As we know after that loss he and his people did all they could to scrub from the internet all his controversial views, statements and appearances and suddenly transformed himself into the mold of a centrist conservative. This has always been a mask, it never represented his true political philosophy which is the Calgary School, and its roots in Straussian beliefs, the same political philosopher whose thinking dominates the American neoconservative movement and people like Dick Cheney, Bill Krystal, Scooter Libby, and so on (calling Harper a neocon is not empty partisan rhetoric it is disturbingly accurate for that reason no matter how much CPC/Harper defenders like to say otherwise and claim it is unfair and American bashing, the truth is what it is). What we have seen since he took power underscores just how much my fears about his belief in two of the most dangerous IMHO elements of Straussian thinking were not only not misplaced by may actually have been understated.

Those two elements being the inherently undemocratic notions that the electorate at large should not be considered and/or listened to when it came to the formation of public/political policy, that only the elite in society have the right, and worse that the “noble lie” is to be embraced. The “noble lie” states that it is noble to lie to the voters to gain and hold power so that the elite can then do what really needs to be done. Sound like any PM you know? While yes we all expect politicians to be less than fully honest, to exaggerate their positives and their opponents negatives (that is the nature of political rhetoric after all) there is a major difference between that and complete and utter dishonesty without any connection at all to a core element of truth/reality.

As to Marci’s book, on Monday I put a hold on it at my local library and was the first to do so (it is listed as on order at the moment), and as of today there are now 13 holds on it. The overt religiousity we see from Harper’s CPC in their policy aims and actions was always my other major fear about Harper and the social conservative element in the Reform/CA/CPC. America has been lost to their grips, but we still have a chance to prevent ourselves from going into that darkness, but only if we act now.

It is at the core of why I have always maintained that the Harper CPC is fundamentally different than any prior political party, that Harper was at first as dangerous as a Separatist government to the health and future of this country (I have since come to the terrifying conclusion that they are actually even more dangerous, something I NEVER thought I’d say in my life) and why I have been pleading with Dippers since before Martin was brought down in the unholy alliance not to do so, that if they really were still the party that placed defending their principles first that a Harper government (especially a majority but even a minority) would be far more dangerous to those principles and how they are practiced in our country than any corrupt tired Liberal government under Martin. Sadly, the last four years have proven that I was exactly correct, yet the NDP still seems to be more concerned with trying to supplant the Libs than stop Harper, which given the damage he has already done is incomprehensible to me. Party of principle first…hah!

I have been playing the role of Cassandra now for many years about Harper, and it is frustrating and wearisome. It got so bad that two years ago the stress of it all got to my health and forced me to walk away from political blogging and commenting, indeed following it in any real detail. Even so, I came back to it because it is too important not to because I actually do believe in the Canada I was raised in, that members of my family fought in the two world wars for, that they worked in developing in political life (my family has political roots on both sides, one traditionally Liberal the other PCPC with both sides having the tradition of service back to the founding of this nation) and in economic and social ways is too important to be allowed to be destroyed by these fundamentalists and the American right wing rooted thinking that we know Harper represents and is turning us into.

It is so nice to read another who gets just how bad things truly are, I have despaired many times with my fellow political bloggers being too caught up in their own partisanship for their own party/side/leader first. I have no such affiliation, my sole concern has always been the stopping of Harper from power and now since that failed the removal of him as soon as it can actually be done (which is not to say I want an election before I think there is a good chance to defeat him, every time he wins an election even with minority he and his beliefs gain further political legitimacy which is something we cannot afford in this country IMHO). I have always advocated uniting behind the Libs to do so because the election results consistently show that the NDP is still not positioned to do so by a wide margin, they have yet to equal Broadbent’s ’88 level of seats, vote percentage and raw votes cast to this day, and if they haven’t been able to manage to do that given the climate against the Libs after Martin fell they aren’t going to now.

I deal in reality not fantasy when it comes to politics, and the reality is the Libs are the only alternative to Harper and to not see/act on that fundamental truth is to aid Harper, pure and simple no matter how ugly a truth it may be and distasteful for many to swallow. I don’t really like it myself, and never like Ignatief whatsoever and have said so many times, but he is by far less destructive to the vision of a progressive socially just society than what we have as PM right now. To argue otherwise, to argue Lib Tory same old story is to not see reality and is to be giving Harper exactly what he wants and relies upon to keep power and worse maybe get to the majority he has been dreaming about all these many years now.