When Canadians, (well just over a third of us), put this man in office 2 years ago, they did it with caution. They weren't convinced that they could trust him to run the country.It's no secret that I have never believed that he could be trusted with even a minority government. Recent events seem to bear that out.
The disastrous handling of the Chalk River Nuclear Facility exemplifies just how inept this government is, 2 years after having taken power.
I won't go into detail, but yesterday we had this, today this, and on Politics this , (click on Wednesday and go to 38:55 in). This clip tells us just how badly the Con's seem to have messed this up. Lunn claims that he was told on December 3rd, but apparently he was briefed on Nov. 22nd.
This is rookie stuff and they have once again shown just how incompetent they are. If the matter was not so urgent, it would not be a big deal, indeed unlikely even noticed by the press. It is urgent though. This government's bumbling apparently affected half of the world's medical isotopes.
So, this story will carry on and it will only pile on to the Con woes.
Yes, I know, this is only one poll and I'm not betting my worldly goods on it, but I want to say Yes Canadians!, for paying attention at this moment in time as to what is going on.
I'm not sure how Chalk River played into this poll. It may not be the specifics. It may simply be Harper's inane reaction to the head of the Safety Commission that put his bitter partisanship on parade. Frankly, I think it's Bali.
Baird so embarrassed us, the country, and that did not go unnoticed. We may seem a passive bunch, but in the end we want to be recognised as a leader on social issues on the International stage. We have been that for a long time and Harper is killing that reputation. Youth in this country may not be married to a Party, but they are concerned with who can maintain that view and expand it. Youth know this country can make a difference, but Harper doesn't care much about that. He's concerned with the boomers and the aging population. I know that demographic is large, but he ignores the mood of the country. Many boomers still hold on to their beliefs developed when they were younger.
I had the best conversation with my niece and nephew a couple of days ago. So smart are they. They speak to issues, not Party's. Harper over looks them. His timing is all wrong.
As Tom Flanagan pointed out in his book, Harper was meant to take Canada on slowly. Convince the populace that he was moderate, win a majority, then bring it on. Harper seems not to possess that temperament. He's an arrogant man and it got the best of him this year. (I'll have to ask my sister if he demonstrated that in High School. I suspect that he was passive aggressive at that time, with no real objective venue. His bud's were as geeky as he was.)
Will he adjust his tactics? I don't know. He's still high in the leadership polls so perhaps that is feeding his ego. I hope that is so. There is no larger turn off than a man or woman who thinks he/she is smarter, "knows best", or says "leave it up to me". This certainly seems to be Harper's attitude. Worse though, he appears to be ignoring what Canadians are saying. Ignoring us will bring him no favours.
He's an arrogant man and he simply can't help himself. Hubris throughout history has only wrought one end. I'm not sure if Mr. Harper has accurately calculated history vis a vis his time in power.
Me thinks not.
16 comments:
I think the latest Harris/Decima national numbers reflect that if a government is truly inept the people are going to begin to truly notice.
Did you catch any of Minister Bernier's comments along side Condoleeza Rice this afternoon? Brutal.
Yes, i had to grow up listening to those old hacks tell me what a wonderful job Canada was doing on the international stage.I did not hear my voice reflected in the way things were run, or the way Canada failed in tackling serious issues.
A stint in the forces, going around the world for 25 years, cured me of any lingering doubts i had that liberalism made us a non player on the Canadian stage.
We were ignored, ridiculed, and neglected because most major players in the world rejected Canadas 'soft power' way of doing business.
It's all well and good to talk the talk, but the left in this country is seriously short on action.
If you think Stephane Dion as the PM of Canada would not take us back to those bad old days, i suggest you give your head a shake.
The problem with being a liberal, is that they have had so much time to inculcate people to their way of thinking, that many of you grew up knowing no other way.
I think a great heaping dose of Stephen Harper is a step in the right direction, hopefully for many years to come.
I also would not mind if the liberal brand was left out in the wilderness for a while..god knows you ran with the ball for so long and made the rules..perhaps it is time to try a different tac...
I did catch some of them Omar and I agree with your assessment.
Tomorrow perhaps, I'll take a closer look.
Moving closer to the States right now is a bad move on this governments part.
Alligned in Bali and on Afghanistan...you might as well shout, we hate Canadians.
Kursk - I would rather exert no military influence than the negative "influence" we have now. Which isn't really influence anyway, just American lap-dogging.
Kursk - We were ignored, ridiculed, and neglected because most major players in the world rejected Canadas 'soft power' way of doing business.
I'm curious, is it your impression that most of the countries in the world have been impressed with the American's "hard power" way of doing business since 9/11?
Action for the sake of action is a fool's way of doing business.
The Yanks are generally isolated in their foreign policy at the moment, and they are increasingly isolated in their climate change policy as well. They have a President in the dying days of his mandate. For a great many reasons, they are not the horse we should be hitching our cart to at present. Sending Maxime Bernier to beg for a little American public relations help is an embarassing move on Harper's part.
kursk, if you actually did serve, (obviously I have no way of knowing), I thank you.
