Beyond The Commons

Aaron Wherry covers all the goings-on in and around Parliament Hill. Follow Aaron on Twitter: @aaronwherry

Categories: Beyond The Commons, Capital Read

BTC: Everyman (III)

by Aaron Wherry on Sunday, September 21, 2008 1:54am - 36 Comments

“On the one side you have a minivan-driving hockey dad from the suburbs—the most middle-class prime minister Canada’s ever had,” said one Conservative official.
—Sun, Sept. 7

“My wife says ‘I don’t want to do all that driving around.’” Harper threw up his hands: “I said ‘the police drive you around.’ We don’t even have a car.” The family sold its van because they never used it.
—Toronto Star, Sept. 20

Tags: Election Watch, Stephen Harper

More by Aaron Wherry

Sophie

I call it hypocritical only because the Conservatives made this ‘contrast’ between Harper and Dion.
But you know what?
I’ve decided I. Just. Don’t. Care.
It really doesn’t matter to me how much my leader has made or what his job before politics was- none of them can have lived specifically my life, so I feel that a more important quality in a leader is empathy, or the ability to look at things form a multitude of perspectives.
If a party can show me a leader who can do that, or a local candidate that can do that, thats how I’m voting.
I’m still waiting.
Phillip Huggan

kody how does Jack Layton as a city councillor in a past life, match up with your Left=Intellectual thesis? Would you rather have a PM that lies to Canadians middle/upper class tax cuts help the majority (they don’t), towing the GWB line: tax-cuts + killing surpluses = good economics? Or have one who understands neoconservative blunders (Harper said the worst of of the USA economic crisis is over just before they nationalized $700B in crappy debt and are still running a deficit almost as big) and is honest?
A University Professor is just behind a doctor and a primary school teacher in service public good. An economist who preaches building firewalls around a province with a nonrenewable resource sloughing off negative externalities (that big oil could and would pay) for future generations to pay for, is useless.

Conservatives would take the useless economist following neocon prescriptions over the abstract thinker who saved Canada in 1995. Got it. I’d expect Harper to at least serve his poorer (middle class) base honestly by announcing a small business loans or venture cap crown agency. Tax cuts tax cuts tax cuts have already been tried in the USA and they worked only for the parasitic 10%. You people are sheep.
http://economics.about.com Mike Moffatt

Wait.. we don’t want academics running the country, so we should vote for… Stephen Harper? Seriously?

Has there been a PM with less outside the classroom (and outside politics) experience ever than Stephen Harper?
Beary

Kody, truly progressive people are not divisive. You are divisive in that you pit against each other. This election is not supposed to be about making Canadians hate each other. It’s supposed to be about electing a leader who cares about ALL of Canada and ALL Canadians.

With the amount of hate coming from Conservative politicians and their supporters, it’s difficult how Conservatives in power would be any help to Canada. Which is of course the whole point of this election.

Conservatives DO NOT want to help Canada. They want to divide us and annex us with the USA. As each day passes, the divisive tactics become more tiresome for the voting public. It’s actually having the effect of making Canadians tune you out.
RyanD

Kody- The next thing you know about teaching will be the first! Your pathetic generalizations about teachers are truely laughable to anyone who has ever taught. Teachers are in fact overwhelmingly moderate if not slightly conservative (not “left leaning as you assert”) Think about it- a group of people whose job largely revolves around maintaining order (a chaotic classroom is a useless one) and passing along the values and information that government provides for them through curriculum. Sure there are some very left wing teachers but they are the minority rather than the other way around.
The suggestion that teachers aren’t “doers” is also absurd. First off teaching IS doing! I’d love to see you try to get 30 children or teenagers to sit still and listen and further to have them understand any number of complex skills or ideas you are trying to impart (all while you are given less and less of the tools necessary to do this). In addition to the actual teaching there are many other things teachers “DO” officially and unofficially. This may include helping troubled students deal with serious personal and family problems coaching any number of sports or playing peace keeper and breaking up fights. People don’t teach because they can’t “DO” they teach because they DO care and are willing to go through a great deal of stress and bull crap to help their students to become well adjusted productive adults. In short- you know nothing about teaching so keep your ignorant comments to yourself.

