So the Harper Campaign Platform, such as it is, has finally been made public. It is very intentional that Harper released his “platform” late so Canadians only a week to review it. He did not want to even release a platform because it would make him accountable for promises. Harper doesn't like to be made to accountable to Canadians.
Those ordinary Canadians who had to vote in advanced polls did not have a chance to read the Conservative platform. Those advanced poll voters must have felt cheated by Harper's indifference and not even trying to inform them of his vision for the country before they had to vote.
Harper has released a very shallow and superficial policy document. It is mostly pictures in the sweater vest mode and very little policy substance. It suffers from a lack of insight and shows a serious insensitivity to the plight of Canadians trying to face of the current economic calamity.
Harper tries to reassure anxious Canadians by preaching about sound fundamentals that comes of as a hollow and misleading. Harper thinks there are no holes in the hull of Canada’s fiscal ship of state. Unfortunately Harper is oblivious to the consequences of the global fiscal tsunami that will swamp us anyway.
Harper persistent Do Nothing "solution" will not reassure Canadians he is up to the job of serving the citizens of the entire nation in the position of Prime Minister. Harper does not seem to have an answer to the crisis and comes of as waffling with a haughty and superior attitude.
He does not seem to care about the impact of the crisis on ordinary Canadians and is in denial that anything of significance is happening. Obama in the debate last night nailed it when he said the world is facing the most devastating economic crisis since the collapse of 1929 that resulted in the Great Depression. Harper is fiddling and tinkering with minutia and marginal efforts to respond.
The Harper campaign platform is deficient in so many other ways. We live in turbulent complex times where governments have to engage on a wide range of concerns. To show just how shallow and superficial the Harper Conservative election platform is, consider that these words WERE NOT IN THE PLATFORM DOCUMENT
CLIMATE CHANGE, GLOBAL WARMING; POVERTY; EQUALITY; CHARTER OF RIGHTS; CHILDCARE SPACES, STUDENT, UNIVERSITIES, KELOWNA ACCORD; WAIT TIMES; MEDICARE; DIPLOMACY; DARFUR; PENSION; ATLANTIC ACCORD; MULTICULTURALISM; GREEN; PROSPERITY –
and CONSERVATIVE TEAM.
Harper is still a one-man-band political team. He is still convinced that he is the only one he needs to consult with on any Conservative policy. He believes that he alone knows what is "best" for Canada. He has shown us he is not a statesman. He is a bully. He is not aligned with Canadian values and has shown nothing but contempt and indifference to our current concerns and our hopes and aspirations as citizens and as a county.
Harper's warm and fuzzy sweater is unravelling and it is showing us that the same old mean spirited , callous and uncaring Conservative candidate is underneath.
Stop Harper. Vote your Canadian values.
Ken: without going into any detail - Harper resonates with this severely normal and severely average Canadian. Having a Government rushing around and doing SOMETHING for political, and not economic, reasons, scares the crap out of me.
ReplyDeleteThe Gov of Canada did nothing to get the world into this mess, therefore they are also not the solution.
The very prudent things Harper did A YEAR AGO, 11 before Dion and Layton knew there might be problems apparently - are not mentioned in his platform because that is old history. There is NOTHING he needs to do now cause he already did it. And that is why so many of us are voting for him. Harper wasn't surprised by all this, he predicted it iver a year ago.
The rest of what may need to be done, should be done in reactive mode, because NO ONE can predict the market.
Try to keep up will you?
This cracker cat is making some sense and sounding like a cool head... which in spite of my 'freedom 75' retirement plan.. [as it currently looks]... is making some sense, and giving a bit of comfort.
ReplyDeleteTalking extremes in time of travail does not gather support.[note to Ken] Remaining calm and in control, even if it is in control of NOTHING, does gather support....unfortunately.
Too bad that Harper took the TA out of TEAM... [read that residual backwards pls.] It will take much more than ONE head and one thought pattern to get us through this time...
[Not just a classic market correction but an economic transition to an economy that is embedded in environmental realities, not just taking an environmental free ride... you guys need to pay more attention to Davos corporate results..]
...much as I would like to believe that all the necessary steps were taken by Harper and Co.
