.
Watching the reaction from some in the “progressive” camp over Harper’s habit of closing his speeches with “God Bless Canada”, my suggestion to our incoming Prime MInister is this: Faster, Please.
The greater part of the success of the Bush administration’s ability to win elections lies, not in the electoral support of the so-called “religious right” (which is more media mythology than reality) , but in their ability to provoke the “loony left” to come unhinged in front of ordinary Americans.
When a conservative invokes God, no matter how generically, the left cannot help but expose their seething intolerance of all things Christian – thus, shining a spotlight on the highly selective nature of the “diversity” they champion.
The Paul Martin Liberals started well down this path during the last election campaign, the last few days illustrated by the bizarre behavior and “warnings” (abortion! child labour!) erupting from the leader himself. What Conservatives can do now is to quietly keep pushing them along on that path. With a little luck, and the inevitable cheerleading from media, a few more “God Bless”‘s might just encourage the type of Harper “Derangement Syndrome” from “progressives” that helps keep US Democrats out of office.
See above.
Addendum:
Fact Checking the Calgary Herald:
Gore warned that Harper wants to remove Canada from the Kyoto accord, which the United States signed under former president Bill Clinton, but has refused to ratify under President George W. Bush.
False. Clinton signed Kyoto, knowing full well that it would be rejected by the Senate – which they did, voting against it unanimously – 3 full years before Bush came into office.
See also: Who knew Beausejour was in Texas?
Green Canuck to Gore: “Right on, dude!”
How did such a scary-looking guy EVER manage to invent our beloved Internet?
Oh, and I love how disconnected his comments are from reality.
So true.
It’s not just big oil (although his transition manager, Derek Birney was appointed to Trans Canada Pipeline) it’s also the big defense and areospace contractors that Birney works for.
The average guy can vote for a party but the real power is the money.
New government…new lobbyists/masters and bills to pay.
Yeah, I’m sure that $1000 is enough to put Harper in their back pocket
Especially when Harper wants to ban all union/corporate donations with the Accountibility Act
Andrew – its a $5,000 cap for corporations, but the point is taken.
Speaking of which, has anyone seen an article comparing the relatives merits of the US polictical funding system versus the new Canadian one?
No surprise seeing Gore flinging accusations about politicians being beholden to monied interests – its what he’s used to.
JasperPants
Maybe if Mr. Harper had the money “blessed” by Buddhist monks prior to accepting it everything would have been cool.
Shawn,
Nice.
Thank god that guy is not my president! You know the democratic paty of the pre-late 60s was actually pretty level headed. Now they are a bunch of nuts!
Living proof that the left is histerically
deranged. The evil Bush and the evil Harper.
How have they become so deranged? Histeria
is their only response to anything these days.
Also, Gore shows he knows nothing about Canada;
he’s living in hid own fantasy world.
With Al Sore-loser chiming in and Fat Pantload Moore putting in his two cents last week, all we need now to complete the Looney Left Trifecta is to hear from Peace Mom Cindy…
Gore couldn’t even carry his own State of Tennessee in 2000. What a power base he has.
Think he’s been sipping the same Kool-Aid some of the Libs have been into these last couple of years.
Now that guy is scary!!!
Politicians should have to take IQ tests – and get at least 120.
Does anyone remember SCTV? For you young ones you can rent SCTV DVD’s (Bob and Doug Mackenzie)
One skit that starred John Candy was Dr’ Tongues 3D house of…. (name any liberal attack ad)
The 3D movies were supposed to be scary but of course they never were.
“Dr Tongue’s 3D house of childcare ooohh wasn’t that scary ooohhh I bet your scared.”
“Dr Tongue’s 3D house of GeorgeBush ooohh wasn’t that scary ooohhh I bet your scared.”
“Dr Tongue’s 3D house of MilitaryOfficers ooohh wasn’t that scary ooohhh I bet your scared.”
LMFAO
Democrats . . their own best enemy !!!
Actually JasperPants its $1000 for corporations and $5000 for personal contributions. Get your facts straight before you start correcting others.
Can someone please tell me what an “ultra-conservative” is? I keep hearing/reading this term describing Harper which strikes me as patently false.
