Bush North
If any Canadians need be reminded that Conservative Party PM Stephen Harper is Bush North, he told us all yesterday: 'make no mistake: I'm Bush North.'
Okay, he didn't say that, exactly. What he did do is forcefully assert that his Liberal opponents care more about the Taliban than about Canadian troops. Ring a bell?
Americans have been hearing that kind of garbage from their overlords i the neocon Junta for years. Opposition to them and their authoritarianism and bloodthirsty warmongering and you are supporting the terrorists.
So here it is in Canada: question the actions of some troops in Afghanistan, and you are effectively strapping a suicide bomb on the back of a teenager and sending him into a Chuck-E-Cheez.
Canadian Conservatives are adept at holding up the veneer of civility and sanity better than their southern brethren. That may be because the American Junta ruled with zero opposition for over five years (after 9-11), while Canadian Conservatives must hold together a minority government in a parliamentary system.
That means that they must stay in campaign mode. They keep their kabuki masks shined up, and dance the dance of civilization. They can't turn into the slavering extremists that they really are - until they fool enough people to form a majority government.
For the record, we care more about doing right by our troops than anything else. That means that their mission can't be a hopeless American-led farce like the Afghan mission has become. And we are committed to true democratic ideals, including the rule of law.
What that means - because conservatives obviously need it explained - is that while we are grateful for the sacrifices made by our brave and noble soldiers, we still hold them accountable to behave in a legal manner. When they break the law - by torturing prisons for instance - they must be punished. And any commanders who authorized the abuse - no matter how high up the chain - must be punished as well.
Harper obviously would prefer the American model - authorize any excesses and hide behind a wall of secrecy. If discovered, prosecute only the lowest possible rank of offender. And attack any questioning as "supporting the enemy."
It's disgraceful. It's against the proud tradition that Canada has formed, and the standards we've lived up to since the founding of the nation.
Yes, scratch the surface of the Harper 06 campaign stickers and you see Bush-Cheney 04 underneath.
But that's conservative politics - in both countries - in a nutshell. Fool enough people with enough lies and you can get the political power you need to do what you really want to do.
Conservatives never tell you what they're really up to because they know they would never win a single election if they did. That's not in any way a controversial statement - it's a fact that conservatives know all too well, but would prefer if you didn't catch on to.
Take the 'small government' plank that they agree on across the border. Government, according to the conservatives, is too big. Too many taxes. Too much interference with business. That's the public selling point.
What they really believe is that public health must go. Minimum wages must go. Any vestige of a social safety net is wrong. Anyone not born with a silver spoon (like their supporters) should simply hoe the fields and shut the hell up. If you get sick and you can't afford to pay for care you should have the good manners to simply die.
If a business discriminates in their hiring it's their right - government has no say in the matter. They think lawsuits are out of hand, so if that product you buy ends up crippling you, go buy a wheelchair, bub - the courts aren't there to help you.
And the military is an instrument of imperial rule that is at the disposal of the Leader. When the Leader sends them to distant countries to do combat with the locals, you must never criticize. They are not a citizen army or righteousness, they are an arm of the rightist political machine.
Modern conservatives believe in all sorts of 19th century social Darwinism, but that's not what they'll ever talk about. When they are challenged and get testy, they'll lower the mask a bit and you can get a glimpse of what's really in there.
It's frightening - but you must look.
Okay, he didn't say that, exactly. What he did do is forcefully assert that his Liberal opponents care more about the Taliban than about Canadian troops. Ring a bell?
Americans have been hearing that kind of garbage from their overlords i the neocon Junta for years. Opposition to them and their authoritarianism and bloodthirsty warmongering and you are supporting the terrorists.
So here it is in Canada: question the actions of some troops in Afghanistan, and you are effectively strapping a suicide bomb on the back of a teenager and sending him into a Chuck-E-Cheez.
Canadian Conservatives are adept at holding up the veneer of civility and sanity better than their southern brethren. That may be because the American Junta ruled with zero opposition for over five years (after 9-11), while Canadian Conservatives must hold together a minority government in a parliamentary system.
That means that they must stay in campaign mode. They keep their kabuki masks shined up, and dance the dance of civilization. They can't turn into the slavering extremists that they really are - until they fool enough people to form a majority government.
For the record, we care more about doing right by our troops than anything else. That means that their mission can't be a hopeless American-led farce like the Afghan mission has become. And we are committed to true democratic ideals, including the rule of law.
What that means - because conservatives obviously need it explained - is that while we are grateful for the sacrifices made by our brave and noble soldiers, we still hold them accountable to behave in a legal manner. When they break the law - by torturing prisons for instance - they must be punished. And any commanders who authorized the abuse - no matter how high up the chain - must be punished as well.
Harper obviously would prefer the American model - authorize any excesses and hide behind a wall of secrecy. If discovered, prosecute only the lowest possible rank of offender. And attack any questioning as "supporting the enemy."
It's disgraceful. It's against the proud tradition that Canada has formed, and the standards we've lived up to since the founding of the nation.
Yes, scratch the surface of the Harper 06 campaign stickers and you see Bush-Cheney 04 underneath.
But that's conservative politics - in both countries - in a nutshell. Fool enough people with enough lies and you can get the political power you need to do what you really want to do.
Conservatives never tell you what they're really up to because they know they would never win a single election if they did. That's not in any way a controversial statement - it's a fact that conservatives know all too well, but would prefer if you didn't catch on to.
Take the 'small government' plank that they agree on across the border. Government, according to the conservatives, is too big. Too many taxes. Too much interference with business. That's the public selling point.
What they really believe is that public health must go. Minimum wages must go. Any vestige of a social safety net is wrong. Anyone not born with a silver spoon (like their supporters) should simply hoe the fields and shut the hell up. If you get sick and you can't afford to pay for care you should have the good manners to simply die.
If a business discriminates in their hiring it's their right - government has no say in the matter. They think lawsuits are out of hand, so if that product you buy ends up crippling you, go buy a wheelchair, bub - the courts aren't there to help you.
And the military is an instrument of imperial rule that is at the disposal of the Leader. When the Leader sends them to distant countries to do combat with the locals, you must never criticize. They are not a citizen army or righteousness, they are an arm of the rightist political machine.
Modern conservatives believe in all sorts of 19th century social Darwinism, but that's not what they'll ever talk about. When they are challenged and get testy, they'll lower the mask a bit and you can get a glimpse of what's really in there.
It's frightening - but you must look.
posted by fiduciary at 8:26 AM
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