Tories versus Conservatives -- Don't reward the rulebreaker

A clear eyed, simple explanation of how Harper's been breaking the law to get his own way, and bending what he couldn't break. IMHO this is the core of it:

The legality of the Oct. 14 election called by Prime Minister Stephen Harper was referred to the Federal Court but the court ruled it did not have time to intercede before the federal election.

It is, therefore, in the hands of the Canadian voter.

Harper entered politics with a mission. He wanted to transform Canada into a loose confederation of autonomous provinces with the federal government limited to foreign affairs, defence and an arbitration role among the provinces.

He felt it could be done without a constitutional change. "Just a willing federal government," he said. He even suggested there should be a firewall around Alberta, his province of choice.

To execute his plans, he needed a majority in Parliament.

Steven Patten, associate professor of political science at the University of Alberta, states in a new book, The Harper Record: "He hasn't wandered far from the ideological beliefs that first motivated him to engage in politics. He surrounds himself with conservatives who share his strong ideological beliefs and when he compromises on policy or the membership of his team, it is typically a strategic move designed to bring him closer to winning a majority government."

By planning this election way back in the early summer, Harper effectively added millions to his war chest (the pre-election call anti-Dion ads) , and got the voters to underwrite more attacks disguised as privileged parliamentary mailings. Then, once he had been stealth-campaigning for a couple of months, he called the election -- as though, having ambled casually halfway down the track, he finally let the guy fire the starter pistol.

Only widespread Canadian distrust (not much allayed by the rather creepy silence of the ATOC [1] candidates) stands in his rulebreaking path.

I don't think there's anything new in the Toronto Star Op-Ed, but it's all compressed and clear and dandy for xeroxing and handing out on street corners.

I wonder -- Canadian law prohibits a criminal from profiting from the proceeds of his crime. Does a nation qualify as "proceeds of crime"? and will this effect only Harper himself, or also the candidates pulling his dogsled?

Noni


[1] All The Other Conservatives