Saturday, December 22, 2012

Harper And Guns



On the day the NRA advocated having an armed guard in every American school, Thomas Walkom wrote that the gun issue could come back to haunt Stephen Harper. For all of his bloviating about the long gun registry, Walkom reminds his readers that Harper originally voted for it:

Certainly, Harper was careful. Then a Reform MP, he broke ranks with his party to vote with the Liberals for the gun registry.

He claimed at the time that he was following the wishes of his Calgary West constituents. But, as he would explain later and in a different context, he was also uncomfortable with emotional, populist issues.

A party that wanted to govern, he liked to say, couldn’t waste its time on marginal groups.

But for Harper, policy is all about votes. His uncritical support of Israel is about votes in Canada. His rejection of the BHP bid for Potash Corporation was all about votes in Saskatchewan. His recognition of Quebec as a "nation within a nation" was about votes in that province  -- even though Quebecers soon figured out that his declaration -- like his apology to Canada's native peoples -- was just hot air.

Now the National Firearms Assocication has Mr. Harper in its sights:

 "The price of our freedom is unceasing vigilance,” declared one recent editorial in the NFA’s official magazine. It warned that “fifth-columnists” inside the federal bureaucracy — in alliance with the United Nations — were plotting to keep alive the Liberals’ insidious “social engineering experiment.”

These days, the people he courted as allies are turning against Mr. Harper.

4 comments:

the salamander said...

Stephen Harper will stumble, tumble, crumble and fall.. farther and faster than any political animal in the history of Canada.

His legacy will be dead rivers, unravelling 'tell all' confessions by punk ass Poli Sci geeks and robo creeps from the PMO and the CPC.. secretive Chinese lawsuits, electoral infamy, a collectable book on hockey sold in the remainders bins of book stores, endless lawsuits and appeals from The First Nations, provincial governments, petroleum entities and human rights tribunals and The United Nations.. and far far more than that.

The disenchanted and vindictive.. the opportunistic and the greedy will leave boot tracks over his shredded legacy.. as will the few that are further to the extreme deluded right wing than he is.

In the past, a few alert mainstream newspapers, nightly news or radio would sense, predict or announce such falls from so called glory. In present times, thousands of indy blogs, First Nations actions, guest articles, aggregated news ensures that every shred of evidence, past actions, secrecy, bullying, Hansard quotes, parliamentary obstruction, muzzling, bullying is collected, dredged up, reframed-re-examined, re-released.

As the feeble and fey and fearful Ministers such as Kent, Clement, Baird, Ashfield, Mackay, Flaherty & the blessed virgin Kenney become poster boyz and bullseyes for scandal, incompetence, cronyism and destructive malpractice.. we will see who passes the blame and shite uphill.

What will remain of our environment, fresh waters, fisheries, resources, First Nations treaties, democracy is another dark question.

Whether Stephen Harper manages to destroy our national identify during his disastrous reign as the drone queen of Canada is an even darker issue. With at least two more out of control omnibus bills.. or so called budgets at his disposal (an accurate term - 'disposal') Many would say his chances are excellent.

What Canadian companies will be 'honored' to have such a toxic and polarizing, infamous man sitting on their Board of Directors may be quite illuminating.. I hope he will enjoy a lot of time with his family.. and that the warm and fuzzy feeling is mutual.

Owen Gray said...

Like his ideological predecessor, Mike Harris -- who bequeathed his cabinet colleagues Flaherty, Cement and Baird to the prime minister -- Stephen Harper will find his way to many boards, where he will be feted as "one of us."

There he will celebrate, salamander, confident that he owes "the rest of us" nothing.

The Mound of Sound said...

Hey Owen. A Merry Christmas to you and yours and an even better New Years.

Cheers

MoS

Owen Gray said...

Best wishes to you and your family, Mound. May the New Year bring good news.