One of the reasons Stephen Harper is able to go around openly clamouring for a majority, is that he has been able to portray the religious right in this country as a spent force.
But of course it isn't. It's out there playing a critical role in the Con election campaign. It's just being very very quiet.
It’s a deliberate, low-profile approach that’s in stark contrast to past elections. In previous campaigns, leaders of the religious right campaigned openly and stridently for Harper, with the hope of seeing a Tory majority that would promote their religious and social agenda. Today, they are working quietly at the local level on Harper’s behalf.
The word has gone out from the PMO. Work hard, deliver the vote, keep quiet, and you will get your bleeding pound of flesh when we get a majority. No abortion, no women's rights, no gay rights, and more religious schools than you can count.
Marci McDonald tried to warn us.
Marci McDonald, an award-winning journalist who has researched the growth of the religious right in Canada for years, disagrees strongly with the notion that social conservatives are sitting out this election.
Such reports “only serve the Conservative purpose because it decimates the idea of a hidden agenda, which actually isn’t so hidden,” she says.
But so many didn't listen. They didn't see the RepubliCons in our midst. They didn't hear the tiny footsteps of those who would turn us into a theocracy.
Which is too bad, because in the end, whether we like it or not, this election will come down to whether Canadians can trust Stephen Harper with a majority. The theocon conspiracy is part of that equation, and we are throwing away one of our best weapons.
I don't know why Canadians are so blind to that threat. But I do know this.
If the Day of Judgement arrives, and Stephen Harper wins his majority.
When the religious fanatics come out of the shadows to claim their bloody reward.
And the masks come off.
We will regret that blindness FOREVER...
Recommend this post at Progressive Bloggers
Stock bowed out to help smooth this issue over but thie article is still relevant:
ReplyDeleteHarpers Christian Wing
from '06, but still totally relevant:
Stephen Harper and the Theocons/
Thanks for those links, Anonymous. This from Murry Dobbins editorial is really pertinent:
ReplyDeleteIt is important to grasp that the Christian right is not simply culturally conservative in the obvious ways -- anti-abortion, anti-same-sex marriage, an obsession with punishment and a suspicion of science. As odious as this agenda is, it is only a warm up for born-again Christians who believe that we cannot achieve a state of grace with God if we are in any way assisted in our earthly struggles. So anything the state does that makes living in a capitalist society easier -- Medicare, public education, welfare, legal aid, EI, childcare -- is anathema. If Harper gets a majority it will not be pretty, for this is where his famous (but now rarely referred to) secret agenda is rooted.
Also tied into their worldview is the need to protect Israel in readiness of the second coming. This goes a long way to explain Harper's fixation on supporting Israel no matter what. This is a big part of the reason Canada lost its opportunity to sit on the Security Council.