King Steve

[Cobalt_Kid]

I get that any would-be absolute ruler has a problem with putting up with the annoyances of working within an open democratic system, but should we really put up with a PM who says he couldn't care less about our political freedoms?

When Harper claims it's all about the economy he's being dishonest(lying) just as Oda was before committee. Having to share honest funding numbers doesn't prevent the government from helping build the economy, it just forces the conservatives to be clear about the true cost to us(the taxpayers) which might cost them(in votes). PMs have been able to accept the authority of Parliament throughout Canadian history, through wars, insurrection, depressions, recessions and sovereignty crises... but this government is too challenged to actually tell our elected representatives in the House the truth??

The problem isn't in the democratic process that PM Harper has just indicated he has so little regard for, it's in a PM and his party who have come to see themselves as separate from and above that process.

 

[captain morgan]

Don't you ever get tired of posting partisan rhetoric?

 

[Avro]

These recent events say two things.

What would the cons be like if the had a majority if they do this sort of thing now?

How pathetically weak is the opposition to let this go on without any affect in the polls?

 

[captain morgan]

Bottom-line is this... It makes no difference the name of the party or politician, they are all cut from the same cloth and will act in an identical manner.

 

[Cobalt_Kid]

Don't you ever get tired of posting partisan rhetoric?

Nope.

If the conservatives can run non-stop attack ads slamming the opposition then as a free citizen of this country it's my right to try and bring a little perspective to the public forum. I know many conservatives would love to live in a country where no one questions their actions or motives... but that ain't Canada.

Bottom-line is this... It makes no difference the name of the party or politician, they are all cut from the same cloth and will act in an identical manner.

I don't know if that's accurate, all we can say with confidence is the current government is at least as big a disappointment when it comes to respect for our democratic tradtion as the last. Even PM Martin was working to repair some of the damage when Harper cut him off at the knees... whatever happened to the Gomery Report anyway?

 

[TenPenny]

How pathetically weak is the opposition to let this go on without any affect in the polls?

Yeah, what I'm amazed at is how bad the Liberal Party must be, to have the Conservatives under Harper doing so well in the polls. Gone are the days when the Liberals had any ideas, backbone, plans, or a leader. If the population considered the Liberals a viable alternative, the polls would be quite different. But the Liberals are seen as scared to force an election.

Remember back in the Trudeau and Mulroney eras, when party leaders had ideas, and balls? Whether you agreed with them or not, they made their case, they fought the fight, and weren't scared to face the voters. The Liberal Party is scared to do anything now, they have no leadership, and absolutely no strategists worth anything. If the present day situation existed with either Mulroney or Trudeau at the helm of the opposition, there would have been an election months ago. But our current opposition is too scared. Of what, I can't figure.

 

[Avro]

Nope.

If the conservatives can run non-stop attack slamming the opposition ads then as a free citizen of this country it's my right to try and bring a little perspective to the public forum. I know many conservatives would love to live in a country where no one questions their actions or motives... but that ain't Canada.



I don't know if that's accurate, all we can say with confidence is the current government is at least as big a disappointment when it comes to respect for our democratic tradtion as the last. Even PM Martin was working to repair some of the damage when Harper cut him off at the knees... whatever happened to the Gomery Report anyway?

Many Liberals would like the same thing....neither is in the majority in that opinion.

Yeah, what I'm amazed at is how bad the Liberal Party must be, to have the Conservatives under Harper doing so well in the polls. Gone are the days when the Liberals had any ideas, backbone, plans, or a leader. If the population considered the Liberals a viable alternative, the polls would be quite different. But the Liberals are seen as scared to force an election.

Remember back in the Trudeau and Mulroney eras, when party leaders had ideas, and balls? Whether you agreed with them or not, they made their case, they fought the fight, and weren't scared to face the voters. The Liberal Party is scared to do anything now, they have no leadership, and absolutely no strategists worth anything. If the present day situation existed with either Mulroney or Trudeau at the helm of the opposition, there would have been an election months ago. But our current opposition is too scared. Of what, I can't figure.

Iggy is a failure, Dion was more electable and that ain't sayin much.

At least Dion had a brain....Iggystien was given a dud.

 

[Cobalt_Kid]

These recent events say two things.

What would the cons be like if the had a majority if they do this sort of thing now?

How pathetically weak is the opposition to let this go on without any affect in the polls?

We'd be living in a neo-con paradise... no gay marriages, big oil would rule, maybe a return to the death penalty, possibly very restricted abortion laws etc...

One thing you have to credit to Harper and his minions is how clearly they see the flaws in our system and how little inhibition they show in exploiting them. The opposition is weak and by constantly kicking it by the government is helping keep it that way, not for our benefit but for narrow conservative interests.

Many Liberals would like the same thing....neither is in the majority in that opinion.



Iggy is a failure, Dion was more electable and that ain't sayin much.

At least Dion had a brain....Iggystien was given a dud.

These are things we are told over and over until they seem real.

All we really know for sure right now is our current PM is even more detached from the reality of most Canadians than the last and it's costing us big time, both in terms of a future tax debt and lives in a war that will go on forever the way it's been fought but the screw-up chicken hawks in the PMO.

Yeah, what I'm amazed at is how bad the Liberal Party must be, to have the Conservatives under Harper doing so well in the polls. Gone are the days when the Liberals had any ideas, backbone, plans, or a leader. If the population considered the Liberals a viable alternative, the polls would be quite different. But the Liberals are seen as scared to force an election.

