The Lalo Blog

It only took three days, but Stephen Harper finally apologized to anyone who has been removed from a Conservative rally, because, although the practice only came to light with the removal of two students from an event at the University of London, apparently it's a regular occurrence. 

It seems to be yet another page from the Bush era playbook: only partisans need apply. I always thought candidates would want rally's to be open to everyone: then they get a chance to persuade people to vote for them. After all, what's the use of preaching to the converted?  In fact, the student at the centre of this issue, Awish Aslam, also attended an NDP rally because she wanted to hear from the leaders before making up her mind. What she did do is set an enviable example of what more of us should do during elections, but all it got her was a scarlett letter 'L'. If rallys are attended and minds aren't changed, one can only assume that there would be no harm done. It is, after all, a Canadian election. Stephen Harper's Ad people might be vicious attack dogs, but the general public is not. 

And it's hard to take the apology seriously: He was basically brow-beaten in to it by the media. Harper thought that a glib remark would sweep it away, but the question kept coming: What gives? It's just more conduct unbecoming a leader, but why should he care? The polls show that his lead isn't going anywhere, which suggests to me 'apathy' over 'acceptance.' Brian Mulroney first, and then the Liberals were reduced to rubble for much much less than the litany of contemptuous deeds by Stephen Harper. And all of a sudden Canadians don't care. 

That kinda sucks.

Honestly, I don't know what was more offensive about Stephen Harper singing with Canada's newest youtube sensation, 10 year old Maria Aragon, she of Lady Gaga fame: riding on her skirt tails for naked political engineering, or singing John Lennon's "Imagine" a song that is the very antithesis of everything Harper believes in. I'm surprised that the  heavily lefty, peacenik lyrics didn't cause smoke to rise from his tongue, like Satan being doused with Holy Water: "Maybe I'm just a dreamer...Ah, it burns, it buuuurns!!"

In fact, the move seemed so wildly over-the-top, even for Harper, that it seemed closely akin to him Jumping the Shark: the beginning of the end of even trying to be creative. Considering that his lead in the polls continues, one can only take the move as a royal 'fuck you' to the electorate. I mean, I'll say this for the man: he has an impressive base which seems to staunchly refuse to vote any other way despite the betrayal and trampling of anything that could be construed as a "Canadian Value," that is, of course, all except for one: polite apathy. 

After every year that goes by, the litany of abuses mount: it has nothing to do with whether or not you agree with his policies - he seems to be getting a free pass on treating parliament, and by extension, Canadians, with a contempt that would be laughably cartoonish, if it weren't oh-so-real.

People watching from the outside can hardly believe what is acceptable to Canadians. Australia's national newspaper, The Australian, ran an article that read like someone shaking their head in utter disbelief: On Bev Oda lying to parliament: Lying to parliament, a cardinal sin of Westminster-style democracy, has become a political tactic. On Harper's appointee as Integrity Commissioner: The Integrity Commissioner was so inept that she failed to uphold a single one of more than 200 whistle-blowing complaints. On accountability: Having come into office on campaign promises of greater transparency and accountability, Harper has silenced civil servants and diplomats, cynically published guidelines on how to disrupt hostile parliamentary committees, and suppressed research that contradicts ideologically-driven policy, for example data that show crime rates to be falling. 

It goes on and on. But why should Harper care? He can fiddle (or play the piano) with a sweet ten year old girl, and he expects we'll overlook the fire that rages. But let me translate Harper's message again, in case you missed it: FUCK YOU. Care to respond at the polls?