-- Download Stephen Harper Put the CON in #CONtempt as PDF --

It is critical to remember during these last 13 days of the federal election campaign that Stephen Harper is not our champion of democracy.

Say what you will about his policies, but his process is abhorrent and contemptuous.

I really don’t have a lot of time to go into all of the examples of this, but here a few to remember [ok, 22] when it comes time to vote against this practitioner of the not-so-subtle art of soft fascism, especially when Africans and Middle Easterners are dying [literally] to get the right to vote.

Start by murmuring a “contempt” mantra to yourself:

1. Harper skipped Remembrance Day last year because he had a G20 meeting.
2. Harper likes to send troops to war, but he neglects them when they get home.
3. Harper initially tried to change the name of the “Government of Canada” to “Canada’s New Government.”
4. Harper lately tried to change the name of the “Government of Canada” to “The Harper Government.”
5. Harper rarely met with the press.
6. Harper concentrated message control so much that ministers and civil servants couldn’t communicate to the press without rare prior approval.
7. Harper illegally transferred money in and out of ridings around the country to get around election campaign laws; this is called the In and Out Scandal.
8. Harper appointed senators when he said he’d transform it into an elected body, then he had his unelected senators kill Canada’s climate bill which was voted for by the majority of the elected House of Commons.
9. Harper once gave 17 minutes email notice for a press availability.
10. Harper takes only 5 questions each day on the campaign trail.
11. Harper used RCMP officers to eject students from campaign rallies after political staffers deemed them unfriendly.
12. Everything at Shit Harper Did and Shit Harper Said.
13. Harper refused to allow the government to provide documents relating to whether the Canadian government is complicit in torture in Afghanistan.
14. Harper misled parliament regarding the cost of the F35 jets, because THE PURCHASE PRICE DOES NOT INCLUDE THE ENGINES! I am not joking.
15. Harper prorogued parliament the first time to avoid a non-confidence motion on his horrible recession budget. While this is perfectly legal, there is a political price to pay for its use. This is that price being paid now.
16. Harper prorogued parliament a second time to help him with #13 above. He is paying the price for that now too.
17. Harper was the first prime minister in the world history of parliamentary democracy to be voted in contempt of parliament by the House of Commons.
18. Harper considers dialogue about democracy to be bickering.
19. In the 2008 campaign, Harper’s staff ordered the RCMP to stop reporters from asking him questions.
20. Most Conservative candidates have spent the decade avoiding most all-candidates meetings.
21. Harper thinks some elections are unnecessary.
22. Days ago, a Conservative staffer/volunteer [depending on which party statement you believe] tried to confiscate a ballot box at Guelph.
23. And there are still 13 days left in the campaign…

OK, this list is just off the top of my head. Think about it. ANYone, but Harper.

And if you don’t want to follow my advice, try listening to Margaret Atwood’s and Lester Pearson’s granddaughter.

In the end, it’s all about contempt. What kind of co-dependent doormat of a country would want this man and this party to be in charge.

The following two tabs change content below.

• Bio
• Latest Posts

Stephen Elliott-Buckley

Post-partisan eco-socialist. at Politics, Re-Spun

Stephen Elliott-Buckley is a husband, father, professor, speaker, consultant, former suburban Vancouver high school English and Social Studies teacher who changed careers because the BC Liberal Party has been working hard to ruin public education. He has various English and Political Science degrees and has been writing political, social and economic editorials since November 2002. Stephen is in Twitter, Miro and iTunes, and the email thing, and at his website, dgiVista.org.

Latest posts by Stephen Elliott-Buckley (see all)

• Goodbye, Politics, Re-Spun! Hello, WePivot.net! - October 21, 2016
• Fixing the Cleveland I*****s Racist Team Name - October 19, 2016
• What the BC Premier’s Reconciliation Smells Like - October 18, 2016