Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Stephen Harper and the Great Getaway Tour
As I watched him drag himself wearily up the steps of his getaway plane, I could only imagine what Stephen Harper was thinking.
I've done it !!! I've made it to the plane !!! The caucus rebels can't get me now. And even Duffy can't follow me EVERYWHERE !!@#!
But sadly for Great Battered Leader I just KNOW that Old Duff and his Senate pals will find some way to keep him company eh?
And of course when he returns, the caucus rebels will be waiting. Because now it's getting serious.
Senior figures in the Conservative movement are warning that unless Stephen Harper moves his House Leader, Peter Van Loan, and the Government Whip, Gordon O’Connor, more MPs will follow the unlikely rebel, Brent Rathgeber, out of the caucus door.
The finger of blame has been pointed squarely at Mr. O’Connor, a former brigadier-general used to his orders being obeyed without question, and Mr. Van Loan, described by one Conservative as “the most reviled member of caucus.” But they are merely the enablers of a command and control structure where the word is written by the Great Helmsman and interpreted by the cadre of youthful Blue Guards in his office.
Now it's starting to look like a caucus REVOLUTION.
One with a Messiah like Brother Brent...
And one with a message Harper can't ignore: Do what we say, or lose your majority.
All it takes is for a group of about 10 of us to sit down with the Prime Minister and let him know what could happen. Tell him that we want changes in the way this place is run or we’re going to join Brent Rathgeber and sit as independents. You, sir, will be without your majority.
And to make matters worse, if that's possible, the MSM is now on a death watch.
At some point during the last few weeks, with the party riding at its lowest-ever in the polls under his leadership, the explosion of the Duffy-Wright affair and the resignation of one of his MPs, the switch flicked. The question for journalists is no longer whether Harper will be defeated, but when he will go. And when he goes, will it be by his own volition, in an election, or at the hands of his own party?
Which will probably make The Great Escape Tour of Europe look more like The Not So Great Farewell Tour eh?
And probably RUIN his photo-op with the Queen...
Which I'm sure you'll agree could be quite amusing, if we didn't have to pay such a horrible price.
Because now he's so DESPERATE to make a deal with the Europeans, he's preparing to sell us out. Again.
The Harper government has agreed to smooth the way for more takeovers of Canadian companies by European firms in one of several concessions during free-trade talks, sources tell The Canadian Press.
With Prime Minister Stephen Harper in Europe over the next week hoping to hammer out the remaining barriers to the ambitious deal, sources say Canadian negotiators have agreed to a provision to raise the threshold for reviewing foreign acquisitions from Europe to $1.5 billion.
Great eh? Welcome to Harperland, the official name of Little Canada.
Gawd. Can it only be two years since he was raving like a Fuhrerburger?
And telling us that thanks to his strong leadership Canada was BACK !!!!!!
Oh well. I guess it's true what they say eh?
In politics two years can be an ETERNITY.
For look at him now...
On the run, pursued by scandal, trying to lasso what's left of his party, and looking like a LOSER.
Not Mr Canada, NOT a Great Leader.
You know it's funny eh? I was out on the canal this afternoon, fishing with my buddy Seb and playing with my pet swan.
And it was kind of cloudy and cool.
Then I heard on the radio that Harper had left the country. And I kid you not, almost immediately the clouds parted. The sun came out.
And my Canada never looked more beautiful..
Yup. Brother Brent may be the Con Messiah. But I'm prophesying this eh?
Mike Duffy will be one of the stars of the Great Farewell Tour.
Stephen Harper is heading for oblivion.
And better days will soon be here..
Click here to recommend this post at Progressive Bloggers.
Thanks for an uplifting article, Simon. I have been around the block a few times, and yes, I agree that Dear Leader is definitely on the way out.
ReplyDeleteQuestion is how desperate he is to remain in power?
I think the corruption that we have seen is just the tip of the iceberg. We can only see the full extent when we get rid of him and his cronies.
Corrupt governments/dictators often will do all they can to stay in power to keep their misdeeds from being exposed. However, it will be much harder this time. Voters and the media seem to have woken up from their slumber and seen the man for what he is -- corrupt, conniving, bereft of scruples.
With all due respect; that's why they're planning to spend MILLIONS MORE OF OUR TAX DOLLARS on another blitzkrieg set of ads telling us all about their fantastic new "action plan for Canada" again (and again and again).
DeleteIf you repeat a lie to somewhat ignorant people who only have state-sponsored m.s.m. to rely on for what little knowledge that they aren't too fucking lazy to research let alone pay attention to, the lie eventually is accepted as the truth. The idiots in the u.s. have already proved that. That's why the rethuglicans down south keep doing it . . . BECAUSE IT WORKS, regardless of how egregious the wrongdoing or lie. You tell the sheeple it's okay long enough and repeat it enough, they go along with anything. (see waterboarding and other forms of torture, drone attacks, rendition, black sites, unwarranted spying on your own citizens, etc.)
I think we have only begun to see harper's real colours and desperation unmasked. It gets a lot more interesting from here on in. I think he would see Canada destroyed rather than "lose control" of it. Any betting people out there?
hi anonymous 10:43...Thank you I'm glad you liked the post. I think it's important that progressives keep their spirits up. And I honestly believe that the Harper regime may be on its way out. I'm sure he is desperate to stay in power and leave on his own terms, but after so many years of turmoil, scandal and bad government I think history will choose that moment for him. I mean when the news of his departure can part the clouds and make the sun shine again, how could I think otherwise... ;)
Deletehi anonymous 2:58...Although I agree with you that attack ads can work, Harper's attack on Justin Trudeau backfired badly. And I believe a big reason they did is that his Porky Action Plan ads have so annoyed Canadians, they have taken the sting out of whatever else he says. Once people stop believing you the game is almost over...
