Friday, November 06, 2015

The Census Fiasco and the Final Humiliation of Stephen Harper



It seems only fitting that on his last day as Con leader Stephen Harper should leave through a door darkly, while being humiliated over and over again. 

In the same manner he ruled and humiliated this country, its people and their values, for nine nightmarish years.

First he had to humble himself before his shrunken caucus, by accepting the blame for the Conapocalypse that booted them all from office.

Then he was caught by some reporters making a quick getaway only a few minutes after ending his short speech. 



In a desperate attempt to avoid the media which only made him look ridiculous, cowardly, or just pathetic.

But what must have humbled and hurt him the most, was the new Liberal government's decision to choose the day of his departure to announce the return of the long-form census. 

For nothing Stephen Harper did in all his ghastly years in power was more personal, or revealed more about him, than his decision to gut the census for no sane reason.

He had his abominable stooge Tony Clement do the dirty work for him. Claim that the the Cons had been inundated with complaints.



And when it was revealed that there had in fact been only a handful of complaints, claim outrageously that even one was too many. 

Industry Minister Tony Clement acknowledged Wednesday it may well be that only a minority of Canadians support the government’s decision to scrap the long-form census — but he says that’s good enough.

But as Tom Walkom wrote at the time, the census fiasco was really all about Stephen Harper.



It is the arbitrary and secretive nature of the government’s decision that strikes a chord. It reminds those who are suspicious of Harper why they still don’t trust him.

Worse still, the otherwise inexplicable census decision leaves Harper open again to charges of being ideological—of pandering to a shadowy grouping usually referred to as his hard-line base.

And of course it should have served as a warning about the madness that would come later. Warned Canadians that a leader who could gut a census was quite capable of muzzling scientists.

Or using ignorance as a weapon against his own people...



So he could leave us stumbling around blindly in the darkness...



While he stealthily dismantled this country...



Or as he did yesterday, scuttle like a spider out of Ottawa on his long way back to Alberta.

Leaving his hapless stooge Tony Clement to declare pathetically that the decision to gut the census was in retrospect an unfortunate mistake.



The new Liberal government is bringing back the mandatory long-form census, and the former Conservative minister who was responsible for its cancellation in 2011 says, in hindsight, he would have done things differently.

Mr. Clement told reporters on Thursday that the decision to bring in a voluntary census had been made “collectively” in 2010 by the Conservative government. In hindsight, he said, “I think I would have done it differently.”

Which coming from the slavish stooge Clement must have been for Harper the final humiliation, or the final indictment of the screaming voices in his head...



And really what more can anyone who lived through that nightmare say except this:

He was a strange and tormented man. His madness oozed evil. 

He was a beast and a bully.

And he never should have been a Prime Minister of a country like Canada...



Thank goodness he was finally defeated, brought to his knees, broken and humiliated.

Thank goodness we are free at last.

And can finally march out of his darkness and into the light of a better day... 

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21 comments:

Anonymous said...

Did anyone notice that the blimp Harper is in a handicapped parking spot. I always knew Steve was not quite well in the head but those spots are meant for physically disabled individuals, not lunatics. I should send the RCMP on The Hill the photo and see if Stevie gets a ticket.
Great post Simon, Harper must be in tears flying back to Calgary without his beloved Challenger jet and then have his beloved Tony turn on him. Let's hope there's much more of that to come.
JD

The Mound of Sound said...

Hi, Simon. When Harper abolished the long-form census, it struck me that was his "wolverine moment." Wolverines are really nasty creatures who are known for breaking into trappers' cabins, gorging themselves on whatever food they can find and then pissing all over anything they can't eat and would have to leave behind. Trudeau said "just watch me" in a moment of perceived national emergency. Harper said "just watch me" in order to show us that he would do just as he pleased, even if it was irrational.

Unknown said...

I'm guessing Simon, that Harper did not expect to lose. As bizarre as that sounds, I thinks it's true.He literraly did not and still doesn't know how to read the Canadian people. Living in his bubble he really thought if he continued to manipulate the public he would succeed, I think he really thought the election would turn out like 2011, when he got a majority. It's interesting after being PM for 9 yrs. he has yet to speak to the Canadian public. The guy is such a coward! I think there will be more humiliations to come,especially when the Libs start making the damage he has done public.

e.a.f. said...

cancelling the long form census was a way of government depts. and citizens to not be able to know what was happening in their country. that was what Harper and his Cons wanted to achieve. Our ignorance was their bliss.

Now the form is back. There doesn't need to be harsh penalties for those who don't want to complete it, there are plenty of people who do. Harper could have gone that way, simply if you didn't want to complete it, O.K., but no Harper wanted ignorance.

Now that the form is returning and Canadians know what happened when we didn't have the long form, they may well be more than anxious to complete the long form. .

at some level people think it is invasive, but really, if it goes to Ottawa, and not to some on in the area, people will be more accepting of the form. The odd complaint, can simply be ignored. It is doubtful people will refuse to complete the long form. Again, as a method of encouraging people to complete the long form, give them a $100 tax credit.

