Another Day, Another Swipe at Democracy?

So another day goes by and we have yet another story of the government playing with procedures. Something tells me that the Dirty Tricks manual that was talked about last year was far more extensive than just how to filibuster at committee.

In fact, the more I read about what has gone on, scrubbing websites, forbidding specific language and terms, etc, the more I think an inordinate amount of time has been spent on how to dismantle, disrupt and destroy everything that was put in place, not just by the Liberals, but a succession of governments.

So what are they up to now? Disrupting the process by which private members bills come to the House.

Specifically, they seem to be hijacking the process by which a sponsor for a bill coming from the upper house goes to the Commons.

When Liberal Senator Dennis Dawson introduced a private-member's bill this spring, it was instantly denounced by the governing Conservatives as an "unCanadian" and anti-democratic assault on free speech.


So he was taken aback to discover a few weeks later that a Conservative MP had volunteered to sponsor his bill once it makes its way to the House of Commons.

Cute huh? The Conservatives run in and sponsor a bill they are opposed to so that they can control it's destiny.

Normally, the author of a Senate private-members' bill arranges to have a sympathetic MP sponsor it once it clears the upper house and arrives in the Commons. The sponsor informs the clerk's office that he or she will take responsibility for shepherding the bill through the Commons.

But last month, Tory MPs began rushing to the clerk's office to sponsor bills almost the moment they were tabled in the upper house, whether or not they actually supported the bills and without waiting to see if they'd actually ever make it to the Commons.

So much for democracy folks. This bloody government simply laughs in the face of convention, fair play and yes democracy, and has no qualms about it apparently. Gawd help me if they don't resemble other 'thug' governments. No, I won't make the comparisons, but each and every person in this country should know exactly how little the Conservatives actually care about them and the country's future.

Why these stories are breaking in the summer, when even fewer than usual people are paying attention, is beyond me. And of course, these are the things that are tough to bring up during an election aren't they? I mean, we're dealing with arcane stuff here that certainly can't be put into a 'sound bite'.

You know, aside from all of this undemocratic damage they are doing, it's galling to think that they have any support at all. I mean really...what are they offering the country? There is no vision there. Lower taxes and pretending to be tough on crime does not lead a country into the future. Nasty attack ads targeted at people, not ideas, isn't exactly inspiring stuff.

What is it that the Conservative followers see in this party? I know they have lusted for power for a very long time, but how can that justify standing up for thugs?

It's not tough to see why Conservatives on line support Harper. He has provided them with the perfect opening to finally come out and display their own brand of thuggery, bias and intolerance. But what about the support he receives from more mainstream Conservatives? Aren't they bothered by what they see?

No more polls on whether or not Canadians want an election. Will some polling firm please have the courage to ask about real issues taking place, right now? Because the question isn't, do you want one. The question is, knowing that the Conservative government is doing, x, y, z, which goes against everything Canada stands for...does the country need an election?