What Stephen Harper really thinks about Canada

[elare]

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20051213/elxn_harper_speech_text_051214/20051214/

..snip..

First, facts about Canada. Canada is a Northern European welfare state in the worst sense of the term, and very proud of it. Canadians make no connection between the fact that they are a Northern European welfare state and the fact that we have very low economic growth, a standard of living substantially lower than yours, a massive brain drain of young professionals to your country, and double the unemployment rate of the United States.

In terms of the unemployed, of which we have over a million-and-a-half, don't feel particularly bad for many of these people. They don't feel bad about it themselves, as long as they're receiving generous social assistance and unemployment insurance.

..snip

Granted, this speech was made in 1997, but I still carry many of the same beliefs now that I did 8 years ago.

You've got to read this thing in full.

[ironflange]

1. Jeez

Can you imagine having to sit through that entire speech?

[Hand]

2. I quit reading about a quarter of the way through...

Good god, that moran does like the sound of his own voice. :boring:

[glarius]

3. I couldn't read all his shit either, but it scares the hell out of me to

think that there is a possibility that this neanderthol could be prime minister of my country.....Uuuuggghhh!

[glarius]

4. The United Nations declared Canada the No. 1 country in the world in

which to live for quality of life, at the time the asshole Harper was making this ridiculous speech....Need I say more?

[MrPrax]

5. Crank...

Hardly surprising since he was head of the CTF and this is their usual nonsense...

I guess Harpy's vision of Canada is not a North European welfare state (oh yeah...the living would envy the dead :eyes: ), but one of those uber-productive Asian hellholes where there is no income tax, big armies and tough laws on crime like Singapore(or alleged crimes).

Boy, folks like Harper are sure visionary.

[Spazito]

6. Harper's 1997 speech shows the REAL Harper

The comments in that speech reflects what he really believes now, the only difference is he is trying to hide in hopes he will be elected and can implement the ideas he espoused in 1997. I love the fact that this speech is now in the mainstream.

[glarius]

7. Have you seen how the Cons. are handling it?....They're saying he was

saying all this "tongue in cheek."....I've heard two or three of them say this, so it seems like that's going to be their talking point....They are acting more and more like the right wing Republicans in the States....God it would be terrible if he ever was P.M.!

[Spazito]

8. Yep, they are desperately trying to spin this but it won't work

Harper's polls are static and, taking out the Strategic Counsel polling which is suspect do to their polling methodology, he isn't moving, Canadians aren't buying him any more than they did in the last election.

[Telly Savalas]

11. The "tongue in cheek" claim is consistent

with Harper's sophisticated sense of irony. (e.g. calling $23 a week a "child care plan".)

[imouttahere]

14. I really want to believe that Canadians can't take this guy seriously....

he is basically BushCo North and while Americans are stupid enough to believe BushCo's lies (his approval ratings are UP again!) I'd like to think Canadians, when confronted with the same type of pig, will smell him and turn away/vote accordingly.

[ClusterFreak]

9. I read about as much as I could....it was mostly boring and smarmy.

It did appear to be a tongue-in-cheek speech....HOWEVER...I think it does in fact get closer to the real Stephen Harper, the one he tries soooo desperately to gloss over. This man, who jokes about Canadians enjoying being on the dole, and who know less than Americans do about the rest of the world....is telling the truth, his truth, to this audience.

He fools no one. At best, he might pull off a minority...God help us all...but that's it. If he does, because of his colossal ego, he'll govern like he has a majority (which is exactly what he accuses the Liberals of doing). That will be his undoing.

[HEyHEY]

10. Sent that link of to Daddy-O

[GirlinContempt]

12. I love how he claimed

"If any member of these political parties votes differently from his party on a particular issue, well, that will be national headline news." :eyes:

and "The NDP could be described as basically a party of liberal Democrats, but it's actually worse than that, I have to say. And forgive me jesting again, but the NDP is kind of proof that the Devil lives and interferes in the affairs of men."

Well forgive me for jesting when I say you're an ass.

[tuvor]

13. Yay, my local radio station put some of this on the news

Anything that helps oust John Duncan is a-ok with me.

I am so tempted to put the Harper Cowboy photo up on their storefront.

[AX10]

15. Please tell me that the Cons are done with after this.

PM Harper will be just as bad as *.

Take a Liberal majority over a conservative minority. Do NOT let the Cons in the door.