DeleteAbout those so-called "Rebels", let's not get ahead of ourselves. Sorry, this is where I play devil's advocate. Brent Rathgeber is a whiny anti-choice who's basic complaint is that the Harpercons are not conservative enough. His 15 minutes of fame are almost over. He'll find that sitting in the nosebleed section of the House of Commons will only prove that he will be further ignored by hyper partisan speaker Andy. Media will ignore him soon enough as well.
ReplyDeleteHis buddies like Mark Ra-Ra-War may be pleased with him, but I havent' heard an inkling of a hint that they will leave Harpercon reindeer games.
Plus, Steve has a big cabinet shuffle to do as well. All he has to do is take some of those loose cannons and put them in cabinet to shut them up. It has worked for him in the past. Remember Max Bernier? Remember after he was booted out of cabinet and was a back bencher, he couldn't stop flapping his gums about how his boss was not conservative enough. Well, after 2011 election, Max is back in cabinet and we haven't heard nearly that much from him, now have we? He even said on his blog after he was appointed to cabinet, that he would not be saying as much and would have to basically watch himself.
Those so-called rebels know what the alternatives are-- sit in the nosebleed section and be ignored by all until they're voted out or stick around with the party umbrella over them with all the perks that go with it. They know which side their bread is buttered.
hi CK...you may be right, the rebels may grumble a lot but not dare to do anything. It's hard to teach old sheep new tricks. However, I have been surprised to see how strong the currents of a leadership contest are swirling just beneath the surface. Watch Jason Kenney closely for something is up. And if he decides to use the Con troubles to boost his leadership hopes, anything could happen. Also remember that enough Con MPs to threaten his majority don't have anything to lose. They won't be running again, teir pensions are secure, and they could go out with a bang. We should get a good idea of which way the wind is blowing when the Cons hold their national convention this summer. I know it all sounds too good to be true, but it's about time, and we deserve it... ;)
DeleteWe have to pray? Harper doesn't sign the FIPPA deal with China, before he goes. Harper has already given much to China already. China will also take the timber and mines, on Vancouver Island. Harper is also to bring China into, the rich resources of the High Arctic. Harper's FIPPA deal means, China will be in Canada, for a minimum of 31 years. China will be bringing thousands of Chines over, to work all of their resource jobs.
ReplyDeleteHarper has gone to England, to suck up to the Queen and P.M. Cameron. Then Harper is off to France. Some European country's were angry with Harper regarding, he gave false statements about the toxicity of the tar sands. At every meetings of Nations, Harper always manages to insult and anger every country present. Harper is not wanted in the trade groups nor, in World Organizations.Country's detest Harper's bullying and his hissy fits when, he doesn't get his own way.
Harper has no decency, ethics nor morals, what-so-ever. When Harper's Caucus named him a control freak. When Rathgeber quit Harper. The rain drops, turned into a torrent. Canadians went to war so we wouldn't have, such as Harper governing our country.
hi anonymous 4:32 pm...As I've mentioned in some recent posts, I think that Stephen harper is now so unpopular that almost every issue aimed at him is bound to hit its target. And issues like the China deal, or all the other horrible things he has done, will come back to haunt him. As you say, the rain drops have turned into a torrent, and it will sweep him away...
DeletePeople who reduce others to one-dimensional cartoons often ending up looking like one themselves. Harper railed against everyone who wasn't rich, white, straight, male and Xian...laugh's on you, bud. We are more than our obvious identities and you, sir, are not.
ReplyDeletehi anonymous 7:26...As I see it Harper made two fundamental mistakes. He turned his enemies into one dimensional cartoons or cardboard cutouts, only to end up looking like one himself. And because he runs such a one-man government he has come to personalize or symbolize everything that's wrong with the Cons. And you're right, the laugh's on him...
DeleteIt ain't over til its over. It ain't over by a long shot. If people are expecting the electorate to rid us of stevie slime, just remember B.C. rel-elected Christie Clark and her provincial lieberals. Never over estimate the intelligence of the voters.
ReplyDeleteNow as to 10 or "independants". Yes, they may go sit by themselves and they will wind up playing with themselves. If they vote against dear leader, they too will have to face the electorate. Some of them will find their consituencies no longer support them. They will be out of the best job they ever had. Not going to happen. No we are going to have to deal with stevie and the slimers until the end of his term. Remember he is busy remaking Canada so we don't recoginize it. By the time Stevie is finished we will look a little like europe, a lot more like china (perhaps we can negotiate voting rights in China for us in B.C.), and a lot like central and south america when it comes to living and social conditions.
Caucus revolts come and go. The federal Conservatives do not have a "leader" waiting in the wings. Yes, there are those who aspire to the position but none of them has what it takes. There is much which was not finished by Mulroney, when it comes to "free trade". Harper will finish the plan and Canada as we once knew it.
hi e.a.f...the day you declare it's over, I'll surely know it really is. ;)
DeleteAnd you're right it's not over until Mike Duffy sings. But I've been going through some recent polls, and in all the years I've been following the hideous adventures of Great Leader, I've never seen anything like it. For remember the core of the Con brand has been badly damaged. And not only are Canadians upset with Harper, a lot of them are also TIRED of him. So what he might have survived two years ago, he might not survive tomorrow. Some things you can recover from, but old and tired and scandal ridden can be a fatal combination...