The ugly stench of Canadian politics just got worse. The Conservative Party has released new attack ads on Bob Rae, the interim leader of the Liberal Party of Canada. No one should be surprised. Stephen Harper tries to destroy anyone that can come close to giving him a run for his money.
Mr. Harper has taken Canada down an ugly path of gradual incrementalist polarization, division, cynicism, and subterfuge. I am deeply embarrassed and ashamed that such an amoral and unethical character could sit in the chair of the most important office in the land. He does not deserve the respect his office commands. Why? Because this sinister attack is only the latest in a very long string of flagrantly debasing drive-by hits, destructive and cynical policy, and immoral conduct by this small man and his smaller coterie of taxpayer-funded cheap shot artists and assassins.
This criticism is not aimed at the vast majority of Conservative Party members. They are good and decent people. I know they are horrified with how Stephen Harper has perverted the basic values of the old Reform and Progressive Conservative parties.
Robert Stanfield, Joe Clark, Brian Mulroney and Kim Campbell would never sanction – much less stomach – Stephen Harper’s actions and the ugly politics he personifies.
These Conservative leaders had a profound determination to make Canada a better, more prosperous, and united country. They were decent, tolerant, principled people that never tried to exploit or appeal to our worst fears and insecurities. Quite the contrary. They ran on ideas and an agenda that forced us to look further, to look higher, and to act more boldly than we had ever dared. Agree with them or not, but free trade, privatization, deregulation,abolition of the National Energy Program, the GST, constructive internationalism, and constitutional renewal were bold and positive ideas rooted in a sincere desire to create a better society for us all.
These Conservative leaders were patriots, above all. Their underlying purpose was not to kill the opposition; it was to make a positive and lasting contribution to Canada. Their political lives were motivated by forgiveness, not revenge; and by hope, rather than a vicious intolerance of those who held opposing views.
Stephen Harper? Well, that’s another story entirely and a sad chapter in the life of Canada.
Fair-minded citizens realize that Stephen Harper is inflicting enormous damage on Canada and our body politic. Lee Atwater/Karl Rove techniques have become the operating philosophy of the Government of Canada. This is very serious and a direct assault on our democracy. And, the Conservative Party is itself a victim.
For most Canadians, party or ideology doesn’t come first. Our country does. We are a sensible, honest, fair, caring, decent, and forgiving people. And we expect our prime minister to share these basic traits.
We know the difference between right and wrong. We also know the smell of rot and the look of sleaze.
The objective record of Stephen Harper is far from impressive. From monumental flip-flops on everything from income trusts to government spending to fiscal responsibility; to our standing in the world to respect for our democracy; to disregarding the rules of basic conduct and decency in our parliament and our politics; he has looked Canadians in the eye repeatedly and showed utter contempt for us. His promise of openness, accountability and transparency has been nothing but a cruel joke.
Mr. Harper has used the levers and tools of state in unprecedented ways to advance his personal partisan interests in ways never before seen, nor contemplated.
And now, we have the absurd denials that the Conservative Party national campaign had nothing to do with “Pierre Poutine” and voter suppression in Guelph and elsewhere. “Pierre Poutine” is a product of the political culture that Stephen Harper represents. Even the prime minister’s most ardent supporters sense that uncomfortable truth deep in their bones.
All the unmistakable hallmarks are there: cheap, thuggish, scared, amoral, and secretive. Deny, deny, deny. Attack, attack, attack. Then run away and pretend nothing ever happened. That is how frightened and insecure people behave.
Stephen Harper is the Todd Bertuzzi of Canadian politics. With premeditated cunning, he ruthlessly ambushes and mortally wounds his opponents. Then he complains and feigns victimhood when the jig is up. That’s the profile of a thug. But face them down and they run like rats.
And as a proud Canadian first, and always, I take no pleasure whatsoever in calling my Prime Minister a punk, a thug, and a bully. Sadly, that is exactly what Stephen Harper is.
Meanwhile, some commentators are wasting time speculating on whether Bob Rae should be the permanent leader. Who cares? The choice of a leader is at least a year away and a general election at least three years away. That is an eternity. But that is precisely the conversation Conservatives want us to have. It conveniently deflects the focus from the real issues of the Harper government’s policy agenda and amoral conduct.
The real focus of our attention should be on the perpetrators that have assaulted Canadian democracy, have lied to seize power, and lied to keep it. Anything else is a sideshow and a diversion that Canada and we, as citizens, can no longer afford.
In the past several weeks, people have focused on technology, social media, and the 24-hour news cycle as the true culprit in the descent of our politics. That’s wrong. At the very heart of the matter is, unavoidably, the essential character of one man and the vile organizational culture he has shaped in his image.
