It couldn't be more ironic. Stephen Harper creates a monster called Bill C-51, to go after his enemies, and scare Canadians into submission.
So he can turn this country into a police state.
But before he can unleash the monster on the population, the monster slowly turns around, grunts loudly.
And starts scaring the living daylights out of Great Leader.
Stephen Harper should worry. If public opinion polls are any barometer, support for his so-called ‘anti-terror’ law, Bill C-51, is fading fast. The more people learn about the bill, the more they loathe it. The latest poll shows that 56 per cent of Canadians now oppose C-51 — including a growing number of Conservative supporters.
For as Andrew Mitrovica points out,The Great War on Terror is going nowhere. The Fear Factor has faded. Now his monstrous bill is threatening to cost him the support of those he can least afford to lose.
Look at the latest polling: Terrorism isn’t moving votes, but C-51 is. It may even emerge as a defining issue during the election campaign. If it does, Harper and Blaney may find that the people they most need to convince — sober, sensible retirees like the ones who welcomed me this week — may be tuning out their talking points.
They’re not convinced anymore. If C-51 truly becomes a ballot box issue, Harper may not be able to count on his entire base coming along with him. They may decide their loyalty to the principles that built this country is worth more than party loyalty or dog-whistle appeals to fear and paranoia.
And if that happens, and he does lose the support of some in his base, he's done like dinner.
And the even better news is that the more people learn about the bill the more they loathe it. So the more we spread the message, the more damage we will do him.
And the monster he created to destroy us, and our Canada.
May well end up destroying HIM...
Wouldn't that be ironic? Wouldn't that be divine justice?
It couldn't happen to a more loathsome creature.
It couldn't happen to a lousier dictator...
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If the Tory base finally wakes up and realizes that Harper is in fact NOT Conservative, but is actually a fascist dictator, there is cause for rejoicing.
ReplyDeleteHowever, the other issue here is the egregiously appalling decision by the Liberals to support Bill C-51. If this strategy was designed to steal votes from Red Tories, I believe that many more votes (like mine) will end up going to the NDP or Green Party. After allowing much slack to Trudeau and his team, I am now officially declaring that (IMHO) the Liberals are not the alternative to the Conservative government.
At least an NDP minority government with a Liberal opposition would be palatable. A Conservative minority with a Liberal opposition is useless.
Your thoughts?
Actually, as the Alberta election had shown us, it may not be a bad strategy for the Libs to go after the soft Cons votes. We now have basically two right wing parties that support tax cuts and C-51. The Libs could be the equivalent of the Alberta PC while the Harper Party is the equivalent of WR. That will leave the progressive votes to coalesce with the NDP. So do not knock the Libs too much for voting for C-51 .... they may actually be doing us "ABC" (Anybody But Closet) types, who could be happy with either the NDP or Libs in power, a big favor. :)
DeleteDitto!
DeleteThe Con strategy is simple. Use fear, prejudice, and money to lead Canadians down the garden path while at the same time portraying the opposition as weak, supreme court loving idiots that are totally out of touch with the dire terror our country faces from a host of villains bent on destroying us, Bill C-51 was going to pass without Liberal support. Vote against it and its one more tick in the weak box... which is fine if there are no "terror" attacks or other quasi terrorist incidents between now and election day. However if there is one " real or imaginary" incident near election day its game over for those who voted against it. The Liberals took the middle of the road and promised to repeal the most offensive parts if elected and review/scrap the whole bill in 3 years. The NDP went all in. Either way Canadians have a chance of continued freedom. The NDP win on this issue if there is no attack the Liberals stay in the running if there is one. My money is on the NDP as Harpers timing has been way off recently.
DeleteIts sad Canadian politics has come to this. I miss the old days where it was graft and perhaps even the odd sex or spy scandal that shook things up but all parties were basically on the same page when it came to core Canadian values of human rights, peace, respect for humanity and nature .....
hi anon 10:58...as I just told Liberta, like you I see some tactical advantages, the ones you mention, and another one too. For there are two tiny sections in Bill C-51 that could arguably help stop would be jihadis from leaving Canada to go and fight for ISIS, while all the rest is overkill, unnecessary and dangerous. And if we were attacked by some terrorist loons before the election, Harper will use that to try to portray progressives as weak, and having one leader support it while the other doesn't might help one stay standing. As I said, my only interest at this point is making sure we defeat the Con regime, for they are killing this country...