But who and what is he leading? And if he has done all these things, what are they and why does he not explain it? Speak of it? Brag a bit? [he has no restraint to brag about other stuff that he thinks he has done]
....AND if things are going to be ok why are the Canadian stock/ company promoter guys so very very depressed about the future outlook? They really did not sound optimistic when I met with them recently and these stock/ investment promoter types are PAID WELL to be positive!!! ...some even went to far as to say 'keep your powder dry!!!!'
arrogance AND yapping annoy this voter.
greengirl
Ken, you are off your rocker. Stop dictating the values of Canadians. This is what Paul Martin tried to do.
ReplyDeleteI still think Harper will pull off this election. At that time, you will see the values of Canadians. I look forward to laughing at you on your stupid little blog.
Crackers, the issue for me is that Mr. Harper didn't feel the plan to put ANY platform forward...and he was the one who insisted on an election despite his putting forward and passing fixed date election legislation.
ReplyDeleteI would bet that you are one of those who would have screamed blue murder had Mr. Martin done the same thing after he called the last election. What I don't get is the (apparent) hypocrisy that Conservative supporters keep displaying. The Liberals do something and it's horrific for Canada. The Conservatives do the same thing (or something very similar) and it's demonstrating 'leadership'. Ken is right - the man is a one man band and a bully. I don't want him leading my government. Why doesn't his style and behaviour vis a vis his 'team' bother you?
Karen: we are not going to agree because you see the world through a Liberal filter, and I see it from a Conservative one.
ReplyDeleteSo my only option on Ken's blog is to correct optics, and facts, when I see them.
For instance, Harper fixed election dates for a MAJORITY government. When a MINORITY government stops working, and in Harper's opinion it had (whether you disagree with him or not - his opinion as one of the Parties matters) you call an election. Try not to confuse a ruling related to Majority Gov'ts and Minority Gov'ts. Liberals do that for political gain, but factually they are wrong. Harper presided over the longest reign of a minority government in Canadian history. Says something about his intent to work with others historically, does it not?
Not sure what you are on about with respect to Martin and Harper. But the FACTS are that "Canada has the world's soundest banking system, closely followed by Sweden, Luxembourg and Australia, a survey by the World Economic Forum has found as financial crisis and bank failures shake world markets."
What this means Karen, is that Dion, Layton, and Ken, for all their handwringing sky-is-falling, we-have-to-do-something bleating, were crying about the sad, horrible fact that we have THE BEST BANKING SYSTEM IN THE WORLD. WE'RE NUMBER ONE!!! Ahead of that gold standard Switzerland.
Layton, Ken, and Dion are incensed by this. And incensed about the fact that Canada will do better than all G7 countries in the next year, according to the IMF. So are these three guys right? Apparently not. But for political purposes they are "screaming blue murder". Again - is that right? Apparently not. This is called H-Y-P-O-C-R-I-S-Y. They know the facts - so the distortion and spin of these facts are political spin for political gain. They hope you won't figure out that the crocodile tears they were shedding won't become obvious until AFTER the election, when it's too late for you to know they had no clue about the status of our economy - two years ago OR now.
One of the reasons we are in such good shape is that when Mr. Harper saw what was happening two years ago, he took steps to make SURE that the banks operated within commonsense rules, he reduced taxes to ensure an investing working climate, and made sure that money was in good supply. Mr. Dion by the way, voted to loosen those banking rules three times. Had he prevailed, we would be in the same mess as other countries.
So Harper's leadership and style makes me proud. He predicted this mess, made sure we were protected from this 1 and 2 years ago (remember Mr. Dion will start to tackle this next month when elected - he's just finding out about it now) and we have the best economy amongst the G7 countries in the next year, and the best banking system in the world.
I WANT this guy Harper in charge of things, in his tight, unemotional, in-control, economist, unflappable style.
Conversely, I DON'T want chicken littles touching a damn thing!!
Not only does Mr. Dion want to "FIX" this, here in Alberta he wants to tax the hell out of what is suddenly a worrisome lack of development from credit crunched oil companies. He wants to heap problems on top of problems. He said so as late as last night.