Original Article
Source: ipolitics
Author: Daniel Veniez
Mr. Harper has taken Canada down an ugly path of gradual incrementalist polarization, division, cynicism, and subterfuge. I am deeply embarrassed and ashamed that such an amoral and unethical character could sit in the chair of the most important office in the land. He does not deserve the respect his office commands. Why? Because this sinister attack is only the latest in a very long string of flagrantly debasing drive-by hits, destructive and cynical policy, and immoral conduct by this small man and his smaller coterie of taxpayer-funded cheap shot artists and assassins.
This criticism is not aimed at the vast majority of Conservative Party members. They are good and decent people. I know they are horrified with how Stephen Harper has perverted the basic values of the old Reform and Progressive Conservative parties.
Robert Stanfield, Joe Clark, Brian Mulroney and Kim Campbell would never sanction – much less stomach – Stephen Harper’s actions and the ugly politics he personifies.
These Conservative leaders had a profound determination to make Canada a better, more prosperous, and united country. They were decent, tolerant, principled people that never tried to exploit or appeal to our worst fears and insecurities. Quite the contrary. They ran on ideas and an agenda that forced us to look further, to look higher, and to act more boldly than we had ever dared. Agree with them or not, but free trade, privatization, deregulation,abolition of the National Energy Program, the GST, constructive internationalism, and constitutional renewal were bold and positive ideas rooted in a sincere desire to create a better society for us all.
These Conservative leaders were patriots, above all. Their underlying purpose was not to kill the opposition; it was to make a positive and lasting contribution to Canada. Their political lives were motivated by forgiveness, not revenge; and by hope, rather than a vicious intolerance of those who held opposing views.
Stephen Harper? Well, that’s another story entirely and a sad chapter in the life of Canada.
Fair-minded citizens realize that Stephen Harper is inflicting enormous damage on Canada and our body politic. Lee Atwater/Karl Rove techniques have become the operating philosophy of the Government of Canada. This is very serious and a direct assault on our democracy. And, the Conservative Party is itself a victim.
For most Canadians, party or ideology doesn’t come first. Our country does. We are a sensible, honest, fair, caring, decent, and forgiving people. And we expect our prime minister to share these basic traits.
We know the difference between right and wrong. We also know the smell of rot and the look of sleaze.
The objective record of Stephen Harper is far from impressive. From monumental flip-flops on everything from income trusts to government spending to fiscal responsibility; to our standing in the world to respect for our democracy; to disregarding the rules of basic conduct and decency in our parliament and our politics; he has looked Canadians in the eye repeatedly and showed utter contempt for us. His promise of openness, accountability and transparency has been nothing but a cruel joke.
Mr. Harper has used the levers and tools of state in unprecedented ways to advance his personal partisan interests in ways never before seen, nor contemplated.
And now, we have the absurd denials that the Conservative Party national campaign had nothing to do with “Pierre Poutine” and voter suppression in Guelph and elsewhere. “Pierre Poutine” is a product of the political culture that Stephen Harper represents. Even the prime minister’s most ardent supporters sense that uncomfortable truth deep in their bones.
All the unmistakable hallmarks are there: cheap, thuggish, scared, amoral, and secretive. Deny, deny, deny. Attack, attack, attack. Then run away and pretend nothing ever happened. That is how frightened and insecure people behave.
Stephen Harper is the Todd Bertuzzi of Canadian politics. With premeditated cunning, he ruthlessly ambushes and mortally wounds his opponents. Then he complains and feigns victimhood when the jig is up. That’s the profile of a thug. But face them down and they run like rats.
And as a proud Canadian first, and always, I take no pleasure whatsoever in calling my Prime Minister a punk, a thug, and a bully. Sadly, that is exactly what Stephen Harper is.
Meanwhile, some commentators are wasting time speculating on whether Bob Rae should be the permanent leader. Who cares? The choice of a leader is at least a year away and a general election at least three years away. That is an eternity. But that is precisely the conversation Conservatives want us to have. It conveniently deflects the focus from the real issues of the Harper government’s policy agenda and amoral conduct.
The real focus of our attention should be on the perpetrators that have assaulted Canadian democracy, have lied to seize power, and lied to keep it. Anything else is a sideshow and a diversion that Canada and we, as citizens, can no longer afford.
In the past several weeks, people have focused on technology, social media, and the 24-hour news cycle as the true culprit in the descent of our politics. That’s wrong. At the very heart of the matter is, unavoidably, the essential character of one man and the vile organizational culture he has shaped in his image.
Original Article
Source: ipolitics
Author: Daniel Veniez
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