It's been three tough years. Demolishing Stephen Harper's grim legacy took longer, and was probably harder than Justin Trudeau had imagined.
And no prime minister has ever been attacked as viciously as he has, by the Cons and their media stooges.
But with less than a year to go before the next election, even some of his strongest critics are now finally asking themselves the obvious question:
If not him WHO?
For months Michael Harris has been looking for any excuse to attack Justin Trudeau, blaming him for just about everything.
From his failure to disarm Saudi Arabia to the state of the weather.
But not any longer.
I used to admire Michael Harris. During the grim years of the Harper regime he was a bright candle in the darkness.
But then when Justin Trudeau became Prime Minister, Harris started acting weird.
Started attacking him the same or harder than he had attacked Harper.
And became just another angry old man spewing toxic Trudeau hate in every direction like so many others in this country...
For no sane reason.
While never answering the question if not Trudeau WHO?
Even as the right-wing extremists, religious fanatics, and treasonous Trumplings in our midst, prepare to destroy this country and its values.
So I'm really glad to see that Harris seems to have calmed down a little, or regained some measure of sanity.
As you know, I believe that Kellie Leitch's campaign manager Nick Kouvalis has made a big mistake by leading the hapless Leitch down the road to Trumpland.
And has let his own passion for Donald Trump cloud his judgement, to the point where he is now even spreading fake news.
So I'm glad to see that Michael Harris also thinks that Leitch should also exercise some judgement, if she has any.
The other night Justin Trudeau turned up at an event in Toronto's Distillery District, bearing a bag of gifts to add to a so-called Toy Mountain for poor children.
And I was amazed to see how cheerful and relaxed he looked, after the barrage of criticism he has had to endure in the last two weeks.
With the Cons and the right-wing media going after him like rabid hyenas, for calling Fidel Castro a "remarkable leader."
And some progressives blasting him for his pipelines decision, and even calling him another Harper.
In one of my last posts I looked at the fallout from the Duffy trial.
Celebrated the way the judge's scathing indictment had damaged what was left of Stephen Harper's legacy.
Rejoiced at the way it must have left him quivering in his closet.
And of course roared with laughter at how Mike Duffy's acquittal turned out to be the ultimate payback.
He has only been in power for eighty days, but already Justin Trudeau is being caught between the right and the left.
Between the Cons who are enraged at the way he is tearing down their beloved Harperland.
And progressives like Michael Harris, who want him to de-Harperize Canada faster.
As we all know, Rona Ambrose can on occasion, and even without realizing it, be quite funny.
Like the time she found herself agreeing with Australia's Stoner Sloth that marijuana makes you stupid.
Because she should know eh?
About the stupid.
And as Michael Harris writes, her war on electoral reform is a real comedy.
It couldn't have been a more revealing sight. Or a more absurd one. Or one more revolting.
Rona Ambrose granting an interview to Ezra Levant's filthy hate mongering site The Rebel.
Hammering home her Christmas message to bomb Iraq, bomb Syria, and bomb Justin Trudeau. Not necessarily in that order.
While claiming her Cons are a kinder, gentler version of the Harper Party.
And strongly insinuating, that she's some kind of Princess Leia...
Ever since Justin Trudeau defeated Stephen Harper, and sent him and his Cons packing, the mood in this country has improved beyond anything I have ever seen, or ever could have imagined.
The totalitarian grimness of the Harper years has been replaced with a new mood of hope and optimism.
But unfortunately that new and hopeful mood is seen as threatening by the powerful interests that control the MSM, who would rather have us ground down by the lack of hope or the darkness of perpetual pessimism.
And are doing their best to bury our hopes and expectations under a stinking heap of cynicism.
Well it's been three days since Stephen Harper and his Cons teamed up with the beasts from ISIS to make that ghastly attack ad.
And even though it starts with the sinister ISIS national anthem, and goes downhill from there, they still haven't been arrested for promoting terrorist propaganda.
The Anti-terrorism Act makes it an indictable offence to knowingly advocate or promote terrorism in general, and allows a judge to issue a warrant to seize terrorist propaganda. Under the law, “terrorist propaganda” means any writing, video or audio that promotes the commission of terrorism offences in general or counsels the commission of an offence.
Even though Harper is a repeat offender.
Well today is Mother's Day which is a good day for florists, and yet another good excuse to tell your Mum you love her.
And I see that Stephen Harper is using the occasion to make us believe that he's on their side.
But I'd rather think that Mother's Day is every day of the year, and remember all the mothers, especially single mothers, he has done nothing to help.
