Tuesday, January 03, 2006

Is Harper Getting a Free Ride from the Media?

Damn Harper. The sly old dog's doing a good job campaigning this time. The media's allowing him to control the topic of conversation every day it seems, and on his terms. He will have to pray he keeps getting this treatment however, because at the root of it, his policies and priorities are not good for this country. (Sorry to sound like Martin there, but that other sly old dog isn't off the mark on that call).

For example: Throwing a check at parents of toddlers sounds great, but most Canadian women would prefer affordable daycare they can trust instead of having to watch their careers go down the toilet for four years while they're forced to stay at home full-time as the primary care-giver.

And his proposal for the three icebreakers is a dud. Put the same money into aerial surveillance and you would at least have a chance of it being effective. Too much geography up there for just three clunky ships.

All in all, there isn't much meat on the bones of his policy proposals. I for one, have been watching Harper for awhile and doubt he's suddenly changed his spots. I don't think he would eventually keep many of these promises.

I also don't want the Christian Right to have a strong hold of the ear of the PM (and several others who would be ministers). I don't want another vote on SSM. I don't want a federal government with no Quebec MPs that will fuel the separatists here. I don't want a leader in bed with Bushco, ready and willing to go along with Missile Defence and whatever wars they choose to prosecute illegally.

I am really hoping something breaks his current momentum because he will remake Canada into a far-Right winner-take-all screw-the-poor nation if given the chance, and that would be a bloody shame.

- 30 -

Update: Fixed the last link. BTW, I forgot to say, tips of the hat to (in order): Dazzlin Dino at BPOC, Cathie from Canada and Dave at The Galloping Beaver.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

The fact that Harper's party is so close to win the election almost makes me want to change my vote for the BQ..... to give it to the Liberals.I'd rather have the Liberals in power than the Conservative party.Anything but them.That would be like electing "W" as our Prime Minister!

DazzlinDino said...

I've highlighted my questions here, sorry about the length Scott...

"but most Canadian women would prefer affordable daycare they can trust instead of having to watch their careers go down the toilet for four years while they're forced to stay at home full-time as the primary care-giver.


The problem is that the NDP and Liberal plan only covers about 7% of children in Canada, and why should I pay for someone to pull in a two person income, buy a big house, etc, while my wife and I have chosen to have her stay at home and raise our kids? Trust me, we live pretty damn meager, and there isn't much hope of us being home owners in the next five years, but at least we are taking responsibility for our kids.

Don't get me wrong, daycare is needed, especially in the case of single parents, but also don't forget the Conservative plan also calls for new daycare spaces, in a shorter time frame than the Liberal plan.

The above two commentors are acting on rhetoric alone, and not paying attention with an open mind to the agendas given. I ask where the "western alienation" theory comes into play here, when has he ever mentioned it? Could you explain it to me? It's not in the west where the Conservatives are gaining, it's in the east,the Maritimes, and Quebec.

To me he is nothing more than a right-wing radical bigot and a theo-con.

This is one arguement that I find extremely rich, best be looking at the Liberal party for bigotry my friend....

Jean Chretien - "Asians all look alike" while he was touring China

Liberal senators calling another Liberal senator "that black bitch"

Don't even get me started on the recent blog postings regarding Mr. Layton and his wife, and the handicapped Copnservative health critic.

The neo-con idea was flushed out the window in the early 70's, yet the Liberal Party od Canada continues to play the issue. What exactly is neo-con about Harpers platform?

You two do realise that EVERY taxcut the Liberals have ever offered ends up as the renegotiation of future increases, have you ever seen a tax reduction while a Liberal government was in power? No you haven't.

Was Harpers GST cut a political move? Damn straight it was, but here's the thing, it's a cut you'll see, and one you'll see if someone tries to take it away. I challenge you guys to try to look objectivly at the issues before you decide, I have, as is evident in the policy debates at my site, where we have used Liberal policy ideas while building our own agenda.

Scott in Montreal said...

Those daycare spaces Harper says he will open up won't be as heavily subsidised as the NDP's Quebec-modeled ones, rendering them of little help to single parents and the working poor.

And I have to call you on your claim the Liberals haven't delivered any tax cuts. For one, my personal federal taxes did get reduced in the past two years. And the cuts announced by Goodale just before the election was called are already in effect as of this week.