Ben- “Harris introduced a new curriculum and got rid of grade thirteen. Seems sensible enough to me. (Though I did really enjoy my OAC year in the late ’90s.)

Seeing as McGuinty didn’t reverse the reforms, I’m thinking that they took.”
I can see why you might think that but it depends on your definition of “took.” The changes have been institutionalized but I literally do not know one single secondary school teacher who doesn’t think OAC was better than what we have now. Our kids are generally not mature enough or well prepared enough for University. Many Profs. and TAs have commented on this as well when seeing the students coming into 1st year.
kody

Ryan et al,

your invective (“pathetic” “ignorant” ect),

when confronted with a view you do not share suggests you may not be used to sharing your thoughts with others who have a different world view. Some call it the “cocooning” effect.

You should get out more. Broaden your horizons.

It may make you less angry.
RyanD

Kody- Ignorant slags make me angry, not opposing viewpoints. My use of the words “pathetic” and “ignorant” are indicative of only one thing- in my opinion your comments were ignorant (a position confirmed by the fact that you have offered no defence in response to my specific points to counter you). The fact that you continunally speak out of such amazing ignorance is, in fact pathetic. I have many very conservative friends. They remain friends because we tolerate eachother’s differences quite well.
As for boradening my horizons…having you say that to anyone may be the most hypocritical thing I can possibly imagine.
kody

Ryan,

you used that word “tolerate”.

I don’t think that word means, what you think it means.

Now, back to your name calling “tolerant” invective.
RyanD

Kody- I know what “tolerate” means quite well thank you. I do not accept their opinions and they do not tolerate mine. We do accept eachother as people with differences. It is not your right wing opinions I have a problem with (I don’t like them but I can accept them as potentially valid), it is the fact that they are based on blind ideology and ignorance. Calling someone ignorant when they have demonstrated ignorance is not invective it is a statement of fact. If I were to comment on your profession (whatever that may be) as though I was an expert (which I am probably not) and if I were to be way off base you would be accurate to describe me as ignorant.
In your initial post you suggested that teachers are people who can’t “do” anything, so they teach instead. That is a nasty and rude thing to say about anyone. You also suggested that teachers try to indoctrinate their students to “left wing” ideas. Aside from that being utter nonsense it is very insulting to people who are in the profession of trying to open people’s minds and who are tupically motivated by a genuine desire to help their students (not brainwash them). If you are trying to imply you are the victim of my nasty name calling attacks, get over it. You made an attack on a very noble proffession that thousands of decent hard working people are engaged in in Canada. I called it like it is- your slag of teachers was borne out of a profound lack of knowledge (ignorance) and when people make derisive comments, especially based out of ignorance, that is pathetic.
Stede Bonnet

The Harper government, the Harper political apparatus, the Harper political ambition, the Harper performance and Harper’s followers are of such mediocre inadequacy, and determined to impose the same on the rest of Canada, that the result of any success that comes their way will, inevitably be simply more mediocrity.

If Canadians are convinced to invest in second rate intellects to lead the nation why should anyone be surprised if Canada itself becomes second rate.

I can detect no evidence of any superior intellect in the Harper regime beyond, ahem, David Emerson? Perhaps a Harper acolyte would like to type a list of a few names from the Harper sphere that wouldn’t immediately be designated as – f’rinstance – The Dumbest Guys in the Room?

Harper’s a bright guy? Where’d that urban legend come from? He’s the guy wanted Canada in the quagmire that’s Iraq? He’s the guy who was, basically, a climate change denier? He’s the guy that’s taken a $12 billion surplus and put the nation on the edge of a deficit with a depression the like of the ’30s hovering in the air?

Really, personal dislike of the man for any reason should pale into insignificance in view of the fact his performance at running the country is so atrocious. When Dubya was installed by the Supreme Court I figured he wasn’t bright enough for the job either but I consoled myself, “How much damage could he do?” Eight years later, quod erat demonstrandum.

I wouldn’t give the key to a kid’s tricycle to Harper. The fact there’s even debate he should be Prime Minister would have some humour to it if not the stakes are so high and he’s the riskiest choice of them all.

Danny Williams is right – ABC -> or mediocrity.
RyanD

Stede- Can I buy you a beer? Bullseye my friend!