Yes, for not only those on the fence centrists and those who think Steve has left his Reform and NCC thinking behind and willing to entertain a Sweater vest Steve majority, but also those progressives who are still willing to believe that a few years of a Stevie majority wouldn’t be so terrible or weren’t so willing to believe that Stevie Spiteful would remove all social safety nets if given the kingdom, in spite of all recorded statements (available here, here and here, to refresh your memory) he made over the years in his hay day of Reform Party and NCC, Blogging SupposiTory founder, Stephen Taylor puts all that to rest in the Natty Po last night.
I particularly found the accompanying photo rather sinister with Master Steve and two other cowboy outfit clad fools by a plunger of some kind. The first thing that came to my mind was when Steve said that we would no longer recognize Canada once he got through with it. Between his stripping of the social safety net and his new war toys as well as the abolition of the mandatory long form census, I can’t help wonder if the pic of Steve and his two stooges hovering over the plunger was of them annihilating Canada and starting their sick Evangelical/libertarian utopic society (remember, much the way the tea bagger hit parade is in the US, it would seem that the new Libertarianism very much includes Christian reconstructionism. I’m sure there is a method to this madness. Perhaps Steve is consulting wingnuts like Sharron Angle). See photo here.
Watch Taylor go all ga ga giddy here:
Indeed in this country, there are two groups of people. In fact, some would call these groups the haves and the have-nots. This is an not inaccurate way of describing it, but those that would might have the two switched. Canadians form two groups: those that receive from the government and those that pay to the government. Those who form — or are constituent to — organizations dependent on government policy (and spending) are firmly against the changes to the census.
Nice. Cold. Icey.
Let’s go over Canada without a welfare state, shall we? It’s pretty obvious to me that many toy with this idea as it is a novelty.
So Taylor is ga ga giddy along with his disciples at the Blogging SupposiTories about having absolutely no welfare state. They must be all having a collective orgasm over this.
I would like to know if Stephen Taylor still uses his OHIP card to see the doctor? There are private clinics he can use and pay with his credit card in his area if he bothered to look. If he has kids, did his wife benefit from maternity leave? If she doesn’t work; did he benefit from any kind of parental leave? Do his parents (or grandparents if they’re still alive) receive CPP or the old age pension? If they were war vets; do they receive veterans services? Has he ever filed a claim with workman’s compensation for getting hurt or sick on the job? Do his kids go to public school?
I know I probably sounded like census long form in this battery of questions, but these questions are, naturally, rhetorical and naturally, I’m not expecting Taylor or any of his Disciples to come answer these questions in my comments section or my email. I had already asked many of them these questions on various occasions at their blogs and they have mastered the fine art of evasion and if they don’t, they ban me, which is their right; their sites. I simply want to point out their own hypocrisy; that they would more than likely be the first ones to shriek and pass out whenever they would need to access a program, and let’s face it, all of us sooner or later have, do or would need to access a government service at least a few times in their lifetimes, when they realize there are no social safety nets left. The proof is in their non responsiveness to questions like ‘why don’ t you cut up your gov’t health insurance card and use the private facilities’? And they would soon realize that watching the evul lefties suffer wouldn’t be worth their own sufferings.
The point is, Taylor’s above argument is flawed simply because between those two groups Taylor mentions; those that pay to the government and those that receive from the government is that most if not all Canadians have switched from one group to the other all their lives or they’re in both camps.
Many seniors who do tend to vote Harpercon for law and order stuff are already turned off at the banning of the long form census. I would venture to guess that they would be even more turned off at the very idea of their CPP and their old age pension as well as their other programs being stripped from them.
I know that veterans are not going to like having their programs taken away after fighting for their countries. Oh yeah! Remember that ol’ Harpercon mantra of “Support the Troops!”? Here is how Steve wishes to repay them.
Yes, Taylor has finally confirmed to/reminded us in black and white what we already knew about Stevie Spiteful’s not so hidden agenda. The real reason why Sweater vest Steve is so adament about scrapping the long form census:
If Stephen Harper succeeds in moving in this direction, he will be in the initial stages of dealing a huge blow to the welfare state.
Opposition parties, I hope you’re taking notes; all of you! Because Taylor’s column convinces me more than ever that Stevie Spiteful will use the census as a confidence motion come the fall to have his election. If we go to an election on this one, given how many more groups and individuals; including Stevie’s constituents like Jewish & Evangelical groups as well as all the seniors’ groups (remember, most seniors tend to vote con; but they also like to keep their pensions, medicare; they can’t afford memberships at places like MedCan or Copeman; and of course their other programs and won’t vote for a gov’t that will take them away) as well as so many others; I would say that the best Stevie spiteful could hope for is a reduced minority where he would need the support of two or more parties to get anything done instead of just one. That, already, would be significantly clipping Steve’s wings.
And opposition, remember, if Steve lays out that old jail trap again, don’t get spooked by it; either face it with some humour and throw their insipid tough on crime bills in their faces or simply remind Canadians that the short form would still be mandatory and there would still be hefty fines and/or jail time associated with that. As for those shrieking tea-baggers, the opposition should remind them that the removal of our social safety net would be a far more dire consequence than jail time or a fine for non-compliance. It also bares reminding those same tea-baggers that they voluntarily surrender more intimate detailed personal info on their facebook, twitter, blogs and other social networking sites than they ever did on a census long form.
The Jurist and Greg are right: Stephen Taylor just handed you, opposition, the beginnings of a gift; I suggest you take it and run with it.
I would think that an accurate census could encourage reducing waste in the welfare state so that we can better allocate resources to those who may need it, but at less cost. Believe it or not; I am not a tax and spend drunken Con.
ck Reply:
July 27th, 2010 at 7:17 PM
Ah, but in the wonderful world according to Taylor and Harpercon, anyone who with compassion and willing to help their fellow man is a tax and spend drunk.
On a serious note, you’re absolutely right. For example, health care. I know for a fact that provincial governments (ok, here in Quebec anyway) spend on the private sector. If they stopped spending that money on the private sector and spent it on the public, why just think of the possibilities!