Winter in Canada can be such a long and dark road, but although it's only early January and it's bitterly cold out there, I feel like it's almost Spring.
Because now I know that the Con nightmare will soon be over. Canadians are waking up and the tyrant's days are numbered.
In fact, the other night I went to write yet another post attacking Stephen Harper, only to find when I read the progressive blogs, that hundreds of people had already written what I wanted to say.
Wow. So much idealism, so much energy. So many great posts, graphics and videos. And now this handy website.
Congratulations brothers and sisters. You are AWESOME. I have never been so proud and excited to be a progressive.
Of course, I was a little shocked at not being able to come up with another post about Harpie. After spending the last three years doing everything I could think of...from tacky photoshops to crummy videos...to try to warn people about this alien Con's twisted nature... and his despotic tendencies.
But then I thought about it eh? And I realized that's a GOOD thing. Because I'm really lazy at this time of the year.
And now I can put my feet up, for a while, and just enjoy the show...
Oh sure, there are some Canadians like the decent but boring old Owl Ottawensis Jeffrey Simpson, who would drown us in cynicism and despair.
Will this prorogation decision be the proverbial “tipping point” that alerts Canadians to what they did not know, or had not seen clearly, before? His critics believe or hope so. Experience suggests otherwise, including the observable historical fact that it takes much more than one prime ministerial overstretch like this to wound a leader.
Gawd. We need Canadians like that at this dark time of the year, like we need a hole in the head. Or a hole in the ice when we're skating.
And besides I'll settle for Andrew Coyne admitting that he just might be...er...wrong.
Because that's a first eh?
But the absolute BEST thing for me was hearing Harper's biographer William Johnson... the man who once said Great Ugly Leader would be the best Prime Minister since Pierre Trudeau...admit that he had underestimated his...wait for it... "vindictiveness."
Golly. I practically fell off the couch convulsing with joy and shouting: What's a matter with you Billy? You dummy. Didn't you do your research?
Of course, the protests and the rallies are just the beginning. Stephen Harper remains a deadly threat to the country we love. And we are going to have to work even harder, and be even smarter, if we are going to get rid of him and his ugly Cons.
But now I know we can do it. My beautiful Canada LIVES !!!
The winter may be cold and dark. It has been a long hard road.
But tomorrow will be brighter...
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Cartoon: Theo Moudakis/ Toronto Star
16 comments:
It's Canadians like you and others that make me proud to be a Canadian.
Very nicely put Simon, but one thing that worries me, is Harper is a Straussian and likes the books on Stalin and acts like him. If this were not a democracy, we would be in trouble.... as not only does he believe in these two things, it is added on to his Reform roots. It is going to take a great deal to get rid of him..we almost have to take to the streets, while we still can, legally.
It's great and all that people are waking up to Harper hypocrisy, but where's the alternative? None of the opposition parties are putting out stunning alternative visions yet.
hi Skinny Dipper...what a sweet thing to say. Thank you. Sebastien usually motivates me with a kick in the behind, but I much prefer this kind of encouragement. :)
Seriously though... I have been stunned by this awesome rebellion. It's so awesome and refreshing, and when we believe in each other, and a better Canada, we can do ANYTHING...
hi Cari...I agree with you. We are dealing with a political monster who has shown he is willing to do ANYTHING to stay in power...or get his precious majority.
So we have to build on this revolt, put our heads together, and come up with a winning strategy.
But don't forget that there are more of us than there are of them. So if we really really want to do it, we CAN.
Now doesn't that make you feel better? :)
Hi Ian...yes you are absolutely right too. Where is the alternative we can present to the Canadian people? I don't want to be too harsh on our leaders, but they and that alternative are still missing in action.
Hopefully though, as we kick Harper's ass, we can also light a fire under the behinds of our leaders... :)
Great post! But I'm with Ian, what's the alternative. I feel desperate to build on the momentum, but what happens after the rallies? I read this Sun article and thought Yes, why not? Maybe it's the only way to get rid of them once and for all it may be just a matter of time anyway.
http://www.ottawasun.com/comment/editorial/2010/01/09/12401271-sun.html
I hate to rain on your parade, Simon my love, but you DID hear that Count Ignasty The Gutless Wonder has blinked and said "no election" despite Harper's "crazy" behaviour:
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/100108/national/liberals_ignatieff
Well, The Economist referred to Harper acting out of "naked self-interest" -- I wonder if they will say the same of Ignasty, the miserable cockroach.
Toe:
The *second* that there is any effort to officially fold the NDP into a permanent union with that unprincipled gang of dirtbags in the Liberal Party (as opposed to a temporary "coalition"), I will start voting for someone other than the NDP. And there's a LOT out there just like me.