What is it that these left wingers expect? Are you only worthy if you sell your sole to their leftist agenda? I’m starting to get a little tired of being in the same room getting sprayed by their spittle every time someone has the temerity to disagree with their vacuous view of the world. Why can socialists not take a chance and try to think outside of the box for a change. They have completely stunted dialogue and debate in this country. What’s more important, working together to make this a better country or unquestioning devotion to a set of unworkable ideals?
one question: who drew Al Gore out of hiding, shaved him, put him in front of a podium, and thought that anyone would care what he has to say?
As far as Kyoto is concerned, certianly i’m not the only one who recognizes that it has done little but establish a global market for the trade of pollution rights. Frankly, I’d like to think that maybe, with the step we’ve taken in this election, that we can move away from being a country that immediatly cow-tows to whatever the international consensus maybe at that moment.
Also, I’d really like to see some hard science backing global warming. So, far all the research that I’ve done has shown that there are good points on both sides of the debate, and that global warming has become the most politicized issue science. Science is not supposed to be politicized.
All i want is some conclusive evidence that the sky really is falling, before we go ahead and cripple our economy, is that too much to ask?
It’s still all about the oil. Don’t these wackos have any other tunes?
I wonder if it is possible for Harper to sue Gore and take this snivelling little loser for every cent he has. It”s about time that these mentally challenged fools put their money where their mouth is.
I think Al’s going to pop an artery in that photo!!
I think the left needs to know that all parties had the advantage of big corp donations. The accountability act will correct this. The parties that currently get the fewest big donations from enterprise sized companies have the most to gain. You’d think they would be happy with the Conservative plan to clean up in a way that will limit the capabilities of all parties the same, including the Conservatives themselves.
Gore should be the last to talk since the Canadian Tories seem to have taken a position just slightly left of the Democrats in my mind. All needs to shut that pie hole and quit wagging that finger. It isn’t becoming. Actually, in this photo, he looks like what a new prisoner at Oz might look like when he gets trapped in the showers….in a suit.
Excerpt from article;
While John Bennett, senior policy adviser for Sierra Club of Canada, isn’t certain of how much oil companies and their executives donate to the Conservatives, he’s noticed their language on Kyoto is similar.
“They’ve talked about the need for a made-in-Canada plan, which is exactly the terminology Stephen Harper used,” Bennett said. “They’ve talked about targets for Kyoto being unreachable — that’s similar.”
See how irrelevant the left has become? They’ve been reduced to pointing out similarities in conservative thinking.
Al has tar sand in his head. Does anyone remember this guy named Paul Martin (hint: not the one who plays for the New Jersey Devils)? He had lots of oil folks lining up to give him financial support. Lots of photo ops of those meetings. Anyone care to post some?
Harper is in office for not even four days and the libs (and their friends) are still playing the demonizing tricks that lost them power.
Should Harper jump on this and make anti-American statements??????? Oh wait, there is a double standard on that subject…
“Faithism” my new coinage.
As we all know a “rascist” is a term for a person winning a debate with a liberal. “Islamophobia” a term for rational people with a VERY rational fears of losing their heads (while all around them also lose theirs), “homophobia” a term for people who are very accepting of homosexuals but aren’t hip enough to enjoy “gay pride” parades, so voila, let’s drive ’em completely nuts and call our left-lib fantasists FAITHISTS. God Bless Canada!
Has anyone else noticed that political parties of this day and age are the same as the old parties in name only? There were actually several good Liberal Prime Ministers and Democratic Presidents at one time. Hell, in those early days there were Liberal-Conservatives and Democratic Republicans.
I think all that took a big turn in the ’60s. There were probably more than a few who “inhaled” only a bit. Starting with Trudeau, the left have become more and more moonie. That is just my observations.
BTW: I just read the price breakdown of gas at the pumps here in Texas and it says in fine print at the bottom of the list – $0.02 per gal – CPC Funding.
I’m making this up.
In Texas.
In America.
Mmmmm, better get on it Stevo.
Moonbat alert! Wow, he didn’t just talk to Bush, but also Blair & Howard. I can hear the screams already.
It is not a bad strategy, radical or reactionary groups on either end of the political spectrum tend to scare the much more moderate (average) voter. If you mention “god” on a handful of occasions (typically in a harmless fashion like “God Bless Canada”) you will face the wrath of some of the most radical elements within the Progressive spectrum.
When you’ve done this enough times and hurt their credability you can move onto other topics to bait them with “Women should be informed of the risks, and reminded of their options prior to having an abortion”.
