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Blog of Adam Daifallah -- author, journalist, law student. Lover of politics, writing, golf, curling, fitness, fashion, bacon and maple products -- not necessarily (but probably) in that order. Partisan of the Anglosphere. Contact me via email at adam@daifallah.com. This summer I am joined by Keir Wilmut and Omar Soliman.
Monday, December 06, 2004
Why Stephen Harper will (more than likely) never become Prime Minister
Because of moves like this --from the letters page of today's National Post:
Re: A Lesson for Harper, editorial, Dec. 2.
This editorial repeats a post-election pattern of entirely groundless allegations that the Conservative Party has abandoned its positions.
What is clear is that when our party opposes Liberal positions on national defence, unethical conduct, Kyoto, child care or taxation, your editorial pages are unsupportive or silent. In fact, when we fought to have tax reductions included in the government's program, your editorial dismissed the effort as unimportant.
But it is more than these issues where the National Post lets conservatives down. We fight against the weakening of marijuana laws that protect children. The Post supports the government's misguided approach. We advocate provincial rights. You come out against Atlantic Canada's offshore revenue claims and ask us to write off Quebec. We fight for the traditional definition of marriage. You are silent.
We do, of course, attempt to evaluate demands for regional spending carefully and fairly, whether these are made for reasons of trade, infrastructure or cultural development.
In our meeting last week, President Bush and I did indeed discuss conservatism. I was able to tell him that Canada most certainly has a conservative party. What it lacks is a national conservative newspaper.
Stephen Harper, leader, Conservative Party of Canada.
This letter -- especailly its final paragraph -- is a perfect example of the kind of sloppy unprofessionalism that has been the modus operandi of Harper's communications shop for, well, since he became CA leader in 2002.
I'm not at the Post right now so I feel that I speak frankly about the paper. Look, it is not as conservative today as it was when it launched in 1998. That's not a secret. But for Harper to attack what is still the most pro-Conservative party newspaper in the country in this callous way is total lunacy! It makes no sense strategically and shows a tremendous lack of judgement. There is absolutely nothing for Harper to gain from doing this. He will only alienate the paper's staff into writing about him more critically -- which would put every big paper in the country squarely against him, instead of just two out of three.
This letter is probably an attempt to assuage the concerns of blue Tories who've been complaining that Harper is moving the party too far to the left. Odd way to do it. The editorial Harper is attacking, A Lesson For Harper, took Harper to task for being too mushy on policy and encouraged him to stop apologizing for conservatism! It was the most conservative editorial I've seen in the Post for months! Some highlights:
Leading up to last June's election, Mr. Harper spoke out forcefully for tax cuts, military spending, health care reform and ethical government. Before that, he strongly opposed inter-regional transfer payments that make poorer regions fiscally dependent on Ottawa, and was clear in his opposition to the Kyoto Protocol. But since the campaign ended, he has been almost invisible, popping his head above ground only occasionally -- and even then often to echo his support for some Liberal initiative or another.
In the past few months, Mr. Harper has soft-pedalled tax cuts, endorsed the Liberals' massive increase in health care spending and dodged questions about whether his party endorses Canada's participation in the U.S. missile defence program. Meanwhile, he and his party have failed to provide vocal opposition to the Liberals' planned funding of hundreds of thousands of new daycare spots, and endorsed a new transfer payment scheme that will only make regional disparities worse.
I'd be interested to know if Harper actually personally signed off on the final draft of the letter or whether it slipped through mistakenly. It should never have been written, but if anything, it should have been signed by a lower-ranking party official or a staff member.
I like Stephen Harper, but his Ottawa press operation is an amateurish joke. They continue to demonstrate that they they aren't capable of winning an election -- and worse, that they probably don't deserve to.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 5:29 PM
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