Anonymous said...

How more humiliating can it get for the fat fuck, hauling his fat ass out of a Dodge Caravan. Harpo is nothing now, a nobody. He'll be like King Ralf Klein, gurgling to himself in a nut house.

David said...

If Harper only stayed at the caucus meeting for 10 minutes before he snuck out a side door, how long does he plan to stay for question period, if he bothers to show up at all? Will he now be forced to come in the same way as the other MPs do? Hey, maybe he will have a portable tent/closet that can be put up around his seat so he doesn't have to talk to anyone!

David said...

Will remaining an MP prevent him from having to testify at the Duffy trial?

Steve said...

It rumoured he will get a teaching job. We have had 9 years of teachable moments, any Univeristy that Hires him will be a piraah. Maybe the non partisan Fraser Intstiute has a chair for him. I hope the CRA now looks to the right.

Anonymous said...

Stephen "BULLSHIT" Harper just keeps on lying, and as it is with SOCIOPATHS, they just don't care ... I could NOT imagine him in a teaching job, except for in the PENITENTIARY ... LOL ... Pam MacNeill? I agree with you 100% that "BULLSHIT" did NOT expect to lose the election ... he was an arrogant dickhead up to the last minute ... May HE get kicked in the head as many times as us Canadians have ... HE is the Poorest excuse for a human being EVER !!!!! ... TY

Anonymous said...

Right-the-hell-on TY!!!
Only next time, try not to be so bashful and tell us how you really feel! ;-)
Cheers, Bro!
Is the royal conservative mounted police still wasting my fucking tax dollars "protecting" that piece of shit?

Simon said...

hi JD...no I hadn't noticed, good catch. However, considering the condition he must be in after his traumatic defeat, maybe he needs to park as close to the building as possible, so he can slink in on all fours. On the other hand, Cons are also known for breaking rules and not giving a damn about the disabled, or any other vulnerable Canadians, so maybe it's just his crassness or his criminality...

Simon said...

hi Mound...you may be right. Harper does have that streak within him. A guy who tried to abolish the student council in his high school AND the one at his university, could very well have that "just watch me" Wolverine within him. Unfortunately we may have to wait until his trial, and the pre-trial psychiatric report to find out... ;)

Simon said...

hi Pamela...I read a report in Macleans I believe that suggested that Harper knew a month before the election that he was going to lose. But I wouldn't be surprised if his capacity for self delusion had him believing he could win right until the end. For surely if he knew he was going to lose he wouldn't have spent the last week humiliating himself as a game show host or hanging out with the Ford brothers. But yes can you believe the man's cowardice? Slinking around like a thief in the night. In addition to all his other flaws. the man has no class...

Simon said...

hi e.a.f...Harper was strongly influence in his youth by the German philosopher Leo Strauss who believed that societies should be run by an elite, who would keep the peasants in a state of ignorance, so they could govern at will. So that could provide an almost rational explanation for his insane decision. At the time Stephen taylor, the founder of the Blogging Tories wrote an article in the National Post where he gleefully suggested that it was an assault on the welfare system. For if you don't know how many poor people there are you can't do what you need to help them.Or as the Mound of Sound suggested it may just be the wolverine within. But if was an insane move, and it has done this country much damage....

Simon said...

hi anon...yes I must say that shot of him trying to get out of that Dodge Caravan did make me smile. How the might have fallen. And I can't wait to see him try to hail a cab. But yes I think that once Harper is striped of his power he will shrink in stature rather quickly, rather like the mighty Wizard of Oz was exposed to be just a little guy pulling some levers in a back room...

Simon said...

hi David...I have no idea what game he thinks he is playing. Does he want to deprive historians of anything dealing with his loss? Does he believe that if he doesn't talk about it, it never happened? It's all very bizarre and yet more evidence that the man should never have been a Canadian prime minister....

Simon said...

hi David...I've heard contradictory opinions in that regard. But certainly as an MP if he is summoned he could make a claim of parliamentary immunity, and at the very least stall the proceedings or kick them into the future. You don't have $90,000 dollars do you? So I can bribe Duffy into issuing him a subpoena... :)

Simon said...

hi Steve... yes, when I heard that a shiver ran down my back as I thought of his poor students. But it would have to be at the University of Calgary, which is practically a right-wing think tank, so I'm sure heel feel right at home...

Simon said...

hi Ty...well I see you won't be standing on a street corner wishing him a tearful goodbye, or urging him to come back as soon as possible. ;) But yeah he was a grubby little coward and we should have fired him long ago....

Anonymous said...

Harpoon didn't even have the courage to announce his resignation as party leader during the concession speech - instead issues it via press release !

David said...

Harper’s Baggage “Lost” on WestJet Flight Home to Calgary
http://thelapine.ca/harpers-baggage-lost-on-westjet-flight-home-to-calgary/