This is the New Liberal brand of National Energy Progam II, and Dion cannot wait - within the first 30 days - to trot this out.
Why does Mr. Dion not scare the hell out of you and Ken?
Crackers...you are wrong at so many levels. Government has a moral and a social aspect that business does not need to worry about. Business jsut as an ROI test of success while followoing the rules.
ReplyDeleteWhen the rules are not clear it is government's fault - they make the rules.
When the rules are broken it is government's fault becuse they did not enforce the rules.
Risk is there for a bad business decisions but the consequences are nothing like the risk of government who make a bad decision.
We need leaders who are wise and thoughtful adn able to refect our values as a society - not just a manager of the economy...important as that is.
Ken: Huh?
ReplyDeleteI saw Mr. Dion last night. Aside from the distraction of trying to decipher mangled English (can the Libs please find a leader who can communicate to the 80% of the population of the country they purport to govern? Is this the best they can do linquistically?) I found him evasive, shallow, full of slogans and cheap shots with very little substance.
For him to tell Mansbridge and Canadians that the economist Harper knows nothing and has done nothing to keep Canada economically safe on almost the same day that both the IMF and the World Economic Forum commend Canada for being economically #1 IN THE WORLD hardly pays homage to Mr. Dion's self-vaunted assertion that Dion will "tell de Canadiens da trudth!".
But above all else - if you don't get the BUSINESS of running a country right, all other discussions about values, social aspects, cultural issues, are moot 'cause you can't afford 'em.
And having Dion come in and tear apart the Alberta economy with disastrous taxes certainly attacks my moral and social aspect.
Crackers - it is beneath you to mock a person's accent.
ReplyDeleteStelmach is after Harper not Dion for messing with the Alberta economy. You have to reconsider your facts. In fact Stelmach is saying to Harper in no uncertain terms STAY AWAY from our oil sands industry and our bitumen export markets.
Stelmach is also saying the Premier's have to get together immediately in an emergency First Minister's meeting to deal with the economic crisis. Harper still insists we need to do nothing about it and Stelmach says he is wrong.
Finally: Values Social Issues and Culture are the essence of a country and the business of government. The economy is a function in service of those elements - NOT the other way around.
That mistaken attitude you show is why most business people (and some narrow-minded economists) make terrible politicians and leaders.
Ken: It's not the accent - it's the lack of English language nuance that speaks to a misunderstanding of shared cultural background. Dion is limited to Quebec and some Ontario in Hull and Ottawa respectively. The rest of the country perforce misunderstands or does not get Dion's purported intellectual subtlety.
ReplyDeleteSo Stelmach is OK with Layton shutting down the oilsands and OK with Dion taxing them heavily? When Dion talks about taxes he means "painful enough to change behaviour". Premier Stelmach is just fine with this? This is the impression you want to leave?
To be realistic, has Harper really said that there is nothing, NOTHING he plans to do - sort of like taking a holiday or something - or is he just saying "we don't need to DO anything other than stay the course, and watch to see what happens, and act when necessary."
Values and arts: so if we are warm, fuzzy, and hand over a bunch of money for arts and culture, the Canadian economy will take care of itself? Great. That's easy. We can make Margaret Atwood Prime Minister then, and she would do a better job than an economist.....
Let's phone her and get her on the ballot....
PS - are both of us going to be happy when this is all over? I have work to do - as do you.
Crackers - I was the guy who MC'ed the Albertan for the Arts Rally last week where Atwood spoke. She is better at influence than power.
ReplyDeleteStelmach not liking Harper is obvious - that says nothing about Dion or Layton...quit changing the channel.
As for the Arts and Culture role go the the Edmonton Arts Council web site and read my essay in the Edmonton Culture Policy - pg 59 I believe. You will pop a blood vessel.
As for English language nuance if you can read this you can understand Dion...so quit pretending:
This is weird, but interesting!
fi yuo cna raed tihs, yuo hvae a sgtrane mnid too
Cna yuo raed tihs? Olny 55 plepoe out of 100 can.
i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The
phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny
iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae.
The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.
Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt! if you can raed tihs forwrad it
FORWARD ONLY IF YOU CAN READ IT
Get bcak to wrk crkaers!