Or as Michael Harris writes, remember the mothers Harper's Army has betrayed.
If you've been following the trial of Mike Duffy, you know that the prosecution is having trouble making its case that he broke the rules, because it seems the Senate didn't have any.
And that the judge is getting impatient.
But as Michael Harris points out while the case against Duffy is in shambles.
Three weeks into the trial, Judge Charles Vaillancourt spoke for a lot of Canadians when he stung the Crown with a comment about the administrative swampland of Senate expenses and the unfocussed case against Duffy. So far, the Crown’s evidence, (and there is a long way to go) about the rules applying to what senators are, and are not allowed to do, is as clear as mud.
The case against Stephen Harper couldn't be stronger.
In my last post I wrote about how the Mike Duffy trial is already turning into a real nightmare for Stephen Harper.
Duffy's lawyer is trying to bind the two men together, and show how close they once were.
Which can only damage Great Leader, and further taint his reputation.
But as Michael Harris writes, if there was any justice Stephen Harper would also be in court, and testifying under oath.
As you may have heard, Ottawa has been swirling with rumours that Stephen Harper could be getting ready to call a very early election.
So he can strike before the flames of fear and bigotry he has been fanning die down. And before the Duffy Trial.
And although those rumours seem to have subsided, his performance during his year end interview with Peter Mansbridge was less than reassuring in that regard...
And now that he's even crazier than he was back then, he is capable of ANYTHING.
So just to be safe, or as safe as you can be in his monstrous Harperland, I thought I'd pass on Michael Harris' guide to street-proofing your vote.
Or his Hitchhiker's Guide to the 2015 Election.
He hasn't been seen for days, since he sent his shabby minions out to announce that he was proroguing the budget until April.
So he's probably banging away on his piano in his gloomy basement, trying to figure out how he can restore the surplus he blew before he had one.
So he can try to buy the votes of even MORE Canadians.
But at least now, thanks to Jason Kenney, we have some idea of how he plans to do that.
By whipping out a massive chain saw and cutting government to the bloody bone.
In my last post I looked at Stephen Harper's ghastly record and wondered how he gets away with it.
And I said that I was confident that although a lot of people in this country are discouraged, that record would come back to haunt him in the election campaign.
Despite his desperate efforts to reinvent himself...
Especially since that record is even worse than most people imagine.
As Michael Harris explains in this shocking video...
And the good news is, as Harris says at the end, we can do something about it:
"The difference is us. If we stand up and we do something about it we can stop this man. But if we sit back and count all the reasons we can't do a thing, that steamroller that Stephen Harper has rolled over the institutions of this country will continue to flatten everything in its path."
We are not helpless. There are ways we can take back this country.
In the coming months, Canadians must engage in a serious dialogue about the future of this country. The shameful record of the Harper regime needs to be patiently exposed, and the class interests of who it serves brought to light. The Conservatives are spending millions of tax dollars in blatantly partisan advertising, so it will take a lot of work to keep their true record on focus. The opposition parties will play their role as both critics and potential governments, but there are many things the rest of us could do:
We can stand up for pensions. Or the rights of veterans, seniors, and poor people. Or attack his shabby economic record. Or his foul record of corruption.
We can expose him for who he is, the worst and most depraved leader in Canadian history. A monster if ever there was one.
We can encourage the young to join in the struggle:
Focus on getting young people engaged in politics. With youth unemployment in the double digits, this will be the first generation to be worse off than their parents. Many cannot find stable jobs, yet too few turn out to vote to change their future.
We can form community groups everywhere.
Engage activists and leaders from diverse communities to challenge the new-found influence of Conservative Party within their communities.
We CAN build a mighty movement...
We can stop that monstrous leader.
And take our country back...
Please click here to recommend this post at Progressive Bloggers.
When I think about how we might create a mighty movement to help the progressive parties bring down the Con regime.
And I am assailed by the usual doubts about whether one person can even hope to make a difference in this filthy Harperland.
I remember the brave young Senate page Brigette DePape, who set an example for us all...
Did show us the way.
And did make a difference.
Eight years ago when I started attacking Stephen Harper and his ghastly Con regime, it sometimes felt lonely out there.
Almost nobody, and certainly nobody in the MSM, was attacking him like I did. Many of the old poobahs in the blogosphere thought I was over the top. That he was bad but not THAT bad. And that I should grow up.
And of course, my Mum was sure I'd end up in prison eh?
Then a few years ago things started to change. The blogosphere caught fire, Lawrence Martin wrote his book Harperland.
And now Michael Harris' new book Party of One should just about seal the record and finish him off.
