A scary Prime Minster!
OWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Posted on 06/26/2006 10:55:26 AM PDT by headsonpikes
Stephen Harper's conservatism is new to Canadian politics. It is really a neo-conservative, social conservative government which, unlike any other Tory government, has peculiar rules it plays by. Above anything else, Harper believes that the state is inherently evil and cannot be trusted with anything.
In Harper's Tory land, the state has no role to play in climate change or controlling long guns, and has no right to intervene in the economy.
He loathes Keynesian economics, and believes the ideal state is by definition a non-socialist society.
To Harper, socialism is Friedrich Hayek's "Road To Serfdom" totalitarianism. Any government action is by definition socialist, and therefore goes against free enterprise.
His love of free enterprise is shown by his taking on the job as head of the National Citizens Coalition, a body that stands for unfettered free enterprise, and is patently anti-labour and opposed to the welfare state.
Harper's Hayek views and his pro-American views on the economy make him a big neo-conservative indeed. As a Reformer, he was violently opposed to day-care centres because he saw them as bastions of socialism, and he believed firmly that state day care was pure socialism and therefore a violation of the Hayek credo ....
(Excerpt) Read more at cbc.ca ...
Oops! Did I say Pol Pot? tsktsktsk...
I'm such a nasty fellow.
Here's some red meat for the Canada-haters and for the rest of us, too!
Here's some more....
"Harper's hero worship of William Buckley Jr. reflects Buckley's belief in untrammelled free enterprise and the withering away of the state. Buckley's desires to whittle down the state are in complete harmony with Harper's paranoia about the state.
Harper's disavowal of Kyoto is based on his belief that oil-rich Alberta has the right to be untouched by federal regulations on climate change. His law-and-order stance and his enormous respect for the military also show how little use he has for traditional Canadian liberal values.
The Liberals, in their leadership race, have not attacked Harper for his free enterprise and pro-military views. In their confusion, the Liberals are playing right into Harper's hands.
Michael Ignatieff's stand on the war in Afghanistan is really arguing that Canada should abandon its traditional liberal values and embrace Harper's jingoism and militarism.
A Tory party unlike others?
Harper has so far been able to come up with a party that in no way resembles the Toryism of John Diefenbaker or Dalton Camp. Harper has no Red Tories in his government; to him, Red Tories believe in the state and the welfare state.
Harper's neo-conservatism even makes Brian Mulroney an outsider.
Mulroney had room for Red Tories like Dalton Camp and Hugh Segal, and did not hate the state. Nor did Mulroney buy the credo of the National Citizens Coalition. Mulroney did not abandon Keynesianism or labour unions; he was not a social conservative.
Harper claims he's only an economic conservative, not a social conservative. But here is the rub. Harper won't give the state a brake in economic matters, but on social matters like same-sex marriage and abortion, he is ready, willing and able to interfere.
Harper's government is far more of a neo-conservative government than the government of U.S. President George W. Bush. The prime minister is building up a Canadian military so Canada can fight the war on terrorism as a real military power.
Harper's pro-business, pro-military, anti-welfare and social conservative stands all add up to problems. His Canada is not the real Canada.
His Canada is also not Quebec - the prime minister and the province have little in common.
He loves the Americans, and Quebec is anti-American and against the war in Afghanistan. The prime minister is also against the state, and Quebec relies on the state for its culture, for its existence.
Quebecers are also for abortion and same-sex marriage, and are pro-labour."
And the balance of the article....
"Ontario is not Harper country either.
Ontario favours the state, the welfare state and government intervention in the economy. The province does not have the hatred for the state and the fear of socialism that Harper and his neo-con Tories have.
Harper's agenda is now so right of centre, so ideological, there is no room there except for hard-core right-wing ideologues. He may be doing well in the polls, but that's because the Liberals haven't sorted out their act yet.
Harper, it seems, is so neo-con, so socially conservative, that he's losing the Canadian middle class. His chances of getting a majority government have been badly hurt by his relentless drive to the far right of the political spectrum."
The red b*stards are going down and they don't like it!
He then goes on to claim:
Harper, it seems, is so neo-con, so socially conservative, that he's losing the Canadian middle class.
contradicting what he just said.
Also, this guy has no idea what a neo-conservative is.
working in Canada there is nothing I find more cute than Canadians in a panic over the present "Conservative" government.
These guys couldn't be nominated as democrats in the bluest of states.
Ditto!!
A scary Prime Minster!
OWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Minister, even.
So far, so good - I think the boy's on the right track!
He calls Harper a neo-conservative for being socially conservative and against big government? I thought neo-conservatives, by defination, tend to be less socially conservative and more open to big government spending programs than paleo-conservatives. Of course, who can tell? "Neo-conservative" is like "fascist", a term that's been thrown about so much by liberals in every possible pejorative context that, if it ever had a meaning, it's completely lost it.
The writer just uses the term "neo-conservative" because it a "red meat" term for the left... because what the writer defines as Canadian neo-conservative is completely different then how Americans define "neo-conservative"
The writer defines the Canadian neo-conservative in way that sound to be "American Libertarian" school
American "neo-conservative" are considered to be out of the anti Communist, anti totalitarian "old liberal Dem" school and are far more open to Government intervention then a American Libertarian
The "American Libertarian" VS "American neo-conservative" are at different end of the overall "conservative" spectrum
All good stuff!
I've never had much use for the Canadians and their "woe is me! Those nasty Americans are keeping us down!" attitudes, but if many are like this guy Harper, I might have to revise my opinion of them, maybe rank them ABOVE Tiny Tim...
Hey, if Hillary gets elected, I'm moving to Tory Land.
LOL, Certainly not all people here are 'nanny-staters'! I don't know the facts & statistics, but I imagine that a larger percentage of Canadian population lives in cities which are generally more liberal. Certainly Quebec tends to be more socialist. We get much of the same mentality amongst our American libtards as well.
I've been living in AB for the past couple years for school, and as a province, it is very conservative. All 28 Members of Parliament (MP's) from AB are conservative. Stephen Harper is from Calgary, and has been doing an incredible job!
Also, keep in mind that they got tens of thousands of American quitters in the 60's & 70's which would have an impact on policies.
And in the forthcoming sequel to the above article:
Harper doesn't shave every day. Harper is a very nasty man. Harper has been known to pull the wings off flies.
At one press conference it became clear that Harper's ideology drives him to pick boogers from his nose and eat them while pondering questions from the press corps.
Harper molests children and yet refuses to come out of the closet and endorse NAMBLA, which he would if he had the decency of the sexually enlightened.
Harper steals those socks missing from your sock drawer.
Harper is in fact so far to the right that he is to the left of me coming from the other direction.
Harper actually had the temerity once to...taunt Happy Fun Ball...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.