tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35117130.post7693291543602153537..comments2024-03-28T19:18:40.387-04:00Comments on Northern Reflections: His Base InstinctsOwen Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06464860078574618579noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35117130.post-58053791854713167922016-01-31T16:30:14.637-05:002016-01-31T16:30:14.637-05:00He felt he had all kinds of enemies, astone. And h...He felt he had all kinds of enemies, astone. And he was determined to get even.Owen Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06464860078574618579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35117130.post-23412968906398331122016-01-31T15:56:26.349-05:002016-01-31T15:56:26.349-05:00"A small minded, mean little bully" And ..."A small minded, mean little bully" And probably also a sociopath!astonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06689144433736347749noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35117130.post-60059530947653371622016-01-28T20:05:12.091-05:002016-01-28T20:05:12.091-05:00I agree with your assessment, Scotian. Ruthless he...I agree with your assessment, Scotian. Ruthless he was -- but not brilliant.Owen Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06464860078574618579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35117130.post-30106711101945300732016-01-28T19:45:33.101-05:002016-01-28T19:45:33.101-05:00Harper was never a brilliant mind nor a genius, al...Harper was never a brilliant mind nor a genius, although he always thought he was. We was always a bit on the policy wonkish side (which he clearly mistook for evidence of such hyper-intelligence), and he was a fairly decent political tactician too with a major qualification I'm about to discuss, but he was overall a lousy political strategist. It used to drive me crazy reading people like Wells commenting on Harper playing chess to the others checkers for example.<br /><br />That qualification I mentioned? Much of what made Harper so strong tactically speaking was his willingness to embrace and use tactics and tools/approaches that had been generally seen as "beyond the pale" by the Canadian political establishment across the spectrum. That the overriding need of providing "good government" as our motto states made certain approaches/methods/tools too toxic, especially for a nation as big physically and regionally diverse as ours, not to mention how relatively decentralized our national system was too. It was that sheer ruthlessness and complete apathy for these core values that enabled him to embrace and win with tactics that no other party/leader would have ever dared consider let alone embrace. Remember, one of the main reasons Harper left Reform was according to Manning at the time that Harper not only saw himself as the smartest man in the room in any room with any other group of people, but also that he opposed Manning's populism. That the base had no business being involved in shaping political policy, a most profoundly anti-democratic mindset.<br /><br />Harper was never in my view a true genius in anything, his intellect I would rate as no better than at best medium sharp, but never anywhere near real genius. Cunning, clever, I'll freely give him those, but genius? Sorry, nope, I've known too many of those in too many fields including politics in my life (and been occasionally accused of being one myself, a descriptor I have never liked nor agreed with whatever those idiotic IQ tests claim), and Harper simply does not nor has ever measured up. That was, in fact, part of the core problem with Harper's approach to government, he was using the indispensable man approach to governing without even being all that capable of an indispensable man to start with!<br /><br />All Harper ever really had was his ability to pander to the right people and to manipulate through appealing to baser instincts. Look at how he campaigned in 2004 and 2006, indeed in all his elections as a party leader, and this becomes quite clear, his last election was simply the most blatant on xenophobic pandering, but by no means his first.Scotianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06284856315992405261noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35117130.post-72461360771216038022016-01-28T16:05:03.605-05:002016-01-28T16:05:03.605-05:00Harper was very good at creating straw men, Steve....Harper was very good at creating straw men, Steve. And he appealed to those who -- as T.S. Eliot wrote -- had "headpieces filled with straw."Owen Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06464860078574618579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35117130.post-24626517581033039342016-01-28T16:02:42.876-05:002016-01-28T16:02:42.876-05:00He knew how to appeal to our darker angels, Pam --...He knew how to appeal to our darker angels, Pam -- and he brought out the worst in us.Owen Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06464860078574618579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35117130.post-16536774282163019932016-01-28T15:37:09.659-05:002016-01-28T15:37:09.659-05:00Harper has a mediocre mind at best Owen. The myth ...Harper has a mediocre mind at best Owen. The myth that he is brilliant is just that, a myth.I wonder what he was supposed to be brilliant at? If one were to say he was brilliant at bigotry, deceit and malice, such as his behaviour toward Muslim refugees, then yes I would agree, he was brilliant.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07842215982128591742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35117130.post-58922016958464126812016-01-28T14:45:31.391-05:002016-01-28T14:45:31.391-05:00I have said many times I lived with Muslims and I ...I have said many times I lived with Muslims and I have no fear. Its just another straw man used to justify a world ruled by superstition and lies.Stevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14162783936999869984noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35117130.post-842339703306947302016-01-28T13:26:41.682-05:002016-01-28T13:26:41.682-05:00I've always felt that the line about Harper be...I've always felt that the line about Harper being brilliant was manufactured especially for his base, ron. An objective appraisal of the judgments he made and the way he conducted himself suggest that he was far from brilliant.Owen Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06464860078574618579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35117130.post-19763577069540073172016-01-28T13:22:48.385-05:002016-01-28T13:22:48.385-05:00Some scribes have averred that harper was a very b...Some scribes have averred that harper was a very bright guy, so why would he put so much brightness into catering to a base that would still vote for him even if he changed his name back to steven(666)?<br /><br />I'm glad he did.ron wiltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15395990851263472440noreply@blogger.com