Well there he was in this PMO picture, at the Calgary Stampede in his black bad guy cowboy hat, framed between a horse and a horse's ass.
Watching the parade and trying to put on a brave face, or smile like a winner. Or at least open his mouth and show his teeth.
But it couldn't have been easy. Not with Rachel Notley, the new sheriff of Alberta, riding triumphantly past him...
He must have had lockjaw by the time that was over eh?
And of course the latest EKOS poll didn't exactly make him want to stand up and shout "Yee haw or hee haw I'm still a Great Leader !!!!
Because while the guys in the good cowboy hats both had something to celebrate.
The political landscape appears to be shifting in subtle but important ways. The Liberals seem to have stopped the bleeding and are now statistically tied with the floundering Conservatives who are over 12 points back from their majority achievement in 2011. The NDP continues to hold on to a narrow but significant lead which would be more decisive save for the entry of Gilles Duceppe into the Quebec race.
Harper has absolutely no reason to whoop it up.
He's heading downhill on a burro backwards...
Most Canadians think he's leading the country in the wrong direction...
And the future is looking really bleak for him and his Cons:
The Conservatives, while insignificantly ahead of the Liberals, are the party with the sternest challenges ahead. They have extremely scant second choice consideration and, as such, they have very meagre room to grow.
The overall sense we have is that nothing is very clear in terms of next fall, but barring another security shock, it is increasingly hard to see a path to victory for the Conservative Party.
So you can imagine how black hat Harper, the cowboy from Toronto, is REALLY feeling...
Especially with the country teetering on the brink of a recession, and giving the opposition leaders even more ammunition to shoot holes in his disastrous economic record.
Canada’s opposition leaders have blasted Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Conservative government for failed economic policies that have put the country on the precipice of another possible recession.
Canada’s economy has shrunk for four straight months for the first time since the last recession in 2008-2009. The economic contraction is due in large part to plummeting oil prices that have walloped the rest of the country’s economy.
By just pointing out the obvious...
In reference to the Conservative government’s reliance on the oil sector for economic growth, Mulcair said: “We’ve put all our eggs in the same basket. And when the inevitable cycle occurred, everybody was hurt.”
“For 10 years we’ve had a government that hasn’t understood the way to build and to diversify our economy,” said Trudeau.
Yes it's true, he didn't know what he was doing. But because he fooled so many suckers in this country into thinking he did, now we're ALL going to pay for it.
And then of course there are those horrible scandals...
With the Duffy trial starting up again next month, and Nigel Wright expected to take the stand.
So he can explain what exactly Harper meant when he said the deal was good to go.
And Dean Del Mastro, his former parliamentary secretary, unable to make it to the Stampede...
For obvious reasons...
Which can only taint him further, make him and his government look even more incompetent and corrupt.
And make Great Cowboy Leader's comeback almost impossible....
You know, July has always been my favourite month, and I think I'm REALLY going to enjoy this one.
Yee haw or woo hoo !!!
Throw another shrimp, or another Con, on the barbie.
And have a great weekend everybody!!!
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20 comments:
.. fine work, Simon.. no surprise..
Not sure whether 'saddle up' or 'circle the wagons' applies best
Stalwart James Moore pursued a PMO paramour back to BC
apparently not the PMO paramour he's married to
Damn those #ridemewilfred rumours ..
Phlegmatic drone Joe Oliver was dusted off
to defend a 70 cent Canadian dollar
Pierre P was in Winnipeg to photo op cheques
and Jason Kenney was seemingly everywhere
pimping God Country and his immense inflatable popularity
We really have no idea what the folks who run the country
Ray Novak, Laureen, the RCMP & Jenni Byrne are really up to..
but the Harper Senate went for the throat of u ions
as the last gasp dirtbag legislation prior to a mysterious general election
that may or may not occur in 2015 ..
as that's The PM's perogative.. or prorogue
dontcha know..
So what better way to avoid defeat, then to just not have the election?
Conjur up with Jason Kenney, some deep dark Conspiracy
ragin Injuns or slimy salmons, teen terroristas amok in Newfoundland
mystery subs from Russia at the Northy Pole.. threatening Santa
Pensioners conspiring to stay alive, military vets wanting assistance..
Why Steve will declare the country needs him... ! And only him !
And Turncoat Mulcair.. and the turd Trudeau are dangerous.. scary even !
and Ms May a wicked bad loose cannon to boot ...
Steady as she goes there... Steve will save the day..
and will let us know, when we have the need to know.. via Tony Clement
if & when Canada deserves another Election ... mebbe in 2020 eh?
Just because they mangle the statistics to hide economic gloom, it doesn't mean the gloom has gone away. Unemployed/underemployed people might not be able to grasp how many of their fellow Canadians are in the same boat, but they know that THEY'RE in it. And they will punish the government in charge.
