Stephen Harper is a 'Scumbag' . . .

or why I will NOT be voting Conservative in the next federal election.

I can't take credit for today's title. This morning a man on the train went on a tirade about Stephen Harper and the fact that he is wasting $ 300 million to hold an election. He ended his tirade with a loud declaration ' Stephen Harper is a scumbag!'

I clapped. I was inspired.

To my many American readers. . . . the image above is Stephen Harper, Canada's Prime Minister. On Sunday he called an election, claiming that the current government wasn't working (although not taking any responsibility for being a significant factor in that alleged inability to work). This has plunged Canada into its third federal election in four years. We have become Italy, without all of the amenities.

Elections in Canada are quick affairs. Down south you may spend more than 20 months and billions of dollars selecting a leader. We'll be done in six weeks.

Even though the campaign is in early days, I am quite convinced that Stephen Harper and the Conservative Party will not get my vote.

There are many reasons why this is the case. Here are a few of them:

Harper claims to recognize a need to protect the environment. What was one of his first announcements? Other than the $8.8 billion in spending announcements made days before calling the election, that is. One of his first campaign announcements was a plan to increase Canada's GHG emissions and lose $600 million annually at the same time by increasing our reliance on diesel fuels and reducing the current tax on diesel fuels.

Hypocrisy annoys me.

Harper is not known for his socially conscious policies. His dealings with AIDS is a good example. In 2006 Toronto hosted the World AIDS Conference. Harper was absent from the conference - spending his time 'protecting Canada's northern sovereignty' (I'm sure the polar bears, those that hadn't lost their environment fromt he GHG emissions listed above, appreciated his support.)

This disdain was only a part of it. There are other reasons why Harper's stance on AIDS bugged me. In particular, the Harper government has proven "extraordinarily embarrassing in its inability to manufacture the generic drugs for export to Africa," Stephen Lewis has claimed. Three years after making a commitment to export more drugs "not a single tablet has left this country."

Not assisting those who need help when you can do so annoys me. Not being a part of the solution annoys me.

I also think that Harper is a bit of an egomaniac. Case in point . . . “Stephen Harper has, in an unprecedented act, reportedly removed all images of any other Canadian political leader from the PMO offices as well as from the government lounge of the House of Commons, and replaced them with images of himself. Even the picture of the Queen was removed and replaced with a picture of Stephen Harper and the Queen.” — R.K. Finch

I hope that I live in a country where our history is respected and our leaders honoured - even when I didn't agree with them.

Not showing respect to history and being an egomaniac annoys me.

Harper is manipulative.

Prior to the last election Canada had a minority government. The Liberal government in power at the time had introduced a budget and should their budget be defeated an election would have to be called. What was between Harper and an election call? The vote of one man, Chuck Cadman, once a Conservative but then sitting as an independent. Cadman at the time was dieing of cancer.

What to do . . . what to do?

Offer Cadman an $ 1 million insurance policy in exchange for his vote. Now in fairness, Harper denies making the actual offer of 'give me your vote and I will take care of your family after you are dead' but does admit to authorizing overtures to Cadman. Manipulating a dieing man's fears for his family is one of the most crass politicial machinations I have heard in years.

Crass manipulation annoys me.

Harper's position on the war in Iraq was one of the first indications to me that he wasn't up to the job. Canada was racked with an emotional debate before our government informed the US that we would not participate in the war in Iraq. Here are some quotes by Harper at the time:

"I don't know all the facts on Iraq, but I think we should work closely with the Americans." Report Newsmagazine, March 25 2002

"We should have been there shoulder to shoulder with our allies. Our concern is the instability of our government as an ally. We are playing again with national and global security matters." Canadian Press Newswire, April 11, 2003

There you have it. I don't know what the war is all about but if George W Bush says to jump then we should. Happily we sat this one out.

Blindly following in the face of insurmountable evidence that you should not annoys me.

I have realized in the task of writing this that there are many things about Harper that annoy me. One more before I call it a night but I shall continue . . .

I used to be proud that in Canada we did not fall into the 'negative campaign trap'. Sadly Harper has taken us there. It used to be that we discussed issues not personality.  Harper, in the last election has lowered the state of political discourse in this country to an all-time low. This seems to bec ontinuing. Yesterday he was forced to apologize for his campaign posting a photo of the Liberal leader, Stephane Dion, with an animation of a puffin defecating on his shoulder.

This is a new low as far as I am concerned. Take an unflattering photo of your opponent, doctor it, and post it on the internet.

Politicians who try to hide their policies behind negative campaigning annoy me.

There you have it. Stephen Harper annoys me . . . this will continue because there are many other things that annoy me but a lack of sleep does too.

Comments

[Rose]

Good rant Bro! I concur! Look forward to the next. I'm showing this to Brad as it's his first time voting and he's lookin to be informed. We have Municipal elections here as well - more waste of our tax dollars!!!

[chiaro]

Jerry, I considered posting on this, but want to keep my new blog about traveling to Italy.
I will be so glad to get away from this "nonsense" election campaigning next week. It will be time to vote right after I return from Italy.
I am still fuming about Harper wasting my taxpayer dollars.
Atleast, it isn't Mike Harris in there!

[Jane]

OK--I have someone to give you! A fresh face with executive experience. Just don't mention pigs when around her.

[sandrac]

Brava, Jerry! Excellent rant. I don't think I've ever seen a prime minister or a federal government quite as blatantly cynical as this Conservative administration.

And calling an election on such an obviously trumped-up excuse as an inability to work with the opposition (because of Conservative antics!) is the pinnacle of Harper's cynicism.

I can't tell yet if our fellow Canadians are yet feeling the sting of this cynicism -- and of a Mike Harris-type government. I can only hope so.

[Jerry]

Rose - I shall keep this up every now and then until the election.
chiaro - good point - too bad that some of Harris' more nasty MPPs are now in Harper's government though. You picked a great time to head to Italy!

Jane - you can keep Sarah let's go to war with Russia' Palin down there thank you very much. That having been said, the Obama campaign has been dismal at best.

Sandra - let's keep our fingers crossed!

[Kim]

Ah Jerry, welcome to our world.

[MarionP]

Great rant! I could add my own personal dissatisfactions to this list. A federal vote on same-sex marriage (when it was legal in all the Provinces?). Why? Massive cutbacks to the arts, to appeal to the conservative faction who think that the arts are a waste of money. This is a Mike Harris government waiting to be unleashed if/when they get a majority. Heaven help us!

[Jerry]

Kim - I do NOT want to be a part of that world. I wonder if politics are as bad as ever and we only realize it now because we are able to understand it better . . . .

I agree Marion - heaven help us. I had forotten the arts funding (there is only so much I can retain in any given day!) now I have some more fodder for tonight! :-)

[Toronto real estate agent]

Elections, elections, elections...is this going to be a new weekend activity for Canadians? We all know Harper has done this to reinforce his position and he believes he will achieve success, however I am not so sure. These weeks are too wild, with several bad events and no positive. Harper is pretty losing popularity and there are still two weeks ahead...I suppose he will win again, but will his position change compared to the actual situation??
Elli Davis

[Jerry]

TREA - I don't think that anyone has a greta plan for success right now. I am convinceed, based upon our Ontario experiences, that tax cuts and meanspirited politics won't do it though!