Saturday, June 20, 2015

Stephen Harper's Monstrous Plan to Steal the Election



After four years and 24 days of being slowly strangled by Stephen Harper, the 41st Parliament has finally groaned its last, and given up the ghost.

And although that bestial leader must have enjoyed savaging the traditions and values of the country he hates with a passion only he can muster.

He can hardly be celebrating. Because his depraved behaviour has finally caught up with him.

And it is, as Chantal Hébert writes, his season of discontent.

Stephen Harper’s Conservatives went into the last parliamentary stretch of their majority mandate last January with a breeze in their backs in public opinion and amidst long-awaited signs that Justin Trudeau’s honeymoon with voters was finally at an end.

Six months later, the budget has fallen flat. Support for the government’s anti-terrorism legislation has steadily declined. Some of the more able members of the caucus have bowed out — including, as of Friday, Industry Minister James Moore.

His polls are down all over the country. Most Canadians believe the country is heading in the wrong direction. The economy is sputtering along on one cylinder. His government has been battered by one scandal after the other. And is now trying to turn us into a police state.

The numbers don't lie. It is without a doubt the worst government EVER.

But nothing has alienated Canadians as much as the bestial way Stephen Harper has behaved...



Like his predecessors, the Conservative leader has become a more polarizing figure with each passing mandate. Having covered Ontario at the tail end of Pierre Trudeau’s reign in the mid-80s I saw first-hand how rampant fatigue with his ruling party had become by the time he retired. 

Now as then, regime change has become an overriding incentive for a record number of voters.

Nothing has made the desire for change stronger. Which should in the natural course of events lead to his defeat in October.

But as Karl Neremberg reminds us, Harper still has one powerful weapon in his arsenal. 

His plan to try to steal the election by disenfranchising millions of Canadians, 



There are new ID requirements, which will be difficult to meet for many who are elderly, poor, young, homeless, Indigenous or members of other minority communities. 

If you are part of the about 80 per cent of Canadians who have valid, current driver’s licenses, with photo and correct address, you’re set. You’ve got you the required picture ID with address. If you are part of the other 20 per cent or more who lack this precious card, you’re going to have to work hard to make sure you can vote, and it may not be easy. 

That 20 per cent group constitutes well over four million people.

His sinister plan to suppress the vote, that he cooked up with the help of his ghastly little stooge Pierre Poilievre...



The deathly cocktail of dirty tricks that will almost certainly be supplemented by the unseen hand of the members of the robo-call gang, who were never brought to justice for trying to steal the last election.



It's a depressing thought. But the good news is that while we were forced to look on helplessly while Harper and his Con gang ravaged our parliament, there are things we can do as ordinary citizens to stop them from stealing the election.

We can join parties and groups that are working to get out the vote. We can talk to the people we know, help young voters to understand why they need to vote, and what they need to do that. 



We can put up signs like this one in our neighbourhoods.



We can create a sophisticated communications network on social media, like they did during the referendum in Ireland recently, to warn of any irregularities, or call for reinforcements.



And of course we can make sure that we are ready.

If you do not have that magic driver’s licence with photo and current ID, you should get on the Elections Canada website, right now, and start figuring out how to make sure you can vote. Here is where to get all the information about voter identification rules: Elections.ca. 

So this monstrous scene is not repeated again...



After so many years of having to look on helplessly while Stephen Harper savaged our country and its democracy, we finally have a chance to do something about it. 

And take our future into our own hands.

And I for one couldn't be happier.

He will not steal the election. We'll teach him a lesson he'll never forget.

And we will end this long nightmare...



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23 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. hi anon...look I don't know much about taxes. I have mine done by professional accountants lest I cheat myself out of a few dollars. And of course because should I make a mistake I KNOW I would be audited. But yes, the amount of money the rich in this country are stashing in overseas accounts to avoid paying taxes is absolutely scandalous...

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  2. Anonymous9:16 AM

    Exactly, Simon. Instead of Lib and NDP supporters attacking each other with zeal, they should both be focussing on heaving the monster. And knowing fully well that he is going to cheat, especially now that he is even more desperate with his polls in the toilet, and with many of his rats jumping ship, all the opposition parties sholuld really be making sure they prevent him from cheating again. Once we get rid of him, then in the next election, these Lib and NDP zealots can go for each other all they want, eh?

    Seems James Moore, according to a seat by seat projection done on threehundredeight.com, was projected to lose his seat. Which was why family must have suddenly become important. Cons and their cons. Lol.

