Beware Hurricane Harper
The following article speaks for itself.
Think wisely before you vote tomorrow, folks ...
Think wisely before you vote tomorrow, folks ...
Hurricane Harper
By Duncan Cameron
As Nova Scotia faced up to the fearful prospect of Hurricane Kyle, all of Canada must now face the prospect of a Harper majority government. Hurricane Harper does not threaten the Atlantic provinces directly, people remember all to well the "culture of dependence" theme which Harper once evoked in talking about the region.
The Harper threat is receding in Quebec, as his negative comments about the arts and culture, and the announced intent of his government to imprison 14-year-olds with adults, has caused the popularity of his government to plummet.
Ontario is where Harper has picked up the pace and can win the seats he needs to form a majority government. Coupled with continued support on the prairies, and Liberal weakness in B.C., if the Conservatives hold on to their existing seats East of the Ottawa river, major gains in Ontario will unleash Hurricane Harper.
The sad irony is that Ontario would be the first and biggest victim of a Harper majority. The Conservative government opposes measures needed desperately to protect Ontario from the stormy weather to the South. An industrial strategy ending dependence on the extraction of resources, and promoting integration of manufacturing and resources is considered by Harper to violate the principles of market competition. Meanwhile industrial job losses mount, and around the world the competition comes from jurisdictions which have never bought into the Harper stock and trade of free markets, such as the Scandinavians and emerging market giants India and China.
While we could wait for Ontario to come to its senses and reject Harper, unease has set in among those studying the mainstream media treatment of the prime minister. The Conservative electoral campaign is limited to the leader's campaign. Local candidates are not even allowed to speak to the national media. Harper himself does not attend public meetings, or take questions from the media. So have the media revolted? Gone out of their way to portrait Harper for what he is: a fear-mongering tyrant who relies on intimidation in dealing with journalists? Actually, Harper gets the best coverage of any national leader. We can only hope the national media has less power than it once did.
The saddest aspect of campaign 2008 is the treatment accorded Stéphane Dion by the same mainstream media. He has been written off as a professor out of water in national politics, a nerd with no connection to issues that matter to real people and a bumbling campaigner unable to explain his green shift in language people can understand.
(Keep reading ...)
By Duncan Cameron
As Nova Scotia faced up to the fearful prospect of Hurricane Kyle, all of Canada must now face the prospect of a Harper majority government. Hurricane Harper does not threaten the Atlantic provinces directly, people remember all to well the "culture of dependence" theme which Harper once evoked in talking about the region.
The Harper threat is receding in Quebec, as his negative comments about the arts and culture, and the announced intent of his government to imprison 14-year-olds with adults, has caused the popularity of his government to plummet.
Ontario is where Harper has picked up the pace and can win the seats he needs to form a majority government. Coupled with continued support on the prairies, and Liberal weakness in B.C., if the Conservatives hold on to their existing seats East of the Ottawa river, major gains in Ontario will unleash Hurricane Harper.
The sad irony is that Ontario would be the first and biggest victim of a Harper majority. The Conservative government opposes measures needed desperately to protect Ontario from the stormy weather to the South. An industrial strategy ending dependence on the extraction of resources, and promoting integration of manufacturing and resources is considered by Harper to violate the principles of market competition. Meanwhile industrial job losses mount, and around the world the competition comes from jurisdictions which have never bought into the Harper stock and trade of free markets, such as the Scandinavians and emerging market giants India and China.
While we could wait for Ontario to come to its senses and reject Harper, unease has set in among those studying the mainstream media treatment of the prime minister. The Conservative electoral campaign is limited to the leader's campaign. Local candidates are not even allowed to speak to the national media. Harper himself does not attend public meetings, or take questions from the media. So have the media revolted? Gone out of their way to portrait Harper for what he is: a fear-mongering tyrant who relies on intimidation in dealing with journalists? Actually, Harper gets the best coverage of any national leader. We can only hope the national media has less power than it once did.
The saddest aspect of campaign 2008 is the treatment accorded Stéphane Dion by the same mainstream media. He has been written off as a professor out of water in national politics, a nerd with no connection to issues that matter to real people and a bumbling campaigner unable to explain his green shift in language people can understand.
(Keep reading ...)
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