Conversely, there are a LOT of Liberals whose #2 choice (after Liberal) is Conservative, not NDP. In short, Harper hasn't quite finished "uniting the right" until he absorbs the Paul Martin/Scott Brisson wing of the Liberals.
And that very wing is a major reason why I cast SUCH a chary eye on everything Liberal. Not to mention all the homophobes like Tom Wappel.
Trust the Liberals?! Pffft! Not bloody likely!
don't you believe Simon, Sebastien would NEVER kick his ass, he loves him too much. So do I. XXX angus
hi Toe...interesting article. I'm not sure I agree with everything he says. For example, if you have a coalition you can keep your party platforms as long as you agree on a common set of principles.
But as for combining or uniting the progressive parties I completely agree. The Cons have united, Canada has changed, abd we have to change with the times, or get stuck with the Cons FOREVER.
Allowing those thugs to ruin our country even though there are more of us than there are of them, is hard to accept.
And will be even harder to explain to the next generation...
hi 'berto...well you're always raining on my parade, but I always forgive you, and I STILL love you. So there. :)
Seriously though brother...I don't usually make New Year's resolution, but this year I did make one. And that is not to be cynical if I can possibly help it. Or at least not cynical about the country I love. Because I'm so tired of the cynicism, the bitterness, and the defeatism that in my opinion is KILLING Canada.
You know that I have some big issues with the leaders of the progressive. And inspiring is about the last word I'd use to describe them. But they are still INFINITELY better than Stephen Harper and his rotten Cons. Let's at least recognize that and give ourselves some credit eh?
So you stubborn Western mule you, can we at least agree on something?
Let's take power first, and then fight ourselves... :)
hi angus...so how would you know? Just because you're my best friend doesn't mean you know what goes on behind closed doors.
Sébastien may look like a big hunky teddy bear, but he can be a BEAST. ;)
P.S. So you love me TOO MUCH eh? Nice. I'll remember that one... :)
Berto - I know, so okay the Ottawa Sun article was obviously hackey, look at these two site posts and think about it.
http://popthestack.wordpress.com/2009/11/03/you-thought-i-was-crazy-another-strategic-proposal-for-ndp-libs/
And Michael Wheeler:
http://departmentofculture.ca/the-harper-dictatorship-is-over-if-you-want-it/#comment-523
"A united Green, Liberal, and NDP, opposition has the ability to bring about this consequence. In fact, it is the only feasible way to prevent the minority of far-right ideologues that have taken control of the levers of power from further disembowelling Canadian democracy through a majority government engineered through a taxpayer-funded propaganda campaign, a gerrymandered first-past-the post system, and a discouraged and disengaged electorate. The public does not like any of their options right now and they are tuning out."
Peace Out, Nite.
Simon --
It's all well and good to try to be less cynical and more optimistic, but it's hard to maintain that attitude when Count Ignasty keeps undercutting us/selling us out at every available opportunity.
To be clear, I think there are two guiding principles when it comes to the Liberals (and Ignasty in particular):
- screw the country, what's best for THE LIBERALS?
- I don't think there's any major policies or programs where Ignasty has any huge problems with what Harper is doing... including his blatant efforts to emasculate Parliament and move toward a more republican/presidential system -- this is a system Ignasty has become far more comfortable with over the past 30 years anyway, living in the US. Ignasty's only real difficulty is not policy or destruction of parliamentary democracy, it's that HE wants to be "president", rather than Harper.
You ask me, I trust Gilles Duceppe more -- a man who, despite being a sovereignist, demonstrates FAR more understanding of, and respect for, federal parliamentary tradition than either Harper or Ignasty. (Now *that's* a unification effort I could support, if the NDP and the Bloc were to merge. Seriously.)
hi 'berto...look as I said before I'm not a big supporter of Michael Ignatieff. I find his policies too right-wing and his position on the Dirty Oil Sands infuriates me. But having said that he is better than Harper. For example, I did see Iggy at the Gay Pride Parade and I didn't see Harpo.
And until the NDP and the Liberals form some kind of working arrangement we are never going to get anywhere. And the Cons are always going to be within reach of a majority. If I was living in Quebec I might vote for the Bloc, but if I did I would also urge them to join a coalition because there's no reason that Quebecers who vote for Gilles and company should be disenfranchised. And if we did that the Cons would be gone FOREVER.
Then tonight (Monday) I see that the NDP MPs are going to join the Liberals on the 25th of January. Because they think it could look "too partisan."
Gawd. I almost give up. But you know me, I'm STUBBORN... :)
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