Thursday, October 08, 2015

The Bigot Stephen Harper and the Nightmare in Quebec



He just can't let go of that burning issue. He's got the bit, or the niqab, between his teeth.

Stephen Harper really is trying to use bigotry to win the election.

And he will miss no chance to pour fuel on the flames.

Stephen Harper took the politics of niqabs to a higher level Wednesday, suggesting a re-elected Conservative government would consider legislation banning the Muslim face covering for anyone dealing with – or working for – the federal government.

Claiming he's only following the example of Quebec's Liberal government.

“I believe the Quebec government has been handling this controversial issue in a responsible manner and we will do exactly the same thing in Ottawa,” Harper said during a campaign stop in Saskatoon.

While unleashing a barrage of hideous ads aimed at Justin Trudeau...



"Justin is totally disconnected from the values of Quebec. Trudeau says YES to the niqab. Justin thinks that most Quebecers are wrong. He's just not READY!!!!"

In the hope that the ghastly wedge issue will destroy Justin, as it is destroying the NDP in that province. 

And what makes it even more disturbing is that if this poll is right, the Con's bigot game is working.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Conservative Party has edged into first place in Quebec, buoyed by the divisive debate over Muslim women wearing niqabs, according to a new public opinion poll. 

The latest EKOS Research poll, conducted earlier this week, found the Conservatives in the lead with the support of 28 per cent of respondents compared with 25 per cent for Justin Trudeau’s Liberals and 24 per cent for Tom Mulcair’s New Democrats.

Which if true would be stunning, and a real kick in the stomach to our chances of winning the election...



If the trend continues, it could mean 25 or more seats for the Conservatives in Quebec, Graves said. Going into the election, the Conservative had only five seats in Quebec – all but one in areas just outside of Quebec City.

How could this happen in a province like Quebec, which has long led the resistance to the Harper regime? It's a long story that begins when Quebec threw off the crushing weight of the Catholic Church more than fifty years ago. It continues through the Bouchard-Taylor hearings into religious accommodation, and it's ghastly by-product the PQ's so-called Charter of Values. 

And culminates with the Charlie Hebdo massacre, which hardened attitudes in that province, to the point that many Quebecers don't believe they are bigots, they believe they are just standing up for their secular values. 

So no wonder Stephen Harper and Lynton Crosby found fertile ground to sow their bigot seed. 


Because while many Quebecers may have their heads up their asses to the point they can't see the forest for the trees, or the turds, that is what it is and it couldn't be more shameful.



This may be remembered as the “citizenship election.” For the first time since the Second World War, we are seeing the conspicuous use of identity politics by mainstream parties on a national level. This type of campaigning haunted the 19th and early 20th century, and we thought it was gone. But, in this election, that grave has been dug up, to our shame. And the preposterous idea that some citizens are more Canadian than others is being rattled in our faces like old bones.

The free-trade election of 1988 settled the question: “Are Canadians brave enough to enter the global economy?” The citizenship election of 2015 will decide if Canadians are brave enough to trust each other in the face of fear-mongering and bigot-baiting.


And the good news? Because French-speaking Quebec is still one of the most homogenous societies on earth, public opinion can turn on a dime, or change direction like a school of fish.

So if Justin Trudeau does as well as this new poll suggests he is doing.

Quebecers could still flock to join him to head off the threat of a Harper majority, as La Presse suggested they do yesterday, when it endorsed the Liberals.

But what it does tell the rest of us is that we cannot afford to waste a single vote. 


That this must be the Anyone But Conservative election.

For we must defeat this bigot monster before he shames us forever.

And sets this country on fire...



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15 comments:

rumleyfips said...

The Ekos numbers from ipolitics looked weird. The NDP and CPC numbers changed place exactly in just a few days. This is mot what the EKOS site says ; NDP CPC tie. I suspect a simple transcription error has everybody scrambling. Polling clarity should arrive Tuesday.

Anonymous said...

I just don't see, barring something unforeseen , that Harper can get a Majority. My only concern is that I am not sure what the positions of the other Parties are regarding propping up the corrupt Cons. Have the NDP and the LIBS definitely said they wont support a Conservative minority or that they wont support a HARPER led Conservative minority.? If either the NDP or the LIBS props up these tory ass***es then they should just disappear all together. CONS must GO !!!!!!! I fear the best thing is for the NDP vote to collapse completely and move in mass to the LIBS>

e.a.f. said...

Well if Quebecors give Steve a majority I wish them well and suggest they not complain when he goes even further with destroying Canada.

If the niqab is the most pressing issue for some, then obviously they are living a very good life, because there are many people in this country who do not have sufficient health care, housing, or salaries to look after themselves or their families.

People are going to get the government they deserve. In the case of Quebec, they might want to give some thought to be careful what you wish for. Steve really doesn't like Quebec that much, he just wants them to vote for him now. Wait until he has his majority......................

