Thursday, July 03, 2014

The Increasing Desperation of Stephen Harper



Lordy. Somebody call an exorcist. Stephen Harper is haunting my inner sanctum. I just can't get away from him.

As I told you the other day, I was shocked to find that flyer jammed in my front door.

And today my nightmare only grew worse.

When I found this unsolicited invitation in my twitter feed !!!!!



Which since Harperland and paranoia go so well together, had me wondering why am I on the Con voting list instead of their Enemy List? Why are they pretending they don't know where I live or don't read my e-mails? 

And are they trying to ruin my reputation ??!@#!!!!

Until I realized that Harper is just DESPERATE.

Because whatever else the recent by-elections demonstrated, it's clear that his plans to destroy Justin Trudeau just aren't working.

If Prime Minister Stephen Harper isn’t worried about this, he isn’t paying attention. The federal Conservatives have already unleashed their attack dogs on Mr. Trudeau, vilifying and belittling him at every opportunity. At this point in their respective leaderships, Stephane Dion and Michael Ignatieff were already showing distinct signs of the wobbles, but Mr. Trudeau seems able to sail along, unscathed by the abuse.

The Conservatives may pooh-pooh these results and rest confident in their ability to hole Mr. Trudeau’s boat when the big moment comes next year.


But evidence is growing that, after eight years of Harper government, voters have grown accustomed to its tactics and less easily influenced than they once were. If they’re going to do damage to Mr. Trudeau, they better find a better strategy than the one they’re using, because it doesn’t seem to be working.


Despite all the attack ads, or the pins Harper has tried to stick in him, Justin and his Liberals have momentum on their side. 



Sometimes byelections are just byelections, voting exercises that don’t deserve their turn under the analytic microscope.

But sometimes you have to tout the scorecard and when you do, there is a federal political trend that is unassailable — in nine trips to the polls under Justin Trudeau, Liberal voting percentages have grown nine times, in ridings as diverse as Labrador, downtown Toronto and Montreal, rural Manitoba and rural and northern Alberta.

And since even some of his supporters in Alberta don't seem as eager to vote for him and his Cons as they once were, Harper has good reason to be worried.

Justin Trudeau and his team have managed to resuscitate their party from near death. The Liberals’ new-found popularity, as borne out in the by-election results, suggests that they have become the first choice of non-Conservative voters, and the main force to be reckoned with in the 2015 election.

The next federal election is still a long way off, and both Mr. Trudeau and Mr. Mulcair are untested in a national campaign. A lot can change in a year. But the by-elections confirm that there are new dynamics at play. The New Democrats look to be sliding. The Liberals are surging. And the Conservatives have reason to worry.


And all I can say is I'm not surprised. For more than a year polls have shown that Canadians are hungry for change. 

According to a new CTV News Ipsos Reid poll, many Canadians are looking for a change in federal politics. The poll shows that under Justin Trudeau’s leadership the Liberal party has been gaining ground. 

And whatever some may think of him, or whether he deserves it, Trudeau symbolizes that change better than any other political leader...




And there's NOTHING Stephen Harper can do about that. For the longer he stays in power the more that desire for change will grow.


The more he reduces the deficit the less risky he will make that change.

And since he made image over substance the hallmark of his old and tired government, it seems only right that it should come back to haunt him.

And of course, since he's trying to solicit my vote he must be REALLY desperate eh?

Oh well. On another night I'll take a look at what all of this means for the NDP, the party I usually support.

But tonight I'll just end by saying the universe is unfolding almost as I hoped it would. Because all I care about is the total destruction of the Con regime.

And in that regard, the writing, or Justin, is on the wall.

And the tired old dictator is heading for a nasty fall...



Please click here to recommend this post at Progressive Bloggers.

17 comments:

the salamander said...

.. Rapture Steve .. All Hat .. & hate .. Mad Stevie & Ray, what are they up to now?
And what's up with Nigel and Stephen Lecce and Jenni Byrne and Arthur Hamilton
awfully quiet aside from the begging for pre-writ campaign cash.. as the great unelected political jackals
are all endlessly intrigued & absorbed by The Hair's dim ideological legacy buffalo ride on the taxpayers dime

The list of failure, deceit, conceit and obstruction grows endlessly and ominously dark..
to the point of redaction.. and that describes the situation aptly, in Canada..
land of the great white prorogue pope's endless evasions with his thousands of lawyers

Client Solicitor Privilege, Secrecy due to National Security, Cabinet Privacy, In Camera Committees
Primacy, Paramountcy, Harper's talking points, Secret Evangelical Caucus, Closure
& now we're at the Great Harper Redaction Point ..

Tom Wolfe describes a great moment on entering a San Francisco strip club for lunch
with McLuhan and a bunch of TransAmerica CEO's n Bankers & wankers
all in smashing blue suits and shiny shoes, white shirt n tie
and when one of them, shocked.. exclaimed the women on stage were naked !!.. !! ..
Marshall McLuhan immediately said 'no they're not... they're wearing us..!'

