It's alive!

I have to admit, I did not think the Harper crowd was that stupid. For some reason, despite the unbelievable partisan hackery they display, I thought they were smart enough to let things die down and understand when they should.

Apparently, that is not the case.

The Harperites are blinded by a faith in their own infallibility and by their belief that everyone accepts heavy-handed authoritarianism. They accept no blame for any failing.

When the Chalk River nuclear reactor was shut down, they behaved as though it had been an orchestrated personal attack. They immediately politicized the event and turned it into a partisan attack on the independent nuclear regulator in this country.

And then they bypassed her with legislation.

It goes to their stupidity and their inability to actually deal with anything remotely difficult.

Harper and his disciples shot themselves in the foot the minute they started trying to blame anyone but the operators of the Chalk River reactor for its shut-down.

But beyond that, Harper, in his finest Daddy-knows-best voice, made an unqualified statement that, despite safety concerns of the regulator, there would be no nuclear accident at Chalk River, the site of the very first nuclear reactor accident - ever.

Still more was their uncomprehending attitude that the Canadian public would actually listen to this bunch when it came to nuclear safety.

In the end, covered in their own shit, they had accomplished what they had set out to do and the situation should have died a quiet death, only to be regurgitated during the next election campaign.

But, no. They couldn't leave things alone. Having taken an event, which was completely beyond their control and for which nobody would have likely blamed them, the Harperites took the whole thing personally and attacked the nuclear regulator.

That's just plain stupidity.

Instead of moving on to the next item on the list, Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn took an unprecedented move to threaten the dismissal of the president of the CNSC.

Now, Linda Keen, in response to the letter sent to her by Lunn, which was leaked to the media, has fired a huge rocket back.

The question though is: What did Lunn think would happen?

These guys simply don't get it. Now, much to the good cheer of all opponents of the Harper regime, this issue, which had found its way to the simmering back burner is right back on the full-power front element.

An issue which might have slipped from the minds of Canadians is now going to receive a public and very messy airing. And it should make Canadians very very wary.

This is what the Conservatives are all about. They're so wrapped up in themselves and so paranoid that every little thing that happens is the result of a conspiracy out to "get them" that they don't know when or how to back away.

Now they've touched off a powder keg. Canadians might not pay attention to political infighting but they will pay attention when someone is messing with the process of something as critical as nuclear safety.

Gary Lunn just demonstrated what kind of idiot is sitting in the halls of power.