Anonymous said...

Steve and the Cons have no use for Quebec or anything further east except for pipeline and shipping conduits. His only priorties are funding through the sale of natural resources ( oil and mining ) and military expansion. Quebec does have some mining but mostly on aboriginal land which will be repatriated under federal jurisdiction when opportunity presents itself. The only role Quebec will get to play in stage 2 of the great Con game is one of an adversary. These guys are so far to the right that the only way they can hang onto power is to continually create new enemies. They cant be "old stock" anglos , and its preferable that they are geographically identifiable and ready to jump at the bait so what do you have left?
RT

Scotty on denman said...

I'd be extremely reluctant to predict what Quebec will do. One saving grace here is that the niqab issue is not exclusively a Quebec issue---if it was I'd be more worried because Quebecois, always loyal to Quebec first; any criticism would irritate their notoriously thin skin; But since the niqab thing is also the pean of Conservatives---across the country, no less---Quebec is far less driven to own it.

It's not really "identity politics" per se, because too much diversity is reacting to the niqab---as well as not reacting.

The real thing I worry about Quebec is, if any of us blokes tries to persuade them to ditch this non-issue, they might just get their noses out of joint and vote out of national (i.e., Quebec) pride because they don't like anybody outside to criticize them, or tell them what to do.

Anonymous said...

Well said! Anybody in their right mind would fear the NDP votes going to the Libero-cons for all the ass kissing and supporting of the CON party that they have and will continue to do! Any so-called "progressive Leader" like Trudeau's kid (his one and only claim to fame -- see Bill C51) that would actually have his party help vote in an atrocious act of Soviet-style bullshit known as Bill C51 should be declared an enemy of the people in no uncertain terms and have party eradicated forever!

Anonymous said...

It's too bad that none of the frenchies with the notoriously thin skin will remember how much harper hates them et al and will still vote their small, stupid little prejudices instead of the greater good. If heil harper gets back in and especially if he gets another majority, the only solace I will have from that is watching Quebec get exactly what it deserves from harper and it aint gonna be pretty.

Simon said...

hi rumleyfips...I agree. I've always trusted EKOS more than some of the other pollsters, but recently their numbers have seemed out of whack with the others. In their last poll they suggested that the Cons had a huge lead nationally, while others still showed a tight race between the Cons and the Liberals. So I'm hoping that this one is flawed as well...

Simon said...

hi anon...you're probably right. Even if the Cons did pick up a few more seats in Quebec they would probably only balance out the gains the Liberals are making in Ontario. But as for worrying whether the Liberals or the NDP could prop up the Cons I don't think there is any danger of that. If either Trudeau or Mulcair tried that they would be all but lynched by their own supporters....

Simon said...

hi e.a.f....I don't think Quebecers will give Harper a majority. It runs against all I know about them. I think they might support his position on the niqab for reasons of their own, but they will finally judge him on his ghastly record...

Simon said...

hi Scotty....As I tried to explain in my post, the opinion of people in that province has been shaped by a three-year process, and is more a determination to affirm secular values than a bigot eruption. Although Quebec also has its share of those kind of people. It is also compounded by regional rivalries with the people in the Quebec City area, who are rabidly jealous of Montreal's greater influence, seeing the niqab issue as springing from a city they despise. Some of those people in rural communities have never seen a Muslim in their towns and villages. So they go down to Montreal for a weekend and come back convinced that Quebec is being overrun by Muslims, and that everybody is speaking English.
Which of course couldn't be more ridiculous. But as I told e.a.f. I am still hopeful that those strongly held but ignorant opinions will not have a great effect on the way they vote...

Simon said...

hi RT....for years Quebecers have loathed the Cons, so I just can't see them suddenly voting to give them a majority. I think they got their back up on that ridiculous issue because it has been talked about so much in the province people have formed strong opinions, and are heavily influenced by what has happened in France, for obvious reasons. There has always been a desire to keep religion in its place, since the days of the so-called Quiet Revolution. And unfortunately that has been perverted by the desperate Bloc and the Harperites. But I still believe that when the time comes to vote, sanity will prevail....

lagatta à montréal said...

The "English" isn't ridiculous - there is an increased threat to the security of the French language here; that isn't all made up or the preserve of Vigile-style nationaleux...

lagatta à montréal said...

Er, that is a racist comment. Frenchies? Fuck you.

Anonymous said...

Quebecers do not let Harper divide your province with the niqab, because next he will separate the French in the east to the west. Mark my words. I am a French Canadian in Ontario and he is trying to divide Canada. The TPP is about the cheapest labour for the supply. Auto industry is investing 40 billion in Mexico because workers make $2 an hour. Harper is spending close to 1 million on attack and partisan ads. Where do you think he gets the money, probably large corporations pushing TPP