The dude asd always was way ahead of everyone.. The Medium being the Massage ..
which is what he really said y'know.. blending the message in his mischievous way
My Auntie Martha heard him say it & explain it quite clearly over one of their many 'business' lunches

And so what we need to decide is why we Canadians
are covering up buck naked ideological prancing dancing deceiver asshats
with our votes, our Parliament, trust, our House of Commons, our disappearing laws
our heritage, our national identity, our ecosystems.. our freedoms & democracy
our very glowing hearts.. and those who came before us.. or will be here after we are gone ..

Or else we'll be shivering, naked in the unseen winds, instead
because we were caught wearing them .. the Harper Myth
and there is nothing there.. never was, never will be..
forever n ever

Amen..

The Salamander Hordes have Spoken

Anonymous said...

I can say that the Liberals ran a very spirited and aggressive campaign here in Fort McMurray-Athabasca. If you would have told me when I first moved out here that they would garner as much support as they did I'd have thought you were on some pretty trippy drugs. I'm not all that keen on Trudeau but he was here 3 times during the campaign and even engaged in door-to-door campaigning himself. I'll give him credit for sure. In a riding where Liberals tend to be perceived as the anti-Christ, that takes a big pair. But I can definitely sense a change here. The Conservatives seem pretty clueless about the growing level of dissatisfaction here. Rather tellingly, the Con guy had a tin presence here on the ground and didn't attend any of the candidate debates. In fact, the only thing I got in the mail from the Cons talked about the oil sands. Which is fine in and of itself. You can't live here and not have a stake in the major industry of the region. Thing is, there is a plethora of other local issues that have absolutely nothing to do with the oil sands and they were never addressed by the Con candidate. Sure, he mentioned some of them in the few interviews he gave but if there is a plan on how to deal with them I haven't seen it. Anyhow, its incredibly frustrating that this government seems to give the impression that they don't give a shit about your community and would rather just have it become some sort of giant work camp for industry. Anyhow, rant complete. Cheers.

mizdarlin said...

Two things have me momentarily distracted these days, and both are all about the lack of traction that the Cons are getting from attacking both Junior and the NDP..vis a vis the 'scandal' that never was re their supposed illegal Parliamentary postal charge avoidance..what happened with that?
Sadly (IMHO) the NDP are falling in the polls, yes, but I think that redemption may be at hand, at least in the form of continuing to be the Loyal Opposition after Junior's team get elected..yes, I fear the writing is on the wall, I honestly don't think that Mulcair will be our next PM because the concept of strategic voting is ingrained now...
Whatever the outcome, it will be fabulous to see those ConJobs tossed on their respective rears.
then again, last night i saw a tape of Rob (the Slob) Ford walking around glad-handing supporters, women with children in their arms acting as if he were some sort of Hollywood celeb, posing for pictures, selfies etc...I find that shocking beyond belief but it shows they are still out there, and probably willing to vote, too, so who knows, truly, if Harper will lose? Most of us cannot conceive of anything worse than another era of Cons, but unless and until people are truly willing to get out and vote, not just, whine, snivel,satirize and make sure that they have the cool jeans for the season, but get off their collective asses and be the change they say they want to see...all this is for squat.

rumleyfips said...

The foundation upon which Slithery Steve has based his career no longer seem to be " up to it ". Hate spewing attack ads have become poodle not rottenwilders. The foul beliefs of his base ( sexism, marijuana laws, hatred of Canada's excellent judiciary etc. ) are proving to be losers with real Canadians.

Like that elephant ( you know the one over there) lil Stevie seems to think ignoring the facts will help. He continues alienating Canadians and making mistakes ( Omar anyone ) and Lurleen the secret weapon seems happy to let him self destruct.

Anonymous said...

Who knows what Harper will do behind our backs, during the summer break? Harper is very well known for being an underhanded, behind the back control freak behavior. What is the most revolting about Harper, he has not one lick of shame for his evil ways. Herr Harper's henchmen are just as vile, they would have to be, to support the monster Harper.

I am so furious at Jason Kenny and his lies about TFW. He has known of foreigners taking Canadian jobs, for absolute years. My son is an Electronic Engineering Technologist, Bachelor of Science, Electronic Engineer. Please note, he isn't a new Graduate. He had applied for a resource job. He made a courtesy call to the HR. The lady said, she had over 4,000 applications for ONE job. How does Kenny compute that, to a shortage of labor?

A buddy of my son took a resource job, starting at $25.00 per hour. How do you pay for, a $300,000 to $600.000 house, on $25.00 per hour? It also costs a fortune to move your family and Canadians do get laid off, their resource jobs. Many resource companies make their rotations, as crappy as they can make them. This is so Canadians, can't make it home to their families. Then the excuse for foreign labor kicks in.

Many foreigners have free transportation, are housed and fed in camps. Their countries cost of living, a fraction of Canada's. So, the foreign workers can work for a much lesser wage. In a province of China? Their minimum wage is $236 per month, what will $236 per month pay for in this country? Canadians don't get those perks, they pay for housing at the resource site and for the family left behind. No camp living for Canadians. The shortage of housing is so acute, Canadian do have to leave their jobs and/or not take the jobs. They can live in a travel trailer for the warmer months. However, that is not an option in the winter.

