public. Instead, he appears before handpicked groups to make announcements. On Thursday, Harper justified the unusual cocoon around him by noting that during an era of "global terrorism," the leader of any country "faces strong security threats."

Even more disturbing, many Conservative candidates have been shielded from the media. Of particular note, the RCMP were called upon last Tuesday to block reporters from speaking with B.C. Conservative candidate Dona Cadman, wife of the late MP Chuck Cadman.

Closer to home, John Baird has turned down an invitation to a public forum organized by City Hall to discuss issues relevant to the city, while Hull-Aylmer Conservative candidate Paul Fréchette declined to attend a Citizen editorial board meeting, and was a no-show on CBC's Ottawa Morning show with other area candidates.


And we're all waiting with bated breath to see if Cheryl Gallant, the controversial MP for Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke, appears at the all-candidates meeting scheduled for this evening. Infamous for comparing the beheading of a prisoner by Iraqis to abortion, Gallant routinely refuses to speak to the media.

For a brief moment, there seemed to be signs that Harper's camp might have been willing to make pinpricks in the iron-clad bubble around the leader.

This weekend, Harper attended the 50th anniversary of his west Toronto high school, a decision his aides say was spontaneous. According to a reporter in attendance, the atmosphere was much different than the super-controlled appearances the prime minister has made so far.

When Harper took the stage, there were a few boos. While he spoke, instead of rapt attention from the crowd, some people kept chatting at their tables. After the speech, one heckler yelled, "What about the environment? What about global warming?" Another guy responded, "This isn't the place for that, (expletive)."

So maybe Harper's team isn't ready to change its strategy just yet. In case there was any doubt, another reporter who snuck into the reunion Saturday night to interview people was caught and kicked out. After all, who'd want to hear what the people really think?

Jack Layton announces a tax on Job Creation.....free ATM fees can't be far behind

Isn’t “taxing job creation” and “focusing on working families” an oxymoron?

NDP platform focuses on 'working families'

Updated Sun. Sep. 28 2008 6:54 PM ET

CTV.ca News Staff

NDP Leader Jack Layton unveiled a platform Sunday aimed at helping Canadian families, focusing largely on child care, and said he would fund the plan by raising corporate tax rates.

'Give Flaherty the Boot' Campaign Comes to Brampton

BRAMPTON, ON, Sept. 28 /CNW/ - Workers will be demonstrating and collecting old work boots outside of Conservative candidate Parm Gill's campaign office on Monday at 1 p.m. in effort to highlight the Conservative government's inaction on manufacturing job loss and a sinking economy.\

<<
Give Flaherty the Boot comes to Brampton
Monday, September 29, 2008 at 1 p.m.
Royal Crest Mall -50 Kennedy Road South*
Brampton, Ontario

*The group will then be walking over to Parm Gill's campaign office
located at 96 Kennedy Road South.

The boots will be traveling to Whitby where they will be presented to Finance Minister Jim Flaherty on October 6 at 11 a.m. The 'Give Flaherty the Boot' campaign began in Windsor, where thousands of jobs have been lost since Stephen Harper took over as Prime Minister and Jim Flaherty as Finance Minister in January 2006.

Hundreds of pairs of boots have already been collected, each with their own personalized tag signed by their previous owner. Boots are also being collected in Oakville, Chatham, Oshawa, Toronto and Kitchener.


For further information: please contact CAW Communications, Shannon Devine, (cell) (416) 302-1699; or Event Co-ordinator Motilall Sarjoo (Sarj), (cell) (416) 709-6352

Rob Anders: Okay, now I've heard everything

Rep for Conservative MP Rob Anders claims Conservatives need a majority government to correct their income trust mess?


Brent



Thank you for your call today.



Here is a conversation I had with a representative for Rob Anders.



He was attempting to garner my support for the consevative party. I replied that I would not vote for them because they broke their promise on Income trusts. He replied that they would need a majority government to change it. I replied that he was correct. A Liberal majority gonvernment was needed and politely said good bye and hung up the phone.



Please pass this on to the Liberal policy makers.



I will be praying that you win over Jim Flaherty.



thanks

Doug