Sunday, July 13, 2014

Stephen Harper and the Summer of Discontent



Golly. I only hope Stephen Harper was able to shield himself from the rays of last night's super moon.  

Because in his agitated state I can only imagine the effect they might have had on him.


He desperately needs to relax, but how can he? When he's facing a long summer of discontent, he just can't get Justin Trudeau and the Chief Justice out of his mind.


And everywhere he looks the Cons are getting pounded.


Is this a summer of discontent for the country's conservatives? Look around.In three provinces, parties that call themselves Progressive Conservative are leaderless and adrift. 

Nationally, Stephen Harper's Conservatives have been running second to Justin Trudeau's Liberals in all but seven of 63 polls published by several different firms in the last 15 months.

And this must be driving him CRAZY....



So more and more Canadians are voting for Trudeau when they get the chance and more and more are telling pollsters they'd vote for Trudeau if they had the chance. 

This, despite the fact that the Conservative Party of Canada spent $1.5 million on radio and TV ads -- mostly TV -- in the last year to encourage Canadians to adopt the same low opinion of Trudeau that Conservative HQ has of him.

After all that propaganda, after all those porky ads, he STILL can't portray Justin Trudeau as a greater threat to Canada than he is.

Nor for that matter can he claim that Justin is in over his head when it comes to managing the economy. Not with these disastrous numbers. 

The economy's capacity to generate meaningful job growth continued to fall short of expectations last month — particularly in Ontario — as employment fell by 9,400 nationally and by 33,900 in the country's most populous province. Meanwhile, the official unemployment rate rose one-tenth of a point to 7.1 per cent, the highest it's been in six months.

Which make his constant claims that he's a real economist look hollow or FRAUDULENT.



Since the recovery began in 2009, federal ministers have stressed that while the economy is fragile, Canada is doing better than practically everyone else and that the country has led the industrialized world in job creation. 

But the latter boast is wearing thin, particularly as Statistics Canada calculates a mere 72,000 jobs have been added over the past year. Take Alberta out of the picture and the rest of the country would actually show a loss of 10,000 jobs in the last year.

And of course this isn't helpful.

The normally composed Dean Del Mastro lost his cool Friday, lashing out at his accusers during a prolonged cross-examination as he angrily deflected suggestions that he wasn’t being entirely truthful with the court.


Because as we know from painful experience, when the Deaner loses it, it's not a pretty sight...



And he can only remind Canadians that he was the Prime Minister's parliamentary secretary, his point man on ETHICS.

And of course that Harper has no judgement.

Which is no doubt why he's dragging his heels filling all those empty Senate seats.

Lest he drive that point home even further, by reminding Canadians of all his other mistakes...



And all those other scandals that could return at any moment to haunt him, and further damage the Con brand.

All of which probably explains why all that propaganda just isn't working.

And why judging by this clip from his tax payer funded propaganda channel, he
is growing more and more DESPERATE...



I mean does he really need to remind us that Alberta is the ONLY place in the country that's doing well ???

But then of course, so dreadful is his situation he does need to shore up his cowboy base. Because even in Alberta more and more people have had enough of his ghastly act. 

Which probably means that Stephen Harper is going to have a long hot summer of discontent.

And that if we apply a little extra pressure who knows what might happen...



Yup. Somebody turn up the heat eh?

Con times are hard times.

But they're almost over...

Please click here to recommend this post at Progressive Bloggers.

18 comments:

Gyor said...

I find you're support of extreme rightwinger Justin Trudeau distrurbing. He's just as bad as Harper. Justin opposes restoring the Long Gun registery, He supports Keystone, he supports FIPPA treaty with China, he supported with Harper the nationalization of Oilsands by China via Nexen, he is the one leading the charge against Mulcair, both stealing from the NDP and Using attack ads against the NDP, not Harper. Trudeau supported the Harper government countless times over the yeara and got no concessions on behalf of Canadians for it.


Trudeau is just as bad as Harper and soon you see that the sooner we can work with Mulcair to get rid of both od them.

Its Tom Mulcair that's damaged Harper offering the strongest opposition to Harper in generations, while Justin has been busy at cocktail parties and fundraisers for his party, leaving the real work to others.