I have seen what Canadian resource workers are going through. Thousands of resource jobs, are not even posted. I began tracking resource job postings. I am finding that very interesting indeed.

deb said...

I can only hope that Herr Harper isnt saving the best ( and most deceitful moves) for last. I hope that it all continues downhill and by the end of the summer and the new season of parliamentary clowning brings a huge crash to the con party. I still think Harper has lost his brain when he threw nigel wright under the bus, my guess is nigel was the true tactician and without him, Harper is blindly flailing in his political deaththroes.

Simon said...

hi Salamander...I really like that Tom Wolfe story, and it's too bad McLuhan isn't around to comment on the times we are living through. We are all wearing the shabby garments the Cons have forced upon us, at least in the eyes of the world. They have degraded this country and its values beyond belief. But I remain confident that Canadians are tiring of their act, and will soon give them the hook...

Simon said...

hi Way Way Up...nice hearing from you. Yes, the Fort McMurray was very interesting. It's good to see that even in Alberta a lot of people are beginning to realize what the Cons are doing to that province and Canada. Money can help people forget a lot of things, but eventually they realize that the quality of life comes first. I don't think Trudeau is ever going to get the support he's looking for in Alberta, but every bit counts. And at least if he wins Alberta won't be so isolated. Justin Trudeau may have his flaws, and I certainly don't agree with all his policies. But as I said in my post he seems to symbolize change, and Canadians are definitely ready for it...

Simon said...

hi mizdarlin...I don't disagree that it is looking increasingly unlikely that Mulcair and the NDP will form a government. As I said in my post although Mulcair has done an excellent job of grilling the Cons, it will be hard to beat Trudeau as an agent of change. Symbols are hard to overcome. However it's not impossible that the Liberals could end up with a minority government so they will have to work with the NDP, and as you probably know I consider that to be the ideal situation, for I will never shake the belief that only by working together can we banish the Cons and repair the damage they have done. And yes you're right, getting our side to vote is our greatest challenge. I'm working on it eh? ;)

Simon said...

hi rumleyfips...yes you're right, nothing the Cons do seems to work these days, despite the massive amount of money they are spending to try to improve Harper's image. For one thing his attack on Justin Trudeau's marijuana policies is backfiring, because if you visit any Con site you can see that his own libertarian supporters don't support him on that one. But as I have said before, I think what will bring down the Con regime in the end is the generalized feeling that they have been in power long enough, and it's time for a change...

Simon said...

hi anon 2:34...judging by the amount of Con propaganda coming my way, I imagine that Harper will be pretty this summer trying to boost his numbers. Because in the fall he really will have to decide whether to stay or to go. So although I don't want to get our hopes up, I am not ruling out a fall resignation....

Simon said...

hi deb...yes many have pointed out that the PMO hasn't run as smoothly since Wright was forced to leave. Thank you Duffy !!!! The gang of young fanatics are both incompetent and out of control. But because they are so desperate theory are capable of anything, so I wouldn't rule out a nasty surprise either. And what I didn't mention in this post is that all this activity could be setting the stage for a very early election. So the progressive parties need to be ready as soon as this fall....

David said...

The Con attack mantra that Trudeau's "in way over his head" will continue, but will actually cause more people to vote for the Liberals!

It would not surprise me if Harper would even resort to a fall or winter election (2014) if he felt felt he was losing the upper hand.

News from 2013:

Hitler Reacts to Duffy's Revelations
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7fQAvkeQmE

David said...

I don't normally watch the Sun "News" Network but do watch once in a while to see how their pundits frame stories.


Check out:

http://www.sunnewsnetwork.ca/video/search/all/category/politics/source/battleground/early-election-talk/3659507936001

One of the several reasons Justin Ling thinks Harper will call a late April or early May 2015 election is because university students will be be packing up/leaving (so less likely to vote)

*
On another "Battleground" segment (not webbed) guest Ray Heard said the Cons have a good chance of winning the Mount Royal riding (Pierre Trudeau's old riding) because of the large Jewish vote.

David said...

As I posted on another thread....

Check out:

http://www.sunnewsnetwork.ca/video/search/all/category/politics/source/battleground/early-election-talk/3659507936001

One of the several reasons Justin Ling thinks Harper will call a late April or early May 2015 election is that university students will be packing up/leaving (so less likely to vote)

Anonymous said...

On a positive note, a break down by polling stations showed that the Liberal candidate here won more votes than his Con rival in Fort McMurray itself. I believe the numbers were something like 46% Liberal, 36% Conservative. Unfortunately, the populous southern portion of the riding gave Yurdiga the votes he needed to take the seat. I think things will change, albeit slowly, as Fort McMurray grows and more and more of our riding is shaved away to balance out the number of electors per riding. I can see a day when the city here pretty much constitutes its own separate riding if the city grows in population as projected. Too bad this little nugget of info won't get as much press as it deserves though but I do find it interesting nonetheless. The Conservatives just don't have the support here that they once did. And if this government continues to take people in Fort McMurray for granted, the government just may end up with a nasty wake up call.

Anonymous said...

You were completely right, a year and a half early. Good call!