One Conservative Columnist Troubled By Harpercon Abuses Of Democracy

I may not agree with much of what Andrew Coyne has to say, but at least he’s one of the few who is not afraid to let the world know when he thinks the Harpercons have done something stupid or just plain wrong.  Today’s column demonstrates just that.

All I’ve been hearing and reading from the Conservative bloggers, pundits and columnists and such are not only demands for free passes on any and/or all of Stevie Spiteful’s transgressions for the sake of getting closer to that neo-con utopic Canada many of them salivate for; it’s discouraging. Hell, after reading the glowing Harpercon endorsements in The Suburban and The Grope and Fail, I had become utterly discouraged.   The bad deeds? It really does depend who’s guilty of ‘em. If the Liberals are, let’s never forgive ‘em and banish ‘em to hell. If the Harpercons do ‘em, well, the ends justify the means, so suck it up, you looney lefties is the basic message.

In fact, I’m waiting for the frickin’ onslaught of glowing reviews of Stevie and how after five long suffering years of tap dancing with the ‘evul coalition’, he now deserves an unchecked majority.

Then just a few moments ago, I caught Andrew Coyne’s  column of his personal deliberations of how he arrived at his choice to vote Liberal come May 2, weighing the pros and cons of both the Harpercons and the Liberals.  I wouldn’t say he’s necessarily endorsing the Liberals as much as he is condemning the Harpercons’ record for the abuses of democracy over their five years in power.

But what about the economy? In punishing the government, do we risk punishing the country? No. Economies have enormous recuperative powers: as Adam Smith said, “there is a great deal of ruin in a nation.” We can afford a period of Liberal silliness. What we cannot afford is the continuing slide of Parliament, and parliamentary democracy, into disrepair. Conventions once discarded, habits of self-government once lost, are much harder to regain.

If we return the Conservatives with a majority, if we let all that has gone on these past five years pass, then not only the Tories, but every party will draw the appropriate conclusions. But if we send them a different message, then maybe the work of bringing government to democratic heel, begun in the tumult of the last Parliament, can continue.

While Mr. Coyne may hold conservative values, he still believes Canada should be democratic and doesn’t believe Stevie holds a great record with that to the point where he believes he should be punished rather than rewarded as  The Suburban pointed out in it’s shameless brown nosing last night.  Believe me boys ‘n’ girls, if you thought the Grope and Fail’s endorsement was bad, go visit the The Suburban‘s–one gets the feeling the editors were masturbating as they typed it.

Mr. Coyne doesn’t seem to believe that  the economy and democracy is an either or kinda deal,  neither should anyone else. 

I wonder how many more Conservatives there are out there who are as troubled by how Harper has treated parliament and our democracy to the point of  not casting a ballot for Harper as Mr. Coyne won’t be doing come Monday?

H/T Morton’s Musings