You know, as a Conservative blogger, it seems the job of arguing with the Liberal and NDP left never ends - countering baseless complaints and comments with the facts that so frequently get ignored in their zeal to create a socialist utopia.. but, today, after considering the budget, next time a Liberal or NDP talks about political double-speak coming from our Conservative government, well, I'll have nothing to say.
"I know economists will say well, we could run a small deficit but the problem is that once you cross that line as we see in the United States, nothing stops deficits from getting larger and larger and spiralling out of control."
- Prime Minister Stephen Harper (Oct. 6)
Yes - I know the party line - the recession hit harder than we anticipated, so, our plans had to adapt, and all that.. but, deep down, we all know what really happened, so let's not be coy.
Harper tried to pull a power-play, seeking to use the financial crisis to withdraw political funding - gambling that the Liberals were so decimated, that they would never force an election over the issue, and never in a million years, imagining the formation of a left-coalition.
Well.. we know how that turned out - so, in a move that I would have thought could be accomplished by no one but the Liberals, our government did whatever it took to hold on to power. End of story. If anything thinks Harper would have produced this budget if he held a majority, they are dreaming. This budget is a lifeline to hold power. And that is not only disappointing, it's sad.
The Reform Party, for all its warts, held promise at one point. It was a party formed to try and change the "business as usual" culture in Ottawa, and when Harper succeeded in becoming the PM, well, there was a small glimmer of hope. That glimmer today has faded to black.
Politics in Canada is sick and broken. And don't look elsewhere for an answer. The formation of the coalition of the power-hungry is no less an act of power-greed than the current Conservative budget.
As a Conservative - I would have welcomed Harper falling on his sword - saying to the Canadian people - I know you won't like this, I know this will no doubt result in either another election or the coalition, but I prefer to govern based upon conviction, not based upon the desire to hold power at any cost.
As it is, Harper will no doubt survive, for a while. He'll continue to hold he wheel of a bus that we all know is going to crash anyway, and no doubt, he'll be blamed for a world economic collapse that he didn't cause and couldn't fix - and the Liberals will get elected.
Daveberta, on his blog yesterday, commented that if he didn't know better, he would have thought the Liberals were in government after seeing the budget. Good call Dave.
At the end of the day, if you don't stand for something as a leader, well, who are you? That's the question I have for our leader today.. Mr. Harper, who are you?
11 comments:
Yes, but at least you have 18 new senators Rob.
...You're always welcome to join the red team.
Rob,
Thank you for putting into words exactly what I'm feeling and thinking (with no time to blog these days, I especially appreciate it). Principles and convictions matter - and those who govern primarily by the lights of pragmatism and expediency are not 'conservative' in my book. I'm re-reading "The Conservative Mind" by Russell Kirk - the juxtaposition of the current state of Canadian political conservatism and the book's contents is jarring, to say the least.
lol.. hey, I've been there.. voted Liberal during Turner and Chretien years, but lost faith completely with gun control and specifically Alan Rock.. guess I'll keep an open mind watching Iggy. I did, as you might recall, officially endorse him as Liberal leader..
But I am discouraged. I would rather lose, based upon my convictions, than win by giving them away.
The naive right-wing ideologues who populate the "Blogging Tories" and the ranks of the media intelligentsia in this country are going to have to learn something about Harper: Whatever he was in his past life as a fanatic, he is now a politician. Our Prime Minister, like all Prime Ministers, Presidents, Kings and Sheikhs before him, is the head of a powerful crime family formed for the purpose of acquiring and holding power. Political parties are not debating societies; they will NOT fall on their sword for "principle". They and the politicians swarming on their underbelly ALWAYS will have their eye on the prize - that is, power.
Who is Stephen Harper? He is a survivor. He will do whatever he has to sit in that chair, and for that purpose, typically proves himself extraordinarily versatile and adaptable. And, no, that is not intended to be a compliment.
''..our government did whatever it took to hold on to power''
And that's a bad thing, right?
Better for OUR country to have Jack Layton in cabinet,
better for OUR country to have 49 separatists causing absolute hell in parliament,
better for OUR country to have 143 Conservative MPs sitting in opposition,
all this so as conservative ideologues can bitch about what's wrong the the Conservative Party of Canada.
Grow up, it's time.
PMSH OWNS center now, Iggy will have to go left, THEN we can bend right.
To all you smart a** Liberals,
how did you like the Dipper and Bloc news conferences...LOL
Your little bullsh*t fling with the coalition of losers has hurt and will continue to hurt, Iggy and your party.
Jack did the 'Iggy not a leader, just like Dion' thing PLUS 'Iggy can't be trusted' he said in French. Bye bye Dippers voting Lib to stop Harper.
Gilles says Iggy will do the 'election like a hole in the head' dance repeatedly until next budget... maybe longer. Bye bye Quebec seats.
Iggy will have to put on his creative thinking cap to find new ways for Liberals to sit on their hands.
Paying you overtime today are they Wilson?
I suggest you attack the other 17 Con bloggers that aren't happy.
..it's sad when you take the position that the ends don't justify the means.. and the response is "Grow up".. and, by the way, just what are the "ends" that Harper is seeking - beyond just keeping the Liberals out of the PM chair?
I mean - we're into a massive deficit. We've backtracked on what many consider waste on certain arts funding and CBC funding.. what exactly is the "end" that the PM is seeking to secure.. if I saw a clear articulation of a plan, I guess I'd possibly consider the argument (a la Bill Clinton) that to do good, you must get elected first..
Sorry - but I'm not seeing much. We're stacking the Senate just like old Liberals, we're spending money like Jack Layton..
So - if "growing up" means abdicating conviction, well, I'll stay a child.
"But I am discouraged. I would rather lose, based upon my convictions, than win by giving them away."
Nicely stated, I couldn't agree more!
Thanks Theresa.. now if we could only find about 12 million people in Canada to agree..
Harper is no leader of mine, nor will any Reform/Alliance maniac be. Most people were smart enough to see through his lies the first few times.
The party fundamentally puts business interest before people. It caters to the wealthy.
Since getting their first minority, Conservatives have stoked the flames driving Canada into the most prone state possible for any recession. Regardless of it's origin (even though the notion of a recession is nonsense given the amount of wealth there is concentrated amongst the wealthiest).
If we weren't crippled by rigid single minded greed, our country could have grown and adapted. But we didn't, with Reform/Alliance Conservatives. Businesses big and small held their hands out for the mana to fall from the sky and stagnated. Deregulation, tax breaks, blind eyes aplenty for a few thousand cuts to work standards in our nation.
Now we are both complacent and weakened in the context of a global economy. Because we as a nation promoted starving capitalism.
The NDP, Liberals and Bloq combined represent more of the country than the Conservatives. That is a fact.
You do not have to unite representation under one banner for it to be valid. Indeed, any one elected Conservative can snap out of it and go against the party at any time. Anything is possible individually or collectively.
But now, Conservatives have run out of scape goats to fuel the misinformed middle class they tactically tapped into. The best they could do is lie about how our government works and attempt to cause hysteria by misleading people into thinking there was a coup.
I can't wait to see what distortions they'll resort to next.
I care not for any of my political options these days. But I care the least for Conservatives who openly show that they will actually harm my livelihood.
Socialist "utopia" is not a dishonorable pursuit in part or in full and I don't understand why you would want to give it such a bad rep.
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