Tuesday, January 30, 2018

Andrew Scheer and the Ghost of Stephen Harper



For weeks Andrew Scheer has been claiming that when Parliament resumed he would destroy Justin Trudeau with a new and devastating assault on his ethics.

But when it did resume yesterday, all he could come up with was more of the same. 

Conservative leader Andrew Scheer spent his first question period of 2018 reminding Justin Trudeau that he is the first Canadian prime minister found in violation of federal ethics laws.

So when Scheer and his Cons asked basically the same question over and over again, Trudeau only answered five of them, and left it up to House Leader Bardish Chagger to repeat basically the same answer.



Which left Scheer flailing around, and looking like an idiot.

Or worse.



Left him looking like Stephen Harper.

For as the Con fluffer John Ivison points out, that is who the Liberals will be campaigning against.

It’s a line of attack we can expect to see repeated as we get closer to an election. An Angus Reid poll over the weekend suggests it will prove a successful strategy. 

If Trudeau defines himself against Harper, rather than Andrew Scheer or NDP leader Jagmeet Singh, he can secure those NDP voters who still have a visceral aversion to the former prime minister.


The poll suggested Trudeau’s government is considered better overall than Harper’s, including being deemed more honest and trustworthy.


And there's not much Scheer can do about it...



As my press gallery colleague Susan Delacourt joked, the majority of Canadians are like the young couple in the ad designed to introduce Scheer to the voting public – they walk past him without a hint of recognition. Of those who do know him, almost twice as many prefer Trudeau as prime minister, according to Nanos Research. 

That’s perhaps why most of the attacks on Trudeau are like mosquito bites for the prime minister.


Especially when so many of Scheer's talking points are shown to be baloney. 



"Justin Trudeau broke the law. A first in Canadian history for any sitting Prime Minister." -- Tweet from Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer, Jan. 5, 2018.

This one earns a rating of "a little baloney."


Which makes Scheer look like Schmear, and only reminds Canadians that Harper was worse...



In March 2011, the Speaker of the House of Commons chastised Stephen Harper's Conservative government for withholding the full costs of anti-crime measures, corporate tax cuts and a planned fighter jet purchase. It led to the government's defeat on a non-confidence motion declaring the government in contempt of Parliament.

And that Tom "Strangelove" Flanagan is right:

Harper’s former campaign manager, Tom Flanagan, has posited that political attacks are less effective when the target is more esteemed than the source of the attack, which is certainly the case here.


And so for once is the Con fluffer John Ivison:

Scheer appears convinced that a simple re-branding of the Harper Conservatives will suffice. Yet for many of the voters Scheer needs to win, the tuna is tainted and changing the label won’t cut it.

Which leaves Scheer heading for a really bad place...



With the ghost of Stephen Harper taking him and his Cons down.

While helping to give the man he said wasn't ready, another glorious majority.



Golly, isn't life ironic?

And for all the old toxic Trudeau haters out there, isn't life bitter?

Wowser. Wowser. Wowser.

What a Prime Minister...

20 comments:

Steve said...

All Canadians want a sun holiday. So Scheer scolding them for having that is not going anywhere.

Steve said...

It was a botched holiday. This will not stick and the fact that this is all they have to speak about speaks volumes.

Jackie Blue said...

Wowser indeed. The cons really are a disaster, both federally and at the local/provincial level. Speaking of bigly yuge failing losers, Simon, did you hear that the idiot brother of Ontario's own dearly-departed orange menace has thrown his crack pipe -- er, hat in the ring to replace Pervert Patrick as the Regressive Conservative leader? A commenter I saw on another site said that Doug Ford muscling his way back in the headlines is like a movie where Chris Farley plays a dual role as both a sloppy dope-fiend politician and the sloppy dope-fiend brother of the same sloppy dope-fiend politician. 'Course, if he doesn't win, I suppose he can always try out for Vince McMahon's zombie-resurrected pro wrestling football league.

Scumbag Steve Palpatine and the brothers Ford, one called Edsel and the other named Pinto. Oh, and Moneybags Mulroney's Irish Ivanka along with her Googledork campaign manager from Rebel Media, who's no doubt going to run the same kind of Schmear campaign that's clearly working so well already for Harper Jr.

No wonder Android Sneer repeats the same questions over and over again. All the cons have to run on is blasts from the past and Xeroxed remakes that nobody asked for. Justin Trudeau's status as heir apparent (or "hair apparent" as the cons say to dismiss and insult him) to Pierre's legacy notwithstanding, he and his team represent the future. The cons are a rerun of a rerun that was as painful to watch the first time as it is the next 20 times it airs afterward. A sequel to Groundhog Day about the making of the sequel to Groundhog Day. As the Barenaked Ladies once said, "it's all been done before."

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

"Scheer appears convinced that a simple re-branding of the Harper Conservatives will suffice. Yet for many of the voters Scheer needs to win, the tuna is tainted and changing the label won’t cut it."

The tuna is tainted?? Now that's fishful thinking. I'd say the tuna has rotted so bad that even the flies are leaving to go and throw up.
I have to wonder Simon, is Harper still pulling Scheer's strings? Usually when one's ass gets kicked in an election you'd think the first job would be to exorcise their demons and start fresh. But not with these Cons, which brings us back to the stinky tuna or more precisely, Harper's putrid legacy.
JD

Simon said...