The Opposition doesn't exist in isolation, given the concerted effort by the siiting government to neutralize and marginalize the House I think it takes courage to sit on the opposition side of the House. As we saw with Dion and now with Ignatief any Opposition leader immediately comes under a vicious and new-to-Canada style of political character assassination that has been perfected and caused so much damage in the US. The fact the conservatives have been so willing to lower the standards when most Canadians wanted the reverse in 2006 just shows where their true interests lie and it's not in a stronger Parliament, just the opposite. How many parties in our history have been in contempt of Parliament to the degree of the current government, several years ago they circulated a protocol within the party on how to shut down Parliament. The amazing thing is that our elected federal body still operates at all and that's a testament to the people sitting across the House from the government, the PM sets the worst example of all.

Remember back in the Trudeau and Mulroney eras, when party leaders had ideas, and balls? Whether you agreed with them or not, they made their case, they fought the fight, and weren't scared to face the voters. The Liberal Party is scared to do anything now, they have no leadership, and absolutely no strategists worth anything. If the present day situation existed with either Mulroney or Trudeau at the helm of the opposition, there would have been an election months ago. But our current opposition is too scared. Of what, I can't figure.

The fight that's going on now is every bit as real as what went on in the past, don't kid yourself on the stakes or the commitment of the people involved.

 

[Avro]

These are things we are told over and over until they seem real.

All we really know for sure right now is our current PM is even more detached from the reality of most Canadians than the last and it's costing us big time, both in terms of a future tax debt and lives in a war that will go on forever the way it's been fought but the screw-up chicken hawks in the PMO.

We aren't told this, most Canadians have figured out for themselves.

I am not shy in giving Harper a hard time but for now he is the best we have.

When the Libs lose the next election badly and the NDP are the official opposition they will annoint a new leader and one can only hope it's someone who isn't a baffoon, but given recent history and the choices I am having doubts.

 

[TenPenny]

The Opposition doesn't exist in isolation, given the concerted effort by the siiting government to neutralize and marginalize the House I think it takes courage to sit on the opposition side of the House. As we saw with Dion and now with Ignatief any Opposition leader immediately comes under a vicious and new-to-Canada style of political character assassination that has been perfected and caused so much damage in the US. The fact the conservatives have been so willing to lower the standards when most Canadians wanted the reverse in 2006 just shows where their true interests lie and it's not in a stronger Parliament, just the opposite. How many parties in our history have been in contempt of Parliament to the degree of the current government, several years ago they circulated a protocol within the party on how to shut down Parliament. The amazing thing is that our elected federal body still operates at all and that's a testament to the people sitting across the House from the government, the PM sets the worst example of all.



The fight that's going on now is every bit as real as what went on in the past, don't kid yourself on the stakes or the commitment of the people involved.

So, you're saying that the Liberals are fighting hard to bring down the Conservative government? That they've voted against confidence motions, in order to force an election? That they're united in bringing their message out in the media, showing Canadian voters what they have to offer?

Wow. They're pretty damn effective at it, aren't they?

 

[Johnny Utah]

Would rather have a King Stephen Harper than a King Michael Ignatieff.

 

[mentalfloss]

Would rather have a King Stephen Harper than a King Michael Ignatieff.

Shocking! Shocking I say!

 

[Corduroy]

Would rather have a King Stephen Harper than a King Michael Ignatieff.

How about we not have a king at all? It seems like most of you are overlooking the real problem. OK, Stephen Harper abuses his power, so why do we let prime ministers have so much power?

 

[Unforgiven]

That would mean we get a new Count de Quebec too!

This should be fun!

 

[mentalfloss]

And a Prince of Edward Island?

 

[Cobalt_Kid]

We aren't told this, most Canadians have figured out for themselves.

I am not shy in giving Harper a hard time but for now he is the best we have.

When the Libs lose the next election badly and the NDP are the official opposition they will annoint a new leader and one can only hope it's someone who isn't a baffoon, but given recent history and the choices I am having doubts.

I disagree, I think Harper is one of the worst failures this country has had as a leader. As we can see from recent days he doesn't even accept the authority of Parliament over his government, just who does he answer to if not us. Also from what we now know about Afghanistan we've been trying to build a house on quicksand when it comes to supporting the Karzai government. Karzai himself is deranged and corrupt, there's one minister in his government who isn't totally bent and his brother is the biggest heroin producer in Kandahar, this all from high level leaked US documents. So while our troops are getting blown up by IEDs the pricks we're supposed to be fighting for are getting rich making and selling poison that ends up on our street... and we don't even talk about it in Parliament. wow Harper is some success.

I was watching on Canada AM yesterday and disabled Major Mark Campbell talk about how under the conservatives and their new Veterans act introduced in 2006 diasbled veterans have lost about 40% of their lifetime benefits, so the Harper governent isn't even taking care of the men and women he's taking so much credit for for sending off to a deeply screwed up war.

As for the economy, Harper certainly didn't mention in the run-up to the 2008 election that within a few months he'd be bringing in one of the largest deficits in Canadian history, how is that a success. I think a lot fewer Canadians would have voted conservative if they'd know the real cost. And then he shut down Parliament for purely partisan reasons for the second time to be followed a year later by a third shut-down to protect conservative interests.

This doesn't even get to the environmental issues which have been totally sweep under the rug in this country(something you seem to know a little about). Much more of Harper's version of success here and we won't have a country left. He's Bush light and it's time we turfed his arrogant ass out of office.

 

[Johnny Utah]

Shocking! Shocking I say!

The King!

 

[Cobalt_Kid]

Love the bling.

It's probably my American side coming out but anytime I feel like a public servant is forgetting the difference between serving and ruling I tend to go a little revolutionary.

 

[Colpy]

How about we not have a king at all? It seems like most of you are overlooking the real problem. OK, Stephen Harper abuses his power, so why do we let prime ministers have so much power?

Because, Dammit, it takes a prime minister to address the problem........

Good luck with that.......

 

[Corduroy]

It takes a prime minister to address the problem of the prime minister having too much power? Damnit...