Tory strategy: vote buying, attack ads
“Cabinet ministers and MPs are now leaving him like rats from a sinking ship, while our federal government has become a one-man show, vulnerable to (Stephen) Harper’s random ambitions.” ANDY THOMSEN, PEACHLAND, B.C.
Re Election goodies: thank only your fellow taxpayers, Opinion July 22 It’s likely Stephen Harper has been told by top polling advisers that he can’t win a majority in the fall election. He knows this time it’s finally goodbye to the Reform Party.
His hallowed economic visions, based on a poor ideology from the lunatic likes of Rush Limbaugh and Mitt Romney, have left Canada with a laughing-stock currency, free trade deals that destroyed Ontario manufacturing and a federal debt that was simply pushed off on to Ontario.
Canadians are jobless, underemployed and have no one to tell them there aren’t going to be any new jobs. They are subsumed in personal debt and can only wait for inheritances and lotteries to put them on easy street. Toronto is filled with dog walking individuals who should be at work.
We are not the Americans. They can pull themselves out of the hole George W. Bush left them in because they have the world’s top economy. Canadians will face degraded health care and social programs unless there is massive federal spending.
These universal child care giveaways are hogwash. If it’s “Christmas in July,” as described by Employment and Social Development Minister Pierre Poilievre, then just wait for the money to be clawed back after the election. Bryan Charlebois, Toronto Poilievre showed the brashness of this attempt to buy votes. But he neglected to complete the phrase, “after Christmas, comes the piper to be paid.”
Carol Goar makes that clear. Even the government admits the clawback nature of the gift come tax time. We are indeed “involuntarily financing this multi-billion-dollar” vote bribe.
The Conservatives believe they can get away with this while forfeiting what our country needs. What should worry us is the arrogance behind this flagrant tactic. Stephen Harper has no respect for the people he wishes to govern.
A dangerous new condition for Canadians, and one that just might work. We will indeed get what we’ve paid for. Don Graves, Burlington Vote buying has reached a new low in Canada with this universal child care benefit. Is this a prudent move when Canada’s economy is stalling and, according to some experts, is already in recession? Harper should take a lesson from U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron, who has restricted child benefits to just two kids in the family.
There are lots of more needy classes and institutions, such as veterans, seniors, child-care centres, hospitals and universities. Dina Austin, Bramalea Guess “welfare” isn’t the dirty word it used to be in suburbia. George Higton, Toronto Re Why the Tories attack Trudeau, but not Mulcair, Opinion July 19 Democracy is a very recent and remarkable achievement. How regrettable that already the application of its vision for human rights and dignity has been crushed in political processes that seem to reflect only the very worst of our human nature.
There are those who seek to lead our country by spending millions of dollars in ads to mock a man’s hair and suggest that he supports the horrific beheading of other human beings.
Surely it is time for every citizen to deliver the message to every party and candidate that we demand dignity above denigration, principles above expedience, and policy statements above smear campaigns. Can we possibly entrust the leadership of our country to any party demonstrating a toxicity that destroys all trust, for the sake of winning at all costs?
To maintain any vestige of democracy’s essence, it is time for every citizen to demand conduct that is principled, communication that is substantive, and civility that reflects the dignity of democracy’s spirit. In this coming election process, may we all seek the rebirth of respect within our political processes for the real values that have made Canada great. Our community, our country, and our humanity deserve no less. Bob Sutton, Camlachie, Ont. While wearing my “Stop Harper” badge, someone recently said, “But the others don’t have enough experience.” To which I said, “Don’t you think well-intentioned ‘learning on the job’ beats sheer malevolence?” Pat Irwin Lycett, Bowmanville, Ont. I am amazed by the new low levels of vindictiveness displayed by Mr. Harper. It is, of course, human nature for a person to dislike or disapprove of certain others, but never to this intensity, to the point where it seems to me to be affecting the good governance of our country.
