Damned With Faint Praise
It is the morning after the federal election and a maelstrom of emotions flood Conservatives and their ilk in Western Canada.
On the one hand, Stephen Harper's achievement must be seen as a monumental one. He has resumed the West's engagement in the Central Canadian power-play game, and has come out a winner.
Stephen Harper in the office of Prime Minister will be a beacon of sanity and resolve.
Nevertheless, the bitter disappointment which Conservatives must feel at such a slim minority victory can only be surpassed by the sight of a despairing Prime Minister Martin playing cards on the eve of his political Ides of March.
The cost to the Conservatives for their win was to pander to the tastes and sentiments of Toronto opinion-shapers and the old Red-Tory Central Canadian establishment. Alberta's outspoken champions will no longer be permitted to speak. Only those voices that resonate with the so-called 'moderation' of Urban Ontario will be allowed to have sway.
The shock of it all is that the so-called "905"--that is Suburban Toronto, didn't even vote for the conservatives, but chose to affirm the duplicity of Ms. Stronach, and the complicity of the rest of the Liberals from scandals past.
I was surprised that Toronto didn't elect more NDP candidates! Yet such is the arrogance of Toronto. Toronto will not be dictated to. It demands that it be pandered to.
If Harper can make the minority parliament work without giving away the farm, without stubbing his toe with a Tory scandal, without offering a soundbyte from the so-called hidden agenda file, without being identified with the Quebec separatists---if Harper can do that, he may be rewarded with a majority government the next time around.
But after an election in which the Liberals were overburdened with scandal, poor organization, and weirdness---they still recieved over 100 seats!
As such, the Conservative win seems to be a case of being damned with faint praise.
Or, as one ancient general noted, "One more victory like this, and we're done for!"
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Excellent post Clint, and welcome back. A lot of work ahead, and hopefully Harper puts the hammer down, and gets to work to ease the fear factor.
Posted by
ABF |
8:33 PM
Thanks ABF.
Glad to see you've kept up on things, though I haven't...:)
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