Canadians take a liking to Harper's style (Conservatives gaining in popularity!)

London Free Press - Canada ^ | May 30, 2006 | Herman Goodden

[GMMAC]

Canadians take a liking to Harper's style

By Herman Goodden

London Free Press
May 30, 2006

No small part of my giddy enjoyment of the first 100 days of Stephen Harper's prime-minister-ship has derived from the Tories' unerring marksmanship in exploding one smug Liberal shibboleth after another. Sometimes I just have to pinch myself and ask, "Is this really happening in Canada?"

Even if some hot new wunderkid such as Michael Ignatieff should succeed in rallying the Liberal troops to retake Parliament some time next year, I'll savour this interlude for decades to come as a sort of Ottawa variation on the Prague Spring.

Suddenly everything is open for discussion and question again. All those manifestly obvious facts of life that were too upsetting to broach under the Liberal regime are finally receiving due consideration.

Repeatedly and temperately, Harper has called out the media for the unfailing leftward tilt of their coverage. Though they vociferously sulk and whine because Harper reserves the right to choose whose questions he'll take in what order at media scrums, the press has yet to rouse much public concern for their diminished access. After the staggering incoherence of Jean Chretien and the non-stop platitudinizing of Paul Martin, too many Canadians are frankly enjoying the less-talk, more- action approach of this government.

From a public relations standpoint, it was a fatally petty move when 30 members of the Ottawa press gallery walked out in protest as the prime minister was about to address the Canadian response to the crisis in Darfur. Here we are ponying up an urgently needed $40 million for water, food and medicine to assist 2.5 million displaced human beings, and this select group of media giants insists the really important story here is Harper's unwillingness to let them badger him.

Support for Harper and the Tories is only building as they set to work dismantling one multibillion-dollar sinkhole after another that liberal orthodoxy deemed untouchable. Sure, the national gun registry was an obscenely expensive farce that only harassed weekend hunters while allowing full-time mobsters and thugs to conduct their lethal business in an unencumbered way.

Taxpayers were expected to keep on funding that fiscal pyre till the end of time because how can you not be for gun control? Then Harper astutely deduced there was far more security to be had by diverting funds from the compilation of some airy and unwieldy list to the actual hands-on policing of our communities.

Ditto the universal day-care scheme that Liberals kept promising. Didn't everybody want Canadian babies to enjoy top-quality, professional care? Harper let the air out of that delusion by honouring the far deeper desire of most young families to catch a few tax breaks and credits that could help them afford to take care of their own infants.

Now Harper's critics are upset at this government's unmistakable cooling toward the Kyoto global warming treaty. In terms of sound bytes, there were no stronger promoters of Kyoto on this planet than the Liberals. Last year, Paul Martin looked to score some America-bashing Green points by lecturing George W. Bush. "To the reticent nations, including the United States, I say this: There is such a thing as a global conscience, and now is the time to listen to it."

Then new figures were released revealing that Canada's greenhouse gas emissions had ballooned by a whopping 25 per cent since 1990. Over that same period, Kyoto holdout America's emissions increase was only in the mid-teens. The best performance of all was clocked up by another Kyoto refusenik, Australia, whose prime minister, John Howard, Harper warmly welcomed for a visit to Canada this month.

Harper has shown himself to be a shrewd and canny politician, ready to take a stand and unafraid, if necessary, to step away from a really fine sounding program that just isn't working. Such behaviour is radically shocking to Canadians. But over the last 100 days and counting, more and more of us are starting to develop a real taste for it.

Herman Goodden is a London freelance writer.
His column appears in Monday's and Thursday's Opinion pages.
It no longer appears in Sunday's A&E section.
He can be e-mailed at: herman.godden@sympatico.ca ~ LFP Home Page

[GMMAC]

Yeah, Stephen Harper was way off base when he opted to ignore the national msm in favor of wooing local journalists - like only last week in the above author's London, Ontario ... snicker!

[GMMAC]

'plan coming together nicely'
PING!

[dfwgator]

Republicans can learn a lot from Stephen Harper.

[MadIvan]

There's nothing quite like watching a master at work. I tip my hat to the deft way that Harper is handling matters. He could be the most revolutionary Canadian politician ever.

Regards, Ivan

[GMMAC]

"Republicans can learn a lot from Stephen Harper."

Fair enough: Stephen plainly learned a lot from President Reagan as well as - shhhh, don't tell the reds! - Karl Rove.

[ken5050]

I understand, and applaud the "True Blue" ......but I wish you had any other slogan but that...(g)

[MeanWestTexan]

"shibboleth" ---A word or pronunciation that distinguishes people of one group or class from those of another; a favorite saying of a sect or political group [syn: motto, slogan, catchword] 2: a manner of speaking that is distinctive of a particular group of people

The tribes living on the east of Jordan, separated
from their brethren on the west by the deep ravines and the rapid river, gradually came to adopt peculiar customs, and from mixing largely with the Moabites, Ishmaelites, and Ammonites to pronounce certain letters in such a
manner as to distinguish them from the other tribes. Thus when the Ephraimites from the west invaded Gilead, and were defeated by the Gileadites under the leadership of Jephthah, and tried to escape by the "passages of the Jordan," the Gileadites seized the fords and would allow none to pass who could not pronounce "shibboleth" with a strong aspirate. This the fugitives were unable to do. They said "sibboleth," as the word was pronounced by the tribes on the west, and thus they were detected (Judg. 12:1-6). Forty-two thousand were thus detected, and "Without reprieve, adjudged to death, For want of well-pronouncing shibboleth."

