Responding to Harper's suggestion that Dion's tax would "screw everybody", Travers writes"it's the response of a schoolyard bully who would rather trade punches than compare ideas ...
Canadians deserve a leader who will debate serious issues seriously. They also deserve one who accepts the restraints on power that are part and parcel of a parliamentary democracy."
And yes, Travers is absolutely right. Up until Harper the bully came along Canadian politicians were world-renown for debating serious issues seriously.
Just check out the "serious" debates which dominate Question Period in the House of Commons; if you closed your eyes you would think you were hearing an Oxford Union debating club in action.
Or recall the famous time former Liberal Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau cleverly uttered a colourful Anglo Saxon word beginning with "F" in the House of Commons; or how about the time he revealed his sophisticated debating style by showing his middle finger to protesting farmers.
Pure oratorical brilliance!
More recently, former Liberal Prime Minister Jean Chretien revealed his flair for Aristotelian logic when he actually throttled a protester.
Too bad the bully Harper can't match the lofty rhetorical standards of his Liberal predecessors.
But as Stephane Dion might say, "Shift Happens."
I suspect Mr. Harper let his usually controlled demeanour slip because he is truly frightened about the consequences of what the Nutty Professor's tax grab would mean should it come to pass.
ReplyDeleteNot only would this idiotic scheme destroy the rest of the manufacturing industry in this country, it would cause the biggest regional split imaginable.
The Alberta Tories are already enraged just by the suggestion that any such brain-dead plan could be conceived, let alone implemented. There are already rumblings that the Alberta government would use their proposed 12 billion dollar surplus to negate the effects of this tax through tax reductions or direct subsidies.
Can you envision the uproar this would cause as the rest of the country gets hammered by this punitive action while Alberta walks away Scott-free?
Be forewarned Canada, this is not the same world that it was when Trudeau decided that eastern interests were paramount over the concerns of the west. This time around the west, though still politically weak, has the fiscal muscle to fight back, and they will use it.
Debate with "religious" enviro-lunies leading the charge and backed by political opportunism is almost impossible.
ReplyDeleteThe debate should be based on logic and reason , and especially questioning why Canada with a tiny carbon footprint compared to China and USA should even consider wrecking the economy to solve a potentially mythical CO2 problem.
Here is a good starting point with regard to the faulty IPCC climate model.
http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/climate-change-confirmed-global-warming-cancelled
... but hey ... who worries about actual science ... the omnipotent UN has spoken !
The semi-funny part of Dion's tax grab is that it directly pummels those who have already abandoned the second car or purchased a diesel smartcar, alternative diesel hybrid etc.
ReplyDeleteIt rewards the guy who hasn't yet bothered to personally do anything.
Just like the neighbour who never bothered to fix up his place on the street, his house price rises thanks to those around him who reno'd, rebuilt and landscaped.
The Liberal downside is that his property taxes rise accordingly giving some incentive for him to abandon his decrepit abode.
Up until Harper the bully came along Canadian politicians were world-renown for debating serious issues seriously.
ReplyDeleteDebating serious issues? Yeah right. I remember being up there in 1999/00 when there were many serious issues hanging in the wind since '95 and parliament was busy debating the so-called "horse bill". Yeah, that's right, the horse bill!
Let me tell you, that's one bill that I wasn't sad to see die on the order paper when Johnie Crouton called a snap election to keep his job.
Serious debate? Sure it was Travesty.
Although, with the help of the unelected senate, Bill S-22, was reintroduced, and eventually it passed on April 2002.
ReplyDeleteLeave it to those crusty old senators to revive a useless debate on a useless topic.
... Mr. Harper's recent smears of Mr. Dion's policies are obviously a new, cynically calculated tactic to appeal to politically ignorant voters.
ReplyDelete... Good bye, Mr. Harper.
Ah, Mr. Foulds. Speaking of the politically ignorant. To vote Liberal today shows a devotion to political dogma that defies reason. One has to accept that lies and worse are the norm. Yes, the Liberal Party of Canada has set the standard for the lowest common denominator in Canadian politics. Recent history proves that. For Liberals to lecture anyone on morality is to display an astounding denial of reality. Yes, you are right. I will never vote Liberal again. I would rather spoil my ballot than disgrace my ethics!
ReplyDelete