Thursday, January 12, 2006

Dobbin on Harper

I must confess to actually now being in love with Murray Dobbin:

Straight Goods January 10, 2006

Will the real Stephen Harper please stand up?

A citizen's guide comparing election campaign promises to deeply held
beliefs.

by Murray Dobbin

The biggest spectacle of the election has been the apparent transformation
of Stephen Harper, the Conservative leader, and long time right-wing
ideologue, into a born-again liberal. It's almost unbelievable.

Actually it is unbelievable. At the beginning of this election, Canadians
worried about Harper's "hidden agenda". But after he said openly that a
Conservative government would table a bill revoking gay marriage, for some
reason, people seemed to think that all his agendas were on the table.
Harper's more recent promises have gone largely unscrutinized.

It's time for a reality check. Canadian pundits often say that the Liberal
party campaigns from the left and governs from the right. How can the
Conservatives campaign from the left without anybody recognizing the
pattern?....

(read the rest of the story at straight goods...)

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

The Conversion of Stephen Harper:

To change from voting Liberal to voting Conservative on Monday would mean accepting that Stephen Harper had undergone a conversion from the rightwing Saul of Canadian politics, to the middle-of-the-road Paul. Voters asked to believe this conversion need to satisfy themselves that the Harper who stood in front of a gathering of neocons in the USA in 1997 and lauded them as examples to be followed, praised their philosophy, denigrated Maritimers, decried Canada as a welfare state not to be emulated, has, in the course of the past 18 months, suddenly seen the light, and changed.

How credible is this Harper conversion? Well, let the man speak for himself: he said he has become more realistic, but his fundamental beliefs have not changed. Oh, and his comments were really in jest.

If so, how much stock can a voter place today on his program, on his statements that there will not be serious cuts, that he will not introduce legislation to take away rights entrenched by the Supreme Court? What assurance does a voter have that Harper will not turn around in six months time and tell the country: Sorry, folks – I was only joking when I said those things ....

Sorry, Mr Harper, I for one do not believe a leopard can change its spots. Not even a very smart leopard. But I do believe a leopard just might dress up in sheep’s clothing ...

Anonymous said...

Anyone that says:

"I must confess to actually now being in love with Murray Dobbin"

Must be a hind grinder!

WC

Anonymous said...

The Liberals will be back. Harper will be out quickly. The right has no backbone. NDP-Liberal alliance will never happen.