The rest of your comment defies what you proport though.
You seem to stand for democracy yet suggest that your voice was ignored. It was indeed listened to during the last election, but it does not reflect the majority of this country.
I do not know what your position is on climate change, the age of the world, immigration, etc. Some arguments are science based, others are nonsense. Belief is different than fact.
Your comment suggests that no L/liberals are a part of the armed forces. The US does this too. They suggest there are no Dem's.
Ridiculous of course.
The problem with being a liberal, is that they have had so much time to inculcate people to their way of thinking, that many of you grew up knowing no other way.
First, there is no problem with being Liberal. By saying that the Lib's have inculcated the populace is insulting beyond belief.
People cannot think for themselves? You seem to believe that they can and should. You misunderstand what this country is and what it represents.
It obviously does not represent your view, but guess what you do not represent us as a whole.
I'm not denigrating your right to hold your view, but if you believe in democracy, your voice is not the view of the country. To enforce it would be un-democratic.
I think a great heaping dose of Stephen Harper is a step in the right direction, hopefully for many years to come.
Right would be the operative word there. It's nt going to happen in your lifetime or mine, thank goodness.
Australia went off the rails as did the UK, and so will the US.
Harper is the worse thing to happen to this country and his timing was perfect for me, lousy for you. His/your vision will not be sustained.
For that I am grateful.
Ryan, RC, well said.
RC, I see us as the cart, not the horse. We are hitching a ride now and it's headed in the wrong direction.
kursk, etal, may believe that Harper is doing it right, but that is all he is doing...playing to the right.
30%...that is it, that is all you have.
Embrace it kursk, the rest of the country does not buy what you want to sell.
KNB,
Did you see that pompous SOB on the National tonight?
Ah I watched parts of his talk with Mainsbridge on CBC /I had to FORCE myself My instinct told me just go away..../ My sense is he is Angrier then ever ... Brooding Confused and DEPRESSED generally.. His talks were far from clearly focused.. obviously showing the year end reportcard on Him is a Big fat " F ". he is in a mess.
Playing Pilatus on The hard questions.. "decisions will be made on the "Panels' and The esteemed Mr Johnson's advise ..this is the guy who muzzling everyone around him and making all decisions by himself....
The guy is Crumbling .. and to my delight i realised he is READING the BLOGS LOLOLOLOL
hey that felt good...
marta
He seems to be setting up to blame any problems economically in the next year + on the things he (didn't) do with regard to climate change. More show and shift. Bush only last week said the same thing about dark clouds on the horizon or some such melodrama. Never mind the fact the these problems stem from poor management of the economy.
Then instead of fessing up, he decided to say he wasn't being partisan with regard to Linda Keen. What the hell was with the label then? Then he seemed to be threatening to Mansbridge because he dared bring it up.
Then ultimatums about a possible election. He even had the gall to say wanted to work with the other parties but none wanted to. Hello, committee obstruction playbook kind of made that impossible.
He's psychotic and deranged. Serious temper issues. Borderline antisocial personality possibly. I have not seen any emotion from this man. Just threats and self absorption.
I just watched it on the CBC site Jay.
Indeed he did seem to be setting us up for next year. No tax cuts and no new programs. In fact, I would not be surprised to see further program cutting while laying the blame for such a move on a slowing economy.
I do not know how our economy will be affected by the US next year, but further cuts to social programs would be a huge mistake for him. Consider how many groups are demanding reinstatement of programs as it is. Flaherty has been a disaster and it doesn't look like he's going anywhere.
Harper is a disturbing individual and it's beyond me what his supporters see in him. They seem to confuse strength with arrogance and control.
What a bizarre comment he made about the other parties not wanting to work with him. Mr. Consultation, lol, certainly hasn't shown any sign of reaching out. In fact he does the opposite. One of his MP's (Van Loan maybe) on a panel the other day suggested that the other parties should "get out of the way and let them govern".
Yeah, that's how you make a minority work.
Marta, I don't follow your comment about the blogs? Did he say that?
No no he didn't say that I just concluded it when he said in a very defensive tone He would never do ANY HARM to the Country
even if he has a different ideological point of view sometimes... I felt he was talking to US....
/.OK I tend to connect invisible points./
I watched the emotional side of him very carefully ... and thanks for the cameraman his face was mostly in premier plan...
I agree with Jay . He is antisocial and a sick man.
marta
Small correction ..it was in the CTV program.. they were showing small clips From a very Long interview ,.. due to broadcast on Saturday.
Indeed Marta...well intuited.
Painting Tip
Try not to divide any element in your artwork in half. This especially includes the temperature of the painting.
What I mean is - it shouldn't be half warm and half cool. Warm colors are like fire - red, orange, yellow and brown. Cool colors are like water and grass - blue and green.
If your painting is mostly warm, add a little cool for contrast. If it's mostly cool, add a little warm to spice it up.
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