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    1. hi anon...yes I am desperately hoping that the opposition parties concentrate on defeating the Cons instead of fighting each other. Because now is the time for everyone to put their country before their parties. But that seat projection is interesting. I had no idea Moore was in danger of losing his seat, but it is another very good reason forces sudden exit. And definitely more convincing than the one he gave us...

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  3. People should be reminded that the Conservatives have signed agreements allowing foreign corporations and investors to sue Canada over Canadian laws and policies they don't like.

    This is called ISDS, and it is in CETA, China-FIPA, TPP and other so-called trade agreements. It would apply to laws or policies made at any level of Government in Canada.

    Eli-Lilly, a drug company, is currently suing Canada for $500 million under ISDS in NAFTA.

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    1. hi Hugh...I will try to do my best to help spread the message about the nefarious effects of those trade deals Harper is signing all over the place. Especially since I saw a recent poll that suggests that most Canadians have no idea what's in the TPP. In the U.S. opposition to that sellout deal is growing, but in Canada the silence is deafening...

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  4. Emperor Steve's attempts to disenfranchise voters seems counterproductive, at best..very few people, in reality, actually vote at all. so trying to discourage those who rarely if ever vote anyway will change nothing..

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    1. hi mizdarlin...I am not as cynical on this question as you are. As I keep repeating I saw with my own eyes how in Scotland the SNP was hugely successful in getting young voters to get engaged and cast a record number of ballots, even though many said that was impossible. So if it could happen there it can happen here. And as I said in my post there is nothing more important. For if we do motivate more Canadians of all ages to vote progressive we will crush the Cons....

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    2. Anonymous12:54 PM

      Also, Brigette DePape is working hard to get young voters to get out there and vote! If young voters voted in huge numbers, this administration would be defeated!

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  5. Eager Beaver3:23 PM

    Remember the 3B's of the next election:

    1. Be informed (of where your polling station is and what ID you will need)
    2. Be prepared (makes sure you have the ID you need well before election day)
    3. Bring a friend (with you to the polls, especially one who didn't vote last time)

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    1. hi Eager Beaver....yes that's an excellent list that we all need to remember. In the last election I took SIX first time voters to the polls, with the help of a cattle prod, and I'm aiming to at least double that number in the next one.... ;)

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  6. The Cons are smart. They have already framed their ballot question: "Are we better off with PM Harper's proven leadership. Yes or No?"

    https://www.facebook.com/cpcpcc/photos/pb.5661704203.-2207520000.1434829237./10153420904549204/?type=3&theater


    The other political parties have not yet framed their ballot question (s).

    Today Terry O'Reilly said:

    http://www.cbc.ca/radio/undertheinfluence/ask-terry-2015-1.3107254


    Like a product, a party and its candidates need to differentiate themselves from their competitors. The campaign should be a reflection of their unique views for the country. The campaign should address the biggest issues – ad by ad – building a solid case that the party has the right vision for the country, and the party leader is prime minister material.

    There are two secrets to political marketing: First, you have to frame the ballot question. That is the overriding question designed to linger in the air when people are in the voting booth. When President Ronald Reagan asked voters in 1981 if they were better off four years ago than there were now, that question lingered in the voting booths like a cologne - and the majority of voters put an X beside his name.

    The second thing political campaigns have to do is get out the vote. Very few people are actually undecided, and it's pretty difficult to get voters to switch parties. What often wins elections is the ability to convince your supporters to actually get out and vote.
    But the biggest way political advertising differs from product advertising is that a large bulk of it is negative. It bashes the competition. I never liked that strategy, and never enjoyed doing it when asked.

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    1. hi David....that's an interesting article, it has some great videos. And as you know it's something I have been begging the progressive parties to do. We desperately need to be able to frame a ballot question that both condemns the Cons and offers up a vision of a better future. I'm not particularly good at that myself, but my big brother works in advertising and he's really good at what he does. So I'm planning to recruit him as a consultant....

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  7. What would be good ballot questions for the Liberals, NDP, and Greens?

    eg. Do you support anti-democratic legislation such as Bill C-51 and the Fair Elections Act? Yes or No."

    eg. Do you support the Harper government's muzzling of Canadian scientists. Yes or No."

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    1. hi David....the problem with those questions is that they don't encapsulate the totality of the Con nightmare, and the ballot question needs to do that AND be sexier. As you know the Cons spend a fortune on focus testing, and I'm afraid we need to spend a few bucks as well. Both the NDP and the Liberals have "change" in their slogans which is a good start, but I still feel their messages could be stronger...

