Well, thank goodness, a Tory Platform at last
January 14th, 2006
| Tags:
“A Harper government would: * Privatize social programs and health care; * Kill the recently-negotiated federal-provincial national day care program; * Abandon the recently-negotiated agreement with the First Nations to
alleviate their housing and health care crisis; * Renege on Kyoto commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2012; * Junk pay equity plans and a new national strategy for people with disabilities; * Reduce support for the arts and public broadcasting; * Reopen divisive issues such as same-sex marriage and women’s rights to reproductive choice; * Reopen the Charter to insert private property rights, which have been used in the U.S. to slash environmental safeguards; * Cut taxes to big corporations; and * Ramp up military integration with the Pentagon.
maude barlow, macleans
With the exception of the SSM thing – which Harper knows is a non-starter so long as he is unwilling to use the notwithstanding clause – I am trying for the life of me to figure out what Maude objects to here.
My problem is I don’t think there is a chance in the world that Harper will actually do half of this list even with a majority.
(I am particularily impressed with Barlow’s fourth point on Kyoto – the essential difference between the Dumpling and Harper is that the Dumpling keeps promising to do that which he knows we will not do, Harper is rather more realistic. And, Hell, even the enviro-euro weanies are not going to come even close to the Kyoto targets.)
sigh
One can dream…
Just doing my yearly check-in to the conservative think tank that is your blog
I surely hope you are correct about Mr Harper’s inability to pull this off, Jay. That list is like a horror movie to me.
Maude, you horrible tease you.
The Twenty Billion Dollar Man:
Welcome to Mr. Harper, aspirant PM, the “20 Billion Dollar Man.” The thrust of his campaign was that he was a very careful policy wonk, not given to kissing babies or small talk, but a capable man, careful with details …
Now, just one week before the election, he unveils a five year plan with a “missing” 20 billion dollar gap in it. His one economist who checked it for him, says “Oops! Left out a couple of things, but it balances if you don’t think about them”.
Some endorsement. Some check.
But so what? Harper tours Quebec offering them money for votes: lots of money. We will take it from the federal government and give it your provincial government, he says. Vote for us and we will shovel billions your way.
And Quebec voters warm up to this modern day Santa Clause in a blue suit. Heck, why not elect him as PM; just look at the goodies we will get.
Sorry, folks, but someone has to find the missing 20 billion dollars. Guess who that will be? Perhaps those lazy folk in the Maritimes (after all, Harper told the Americans back in 1997 that you folks living there had a false sense of entitlement and needed to move or do something)? Or those social programs which will have a priority second to the tax cuts designed to favour the very wealthy?
It is clear now that Harper is a follower of Bush. Harper’s economics – given his 20 billion dollar gap is just plain voodoo economics, to quote Bush Snr, and his tax cuts for the wealthy is just slavish copying of Bush Jnr.
Welcome to Bushland, Canada. A PM so smart he cannot add.
Why does anyone care what this Marxist Moronic bimbo says?