Posted on 06/18/2004 2:54:18 AM PDT by JohnHuang2
Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin is struggling to seize the initiative in his upcoming race to hold his job against the rising forces of conservatism banging on the door. Martin, leader of Canada's Liberal Party, has been running attack ads against Conservative Party challenger Stephen Harper, but they don't seem to be resonating with the Canadian electorate, according to polls.
I saw some of the ads during a recent visit to Toronto, and I was thunderstruck by what constitutes a political "attack" ad in Canada. One of them says that if Harper's Conservatives win the election, terrible things might happen.
Canada's policy of unrestricted abortion on demand may suffer, the Liberal ads warn. Oh, no!
The Liberals' ads say that under the Conservatives, Bill C-250 (the bill that makes the Bible "hate speech") will be repealed. Horrors!
Furthermore, say the Liberal advertisements, Conservatives will repeal homosexual "marriage" and will turn back the clock to the days when Canada and America marched in lockstep with one another. Heavens to Betsy! That would be terrible, indeed!
According to the Liberal Party, the challenging Conservatives would "steer Canada in new directions." (Straight, evidently). While what constitutes a "conservative" in Canada would be a liberal by U.S. standards, what constitutes a liberal in Canada has no equivalent in U.S. politics – it is much closer to European socialism than anything else.
Martin is the successor to Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien, on whose watch U.S.-Canadian relations dipped to their lowest point in living memory. Chretien once threatened to legalize marijuana and famously said that the first thing he would do upon leaving office was smoke a joint.
On another occasion, Chretien defended President Bush against a charge by one of his ministers who called the U.S. president "a moron" at an international conference. Chretien held a press conference to announce, somewhat unconvincingly, "Bush isn't a moron" – before explaining that his minister had good reasons for her opinion.
Incumbent Paul Martin clearly hopes that a focus on abortion and "gay" rights will bolster Liberal support. But a recent study across Canada showed that homosexuals, as a percentage of the Canadian population, number somewhere between 1.7 percent and 2.2 percent – which is approximately the same percentage of the population that believes they've been abducted by UFOs. Hmmm.
And to the ruling Liberals in Canada, the most horrendous Conservative proposal of all is the plan to mend fences with the United States. Conservative Stephen Harper summed up his view of U.S.-Canadian relations, saying:
We will stand shoulder to shoulder with the U.S. when we can so that we can sit eyeball to eyeball with them when we must.
According to the Liberals, such thinking is heresy bordering on treason! So to really energize its voter base, the Liberals are accusing the Conservative challengers of planning to work with the United States on the war on terror, actually solving immigration and border issues – instead of the current practice of telling Washington to take a flying leap.
Canadians go to the polls next week. The results should tell us a lot about who our neighbors really are.
Stay tuned.
Morning, JH2..quite a trifecta coming up, Canada, Australia, and then the US....who'd a thunk it?
US-Canadian relations are at their lowest point since 1862- when Great Britain threatened to intervene in the Civil War and moved a large army into Canada.
The marijuana and immigration issues certainly make good headlines, however the growing spat over fishing rights is becoming very serious. There have been several near incidents off the Alaskan panhandle already.
G'morning backatya, my friend.
Homosexual Agenda Ping - Hmmm, what do actual regular Canadians think of their leftist leaders? I have no idea, myself.
But I hope they have more sense, integrity, and moral compass.
Let me know if anyone wants on/off this pinglist.
It will be the end of Canada if a right-wing government takes power in 10 days time. <shudder
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