Canadian Bush Clone 3
Three days to go to the January 23rd Canadian election, and Stephen Harper, leader of the Tory party, is confident he will be the new prime minister, replacing Paul Martin, leader of the Liberal party. Polls are all over the place – some questionable ones show Harper 18% ahead of Liberals nationally; other more realistic ones show the gap in the three crucial battleground provinces of Ontario, British Columbia and the Atlantic provinces as closer to 5%. The Tories are increasing support in French speaking Quebec but the separatist Bloc party there will win most of the seats.
Tory support in Ontario – the most diverse province – has fallen sharply in the last week. Why? Because Harper has come out from the bubble he was hiding in, and now is speaking about things he and his party kept under wraps for the campaign. His neocon views are on full display, and Canadians are taking a second, hard look at what he and his party represent.
The issue is simple: do Canadians want to import into the kinder, gentler Canadian politics the harsh dog-eat-dog divisive politics of the far right wing Republicans?
Do Canadians want their judges appointed by the Prime Minister only if they pass some kind of rightwing conservative litmus test? Harper thinks so and has said so.
Do Canadians want once again to debate same sex marriages, despite the Supreme Court having ruled that the Charter of Rights protects them? Harper says so, and is resorting to sophistry to disguise his true intent of rolling back those rights in any way he can.
Do Canadians want to restrict a woman’s right to abortions? Harper says he won’t have this discussed in the first session of Parliament, and because of that, he does not feel that he has to discuss his “complex views” on abortion in this campaign.
Do Canadians want to have massive tax cuts, many favoring the wealthy, with resulting pressure on social programs, and probable cutbacks? Harper thinks so, and says there is no $20 billion dollar gap in his five year plan he unveiled last week, even though the solitary economist he roped in to bless his budget says two important items were not in the budget he was given to review.
Do Canadians want to weaken the federal government through the devolution of spending and other powers on a massive scale to the provinces, thereby weakening the central government? Harper says so, and is trying to woo Quebeckers to vote for him by promising these steps.
Do Canadians want the civil service politicized to an extent unknown before, by wholesale replacements of career civil servants by Tory supporters? Harper believes the civil service is riddled with men and women who are biased in favor of the Liberals …
What does this all mean? Simple: the George W. Bush-like stealth campaign waged by Harper has been successful to date, but is starting to come unglued as voters take a closer look at the man. This leopard has not changed its spots, despite a campaign focused on simple slogans and tight control of the framing; however, it is likely that this leopard has adorned itself with sheep’s clothing in an attempt to win an election by stealth.
Come Monday, we will see if Canadians have bought this line.
