Thursday, August 5, 2010

"Harper’s got us just where he wants us"

I think Paul Wells at MacLeans might be on to something here. According to Paul, the Prime Minister thrives on bad polling numbers; ergo today's poor results from Liberal donor and CBC pollster Frank Graves should be considered good news for Conservatives. In fact, it is even possible that the unscrupulous Mr. Harper has engineered this decline in order to tighten his grip on power. The decision to make the long form census voluntary without the threat of jail time is "wicked"; really the first step on the path towards herding the poor into concentration camps.

Or as Paul puts it:

"Harper is not frittering away his time, although plenty of writers prefer to believe he is. No: he is chipping away at the foundations of the idea of government the Liberals built over decades. That’s why the census debate was so emotional. Everyone, Harper’s allies as much as his opponents, knows he’ll follow this sudden move with many more.

The assumption behind so much of our political chatter is that Harper’s grip on power hangs by a thread. He likes that assumption. It allows him to keep changing the country while everyone waits for him to fall."

9 comments:

  1. The coalitioners are getting cocky again; I love it, cause I know that Ignatiev knows that PM Harper knows that Ignatiev won't bring down the Government.

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  2. Yes please!

    More incremental changes to smash the Liberal state!

    Change is always the most hard on those who benefit from the status quo.

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  3. Wells conceeds the media was unable to make and then break Harper?

    but the media have been successful in killing any government 'good news'.

    http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/canada/breakingnews/tory-messaging-frustrates-public-leaving-them-in-dark-on-federal-vision-survey-100070179.html

    The media can run Iffy's numbers up to 35 and down to 25 in a heart beat,
    but they can only do half that damage to PMSHs numbers.

    Election campaigns matter.

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  4. Wells is right. The diversion of the census non-issue is doing exactly what it was supposed to do.

    Anyone who has confidence in the PM and his ability to lead the country will have not taken the MSM their bait. Harper knows exactly what he's doing.

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  5. "He is chipping away at the foundations of the idea of government the Liberals built over decades"

    Perfect! And as far as I'm concerned, he can't do it nearly fast enough to suit me.

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  6. For the record, outside of my political friends, I have NOT HEARD FROM ANYONE WHATSOEVER about the census issue. NOT A SINGLE PERSON. No one even cares about this, outside of the chattering classes.

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  7. Anyone that knows, non political followers, that actually have a life and pay attention ONLY during an election (and we all know them) are so disengaged right now, it's pathetic.

    They don't give a rats a$$ about the bloody census and they don't care about Ignatieff's tour, gaffes or what the government is doing.

    They care about their 90 days of summer, their vacation, cutting the lawn and tending to their fitness regime.

    The PM and his team are well aware of this and the media that thinks otherwise are amateurs.....but we have known that FACT for quite some time.

    Wells, is dead on!

    Bec

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  8. I was thinking how funny it would be if Harper, in reaction to all the census outrage, claimed to have heard the voice of the Canadian people, and now vowed to send the long form census to a full 50 percent of the population (instead of the existing 20%) and DOUBLED the fines and jail terms for those that did not complete the mandatory long form census.
    Do you think that would make the liberal media happy? Seems to me that's what they want...

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  9. Goar has a column today re the census and it outlines problems that Stats Can has had for years, and that numerous cuts to budget have gone back to the 80s and involves previous PMs and head honchos of stats can. She also mentions a lot of surveys that have been cut and how costs have gone up for groups wanting said info.
    Too bad she didn't bring this info front and center weeks ago, and too bad that Rosemarie Barton and others refuse to admit that the only thing cut re the long form is the threat of jail and fines. It has not, nor never was cancelled. And she had the gall to question Baird yesterday with, are you saying it is the media's fault---------
    Yes, it is the media's fault.
    MaryT

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