Free This Country from the Scourge of Harperism

These days you might get the impression that this election is all and only about the economy.

The economy that Stephen Harper has helped drive into the ground.

But today two very different Canadians sum up what it's really all about.

From Patrick Brazeau, the disgraced Senator, it's about getting rid of a dictator.

Harper’s democracy is simple: it’s his way or the highway. As former Senator Segal once said, “Some folks think the best way to deal with these problems is to throw everybody under the bus…well guess what you’re going to run out of buses and you’re going to run out of people.” Ain’t that the truth!

One thing is certain; from what I know, Harper is a control freak. When I was in caucus, very few challenged him. Those who did were shut down, those who had differing opinions were silenced.

When you contradict, shame or make the PM look bad regardless of its significance, watch out because some of his soldiers are coming after you. Is that “PROVEN LEADERSHIP?” No, its “PROVEN DICTATORSHIP” and it scares me and it should scare you

For Ralph Surette, the progressive columnist, it's about getting rid of the scourge of Harperism.

For those who go on, sometimes in awed tones, about how Harper has "changed Canada," this is mainly how he's changed it -- by snuffing open debate.

As the wheels appear to come off the Harper campaign, it's intriguing to note the defences of Harper by various commentators. The Globe and Mail's John Ibbitson, who's written the main book on Harper, sees Harperism and its problems as the result mainly of a controlling personality. Others see the fraying as the normal result of a 10-year-old government. And, in an expression that's popped up in a few business-connected commentaries, Harper's problems are a matter of "style, not substance." 

It may be a bit of all those things, but the assault on democratic process, the contempt for Parliament, the undermining of the rule of law, the culture of electoral fraud, and on and on, go far beyond personality, style or old age. A sinister culture of fear and control has been created that runs through the vital organs of Canadian public life. What's needed is not just the defeat of a government, but a cleansing of the broader scourge of a corrosive ideology.

Two very different men. One message. The only one that counts.

Free this country, save our democracy.

Defeat this monstrous tyrant...



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