Justin is not fit to be PM, and niether is Harper. Only Mulcair is ready for the job, only Mulcair has the team and ideas for it, only Mulcair has the ingerity and experience for it.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, and if you take a realistic look at Mulcair and the NDP's hard right turn that they have done under his leadership, you'll realize that Mulcair isn't going to be any different than Trudeau in his corporate alliances. horwath already proved that in Ontario. There really is only one party in Canada these days. THE CORPORATISTS. Mulcair only attacks harpie to achieve his own ends. Out of the possible candidates to fill Layton's shoes, Mulcair was/is the worst because of his big biz affinities. There is nothing "left" about the NDP anymore.

Simon said...

hi Gyor....I'm not supporting Justin Trudeau, I'm merely dealing with the reality we face. At this point it seems like Trudeau is the only person capable of defeating Harper, and at this point in our history that's all I'm interested in. Nothing you or I can say will make Mulcair more popular, he must do that himself. He is eminently qualified to be Prime Minister, but he's taking the NDP to the right, so the difference between him and the Liberals is shrinking by the day.

Steve said...

It kills me Harper wound up wearing a black hat at the Stampede.

Steve said...

Justin should be pounding Harper for his F35 follies. We have video of Airshow McKay insisting a single engine plane is the best because the engine will never fail, now the entire fleet of F35 is grounded indefiniely for engine failure. What an attack add why is no on making it? The ironic thing is that the best exit is through France.

Scotian said...

Simon, please excuse the profanity coming, but this is something I simply cannot allow to stand, and I feel the emphasis is needed despite my normal preference for not using such, sorry.

Gyor:

BULL FUCKING SHIT!!!

Trudeau is as bad as Harper?!? Trudeau is an "extreme rightwinger"?!?!?!? Do you appreciate that you sound as disconnected from reality as any Harper cheerleader when you make these claims for your side, the NDP? This is one of the main reasons you and yours are not trusted to govern, you clearly do not have a clear view of this nation, which is NOT anywhere near as progressive/leftwards as you and yours, it is very much majority-wise a centrist mushy middle political speaking nation, and that is REALITY.

The idea that Trudeau is an "extreme rightwinger" is absurd unless you are out in the fringes of the far left, which is an area with even less support density of the populace than the extreme right has. He is clearly not, unless that little bit about cannabis legalization and only pro-choice candidates need apply missed your radar. He may clearly not be all that left leaning especially as compared to where someone that is an NDP partisan might be, but that does not make him an "extreme rightwinger" as you called him. This is one area where your partisan blinders and your words only undercut those you support, not help them, at least to of your own particular bubble.

As to Trudeau being as bad as Harper, you have GOT to be out of your ever loving mind! NO ONE can be as bad as Harper, because HARPER is out to systemically destroy all fundamental Canadian institutions that work for Canadians. There is ZERO evidence to support the premise that Trudeau would follow in those footsteps, if anything the evidence shows he will work to reverse what he can of much of that damage (not all, because honestly some of it once done cannot be undone, the Wheat Board being one such example). After all, much of what Harper hates the most comes from his father's legacy, so the idea that he would continue in Harper's footsteps is patent partisan garbage of the worst sort.

You want to oppose Trudeau and advocate for your side, I am fine with that, but only if you do so in an honest and principled manner. This sickening, delusional, Harperite style garbage you just vomited in this thread though is no better than what we get from our current government in terms of actual substance and connection to reality. You want to find Trudeau objectionable as the choice for PM next time out, that is your right, but if you are going to claim that you and those you support are principled, are connected to reality, then stop sounding like the Harper Conservatives when it comes to your complaints about Trudeau! In some ways you sound even more extremist about him than they do, and that is an exceptionally difficult threshold to meet, but you managed it!

