Friday, September 19, 2014

Magic Steve


                                    http://www.stonecoldmagicmagazine.com/

Between now and the next election, Stephen Harper will try hard to be a magician. He'll try to make his record disappear. Michael Harris writes:

That is a conversation Harper isn’t anxious to have, for any one of a number of reasons. The mismanagement and bottomless dishonesty on display during the F-35 acquisition process, for instance.

Then there’s the PM’s performance during the Wright/Duffy Affair. You remember how he treated the the truth on that occasion as a kind of multiple choice exercise in storytelling. Should the PM be subpoenaed to Mike Duffy’s criminal trial, he won’t have recourse to the ‘creative option’ — not without consequences.

Or recall the belly-flop of judgment that resulted in the appointments of Bruce Carson, Arthur Porter and several other weak links to powerful and sensitive positions.

There are lots of other things Harper doesn't want to talk about:

Certainly Harper’s not keen to talk about his calamitous record with the Senate — promising not to appoint any senators and then stacking the place with every idle Tory hack with a heartbeat. And then came the unconstitutional legislation to reform the Red Chamber, followed by the drive-by smear of Chief Justice McLachlin.

Or maybe Steve doesn’t want to talk about why he has spied on Canadians since coming to office in 2006, sticking the long nose of government deeper and deeper into its citizens’ privacy. In a police state, you might put union rallies, or a vigil for murdered native women, under surveillance — as they have been in Harper’s Canada. In a petro-state you might spy on a public discussion about the oilsands — but in a democracy? In Canada?

So, like a magician, he'll try to create distractions and change the subject:

Stephen Harper would rather talk about beheadings than the dead room he has made of public discourse in Canada — and his dismal record after eight years in power.

 He'll certainly talk about the other guys:

Brian Mulroney called Tom Mulcair the best leader of the Opposition since Diefenbaker. Harper says he’s not fit to run the country because … well, because he doesn’t excel in the corporate ass-kissing department. No lip-liner for Tom.

And Justin? Justin is a callow little defiler of young brides and his father was a slut — or at least that was the gist of Ezra Levant’s recent unhinged rant on the person the polls keep saying will be Canada’s next prime minister. As Scott Feschuk cleverly put it on Twitter, this was Ezra’s “magnus Trudeau-pus … the masterpiece Ezra has been working toward all his life: Trudeau steals a kiss.”

And he'll rely on other folks like Ezra Levant to do his talking for him. When it's all said and done, maybe Ezra will make Magic Steve go away.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

So, Northern, knowing what you know about CDN politics, in terms of today's dynamic, why don't you go way out on a limb and tell us the final seat results of the 2015 election.

Should be fun to see a true prognostication from a true political analyst. We won't hold you to your numbers but it will be fascinating.

2015 Canadian Election
Conservative -
NDP -
Liberal -
Green -
Other -

Thanks.

Anonymous A

Owen Gray said...

I honestly couldn't make a prediction, Anon, because campaigns do make a difference.

I'm willing to concede that -- if the NDP and the Liberals are particularly inept during the campaign -- Harper could win.

Obviously, I hope that doesn't happen.

Anonymous said...

OK Northern, if you won't, then I will. I had to do some sleuthing to get confirmation that we'll have 338 total ridings for the next election as per re-distribution.

This, if nothing, should generate some flames or perhaps some soul searching.

2015 Election (total 338)
Conservative - 127
NDP - 70
Liberal - 138
Green - 2
Independent - 1

Let the games begin !

Anonymous A

Owen Gray said...

If you're right, Anon, we'll get to see how well the Liberals and the NDP can co-operate with each other -- and just how important the national interest is to both parties.

Owen Gray said...

Some barricades are so mysterious, Anon, that a majority of people can't find their way around them.

Unknown said...

Owen,I'd also like to see Harper speak in public to Canadians from every political leaning rather then just to fellow cons and his base. The guy is a real coward.

Anonymous said...

Do ethnic people do polls? Winning means? How many ethnic votes Harper can buy up. There are more foreigners being brought over, than the number of Canadians in this country.

The opposition of course, can't thieve tax payers money for bogus, economic and job action plan ads.

Harper is evil. He has no scruples, honesty, decency, ethics nor morals, what-so-ever.

This is what I first saw of Harper, many, many years ago. He gave me the creeps. Harper is the very thing, I was brought up to despise.

Harper as a sociopath dictator, has very similar characteristics as, Hitler, Stalin and Mussolini. All dictators have very similar personalities.

Owen Gray said...

During the run up to the election, Anon, Mr. Harper is going to try to hide all those characteristics.

The question is: After getting to know him, will Canadians believe he's someone else?

Owen Gray said...

I agree, Pam. He refuses to meet people in the open, on their own ground.

He's no profile in courage.

Toby said...

Do you believe that Canadians have come to know Harper, Owen? Those who pay attention have but most people don't; at least they don't seem to. I suspect that most of your neighbours know who's coaching their favourite NHL team but can't tell you who their MP is. If you try, I bet you can find some who don't even know who our Prime Minister is.

Anonymous said...

Our present PM, being the litigious,
lying, sell-out to China, no-mercy,
dying ember that he is,
will soon have many chairmanships,
cat-reserves, banks, and or
oil companies to preside over.

But
Prentice
Wall
Christy.

Owen Gray said...

I take your point, Toby. I should have said Canadians ought to know Harper by now. If they don't know who he is, they are wilfully ignorant.

Owen Gray said...

Prentice and Wall are certainly contenders, Loving It. I'm not sure about Clark.

I get the sense that -- like Redford -- she doesn't have staying power.