More SHOCKING News : Harper not really fiscal Conservative … oh wait, that’s not a shock either.
January 30, 2009
The only real surprise is that it has taken this long for advocates of smaller government to catch on or — more charitably — make a public fuss about it.
Here is a link to the Globe article which summarizes the reaction.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090129.wtories30/BNStory/politics/home
One quote in particular summarizes the angle of the piece:
Ms. Kheiriddin, co-author of Rescuing Canada’s Right: Blueprint for a Conservative Revolution, said the party’s base may decide to stay home in the next election, particularly if the package does not work. “It flies in the face of all the principles Mr. Harper personally held for a number of years, as well as what the movement was hoping this government would achieve.”
I am genuinely — and I mean this without a hint of sarcasm or irony — baffled about what seems to be only a recent revelation to these advocates of small government.
After living overseas for about five years, I only really started to pay attention again to Canadian politics in Feb. 2007, when I went to work on the Hill. By March 19th, 2007, I knew without a doubt that Harper was and is not a fiscal conservative. This was, of course, the day Budget 2007 — the biggest spending budget in Canadian history — was tabled in the House of Commons.
A personal highlight of the day was watching Andrew Coyne reporting from the House. His absolute disgust was not only audibly palpable in his voice but manifest in his body language — crossed arms, tense almost crumpled body. He seemed on the edge either of tears or of taking a flame thrower to the place.
What should have been a triumph for fiscal Conservatives that day was an utter disappointment and, for anyone who was watching with clear vision, it was the final and irrevocable proof that Mr. Harper and his team stand by no principle and are only concerned with holding power. Indeed, even a cursory examination of Harper’s political career reveals a man whose only goal is to be in control and that he will resort to any means to achieve that end. Harper’s only secret agenda is that he has no agenda other than holding power.
The thing that also struck me that day was what a total strategic blunder the budget was. Counter-factuals are always rightly suspect but I truly believe that had Harper introduced a small-government-budget — reduced spending and tax cuts — the Opposition would have voted the budget down, he would have had his election, and he would have won his majority. Instead he threw so many billions at Quebec that the Bloc had to and happily supported the budget.
Of course, that calls attention to what I take to be the other great Harper myth — that he is some kind of master tactician and / or strategist. Six months ago, I might have said more to justify my view that his genius is more myth than fact, but the election blunders and the debacle of the fall economic statement more than aptly demonstrate that Harper’s only genius is to happen to be the leader of the Conservative party when the Liberals are in such absolute disarray. Indeed, even with a hapless Opposition, he came very close to losing everything and only survived thanks to a questionable decision by the GG. Hardly, the stuff of genius.
So, why is Harper’s questionable commitment to the idea of small government a sudden and unexpected revelation to advocates of small government. The only explanation I can offer is that Canada’s fiscal conservatives adopted a trait characteristic of some of their social conservative allies: blind faith.
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Along similar lines, Harper was one of the strongest supporters of an elected senate and yet how many senators did he appoint during parliament’s hiatus? If Harper was in Manitoba he would have been a New Democrat. If his riding was in Ontario he would have been a Liberal. I get that. What I don’t get is why the West isn’t up in arms about “their guy” screwing them over.
Harper, as a matter of fact, started off as a Liberal in Ontario.
My guess: blind faith in “one of their own” and a ready willingness to buy the whole “secret-agenda” line.
Which in itself again demonstrates the shortsightedness of the Liberal “strategists.” By perpetuating the myth of Harper’s ideological secret agenda, they actually help Harper keep a lid on potential divisions within his own ranks. The only chance the Liberals have, in the near future, is if divisions crop up again amongst those who identify with “Conservatism”.
First we need still a full review of the waste, fraud, and abuse that has plagued governmental. efforts. What is also needed is a program to remove public officials from office that take our money and spend it on their own false pet projects while many of our people still are not getting the help that they need.
Federal Deficit , economic, job creation and capital expenditure programs… are still untrustworthy. Being a past senior civil, mechanical , projects engineer, project manager myself here now are the major problem I righty still do had with capital expenditure projects even under PM Jean Chretien and never mind next under PM Stephen Harper firstly: and it is is that when you give do monies for a specific capital expenditure projects to the Provinces, Municipalities as well, and just like in many of the non profit organizations now too, a significant portion of the money firstly never even gets to the intended sources but it is diverted elsewhere.. Diverted to: such as paying for existing deficits, debts, unprofitable civil and public services, departments, Crown Corporations too, ineffective overheads, unrelated operating costs in the provincial , municipal departments. Now since all that happens even before it hits the supposedly private sectors we need to address that too. Now next as to the supposedly private sectors and related projects expenditures , totally honest and fair governmental competition bids still tends not to exists. So no one can make me into a believer that this all of this taxpayer’s money will solely go all into a valid job creation program spurring on the general economy. The existing projects, capital expenditure safeguards are still just not totally there, not the related transparency, accountably as well.. even even you try to use an ex retired, RCMP officer as a supervisor in the contracts, purchasing department, for by now we all should now who immoral, untrustworthy even the RCMP now are too in fact. Some of the money will likely be used even out of the country for a selected few persons rather too.. Are many of the civil servants, politicians still taking their holidays overseas at tax payers expenses? There are still much too many abusive and questionable expenses: All still Unacceptable too.
Not just in Canada now there is increasing evidence even in the US, elsewhere that states like California and Michigan, are running huge budget deficits, do need federal aid to keep their essential and non essential services operating. They would plummet an already battered federal budget billions of dollars further into a non positive deficit. We all do need to face the negative fact of what our own political, corporate leaders are doing this to our country too. Still it all also does mean that no one can predict beforehand with certainty which industries and municipalities will get the needed designated federal capital.
Also the too common practice of putting many local workers out of work or paying them less wages by sending the higher paying jobs offshore has a devastating impact on the rest of the World, not to mention the local economy. We also still do need to have the True Unemployment Numbers.
What is also needed is a program to remove public officials from office that take our money and spend it on their pet projects while many of our people still are not getting the help that they need.
” At last count, there were at least 785 criminal cases under investigation by the Hurricane Katrina Task Force, a joint effort of 19 federal agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Postal Service, the Defense Department and even the Environmental Protection Agency. State prosecutors in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas are similarly swamped. And scores more cases wait in the wings.”
And do see also Citizens Against Government Waste http://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/
Thanks, for the comprehensive reply. Much Appreciated!
I think you also raise an important point, which further undermines the credibility of “stimulus plans”. Even if we are charitable and imagine that out political leaders can and do pick the right stimulus priorities in principle (which is possible I suppose), there is still a very real risk that the funds won’t even be used properly. Sure corruption is always a risk but there may even be a well-intentioned shifting of resources. For example, if the Government of Ontario knows the Feds are going to kick in X amount of dollars for road building that means they can spend X less of their own money so, overall and in the long run, no extra funds actually make it to road building.