Friday, November 16, 2018

Donald Trump, Stephen Harper, and the Canadian Trumplings



It was quite the scene the other day. Emmanuel Macron at the Arc de Triomphe warning about the dangers of the new far-right nationalism, and accusing those who support it, of betraying patriotism.

While Donald Trump sat there looking like he was about to explode.

And in fact did explode, when he returned home, and fired off a stream of crude and childish tweets in the general direction of Macron. As only that man beast could.

But while Justin Trudeau, and I'm sure most Canadians, naturally sided with Macron against the bully Trump.

One well known Canadian bully, Stephen Harper, did not.



Instead he came bounding out of his comfy closet to defend Trump and criticize Macron. 

French President Emmanuel Macron’s stinging rebuke of Donald Trump’s "America First" policy at the centenary commemoration of the First World War Armistice was another example of the “disconnected elitism” fuelling populism throughout the western world, according to former Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper. 

“I don’t think you can fault Donald Trump. I don’t think it’s ever reasonable to fault the president of the United States for believing in the United States, any more than I would find fault with the president of France if he believed in France.”


He shrugged off the threat posed by some of the right-wing governments in Europe.

While he says he does not agree with every policy of Mr Trump, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban or Italy’s far-right poster boy Matteo Salvini, Mr Harper believes the underlying concerns they are trying to address are legitimate, from the economy to trade and immigration.

And showed how far right he has travelled since he was defeated, and was spotted sneaking into the White House, without ever telling us what he was doing there...



He sees a new wave of extreme leftists, spearheaded by socialist politicians such as Bernie Sanders and British Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, as a “much greater risk” than Mr Trump as they could try to upend the entire democratic capitalist system.

So I'm glad to see that at least one member of our reliably Con media, Stephen Maher, is criticizing Harper and his new book.

Harper’s attack on Macron looks like name-calling motivated by partisan ill will. (In what sense is Macron more elitist than Harper himself? I can’t see it.) It is an empty attack, more appropriate for a campaigning politician than a statesman.

Not just for what's in it, but also for what Harper doesn't mention.

He makes interesting observations about doctrinaire globalists who negotiated trade deals blindly, without sufficient regard to their national interest, and repeatedly warns that they were foolish to ignore the concerns of “those who shower after work, not just those who shower before it.” 

But he says nothing about the role that automation played in destroying the jobs of the rust belt workers who voted for Trump, and nothing about the way Trump blamed immigration, using racism to rally his voters, the central political fact of Trumpism.



Before blaming it all on Great Fallen Leader's angry nature.

Harper still seems like a surprisingly angry man: talented, interesting and successful but still—for some reason—really really peeved.

But while that may be true, Harper is said to still be bitter at having being defeated by the man who was "just not ready."

I think the bigger picture is that it shows that Harper, like so many other Cons, is becoming a full-blown Trumpling.



The same kind of Trumpling that Andrew Scheer is becoming. The same kind of right-trampling the faithful Harperites who are running Doug Ford's government, are trying to make of him.

Or the same kind of Trumpling that Maxime Bernier is trying to make himself.

And whether Harper is dreaming of his return to power, or is just trying to sell more copies of his boring book, or whether he wants to be the Canadian godfather of the Trump Harperite cult, one thing is for sure.

We dodged a bullet when Justin Trudeau defeated him, for imagine what kind of a prime minister he would have been in a Trumpling Canada.



And until we can defeat those Trumplings, or they destroy themselves.

Nobody who lives here will be really safe.

And the future of this country will be in real danger...  



13 comments:

Anonymous said...

I believe that Harper is trying to get a comeback going. He still can't get over that Trudeau beat him. I expect that he'll wait until Scheer loses the election and then offer himself up as the compromise candidate, or the one who can hold off Doug Ford.

Jackie Blue said...

Adolf Harper really is a movie villain. He needs to check himself in somewhere to get over his unhealthy stalker obsession with all things Trudeau. Meanwhile, someone really needs to start investigating the IDU and the kind of detestable tyrants they work with, because I don't trust Fat Cat not to pull out all stops to destroy the whole country or stand by and watch someone get hurt in the process of seeking his revenge on the young Skywalker. He should get a hobby or just get the fuck out.

Anonymous said...

It seems to me that after disappearing from for a while, Harper is everywhere these days. Maybe as you say he just trying to sell his book, but I think he’s seen that weak Andy is heading for defeat, and he wants to be ready to pick up the pieces, and save what’s left from total destruction. Like Dracula he just keeps coming back.

Anonymous said...

I've always found this discussion interesting, when it comes to Stephen...
https://unpublishedottawa.com/letter/13987/canadas-quiet-coup-how-cia-shoot-helped-install-stephen-harper-canadas-prime-minister

Anonymous said...

Harper's claim that “disconnected elitism” is fuelling populism is such a load of crap. Far right racists and fear mongers such as himself are what's fuelling populism, period.
He goes on to defend Trump while completely ignoring the daily Donald shit-show, how he has divided the US and fuelled a rise in hate crimes and mass shootings. Nothing to see here eh Steve?
As much as I don't want to hear anything from Harper, It's good that he rears his ugly head from time to time to remind us why JT obliterated him in 2015. Lest we forget the underlying mantra of these Con elites. They're in it for themselves and their corporate masters regardless of the lives destroyed along the way.
Time to crawl back under your rock, Mr. Harper.
JD

Steve said...

I always had suspicions about lying Brian and the company. Look what has happened to our steel and refining industry. Bought up and closed down.

John B. said...

It’s just what everybody needs and just in time: another libertarian going all “nationalist” thirty years after graduating to the cult from the adolescent reading room. Unclaimed or discarded electoral pocket change will do it every time, no matter how filthy the gutter.

Simon said...

Hi anon....I don't know what Harper is up to, but you could be right. He is apparently still smouldering from his election humiliation, and if he sees an opening, I'm pretty sure he will go for it...

Simon said...

Hi Jackie...yes, Harper would make a good movie villain. I'm thinking of the Penguin in Batman. His IDU is certainly a great collection of right-wing scumbags, and of course Scheer with his creepy smile was born to play the Joker...👺

Simon said...

Hi anon...I used to love portraying Harper as Dracula, rising from his coffin to come and terrorize us again. And as I said above, you may be right. Harper has such a high opinion of himself he can't imagine that his country doesn't miss him. I'm afraid he going to be bitterly disappointed, but keep some garlic handy anyway...

Simon said...

Hi JD...when I read that Harper was claiming that "disconnected elitism" is fuelling populism I couldn't help laughing. It was like an elephant had put on a tutu and was trying to dance Swan Lake. You of course are right, Harper's right wing racist buddies are the ones who are creating the Nazi loser wave. And I also agree with you when it comes to Harper's increasingly desperate appearances. Canadians need to be reminded what a monster he was, because many of them forget the past far too easily...

Simon said...

Hi John...as I just told JD, Harper's reincarnation as a populist sympathizer is a joke considering the autocratic way he governed this country. I think that hanging out with the scummy IDU gang, has given him delusions of grandeur. But just like the last time he will end up flat on his face...

Simon said...

Hi anon...I don't know if the CIA and it's friends installed Harper, but I don't doubt that they did all they could to keep him in power. Just like some powerful right wing groups are buzzing around like flies helping Scheer and Ford, for they are dying to get their grubby paws on our Medicare system...