The essence of Harper government is personal cruelty: Mallick

[CHIMO]

Stephen Harper’s hard-right Conservatives are not suited to governing this wonderful country, an easy enough observation on an ill-considered austerity-budget day but true on any day of the year. Writing about this government evokes a fight or flight response, meaning that I type with greater energy while a deep voice warns me, “This is unwise.”

What an extraordinary thing to live a pleasant life in a western nation and yet fear your own government. But the Canada Revenue Agency’s new audits of environmental charities like Tides Canada, the David Suzuki Foundation and Environmental Defence in the midst of their continuing warnings about the effects of the climate-poisoning Alberta tarsands project are terrifying.

Harperites are sessile, “rooted to the ground and unable to pick up and move ... when conditions turn unfavourable,” as the New Yorker put it recently in a rather dismissive piece about plant IQ. They can’t adapt to the news of climate change so they lash out at those who have.

I have praised David Suzuki to the skies, most recently in a column about a performance staged at the Royal Ontario Museum about the damage done by the tarsands. Am I to be audited next?

http://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2014/02/11/the_essence_of_harper_government_is_personal_cruelty_mallick.html

"Revenge is mine". It now appears that He has appeared. And in Canada!

[polly7]

1. Harper IS vengeful .... and proud of it.

Nothing bothers the man, he has no clue, nor does he care what the people of Canada need, or want.

Governments should be generalists, asking, “What is good for the nation?” Harperites are vengeful, asking, “Whom shall we make suffer?”

“You won’t recognize Canada when I’m through with it.” It scares me to death too, that the harm he's already done is too much to turn back.

[Joe Shlabotnik]

2. I can't even begin to imagine

how Harper can look in the mirror and say that he's done a good job, or that Canada is better because of him. Simply mind boggling.

[CHIMO]

3. Someone

Should take a look at him.

In the beginning, before he had power, he was using every means to gain power. Went to the US and said Canada was not a partner of the US. Means that Harper was a trusted sheriff. This continued and still continues.

Originally it seems that he was trying to prove something to his father. There has been no history of his relationship with his family and his ideas.

Since coming to power he has discarded people as required to maintain his public appeal.

It would seem that he has no commitment to a country or ideal other than a Faustian commitment.

[thecytron]

11. The Puppet Called Steven Harper

Sure, you can criticize a puppet in a puppet show all you want. But you'll never change anything about the puppet or the show, if you never go after the one(s) pulling the strings, namely the puppeteer(s).

For this conversation to make sense to anyone, the puppets are of course our politicians, the show is called Democracy, the strings pulling our politicians in Democracy is called money, and finally the puppeteers are the shadow governments nobody knows about.

Then you have it all, a simply way to look at our life in our current Global Village.

From this simplified picture of our world, it is easy to see why local politic is nothing but a very bad joke on us all. It is as insignificant as looking for a public bathroom on the moon.

The sooner we all realize this the sooner we can all move on with our daily life on this planet. The sooner we stop wasting our time complaining about the human condition under the leadership of our local politicians, the sooner we will live as we should have been all along.

So, please no more bad joke about the puppet called Steven Harper. I am living the show Democracy in search of a sting of money left behind by those unknown puppeteers.

[riverbendviewgal]

4. excellent article

Thanks Chimo for putting this up.. I sent this on to my friends who commented how Harper would fit right in with the US Tea Partiers. His party must be flattened for 2015. I just hope does not destroy Canada completely.

[arikara]

7. I actually think he's worse than the tea baggers. Way more successful in his destruction

The tea baggers are more blatant with what they try to do and that trips them up. Harper is craftier, he's been sneaking his changes one at a time through the back door incrementally. He seems to have either picked up the pace lately, or else more have noticed that the water is getting pretty damned hot, close to boiling in fact.

I worry about Canada, with the left divided because that's how he got in last election. The electoral changes Harper is making are only for his benefit and we will wind up with worse if the Liberals and NDP don't reach some sort of accord. Canada just can't afford another round of Harper, we have to get rid of the evil bastard.

[laundry_queen]

5. It's all conservatives, not just the Harper government.

They love keeping score, and they do love their revenge.

Good article.

[polly7]

6. Seems his meanness is getting a bit more attention ...

Stephen Harper’s meanness may backfire: Walkom

Up to now, meanness — or hardball politics as it is euphemistically termed — has served Harper well.

The Conservatives’ skilful use of merciless negative advertising helped win him three elections. In the process, it also destroyed two Liberal leaders, Stéphane Dion and Michael Ignatieff.

The prime minister’s take-no-prisoners approach in the Commons has, until recently, kept the opposition parties off balance.

I think Harper’s Conservatives are beginning to understand the limits of negativism. This may explain why they are upset by Starstories on the party’s secret plans to counter Trudeau at the Liberals’ upcoming policy convention — so much so that they put lawyers on the case.

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2014/02/12/stephen_harpers_meanness_may_backfire_walkom.html

[laundry_queen]

8. Good article. I definitely think likeability plays into this too

Trudeau is just naturally a likeable guy. Add to that the nostalgia of some people, and as the article said, Trudeau's 'niceness' and the contrast with Harper is stark.

See, with Dion and Ignatieff it was different. No one really thought twice about Dion, and no one liked Ignatieff. Sadly, it's like Junior High on a country-wide scale...no one pays attention when the bully bullies kids that are invisible or kids that no one likes...but everyone pays attention to the bully and turns on him when he picks on a kid everyone else gets along with and likes. People simply like Trudeau...he gives the impression that he's never had a malicious thought in his life...and that's going to make it hard for Harper to be 'mean' to him - he'll look like the bully he is.

Then there is the contrast between someone stiff as a rod, like Harper, and someone like Trudeau who seems comfortable in his own skin. Everything Harper uses to counter Trudeau, if there is the least bit of nastiness, will seem desperate and petty, IMO. The only way Harper would do well would be to stick like glue to policy discussions. Any personal attacks will cost him.

So let's hope he goes personal...lol. You know conservatives usually can't help themselves when it comes to nastiness.

[polly7]

9. Such good points, laundry_queen.

I agree, Harper's finally got to face someone who will have a lot of support for those reasons you mentioned. I haven't got the faith in Trudeau I did at one time that he'll try to change a whole lot, but .... we so badly need change.

I miss Jack.

[laundry_queen]

10. omg, the whole time I was writing that post

I was thinking, "Jack was also likeable, none of Harper's negativity worked on him last time." So sad and unfair isn't it. If he was here it wouldn't even be a question of who would win next election. I miss him too.

I'm torn on Trudeau...I actually don't have much faith in his abilities, I much prefer Mulcair for no nonsense governance and change in the right direction. But Trudeau is a million times better than Harper. And Mulcair isn't exactly charismatic in the same way Trudeau is so I don't see him doing as well as Jack did in the next election.