The above comment was deleted because it was both anti-French and anti-gay. All Cons are reminded that any comments that are racist, misogynistic, homophobic or attack other commenters in a vulgar or disrespectful manner will be deleted upon arrival. Please take them to The Rebel, where I'm sure they will be welcome. Thank you.

Anonymous said...

"The above comment was deleted because it was both anti-French and anti-gay. All Cons are reminded that any comments that are racist, misogynistic, homophobic or attack other commenters in a vulgar or disrespectful manner will be deleted upon arrival."

This PSA brought to us by the blog administrator who attacks Cons and for that manner anyone who doesn't worship the PM unconditionally and without question in a vulgar and disrespectful manor and who tolerates no opinion whatsoever that disagrees with the PM.

Anonymous said...

When even John Ivison sees the writing on the wall you know that Andrew Scheer is in trouble. The Cons will never admit it but they chose the wrong person for leader.

P.S. I really like that graphic of Harper and Scheer. Harper seems to have lost a lot of weight since he left office. :)

yvonne4tn said...

Scheer with Hamish Marshall, Georganne Burke and Stephen Taylor (his RebelCon team)STILL do not understand that this is not working. In fact it is turning people away. The only people that they have convinced is their base. They are not getting any more support anywhere which is why we have to stay diligent because they will stop at nothing (case in point those disgusting appeals to have someone accuse Trudeau of sexual assault.) Simon did I tell you that Georganne Burke is one of the members of that Facebook group that you highlighted the other day. When I pointed it out to her on twitter she blocked me within 5 minutes of my tweet to her.

Anonymous said...

So true. The Cons are so out of it they don't even think like Canadians anymore.The idea that a prime minister can't have a vacation is simply insane.

Anonymous said...

Who cares about which party is in power as long as you have lots of money? The rich will always feed off the poor.

Simon said...

Hi anon @3:41 pm...yes, I must say I was a bit shocked to find myself quoting Iveson, but for once he made a good point. Scheer and his Cons can't escape the fatal legacy of Stephen Harper. I've only made the same point about 500 times, but it hurts the Cons more if someone like Iveson says it. I'm glad you liked the graphic of Harper and Scheer, I was happy to get Great Leader's cardboard crown out of storage...đŸ˜‰

Simon said...

Hi JD....I don't know if Harper is directly pulling Scheer's strings. I'm sure that Scheer has from time to time asked for his advice. But I believe that the main way he influences Scheer is with the kind of people he recruited to run the CPCHQ. For the same kind of Con scum are still running it. They are graduates of Republican academies and the Manning Centre, they are are lowlife bullies and political perverts, and they wouldn't know a Canadian value if it jumped up and bit them. And yes, the stench of those Cons is enough to knock flies out of the sky...đŸ˜±

Simon said...

Hi anon 2:40 pm...thank you for repeating my code of conduct. However, your complaint makes no sense. I don't make racist, misogynistic, homophobic comments, or treat people as badly as you Cons do. I don't normally get a chance to moderate comments during the afternoon, and despite the best efforts of one of my friends who helps me out, some Con comments do get through. But today I was off and I was determined to make sure that not one of them was published. I deleted five comments and believe me it felt great. You Cons don't seem to get the hint. This is my blog, I have no obligation to publish your rancid comments, and if you don't like it, don't read it.

P.S. Manner is spelt like MANNER, not MANOR....

Simon said...

Hi Yvonne....I want to congratulate you again for the excellent job you are doing on Twitter, keeping the Cons honest (or as honest as possible) and exposing their dirty tricks. Like you I don't understand why the Harperite cult behaves like it does, I guess it's in their genes. And thank you for telling me that the Gorgon Burke was on that disgusting Facebook group. It figures, and I can only imagine the look on her face when she realized you had exposed her. The Liberals should hold up her picture in Question Period and ask Scheer to explain himself...

Simon said...

Hi anon @4:44 pm...Some rich people may feed off the poor, but that's no reason to not get politically involved. We need more people to get involved in the political process so we can build a fairer and more equal society. It doesn't matter how poor, or how young, or how old you are. Join a political party and fight for your rights...

Anonymous said...

Gorgon Burke, I love it Simon. She is a snaky one.
And Kudos to Yvonne for the severe rattling of Gorgon's chain. Being blocked by a Con on twitter within 5min. is worthy of a badge of honour.
JD

Anonymous said...

On a scale of 1 to 10,Trudeau's ethics breach is a 2. Nothing criminal,just lack of experience on his part or his staff for not officially recusing himself from any potential conflicts of interest in government decisions regarding the Aga Khan charitable foundation to reduce world poverty. There was no influence on funding levels evident and he has since recused himself from any further involvement with the file, end of story.
As pointed out, Scheer is attacking from the swamp which only serves to remind people of the endemic corruption that stalked the Harper government. Remember the rogues gallery... a leader surrounded by lies and corruption but personally was just a lily white poor judge of character.
RT

Simon said...

HiJD...Yvonne and her band of Resistance members deserve a lot of credit for the work they do. If all progressives went after the Cons like they do, the Harperite menace would be soon swept into the garbage can of history where they belong. And yes, lock your doors and bar your windows, the Gorgon is on the loose...đŸ˜º

Steve said...

Harpo does not strike me as the letting go type. In fact all these Rebels have a never die mentality. See the Mason group, oh I meant Manning.