Apolitical Staples

He also has to convince people that a majority government—of any sort—is in Canada’s best interests right now. An awful lot of people don’t believe that, even if they think Harper’s all hunky dory.

I know you love to accentuate the positive (cuz that’s just the kinda guy you are), Chantal does warn of clouds on Harper’s horizon too.

O/T but I know you like surveys. Check out the Ipsos-Reid poll on the gun registry, and how it’s being slanted. Look for this phrase :”67% Canadians, don’t want ALL the gun registry dismantled”. Love to know what the questions were.

No doubt it was slanted in such a way as to leave the impression that Harper is going to do away with gun control (he isn’t) or that there is no separation between gun control and the gun registry (there is). Does anybody else remember FAC’s? Check out DazzlinDino’s post over at BPoC.

What skills and what policy has Harper shown. His approach to the Provinces will bring the dragon of separatism out of its cave. HIs foreign policy seems to be based on a campaing to slay the hostile forces of the Mckay, and drive them into deepest Nova Scotia. His relations wilth the press show him picking a fight with people who are quite ready to pubish his press statements if he would just let them use a by line. There is a lot more, but “skilll”?—you have got to be kidding.

Ms Hebert has gone overboard in this article. I do not agree with her that Harper has shown signs of being surefooted. On the contrary, many of his actions have shown him to be hamhanded, dictatorial, and short sighted. I believe Chantal is confusing resoluteness with surefootedness.

Harper’s “sure footedness” is really a belief that he can explain his way out of rash, contradictory and confusing actions.

Harper has shown a belief that if he can skate over the short term reaction to his actions, the voters will forget all about it in the longer term. Take Emerson and his reactions to criticism. Or his instinctive reaction to the valid criticisms of a Tory PM who falsely accuses judges of god-like powers (not to mention his appointment of that man in the first place). Or his ham handed rejection of the Kelowna Accord.

What these show me is a man supremely – arrogantly – confident in his own cleverness; a man who brooks not discussion or advice; a man who believes he can hoodwink lesser mortals; and above all a man who believes political discourse is an exercise in control. Add to that his evasiveness in discussing the more important policies of his party, and you have a man who has just stayed ahead of disaster.

Many of his actions are not forgotten by voters; they are straws on that camel’s back, increasing in number with each passing day …

Please, Ms Herbert: leave your rose-tinted glasses home for a few articles, will you?

CuriosityKilledTheCat do you actually know what was in the Kelowna accord??? Do you know that the Liberal Promises were spread over 5+ years to make the overall number sound bigger but that the differene the CPC are recommending is the Money be dolled out over an annual schedule with checks and balances so million dollar debocals like what happened in Manitoba don’t repeat themselves where the cheif and leaders take the cash and disappear with it… The “Emerson issue” is just something that’s always been a part of politics and if you call foul on that you better get rid of Belinda from the roll call on the liberal side of the house. I think you’ve failed to recognise that although we didn’t get the 6.3 Billion we’re owed by the USA, the 5 Billion plus was a heck of allot more then the 3.5 Billion the previous gov’t had “almost” secured…after how many years…Harpers Gov’t did it in their first 100 days and Emerson’s experience, relationships, and skills as a leader of industry weighed in heavy on that. A smart move to get him on-side rather then let him walk away cause there was no way he’d have sat in opposition for 2-3 years waiting on the next election.

I think in maintaining the control in Parliment and having the media report through question period and scheduled press briefings he’s also returning Parliment to a more adult example. Petty comments and in fighting are exactly that… petty. By making the MP’s follow the party line and eliminating the openness of the former scrum , which just added to bickering and “show boating” of MP’s that like to hear their own press, he’s returning the house of commons to a much more ordered place. Canadians are getting more bang for their buck because the people in power are doing their jobs.

As for the comment “Add to that, his evasiveness in discussing the more important policies of his party, and you have a man who has just stayed ahead of disaster.” I’d like some examples of these party issues he’s being evasive on??? Same Sex Marrage? There are some very clear statements about this if you take the time to read them off the CPC website where they’ve been posted for almost a year. I can’t think of any other topics that the media has trumpeted as being vague but perhaps you can enlighten us all

By making the MP’s follow the party line and eliminating the openness of the former scrum , which just added to bickering and “show boating” of MP’s that like to hear their own press, he’s returning the house of commons to a much more ordered place.

Plus, he makes the trains run on time. ;)

The people who hate Harper make me like him a lot more than I probably would otherwise.

Reminds of a line I read about George Bush. “I feel about George Bush much as I feel about Walmart. I’m not that interested in either of them. I can’t get enthused over either of them. Frankly I have very little use for either of them. But they both do such a good job of pissing off all the right people that I have to like them.”

No kidding. CKTC shows up on a blog, posts a long-winded statement that amounts to, “I don’t like Harper. See this Harper straw-figure I have created, and how evil it is? Whack, whack, whack.”, and expects that to convince rational people of something.