Although, at the same time I think he should also take some reasonably moderate positions to recieve the wrath of the radical right; that is replace the gun registry with legislation which forces gun owners to recieve training on the usages and storage of guns (with serious penaltys for misuse or improper storage).
for potatoe:
an ultra-conservative is a broad and incompassing term that refers to anyone who presents a dissenting opinion outside of the narrow liberal view of tolerance.
basically anyone who checks out this blog
hello my fellow ultra-cons!
First lie by Harper. During the campaign he promised a free-vote on same-sex marriage but he said ‘it wouldn’t be a priority for his government’. Today he announced that it is something he wants to see “sooner rather than later”. Sounds as though it’s a priority now.
The Conservatives were funded by oil money in alot of ways. This physician, along with thousands of Albertans donated hundreds of dollars to the Conservatives to get elected. We don’t want to see a Kyoto plan or carbon tax that will kill the economy here and personally cost us thousands in lost wages and reduced property values. So yes, indirectly we get our money in Alberta from oil royalities and for some via direct jobs working for oil companies. With current rules, the big companies are unable to influence political parties in Canada directly, unlike Power Corp, Big Banks, unions, etc did with the Liberals in the past.
“Ultra- Con”
I like that.
Sounds like a superhero!
spent the entire morning conversing with Mr.’s Bush, Blair, Howard, who next? Angela Merkel? …whose popularity has soared since her not having to be a “scary” Christian Democrat is being exposed.
Todd, how does “sooner rather than later” make it a priority? Sounds like he is simply keeping his word on one of his election promises.
does anyone think that Harper should just call everyones bluff and table all the controversial stuff immediatly, knowing full well that no one has any desire to topple the gov’t?
i know it won’t happen, too much fuel for the left-biased media, but it would be fun to see an NDPer vote against SSM, haha that’d be the day
Noone:
Yeah, Tory ideas are so radical, eh?
Perhaps the Left would like to see legislation PROHIBITING a woman from being informed of the risks and of the options to abortion once she gets pregnant.
EPW
er…I meant “alternatives”
EPW
Todd said
“First lie by Harper. During the campaign he promised a free-vote on same-sex marriage but he said ‘it wouldn’t be a priority for his government’. Today he announced that it is something he wants to see “sooner rather than later”. Sounds as though it’s a priority now.”
Could it be that he wants to get past this issue as soon as possible, and move onto something more important. If he allows a vote on SSM today (that is whether the issue should be revisited), regardless of how it goes, he would be able to resolve the issue before the end of the session; if it is successful, then they can introduce legislation which gives SS couples a civil union will all the legal rights give to mariage (making him seem reasonably moderate, and at the same time winning a symbolic victory for hard-line conservatives). If the motion fails the issue dies for the rest of the term.
The impressive thing about a strategy like this is it would outrage all the kooks on both side of the issue making, while at the same time making most (average) Canadians see it as a reasonable solution to the problem; the result would be that Harper would seem very moderate while making the liberals and the NDP seem extreme.
On a side note, there are many liberals who would support such a motion if the Liberal party forced them to vote against it they may leave the party (either join the conservatives or sit as an independent)
Todd,
If he had said “later rather than sooner,” how long would it have taken for you to claim he’s delaying that vote until he can win a majority and then get it passed?
good call NoOne
but i think that Harper, being the pragmatic that he is will most likely put this issue on the back burner, until after his gov’t is defeated and he can try for a majority. With more support in the house he could try and table the “civil union” compromise.
Whoops, I stand corrected…sorry braaken & Andrew.
JasperPants
“Yeah, Tory ideas are so radical, eh?
Perhaps the Left would like to see legislation PROHIBITING a woman from being informed of the risks and of the options to abortion once she gets pregnant.
EPW”
That’s kind of my point; the vast majority of ideas brought forth by the conservatives and their members are reasonably moderate (even the old reform party was predominately moderate with a few more radical ideas)
The point is that the average Canadian is too “polite” to want to be associated with radical ideas from either end of the political spectrum; if Harper makes some moderate stands that enrage both ends of the political spectrum the general public will be more likely to support them.
Its like an argument I had this weekend (it was about child care and I was on the pro-tory side); when someone links privately run child care to child abuse they lose support from the majority of people who are listening. When they lose the suport of the majority, the majority will disassociate themselves with the position that the more ‘radical’ person took.
If you can get every kook from victoria to bonavista to attack you the average person is more likely to support you.