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  8. Replies
    1. hi anon...yes I saw that story and briefly considered writing a post about that situation. But as I told Hugh in a previous comment I need to educate myself more about what's in those bills before I can write anything coherent. Still, it is good that Walkom and others are starting to point out the flaws in those trade deals, because they are atrocious and they do threaten what's left of our sovereignty...

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    2. I think it should be a major election issue question:

      "Are you in favour of agreements like CETA and China-FIPA, which allow foreign investors to sue Canada over Canadian laws they don't like?"

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  9. e.a.f.1:06 AM

    Had to laugh about Putin's comments on Harper. If Russia is "invited" back to the G7/8, Harper will just have to put up with it. I couldn't stop laughing, not that I'm keen on Putin, but really he did nail it. Harper will just have to suck it up. the G-7/8 need Putin/Russia. Some one is going to need their help when Syria starts to fall and other nasty things happen in the middle east. Russia does have influence and we had better not forget it. harper forgets, you hold your friends close, and your enemies closer.

    What is poor old Steve going to do now. An American committee meeting with their top General, who advised the Iraqis did not show up as planed for armed forces training, so why should the Americans continue to do any fighting. If the Americans pack it in and come home, what is Steve and his 6 jets going to do? Oh, this could be funny.
    Then Putin coming along for the next G-7/8 meeting.
    A good slap on "great warrior Steve". No one really takes Steve seriously at these international meetings. It was really clear with CNN coverage, who didn't film him. it was the P.M. of Japan and others they had the camera on. Not only isn't Canada a player, the P.M. isn't that smart or even entertaining. Like how exactly is he going to carry on a conversation with Mrs. Merkle? Because we know she is a real scientist, a real politician, a real economist, a real world leader, a real Ph.D. Poor steve.

    Now of course being the kid who wants to keep the ball, will he cheat? yes he will and so will his party. That is what they are good at, cheating. Just check the criminal record of the bunch and the ones who took tax money without any regard for taxpayers. hello Senate.

    I am still not convinced we will have an election. All Steve has to do is call Parliament back, introduce a bill to withdraw the previous leg. holding an election and he is good for another year. There will be nothing we can do about it either.

    People need to organize as they do in the U.S.A. to get people registered to vote and ensure they have I.D. First Nations organizations have to ensure their entire reserve has I.D. so they can vote. Steve may want to "court" the ethnic vote, but the First Nations vote is critical. Community organizers need to get into care homes to ensure seniors have their I.D.

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    1. hi e.a.f. yes I saw that story about Putin and the G8, and in fact I just finished a post about it. That posturing chicken hawk is setting himself up to look even more ridiculous. But as for the election, you can be sure it's coming. The Cons are putting out a call for volunteers, and like some others in Ottawa have, I'm predicting the Cons will call it in early August, so they can take maximum advantage of the fact that they have more money to spend on ads than we do. Count on it and be ready...

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  10. http://www.cpac.ca/en/programs/primetime-politics/episodes/39851273/

    62:47 (June 10/15) Stephen Harper speaks onboard HMCS Fredericton in the Baltic Sea.

    67:00 Harper: "President Putin's invasion of Ukraine, undertaken to serve his own domestic political agenda, to divert attention from Russia's long term decline under his rule, and to interfere with the democratic aspirations of a sovereign country, these things must not be allowed to stand. The people of Ukraine, like all free peoples, must be able to choose their own future..."

    I say: Prime Minister Harper's invasion of Canada, undertaken to serve his own domestic political agenda, to divert attention from Canada's long term decline under his rule, and to interfere with the democratic aspirations of a sovereign country by ramming through Parliament the "Fair" Elections Act and Bill C-51, these things must not be allowed to stand. The people of Canada, like all free peoples, must be able to choose their own future, and they will do so in the upcoming federal election... unless Harper and his Harperites manage to steal it!

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  11. Anonymous4:56 AM

    http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/ID/2670061797/

    The National for June 21, 2015

    30:43

    Jonathan Kay: "One of the problems is that some of the people he's [Harper] promoted have been complete lickspittles. Like you look like a guy like Pierre Poilievre. Pierre Poilievre is like a parody of a propagandistic automaton."

    http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=lick+spittle

    Lick-spittle. A slimy grovelling and devious person who will do anything to get ahead in their life and career including accepting an order from the boss to lick a big green greasy lump of spit in the hope of promotion or a pat on the head.

    I hate that bastard, always crawling up the bosses arse - he's a real lick spittle

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    1. THE NATIONAL | Jun 21, 2015 | 13:22
      The Politics of Departure | The Sunday Talk
      Five cabinet ministers have backed out of politics this year, our Sunday panel discusses what these departures mean

      http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/TV+Shows/The+National/ID/2670124264/

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