Monday, January 16, 2006

What’s So Scary about Tory Platform?

With a week to go before voting day and with the Liberals sinking fast in the polls, we can expect Prime Minister Paul Martin to get even shriller with his scare tactics.

He will present Conservative Party leader Stephen Harper as a George Bush-loving, Neo-Con admiring, Mike Harris-imitating, right winger who will change the face of Canada forever.

Yet some conservatives are wondering what all the fuss is about.

Check out Rondi Adamson’s piece which appeared in the Sunday edition of the Toronto Star.

Adamson looks at Harper’s platform and says it isn’t much different from the Liberal polices of the 1990s and concludes it isn’t “scary or frankly particularly conservative.”

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

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.

Monkey Loves to Fight said...

The Liberal post today said Canada wouldn't come to an end if Stephen Harper was elected, but it would be very different. I don't see what is wrong about pointing out value differences. Thats what elections are about. I have no problem with Mike Harris, but at least he was upfront about his spending cuts, whereas Harper isn't. On the other hand I despise George W. Bush and will not support any leader who is similiar in any way shape or form.

Anonymous said...

"What’s So Scary about Tory Platform?"

Nothing scary, but I still fear that it's not as small c conservative as I'd like it to be. Of course, I'll still vote Harper, but I quite liked Mike Harris, except for the deficits.

Anonymous said...

How can we trust the Liberal judgement on anything? They have no credibility left. The Marin crooks are the same gang who continually low-balled the surplus year, after year while insisting there's no money left for things like tax relief.

Plugging that 20 million will not be hard at all. Simply re-directing all of the wasted cash on things like the gun registry, and "entitlements" for starters makes Harper's costing do-able.

Perhaps the Liberal fearmongers should take Scott Reid's advice and engage in some crying over popcorn and beer?