[GMMAC]

Hey Ivan,
Doubtless you'll also enjoy:
If politics were hockey, Harper would be Wayne Gretzky !!!

[Jameison]

"In terms of sound bytes, there were no stronger promoters of Kyoto on this planet than the Liberals. Last year, Paul Martin looked to score some America-bashing Green points by lecturing George W. Bush. "To the reticent nations, including the United States, I say this: There is such a thing as a global conscience, and now is the time to listen to it."

Then new figures were released revealing that Canada's greenhouse gas emissions had ballooned by a whopping 25 per cent since 1990. Over that same period, Kyoto holdout America's emissions increase was only in the mid-teens."

Let me see if I get this right.
The rabid liberal Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin, lectures President Bush on "global warming and global conscience" while all the time, Canada was busy increasing greenhouse emissions by a whopping 25% , while the United States only increased greenhouse emissions by only the mid-teens?

And on top of that, the stark raving lunatic Algore comes out with his stupid America-bashing movie on global warming?

What exactly are these liberals buffoons smoking?

[dfwgator]

Fair enough: Stephen plainly learned a lot from President Reagan as well as

Too bad our current crop of Republicans didn't.

[Jameison]

That's a nice article too.
This bit her caught my attention:

"Despite a bogus recent poll to the contrary, they will score again by ditching the rifle registry.
And the government’s new environmental alternatives to Kyoto, by the time of the next election, will make Stephen Harper look like the Jolly Green Giant."


So the liberal media in Canada have learned how to conduct agenda driven bogus polls from the American drive-by media too eh?
A bit like the WaPO "poll" on immigration isn't it?
Its as bogus as they come.

[GMMAC]

I'm unaware of anywhere in the world where the color blue isn't associated with conservative and/or 'personal freedom', 'rights of the individual' causes ... other than within contemporary America.

Accordingly, my definitely pro-American ping logo incorporates the historic "Bonnie Blue Flag" since it both represents my political sentiments & advances my belief that it's high time our traditional color was re-claimed from the left.

This Stateside misappropriation is quite recent & only dates back to about 1980 when your msm slyly reversed the long-established political color associations in a (pathetic) attempt to mask the real ideological leanings of its 'Rat fellow travelers.

Lady Thatcher (God bless her!) has often referred to herself as a "true blue conservative", and that, alone, is good enough reason to give the infamous color red appropriately back to the damned Bolsheviks and their 'useful idiots' everywhere.

[ken5050]

Lecture and history lesson is spot-on, and much appreciated..though my comment was meant to be tongue-in-cheek..

regards Ken

[newcthem]

True, We were in Canada over the weekend and the Canadians seem greatfull to have a leader with balls. ( Too damn bad we can't say the same)

[GMMAC]

"Last year, Paul Martin looked to score some America-bashing Green points by lecturing George W. Bush ..."

BTW & as I'm sure you're well aware, liberals are blatant liars & stinking hypocrites no matter where you find them, eh.

You can't even spell 'liberal' without L-I-A-R !!!

[Freee-dame]

Repeatedly and temperately, Harper has called out the media for the unfailing leftward tilt of their coverage. Though they vociferously sulk and whine because Harper reserves the right to choose whose questions he'll take in what order at media scrums, the press has yet to rouse much public concern for their diminished access.

Sounds like a good plan to me.

[VOA]

bump for publicity

[Canadian Outrage]

Hi Ivan. I know Stephen Harper and I always knew that he only needed a chance to show his stuff. I can't find a thing to be disappointed about.


And I agree, the Republicans at this moment in time, should look northward. I don't think I have ever seen them more disorganized, fractionated and self destructing. I am truly sorry to see this as the end result is terrifying. Just transpose the ousted Canadian pure red Liberals that we have endured for 13 years and that's what you'll have. It need not be like this. WHY can they NOT deal with the arrogant Mexicans flooding in? It seems so simple. CO

[MadIvan]

Britain is likely to join you soon. Labour is out of time, with a long in the tooth Prime Minister, who is going to be replaced by his finance minister (does this sound familiar?) who has shown no skill or talent for being Prime Minister.

I suspect Cameron is intelligent enough to watch Harper in action and will follow his lead.

Thus conservative Britain will perhaps be reborn out of Canada's example.

Regards, Ivan

[alwaysconservative]

Great article and even better news! It's about time our friends in Canada got to experience the joys of conservatism! Maybe our spineless Republicans here will take note, shake their heads to clear them, and get back to being conservatives, as well.