No 'Harper at the Stampede' piece is complete without this shot:
https://jameswjbowden.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/stephen-harper-calgary-stampede.jpg
Thanks Simon for your great insight. Keep it up, it is appreciated.
Other than the steady stream of prominent defections from this beleaguered government I continue to be amazed there has been no palace revolt. I can only guess that the power brokers are as deluded as Harper.
The Cons moving in the far right direction for 9 years has been the WRONG direction! 8-)
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=962815143760694&set=a.216344201741129.48673.100000966515175&type=3&theater
From the 2014 Calgary Stampede:
https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/485105742500745216
Stephen (to Xavier) : "Bwahahahaha! Your daddy thinks the budget will balance itself!"
Xavier (to Harper): "But my daddy says we'll be moving to 24 Sussex Drive soon!"
Justin (to Xavier): "Son, ask Mr. Harper why he and his wife are wearing the black hats."
Steve does appear to be a tad subdued this year. Nice change. Nice to see Notley riding high, having a good time. Perhaps Steve doesn't look so happy because he just has been told he might not win his own riding. Now that would be fun
with all the forest fires in the west perhaps Harper could do something useful and have some of the military trained to fight fires. We could use the help. Instead of bombing people to death in the middle east at the cost of $90K a bomb we could use those planes to drop water on forest fires. Its about time we organized the military so it was useful inside of Canada once again. there are about 10K people fleeing fires in Sask. alone.
In Mordecai Richler's children's book, Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang, the children begin to lose their fear of the Hooded Fang (wrestler) when they realize he's funny, not scary. Looks like more and more Canadians are realizing that Harper is not the great economist leader he always claimed to be. And the rats continue to jump his sinking ship.
As I suspected, the white hat vs black hat imagery came from film, not reality. A white hat would be a most unpractical garment for a working cowboy - I'm sure light-coloured hats would have been more khaki or tan, as cow herding is hard, dirty work. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_and_white_hat_symbolism_in_film
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cowboy_hat
Any photos of Premier Notley on horseback?
hi salamander...I think you summed up the situation well, as usual. And yes I wouldn't be surprised if he Cons did something to postpone an election by provoking some kind of attack and using it as an excuse to introduce a State of Emergency. For at this stage they are so desperate they are capable of anything. And then of course there's that other threat hanging over us. The rumours that the Cons will call that election in early August, since the rules don't specify how long an election can last only the minimum time So the Cons could catch progressives by surprise, and use the greater amount of money they have to full advantage. I hope we're both wrong, but as I said this satanic cult is capable of anything so we better be prepared...
hi thwap...I think the charts in all polls show that dissatisfaction with this government is mounting. Harper is approaching historic levels of disenchantment. And whatever his absurd propagandists say, they know that the economy is teetering on the edge, not producing anything but low paying jobs. And hopefully as you say, the Cons will pay a for that...
hi anon....yes you're right, that was Harper's first appearance as Great Cowboy Leader, and he never looked more absurd. Memo to myself: I must use it again... ;)
hi anon...thanks. My insight comes from watching the Cons and their depraved leader closely, and on a daily basis, for almost ten years. It's a filthy job because they are a filthy mob. But if I can do anything to help defeat them I will, I will not be silent. And by this time next year I hope to be happily retired....;)
hi Omar...by now those capable of revolting have either quit or been winnowed out. The scary fact is that there is now nobody in the Con regime capable of restraining him in the slightest manner. The grubby operatives in the PMO are as fanatical and deranged as he is, and my only hope is that they all go off the deep end together, before they do something horrible and lead us all to disaster...
Hi David...thanks for those links. Did Harper really say that about not being able to ride a horse? My god I learned to ride when I was five years old. But it does explain why I have never seen our Great Leader on a horse. I guess he doesn't trust them to not kick up their hind legs in disgust, and send him flying through the air. Oh well too bad, I'd PAY to see that... ;)
hi e.a.f...I joked about that in the post, but I haven't the slightest doubt that Harper is mortified to return to HIS province and have to deal with the fact it's not blue it's orange. I doubt Stephen Harper is worried about losing his own riding. But if he is going to win he needs to totally dominate the West, and as you know he is doing particularly badly in BC. And just the thought that he could lose a seat or two in Alberta must keep him awake at night....
hi David....yes, his phony credentials as a Great Economist Leader have helped him hold on to the support of many Canadians outside of his rabid base, but that won't work for him any longer. And if you take that away from him all he's got going is the Great War on Terror, so expect him to pull out every stop in an attempt to scare people into voting for him....
hi lagatta...yes you're right the while hats came from Hollywood, from the days of silent film, and cowboys like Tom mix. Still you might think that Harper who is so colour conscious would follow convention and try to portray himself as a good guy. But I guess he knows he couldn't pull that one off. And feels more comfortable in fascist black...
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