Is the left now going to be infecteed with
Harper Derrangement Syndrome, HDS, similar
to the BDS in the US?
i agree NoOne
however, the left-wing kooks seem to command respect from the media, who create simpathy for their positions. whereas right-wing kooks are all fundamentalists, biggots, rascists, capitalists, and religios-zealots…
NoOne, mandatory training for firearm owners was legislated by Kim Campbell and in place by 1994. “Safe” storage laws go back a lot longer.
RJM
Wasn’t it Al Gore who took political contributions from a nice gentleman named Suharto back in the 1990’s. Nice fellow that Suharto, except all the killing and torture and stuff. Maybe Gore should stick to his knitting.
False. Clinton signed Kyoto, knowing full well that it would be rejected by the Senate – which they did, voting against it unanimously – 3 full years before Bush came into office.
Well Kate, I guess you can blame the United States senate which was closer in partisan numbers at the time the Kyoto bill was rejected.
I think it is quite absurd for you to speculate that this was his[Clinton] motive, since you weren’t in his office when he made the decision. just saying.
SSM. Let’s remember that this was really just advocacy muscle-flexing spearheaded by a few dedicated “gay” lawyers and because it’s clearly in the “progressive file” it got to be a big deal. My sense was that there wasn’t much of a groundswell in the “gay community” (to use the orthodox phraseology for expediency). It’s like Nationalized Babycare; as a bewildered woman said to me once, “There’s not much of a call for it”, and there wasn’t.
That’s the tragedy of Canadian governance of late; a tiny advocacy group, funded by BigGovBucks, pushes a “progressive” agenda, the “progressive” AM (antique media) piles on, and the rest of us ordinary schlubs, the great lumpen left, centre and right, look on blinking and mystified.
Todd,
My goodness do you have a vivid imagination. I just listened to Stephen Harper’s speech and following press conference in which he outlined his party’s prioities and didn’t once hear SSM. The fact is that it is fundamentally clear just what his priorities are. (I couldn’t resist) They are the points laid out in the sentences and paragraphs that contain the word priority.
In all honesty, the conservatives could point out that the sun rises in the east and there will be a moonie or three that see a secret agenda to change the laws of physics.
First lie by Harper. During the campaign he promised a free-vote on same-sex marriage but he said ‘it wouldn’t be a priority for his government’. Today he announced that it is something he wants to see “sooner rather than later”. Sounds as though it’s a priority now.
Posted by Todd at January 26, 2006 01:28 PM
First lie about Harper lying is brought by … Todd!
Congratulations Todd , what took you so long?
If that’s a lie, how’s Ontario’s McShifty working for ya ?
It’s an obvious nod to Bush saying ‘God Bless Canada’ and decidedly creepy in a Canadian political context.
The US has greatest national debt and the greatest war contractors and oil tycoons with the greatest tax payer funded banking accounts in the entire globe. They will be given our oil and water and their defense contracts.. Bush is paid for…they just need Harper to bend us over.
Canada was the first Iraq. They tried to invade us once. There are a lot of Canadians buried in Ontario over that.
“When a conservative invokes God, no matter how generically, the left cannot help but expose their seething intolerance of all things Christian – thus, shining a spotlight on the highly selective nature of the “diversity” they champion.”
I’d respectfully modify that sentence, changing “Christian” to “Judeo-Christian”. Also the highly selective “diversity”, I’d change to “superficial diversity”.
The Left in North America, pretty much as the Left in EUrope share these tendencies:
1. A hostility to Judaism as well as Christianity, while giving Islam a “pass” on ethics, behavior and tolerance. (Part of the Stockholm Syndrome of self-guilt, a variant of which is also seen in the Left’s blaming the United States for the 9/11 Islamofascist atrocity.)
2. “Diversity” is actually a sham for attacking, by toxic dilution, traditional Western values and institutions. The “diversity” encouraged is strictly superficial-by gender, race, sexual orientation, marital status, etc.
REAL diversity, diversity of thought, is forbidden. A Leftist must accept in full the crypto-fascist secular dogma of the left. Any dissent is shrieked down-“religious intolerance!”, “forbidding a woman’s right to choose!”, “homophobia!”, etc.
Of course, shrieking down people with different ideas is just a variant of the “ad hominim attack”, attacking the person, not his/her message. The Leftists, with their vacuous dogma, don’t want to engage in any real debate with non-Leftists, particularly eloquent ones. Invariably, they loose when they do so.
hey s,
let them invade again though we’d be fine since the stench of your bs would send then reeling
jeepers