For a person to deserve the trust of so many millions of Canadians, surely he must place the wishes of those citizens front and foremost in his decision-making for the greater good, rather than using that noble office as a pedestal for his personal hates and old grudges. Mark Scanlon, Brighton, Ont. To beat Harper, the Liberals and the NDP need to form a coalition called the New Liberal Party. We cannot have another four years of dictator Harper. Sydnae Stretton, Burlington Re Child benefits sweetest in Tory territory, July
20 This “analysis” is absurd. Child care benefits are provided to the parents of all children under the age of 18. Are Harper and the Conservatives being blamed because there are more children in some ridings than in others? Harper’s enemies will scrape the bottom of the barrel to show him in a bad light.
This is a classic case of “figures don’t lie, but liars figure.” Pat Biondi, Montreal The Greg Perry editorial cartoon of July 18 is funny, but it is misleading, really. It depicts the Conservative PM chasing the Liberal leader around in circles while the tortoise sneaks away to the lead. In fact the Liberal leader doesn’t run away, he’s simply lapping them both. Sylvia Ray, Burlington I’m not the first person who has seen similarities between Stephen Harper and Richard Nixon. The need the prime minister seems to have to needle Justin Trudeau is eerily similar to the way Nixon went after John F. Kennedy.
The prime minister may want to consider (or re-consider) this bit of history before he attacks Trudeau any further. Mary Stanik, St. Paul, Minn. The question is not whether Stephen Harper is ready for another mandate, but whether he’s in way over his head. For him, everything boils down to the economy. Cut taxes and the economy will look after itself is his mantra. He handled the 2008 recession by pretending there wasn’t one. The decision to go into deficit was made after much lobbying by those who knew what had to be done.
Another recession and where is Harper? Busy using propaganda through government ads at taxpayer expense painting a rosy picture of the Canadian economy; resorting to silly attack ads filled with more of the Conservative scaremongering; and trying to buy us with our own money and thinking that those of us who voted Conservative last time will give him their support again.
Do we want another four years of pretend government with a leader who’s in over his head? Not this time. John Cousins, Bowmanville, Ont. With the NDP leading in the three most populous provinces of Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia, this contest is anything but close. After a decade of Harper rule, a yearning for change is palpable across the country and the majority of voters don’t want another four-year term for Stephen Harper. And they have decided the NDP should be the real voice for change. But they have not abandoned the Liberals completely, as Trudeau remains competitive in Ontario and B.C. Harper’s attack ads criticizing Trudeau may be a desperate attempt to remain in the second position in the most likely event of a Thomas Mulcair victory. Mahmood Elahi, Ottawa The Canadian political system has experienced an incredible shift of political power — away from the people to the back rooms of the Prime Minister’s Office. In eight short years Harper has gutted the federal MPs of every ounce of political power that belonged to them.
There is no longer any meaningful debate on proposed legislation, and budgets are no longer presented and debated before adoption, they are “bundled” with dozens of other pieces of legislation and amendments, rammed through Parliament by our elected MPs under severe duress.
Harper has certainly delivered on this promise: “You won’t recognize Canada when I’m done with it.”
Cabinet ministers and MPs are now leaving him like rats from a sinking ship, while our federal government has become a one-man show, vulnerable to Harper’s random ambitions. Andy Thomsen, Peachland, B.C. Some old adages seem to recur politically from time-to-time, such as, “Those who ignore history are bound to repeat it.”
After the Mike Harris financial management crew were booted from our fair province, it fell to the ensuing Liberals to deal with a deficit of $5 billion.
The repeat? Harper appoints the same magic money managers to the national level. The result: after all the savings, cutbacks and spending reductions, Canadians have been provided with a financial deficit every year since the Harper government was first elected. Some money managers.
It’s time Canadians elected a more fiscally responsible party. Morley S. Wolfe, Brampton Send email to lettertoed@thestar.ca; via web at thestar.ca/ letters. Include full name, address, phone numbers of sender; only name and city will be published. Letter writers should disclose any personal interest they have in the subject matter. We reserve the right to edit letters, which run 50-150 words.