When you ask what is neo-con about their platform, all I can say is that's what so suspicious about the platform. We know he has gone on the record as describing the Reform party as close in ideology to the conservative Republicans. That is his bedrock grassroots support, so it defies logic to assume he won't govern with an eye towards keeping his base happy, and keeping true to his core beliefs.

No, this platform and campaign reminds me very much of Bush's 2000 election strategy. And Harper has shown bigotry himself.

Dave said...

I agree Scott. In fact, Harper's campaign is looking more like Bush's 2000 run as each day goes by. The strategy is identical and party platform is not costed out.

By the way, your last link in the post is busted. I think you may have copied the trackback code in error.

Scott in Montreal said...

Thanks for catching that, Dave. The link to your excellent post has been fixed.

DazzlinDino said...

Good debate

The point I am trying to make, is that currently, the only thing that can be dug up on Harper as far as dirt, is speeches from 1997. Now although I could regale with past Liberal offences, such as I did above, take a look at the current list.

I am really hoping something breaks his current momentum because he will remake Canada into a far-Right winner-take-all screw-the-poor nation if given the chance, and that would be a bloody shame.

I think that last statement is quite unfair, Scott. The top three political parties in Canada are far closer in ideals than any other country on the planet. No conservative today, for example, feels the bill of rights is a bad idea, and none ever will. What needs to be undone is the Neo-Con-right-wing attitude that a saw in your post.

I get the feeling from this post that the knuckle-dragging-Albertan persona still flies out east, much like the flag of Barbados flies on the family business of the ex-PM?

Scott in Montreal said...

Stereotypes like your knuckle-dragging Albertan actually don't fly here too well, Dazz, because Montreal has such a steady influx of Westerners, as well as Ontarians and Maritimers, relocating here and integrating with the english-speaking community here. This is in large part due to the attraction of McGill and Concordia, and the fact our city is cheaper and arguably more fun to live in than TO.

Many like it so much here they end up staying. My wife grew up in Ottawa, many of my best friends over the years hailed from places like Stratford, Calgary, Cornerbrook, Halifax, Edmonton, Vernon. They likely outnumber the native-born Quebeckers, in fact. So they give us a pretty good idea of how geography has very little to do with being able to think critically, for example.

No, the problem with the CPC is the Reform/CA part which still sets the tone. The leadership is led by folks like Harper, Stockwell Day, Monte Solberg and others who I know have strong positions on social policy to which I am diametrically opposed. For example, I like the fact abortion is free, confidential, and done in a safe hospital environment with no (or few) questions asked of the women who seek them. I disagree that marriage should be exclusive to heterosexual couples. The Bush War on Terror is a farce that we should not get too caught up in - particularly by going along with their insane Missile Defence idea.

Under a CPC government, I have no doubt the rich will get the bigger tax breaks and tax credits, as if they need it, while the institutions for the common good will be pooh-poohed and probably underfunded into antiquity (as I noticed some commenters on your blog were already drooling at the prospect of slashing the budgets of the CRTC, NFB, CBC and other cultural institutions).

Anyone who has watched governments come and go in this country knows the difference between the rhetoric/promises and the actual results of their governance. I go with whatever facts I can find that tell me what they believe in at their core and extrapolate from that. In Harper's case, it's more than just one speech in 1997 and you know that. Why else did they scrub all the stuff he was on the record for from the NCC website? What's he so ashamed of that he said in the past?

DazzlinDino said...

See, now your starting to sound a little "conspiracy theory" ish...lol

I am still failing to see a big advantage of a liberal government over the last twelve years. They slammed Ralph for making cuts to healthcare and education to get rid of Albertas debt, called him unCanadian and said he was ruining the system, then proceeded to do the same thing themselves, and take credit for the idea?

I'm sorry, but I just can't get over the long list of corruption over the last decade and think someone else needs a kick at the cat, if they screw up, we can vote them out as well....

Scott in Montreal said...

LOL - A kick at the cat? Is that a typo or a Freudian slip? Don't tell me you guys are still pushing that "Liberals Torture Cute Little Kitty Cats" meme from the last election? Only this time it's the Conservatives' turn, huh? You're probably sharpening your spurs as I type! ;-)