Here's the relevant passage:
"Absolutely he has abandoned his principles ... I don't even recognize this person who is the Prime Minister of Canada," said Gerry Nicholls, who worked with Harper at the National Citizens Coalition.Of course, I have been singing this song for awhile, but what's interesting is now other conservatives are finally losing patience with the Tory government.
Harper is a one-time head of the coalition, a non-partisan organization for the "defence and promotion of free enterprise, free speech" and accountable government. "He was a principled small-c conservative who believed that ... conservative politicians should stick by their principles," Nicholls said. "I think he began to care more about public-opinion polls than his principles."
Even long-time Harper apologist Tom Flanagan is growing disillusioned, albeit for different reasons than me.
In the same Star article where I am quoted, Flanagan complains that Harper has transformed from a conservative ideologue to a political survivor.
Says Flanagan: "He (Harper) lost the initiative by provoking the other parties into this potential coalition against him ... and now he finds himself having to put together a budget which is really a coalition budget ... the government's hand is fairly weak right now."
So much for incrementalism.
You are in select company Gerry.
ReplyDeleteNeither you or Jack Layton have seen the budget, but you are slagging our Prime Minister for it just in case it might contain something you dont like.
It is quite tiresome.
-Lee-
Our leftist Prime Minister’s massive, superfluous deficit spending program looks like it will not only be unwarranted, needless and likely at least partially harmful, but much of it will plainly be a colossal, unessential transfer of wealth from wealth producers to wealth consumers.
ReplyDeleteAt least part of this far left, fiscal farce appears to be not much more than a socialistic shift of wealth from future wealth creators and tax payers to today’s welfare consuming crowd.
--machiavelli
I answered commenter #1 on my own post:
ReplyDeleteSelect Company
"What Jack Layton has against the budget I can’t tell, it has all the makings of an NDP budget. But we know enough about what is coming, enough has been leaked that we know it is going to contain a lot that we don’t like."
Ah, excuse me, but don't you have to be a principled person to change and lose your principles.
ReplyDeleteHarper never had any - he is out for Harper and no one else.
Principled? LOL, this is hysterical.
The Prime Minister is stuck between the proverbial rock and a hard place. If he doesn't make an effort to appease the left he will be overcome by the Junta, which is what I think the "abandoned his principles" crowd wants to see. It all comes down to what do you want, a Conservative minority government that governs in a practical manner given the circumstances, or the coalition junta that will drive the country into the ground to appease the socialists and separatists?
ReplyDeleteEvery smart leader knows that "Principles", if there is such a thing in politics, is trumped by reality every time. Only majority governments have the opportunity to display principles. Those whiners that can't or won't accept that should become political commentators, displeased bloggers or perhaps heads of watchdog lobbying organizations. I mean, really!
FUNNY how an Obama front man says that when Obama changes his mind it's because he's adjusting to changing circumstances and that he's so proud of Obama's ability to come out of his ideological box of beliefs when the situation warrants it. Then there's PMSH...he's a lying SOB whose only motive for anythng is to destroy the liberals. He's a "labotomy on legs", a monster, a cynical and vicious partisan. So...if he's different now from let's say November, he's just plain lying, hence the huge TRUST" issues the opposition have. Couldn't be that he's simply doing what OBAMA does under the same circumstances. The hypocrisy is baffling to be sure. Gerry...you just have to learn to relax that negative attitude you have.
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