Sunday, January 11, 2015

How Does Stephen Harper Get Away With It?



One of the questions I get asked the most is how after damaging Canada so much does Stephen Harper get away with it?

And I have to tell them I have no idea. I'm not a psychiatrist, I can't explain madness.

Or how he could fool so many for so long.

But with Harper creeping up in the polls it's a question I ask myself a lot. So I'm glad to see that Bob Hepburn is also wondering the same thing.

How does Stephen Harper get away with it after the way he has behaved?

How does Harper get away with it, indeed? 

Since he became prime minister in 2006, Harper has displayed a stunning disrespect for democracy in Canada, either approving or turning a blind eye to decisions that have undermined our democratic traditions and institutions and our faith in democracy.

Over the years, Harper has taken advantage of Canadians’ waning interest in federal politics to implement his anti-democratic initiatives and to run roughshod over Parliament and campaign rules and practices.


How could he still have a chance of winning another mandate?

Why is he still in power or not in jail?

After the way he has applied a chainsaw to our country and its values...



How does Harper get away with introducing a fair elections act that was so unfair it should rightly have been called the anti-democratic elections act? How does Harper get away with slapping gag orders on public servants and scientists, preventing them from speaking to the public?

How does Harper get away with blissfully ignoring Conservative election scandals, from the infamous anti-democratic robocall affair to voter fraud and election spending violations? How does Harper get away with shutting down Parliament not once but twice for partisan political reasons?

And still pose as Mr Canada in this absurd photo-op at a junior hockey game in Kingston last night...



What does this ghastly act, and his appalling record say about him?

Taken individually, all of these moves and decisions can be dismissed as one-off mistakes or transgressions. Collectively, though, they point to a prime minister who doesn’t care much for democratic institutions and practices. Taken together, they also reinforce the reasons why there is a growing discontent and disconnect between citizens and the federal government.

And what does it say about us?

While some pro-democracy groups have raised alarms in the past about Harper, most Canadians have just shrugged their shoulders, albeit in disgust. They are disengaged, discouraged by government scandals and believe politicians don’t listen to them and aren’t interested in the issues that are important to them.

And the good news? I don't think the voters are as disengaged as Hepburn seems to think they are. I think many are just discouraged by a nightmare that just seems to go on and on. 

But when the time comes for an election they will rouse themselves, and we will see a campaign like this country has never seen before.

And when the Cons roll out their heavy artillery...



We'll reply with our attack ads, and with their foul record we'll have all the ammunition we need to defeat them. 

As we must, for Hepburn is right about this:

For all Canadians, the stakes are huge. That’s because this election may be the last real chance for years ahead to restore faith in our democracy.

Because we must, we will. Failure is not an option.

Canada will be saved.

And this monstrous leader will be defeated...



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10 comments:

  1. Anonymous7:42 AM

    Simon: sadly about 30% of Canadians are willing to live blind to reality and keen to clasp on to the very keywords that he slathers them with: family, tradition, low taxes, stability, etc etc etc. In other words, they're idiots. So many people believe the media speaking heads who are simply bought and paid for with Conservative attack ads and 'Canadian government' (aka CPC propaganda) ads paid for with Canadian taxpayer dollars. It's a vicious cycle that will not stop. Keep it up, Simon! Keep people informed about Harper's depravity.

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    Replies
    1. hi anon...yes he does have a core base of slightly less than 30 per cent, and unfortunately due to the divided left, and our voting system, all he needs to do is work at getting the support of 10 percent of other Canadians to win a majority. But the good news is that even though he has spent a billion dollars on porky ads and photo-ops he is still nowhere near that number. And yes, although I'm quite sure I was born to be a bohemian not a political blogger, I will keep fighting him until the day he is defeated...

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  2. Anonymous8:32 AM

    Did you see the photo from Vancouver. Huge number of people behind him, some in red suits. Safety workers of some sort. Who was paying their salaries while they were posing for him. The Canadian public or the conservative party? He uses public resources like they belong to him exclusively.

    I seem to have had my name removed from your site so I will go back to being anonymous.

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    Replies
    1. hi anon...I didn't just see the photo, I watched his newer live, and I thought some of those poor unfortunate props in the background looked so bored I was afraid they were going to fall flat on their faces. But it's the same thing everywhere he goes. In factories, or in this case a technical institute, their bosses command them to stand in the background, and say nothing. in hopeful expectation of a government handout. It's totally phony and simply pathetic...
      As for having had your name removed from this site, I'm not sure what you are talking about since I have removed nobody. The only thing I recently did was remove the Captcha thing, because some readers were complaining that they couldn't read them. So maybe that's what happened. In any case. you can always write your name at the end of your comment, so I can address you more personally, and tell one anon from the other...

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  3. Anonymous10:07 AM

    I am an other who is openly critical of the Harper and his PMO and trained Harper seals called the con party. I am now being audited for no reason. Its getting darker and darker out there I too have to go underground and become Anonymous.

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    Replies
    1. hi anon...I'm sorry to hear that. Even though I am not a rich person I have to have my taxes done by professionals so I don't make any mistakes and have them pounce on me. It is indeed a dark time, but don't despair, if we work really hard we can defeat those bastards and bring the light back to Canada...

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  4. Subnet11:23 PM

    any comments about this article simon? http://www.vancouverobserver.com/opinion/harper-preaches-pushback-against-islamists-and-sells-weapons-all-over-middle-east

    ReplyDelete
  5. hi Subnet...thanks for that article, I will save it in my files. I have written before about the hypocrisy of the Cons and our ever expanding arms industry. And I find it outrageous that the Cons are selling weapons all over the Middle East to countries who use them to put down their own people, as well as arming the kind of terrorist groups the Cons claim to be fighting. It's criminally irresponsible, and like so many things in Harperland totally insane...

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  6. Harper Watch – January 1 to 11, 2015
    https://harperwatch.wordpress.com/2015/01/11/harper-watch-january-1-to-11-2015/

    Harper Chips
    http://hchips.ca/

    ReplyDelete