Simon:

Again, sorry about the strong language, but this sort of idiocy has to be called out, especially given the reality of the threat we live with from Harper. I've said for a decade that Lib Tory same old story stopped having any connection to reality with the rise of the Harper CPC, and then to equate Trudeau to Harper in such direct ways as was done here, well that is not any better than the crap we see out of the Harper CPC. I can respect but still disagree with NDP supporters who stay with their standard, but only when they show they recognize reality as it is, not as they want it to be for whatever reason. In this case I am not going to speculate whether this is honestly believed delusion or political positioning bullshit, with a CPCer it might be easier to tell, although with their own all-consuming hatred of Trudeau maybe not. You've got to love how for the hard core Dipper mind Trudeau is a "extreme rightwinger", and for the rightwinger CPCer he is a rabid socialist, which only shows to my mind just how far out on the extreme ends of the spectrum each side is compared to Trudeau.

Simon said...

hi Scotian...I will forgive your strong language, because I share your passion for this country, and of course because I agree with you completely. ;) As I have said before at this time in our history, I refuse to put any party before the needs of our broken country. I know the Liberals and the NDP have their differences, and we can fight over those later. But I also know that both share my Canadian values, so I wish them host they best of luck. For the only thing I care about is the total destruction of the Con regime...

Simon said...

hi anon...thanks for the link. I've too have always found the Deaner to be one of the most entertaining members, in a grotesque sort of way, of the whole Con regime. And I'm enjoying this court drama intensely.Now if somebody could explain how a guy like that gets to be the Prime Minister's parliamentary secretary I'd be very obliged. And of course, I will keep asking that question as loudly as possible all the way to the next election...

Simon said...

hi Steve...yes it is funny, and not just Harper but also the cowgirl Laureen. At first I thought it was a fashion faux pas, but then I thought no, Harper actually likes being seen as the bad guy. But then you know what happens in those old westerns to the guys in the black hats. Sooner or later they're driven out of town, or carried out feet first... ;)

Simon said...

hi Steve...well as you know my position is that the progressive parties should be hammering the Cons with attack ads and framing them as they would do us. But it's hard to argue with those that say that so far staying above the fray is working at least for Justin Trudeau. Still as I said in my post, with so much material we can use against them, it seems a pity to waste it...

Noah Patterson said...

The trio of Harper, Trudeau, and Mulcair, are all terrible. Trudeau is Harper-light, he has voted more with the Cons than against, and I think he will be extremely easy for the corporate lobbies to subdue and become their puppet.

But he is more socially liberal, and I think will make more of an effort to be pro-Canada. I want to hear Trudeau make a strong promissory pledge to repeal and undo much, if not all, of the Cons omnibus legislations, to restore environmental protections, to respect Canada.

Mulcair... I don't trust him. He's got some great MPs though and despite the hard-right turn he's pushed the party in to, the NDP are still the most palatable of the three. I'd prefer Mulcair as the lesser evil, but if people are going to rally behind the Liberals (which is what the polls and by-elections are all indicating) I'll take it. Anything to get Harper out.

Scotian said...

Thanks Simon, appreciate that (though I remember having to argue that with you once, thanks for joining me here on the "dark side" so to speak...*chuckle*. Seriously though, just how far out there to you have to be to seriously believe that Trudeau is an extreme rightwinger and would govern the same as Harper? Especially when you hear the CPC Harpertes going on about what a rabid socialists airhead he is.

This is the problem I have with a lot of the political progressives Simon, they refuse to accept that they are not the majority or even the plurality of the Canadian electorate. The reason I always advocated for the Libs to stop Harper in the past was because of this reality, most unaligned/uncommitted voters see themselves as somewhat socially progressive/somewhat fiscally conservative, but most of all middle of the road pragmatic centrists (however that is being defined at the time). The hard evidence that supports this is there in election results time and time and time again after all, so I fail to understand why it is so hard for so many otherwise intelligent people to grasp this.

This was why Harper had to kill off the PCPC and take their image of being more centrist to finally succeed, and even then he needed the active aid of the NDP PLUS the worst Lib leader arguably ever but certainly in modern times, Ignatief, to gain even this slim majority government. The NDP should be paying attention to this, because there is only the one choice for anyone on the political right while for the left there are currently two (used to be three for Quebec with the BQ, but they seem to finally be a spent force thankfully).

Just moving towards the center is not enough for the NDP, they had to remove the other party that has dominated that space for generations, the Libs, and they clearly failed. So what they need to do, as I think they are in greater danger of losing a fraction, potentially a significant fraction, of their traditional base who simply can't follow Mulcair where they would follow Layton onto centrist ground, is return to being what they were, a strong voice for progressive left principles and start to rebuild, but this time do so recognizing the reality of the electorate and smoothing off some of the worst sharp edges.