Deletehi Liberta...I want to avoid being partisan on this blog, because although I am far to the left of all the progressive parties, and I do favour the NDP, I strongly believe that what we will end up with is an NDP-Liberal coalition and I want to help bring the warring progressive parties together to defeat the real enemy, the Harper Cons. Because let's remember that even if the Liberals had voted against Bill C-51 it still would have passed, and the only way to scrap it is by scrapping the Cons. So I see some strategic advantages in the situation, as the commenter at 11:16 pm explains well...
Deletehi anon 11:16...I agree with everything you say. The situation is exactly as you describe. And I too see the NDP/Liberal split on that issue as helping to ensure one leader survives should we be hit by a terrorist attack before the election. And like you I regret that it has come to this, and that I am forced to compromise my principles to ensure that the Cons are defeated. But we must do what we must do to get our country back, and restore the core Canadian values that once made me proud to be a Canadian. War is war, and all that counts is victory...
DeleteAnon 11:16 here.
DeleteAnother fear, prejudice ploy the Cons used during the last election was that the NDP were pandering to the Quebec separatists and would form a coalition with another great Canadian enemy the Bloc (and Liberals) to form a coalition government. With the election of a very vocal PKP as the new PQ leader the Cons will have ample opportunity to make this an election issue. The NDP need to get out in front of this before the Cons have opportunity to frame it to their advantage. Unfortunately the Con brand of dirty attack ad politics seems to work better than messages from the heart as in Mulcair's case when it comes to Quebec. The Con message is simple... Separatists / marxists / communists are BAD! If the opposition takes more than two words to explain their position on this complex issue they are lost as most voters do not take the time to sift through issues and instead respond to "you are either for it or against it" type framing. Avoiding National debates even pushes it further in that direction. The Harper brand may be bruised but don't count him out, more Canadians need to understand the great Con game before the attack ads start and people go into election mode.
Many older voters won't vote for Trudeau. They are tired of Harper. They may not see Mulcair as ``dangerous``. He has stood up in Parliament time after time and carried on good and decent debate. The NDP hasn`t done anything `stupid``. They could win, just as they did in Alberta (provincially) and Quebec (at the federal level). some for who no party appeals,, may go and protest vote Green, which may in this country, at this time, get them more seats.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth May`s comments at the dinner, may have endeared her to a whole new group of voters. Some one who actually got up and said it like it is. The F bomb, may have given her ``cred`` with a whole new demographic. In my new federal riding, there is no indication at present who might come out winning. The incumbent has moved to another riding, in hopes he doesn`t loose his seat. With clear cutting an issue in one part of the riding, across the water, Greens may in fact pick up votes federally. I`d vote Green if it looked like they had the best chance of winning. People in part of B.C. see no hope with the provincial Lieberals, so they may not vote Liberal federally. If they`ve had enough of the Cons, they are left with the Greens or NDP. quite frankly I wouldn`t care if I woke up the next morning with a Bloc majority government, like how unreal is that, just as long as I don`t have a Con government. Trudeau lost my vote, because he backed Bill C-51. I do now have to wonder about his principals and so may a lot of others.
With high housing costs in Greater Vancouver, and the provincial and federal governments not wanting to restrict foreign ownership, it could be a real issue. When a house is purchased for $300K and change, sits empty and derelict for 10 yrs and then is sold for a MILLION DOLLARS more, you know working people will never be able to own in Vancouver and Greater Vancouver. They may vote to have a roof over their heads. Poverty is a huge issue in B.C. we`ve had the highest rate of child poverty in Canada for more than a decade and no poverty reduction plan. Now having a roof over your head if you`re a working family is becoming an issue.
hi e.a.f.... like you I am hoping that older Canadians will have had enough of Harper and that more of them will vote against the Cons than they have in the past. I think it's very important that we prepare ads, hopefully starring their peers to help seniors understand what is at stake. Just like I feel we need ads starring young people to explain to their peers why they should vote. I work with both groups and have had some success, so I urge everybody to try to do the same...
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