Not even three years ago, I posted on the election of Stephen Harper as Prime Minister of Canada, ousting the liberal government of Paul Martin, a leader often at odds with President Bush.
Well, our neighbors to the north had another election yesterday and returned Harper to power with an increased plurality in the House of Commons: “The Conservatives won 143 seats, up from 124 in the last election, while the Liberals were down to 76 from 103.” With the French having recently replaced an anti-American pseudo-conservative and with the Italians bringing Silvio Berlusconi, a pro-American conservative and in Italy, back to power, the world seems to be moving right.
Free market ideas are triumphant, but here, polls indicated Americans are poised to elect perhaps the most liberal man ever to run for the White House. His policies, however, aren’t helping him as much as the fact that his party is not the incumbent party, at least at the executive level.
If Americans paid attention to his redistributionist rhetoric, they might reconsider their support for the presidential candidate of the opposing party.
As Mark Steyn put it earlier this week:
If Obama is elected in November, at G7 meetings, for the first time since they began, America will have a more left-wing leader than any other member of the group – Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, and Britain (and that’s before Gordon Brown loses to David Cameron). Right-of-center government throughout the western world – except Washington.
So, let’s hope that in the next three weeks, Americans learn about Obama’s liberal agenda so we could see a result next month similar to that our neighbors in Great White North saw yesterday.
Is that a fancy way of saying “skin color” and “MSM Glavlit”?
America will have a more left-wing leader than any other member of the group
Or, in other words, we’ll have the only America hater in the bunch.
ThatGayConservative,
Wow, great observation!!
I love it!
Well, I love it for its accuracy; I hate it for its truth.
I don’t get why conservatives are supposed to take solace in this.
Any Conservative can win if he gives up on a bunch of his principles. Hmmm global warming? Yep Al Gore’s right. Gay marriage? Love it. Abortion? Totally love it. Giving poor people free stuff? Great idea.
Any Conservative can say those things and get elected– but then we’re not conservatives anymore.
So I’m not really impressed with Harper and his ‘conservative government’
No TGC, it’s an accurate way of saying that many of us are totally fed up with downward spiral that this administration has put us on. Wanting positive change for this country is not hating it is is loving it. You have this twisted idea that you can criticize the US and it’s ok but when the left does it it’s hate. Grow up.
I’m not saying Obama can bring about any positive change but I KNOW for sure that another cookie cutter Republican cannot.
Dave, the funny thing is that me, and a lot of conservatives, feel that McCain isn’t cookie cutter Republican. He has been very liberal sometimes and I think it show real misunderstanding of McCain when folks claim his election will be a third Bush term. McCain will be anything than that. I think Bush has done a terrible job as President, but I don’t think Obama’s policies are the answer to making this country better. I think it is very telling that the countries that have espoused more liberal policies, Obamaesque, (high taxes, universal health care, redistribution of wealth, highly regulated business, strong unions, etc.) are now electing more conservative governments because those policies aren’t really helping the citizens.
And perhaps if the conservatives in this country hadn’t doubled our national debt in 8 years, invaded a country who didn’t attack us, failed to catch the man who was responsible for the 3,000 murders on September 11th, seen unemployment grow on their watch and the stock market decline, they too would be getting re-elected!
As TGCpartner can attest, I have a pair. Based on you’re comment, I would advise you to cheer up. They’ll come down eventually.
#5. Dave,
Conservatives criticize America for moving away from our Constitution and founding principles. Liberals criticize America for sticking to them.
You can’t want to change everything America is based on and claim to love it. So yes, it is hate when liberals do it.
Erik,
Yes, Republicans increased our debt, largely because of the war, the Department of Homeland Security, and a prescription drug benefit…the last two were Democrat proposals that a majority of Republicans opposed, and both of which Democrats wanted to spend vastly more on. And Democrats have vastly increased, not decreased, spending since they took over 2 years ago. Republicans are also the ONLY party that has EVER balanced the budget.
Additionally, Iraq did attack us, they were attacking our legal patrols every single day — an act of war in and of itself.
And unemployment has NOT increased and the stock market has NOT declined on Republican watch — all those things have happened since Democrats took over control of Congress and the budgets 2 years ago.
Republicans brought us quickly out of the Clinton recession, quickly staved off a second recession, and both the economy and employment were growing until Democrats took over. Indeed, Republicans warned approximately 30 times since 2001 of the coming economic disaster that Democrat policies, cronyism and corruption at Fannie Mae were going to cause, and tried to impose regulations and reform numerous times. But they were blocked every time by corrupt Democrats. Even Bill Clinton admits it.
Larger plurality yes, but still a minority government, and it’s the only right-wing party with seats too. Fortunately in Quebec, unlike in Alberta, the majority of conservative MPs are more libertarian leaning and pro-gay. Don’t think that the conservatives made much progress; the fact that Dion was seen as an ineffectual leader led a lot of moderates away from the Liberals. Meanwhile, the NDP increased it’s share of seats.
Which is why the Republicans lost the Congress in 2006.
Well, the Democrats tried to stop the war, which would’ve greatly reduced the yearly deficit, but President Bush wouldn’t let them. Voters cast their vote for change in 2006 and didn’t get it. Which is why in just three weeks, barring some sort of calamity that drastically changes the current political landscape, America is going to double down on change.
And just to comment on the Canadian election real quick. Stephane Dion could barely speak English. He was an ineffectual communicator. That’s why the Liberal Party lost. And it should be noted, Harper called elections early because the Conservative Party figured a likely Democratic victory in the United States in November could sway Canada to also move to the left. Which is why Harper wanted his election out of the way before the US election.