Now, this time out I am pretty much supporting the Libs and Trudeau because this time I actually find in Trudeau, much to my own surprise I freely admit, a political leader I can support. While I haven't yet decided to join the Red party bandwagon yet I am leaning more towards it than I have in a generation, but I am still waiting for more policy depth before making a full commitment. My wife has already made her choice to go all in this time out, but then her anger with the NDP for betraying her is much worse than mine (since she grew up being a hard core Dipper), and she finds in Trudeau someone she is willing to believe might return this nation back to the path of decency it lost when Harper became PM.

No party or leader will ever be a perfect match for me or for most of us who vote, even those of us who join parties and/or become partisans of a party/leader. However in today's world it is Trudeau who is clearly the preferred choice of Canadians to oppose Harper, not Mulcair, and everyone recognizes this. When the third party leader is the near constant first pick to be the next PM, and is party the same for a year and a half straight, well that is no mere honeymoon effect, that is the sign of something much more profound.

Simon said...

Hi Scotian...as you probably know I have always believed that progressives should unite, and if I've stopped pushing for that for now it's only because while i am idealistic I'm also extremely realistic. It's not going to happen in the near future. But I remain confident that one day it will. Unless we can miraculously get proportional representation. But I don't see that happening either. So the best I can do is not treat either the Liberals or the NDP as the enemy, cling to my peacekeeping instincts, and hope that somebody gets the job done and drives the filthy Con regime from power....

Simon said...

hi Noah...as I've explained before I am way to the left of even the NDP. I want a party that seriously challenges the ruling economic system, and sets us on a new course towards a more just and sustainable future. Before I leave for Scotland in a few days I'm going to try to write a post about what's happening there, and how the debate over independence is leading a lot of people in the search for a "New Left."
Because that's the kind of thing that excites me. Something new and different. In the meantime however, I will support anyone who can defeat the Harper Cons before they destroy what's left of our country...

Anonymous said...

You got that right... because Justin and his brain trust Gerald Butts are both in the Martin camp and the strings are being pulled by the Desmarais' through their Power Corporation of Montreal octopus. Justin is just a puppet who dances to Powercorp needs.

Justin's support for all those issues are in the best interest of Powercorp, every one of them! Powercorp through it's Chinese patron CITIC is building and operating brown coal-fired power stations and the dirty coal is being transported in the China Sea by CSL(Martin family) conveyor coal carrying vessels. Several retired Liberals have money interests in those same Chinese brown coal mines which are the most dangerous in the world.

When burned this brown coal creates massive pollution that covers Chinese cities, and prevailing winds then carry the plumes of pollution all the way to western USA and Canada. This Chinese pollution contains heavy metals like mercury which is entering the food chain and into pregnant women's fetus'. NASA satellite photos clearly show the pollution plumes from China to BC!

A PM Trudeau would sell out Western Canadian resources to China and then deliver more equalization payments to Quebec... croyez-le.

Steve.....

Anonymous said...

Simon!!! How can you sacrifice all of Canada to the Liberal Quebec cabal just because you so hate Harper?! True and loyal Canadians in the ROC elected a majority Conservative government because they rejected both Ignatieff and Layton too. In the 10/15 election, the main issue will be do true and loyal Canadians want to capitulate to Quebec by voting Liberal and by default getting a PM Justin the Clown?!

NO, NON, NYET .... suck off!!

Steve....

Anonymous said...

Oppps.... sorry for using the moniker "Steve" when I post anonymously. Hereinafter, I shall use:

SteveT.....

Anonymous said...

If the Libs and Dips merged into a "New Liberal Democratic Party" (NLDP), we would have a near two party system and PR becomes unnecessary. However before that can happen, the Cons must win big in 10/15 thus forcing the Libs and Dips into an unholy merger matrimony.... and both Justin and Mulcair will not lead a merged true centre-left party to challenge the centre-right Cons. So if you really want PR, you should vote Conservative to force the Libs and Dips out of business. Agree?

SteveT.....