… from the Guardian:

Stephen Harper, Canada’s former prime minister, was a vacuous, anodyne nothing, as magnetic on the public stage as the podium he spoke from. His occasional efforts to ingratiate himself to younger voters – or rather the efforts of his staff to make their boss seem plausibly nonrobotic – ranged from dismal to pathetic, such as a kitty-petting photoshoot so unconvincing that you fear for the safety of the cat.

Brilliant.

(9)

… er, economic downturn in front of a crowd of Grade fivers because…

– They are only a few years younger than the PMO short pant staffers who set up this photo-op, so could talk about cool stuff common to them in between takes…

– He has found a group of economic advisors with better insights into the Canadian economy than the Finance Minister.

– In true conservative fashion, they dodged labour laws by having to pay the stand-ins only a few freezies for their time,

– Just for kicks, the PMO opted for a background of bored kids as opposed to the usual background of bored adults.

Bottom line – they may want to think twice before making an economic announcement in front of a bunch of kids next time. Maybe talk about your foreign policy objectives… those are pretty much at the 10-year-old level…

(85)

That’s rich!

Harper and the CPC has taken our country from moral high ground to the sewers in 9 short (albeit looonnnggg) years.

Canadians will see through these lies in the fall.

From one of their increasingly desperate emails: 

(129)

… as Harper seems to be moving toward an American style position on gun ownership rights.

Now, not only are Canadians being told that there are terrorists around every corner, but armed criminals are just waiting for us at our country homes and cottages.

Scary country, Harper’s Canada!

Harper’s comments are being promoted by the Conservatives’ election campaign manager, who says she is “proud” of how Harper said gun ownership is “important for safety for those of us who live a ways from immediate police assistance.”

I’m personally not against gun ownership. But I am very much for a highly regulated environment. This is something we currently have and the main reason why we haven’t seen the gun violence in Canada that is so prevalent south of the border.

Of course, confrontation and hostility have become the touchstones for the Harperites… Lawrence Martin:

It’s hard to recall another time when we have witnessed such a flame-throwing approach to politics, policy and Parliament. Too often, the governing party resembles a band of belligerents rather than sage public servants. How many fights do they want to pick? Are they not concerned about the impact on the country’s social fabric, the dangers of pitting one Canadian against another?

Other governments had men at the top who served as voices of reason or restraint – think of Don Mazankowski in Brian Mulroney’s government, or John Manley under Jean Chrétien. Mr. Harper has no such force of measured resistance in his office or cabinet, no one to keep his harder-edged ideological impulses in check.

Provocations at home have also been coupled with provocations abroad. Last week, James Bezan, parliamentary secretary to Defence Minister Jason Kenney, raised the ante with Russia, claiming that our navy was “confronted” by Russian warships and “buzzed” by fighter jets in the Black Sea.

NATO officials said this was nonsense – that Russian vessels remained far off and that there was no buzzing.

How support for the ReformCons remains at the level it is at is beyond me. I really believed that Canadians would see through the politics of hate and cynicism… but maybe I’m wrong. 

 One hope – Duffy.  The other – Justin Trudeau.

(141)

… and an empty shelf in the pantry where “ethics” used to be…

Wandering around the Interweb, I found this cutting piece that brilliantly sums up the CPC modus operandi as follows:

The Harper Government is a public relations oriented government. The machine seems to operate in the following manner; get the youngsters in the party to operate unethically, send their manufactured news tips to a media organization filled to the brim with ideological allies, then raise money from your base while pretending you had nothing to do with how the information was unearthed. The strategy would be brilliant if it was not so painfully and obviously orchestrated.

This is the culture of the Harper Government, a government on the verge of expiry, following in the footsteps of past government who drowned in their own sense of entitlement. What Trevor Stack and Alexandra Constandinidis may not realize is they are not helping their party long term. We still do not know if they acted independently or through the encouragement of the powerful ministers and MPs they work for directly, but in either case one thing remains clear: ethics in the Harper Government is in short order, and while these examples are undertaken by the kiddies in short pants working for what used to be public servants, the real first domino of dirty politics has long been the influence coming directly from 24 Sussex Drive.

For years on these pages I have called Harper’s style the “politics of cynicism”. I was wrong, or at least I am now. It’s not cynicism but a cold and well-calculated approach to gain votes strategically and without care for standards – moral or political.

(477)

… a number of other ReformCon Ministers and PMO staff are reportedly on their way to the site to get new material for the 2015 CPC election campaign.

Artifacts like these meets the criteria necessary to be considered as platform planks – material must be very old, fail the smell test and originate from Middle Ages feudalism.

ba-da-BING!!!

(1339)

Harper’s staff have clipped this story for future use…

Date – April 11, 2014.

“Mr. Speaker, when I stood in this House last year, denying any knowledge of what transpired between Mr. Wright and Senator Duffy, I was hallucinating. The hallucinations began while I was speaking and that I tried not to panic because there were “Liberals around me.”  In fact, Mr. Speaker, and let me be clear, I hallucinated that angels were entering the House, riding on winged unicorns with faces that looked like that of the Honourable Leader of the Opposition.”

“What happened that day, I saw angels coming into the House from behind the curtains … I started realizing that the problem is here. And the problem, I don’t know how will it manifest itself. Sometimes I get violent. Sometimes I will see things chasing me.”

“I was in a very difficult position,” Mr. Speaker. “And remember that the other people in the House, the Leader of the Third Party and Elizabeth May, they were growing tails, and again, there were Liberals around me. If I started panicking I’d embarrass my party.”

“So, Mr. Speaker, now that I am on a new course of meds, I can finally come clean about my knowledge of the Duffy affair and tell Canadians that yes, I did authorise the payment from Mr. Wright to Mr. Duffy. I will hereby resign as Prime Minister and the Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada.”

(615)

1) The various CPC scandals….

2) The issue that, if the Grits are smart, will win them a majority: stopping the phasing out of home mail delivery

No wonder Harper wanted the House to rise early.

Justin should send him a note of thanks for this ready-made election platform plank!

(308)

… on the the Harper Christmas card too.

But his boss said no (wait for it), one rodent is a enough.

Budda-bing!

(289)

Dear fellow Conservative: We really, really want your money and support. But please, please, just STFU.

(359)