Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Harper

Stephen Harper defends his cowboy get-up, saying he can't please everyone

To see the funny picture of Harper go to: Harpers Tarnished Image

Sure he defends looking stupid, and as quick as he does his media flacks try instant makeover. They do this photo op and dress him up like a construction worker this weekend on the BBQ circuit in Ontario. But when it came to the walk about Reaction to the conservative leader Saturday appeared muted. Few people recognized him as he walked around the festivities in a blue dress shirt and dark grey slacks.

Opps maybe he should have worn his funny Stampede outfit.

Since we have a shortage of construction workers in Alberta and B.C. whats the subtext to this do ya think?


"Wot me Worry?
If they boot me out as party leader....
.... I can always get work up in Fort McMurray....
.....or maybe as a spokesman for Rona"

And still this hasn't helped the Harper or his party.

This poll has been on Canoe News for the past three days. And it shows what legitimate polls showed over the past two weeks, Harper is the albatross around the neck of the Conservative Party at best. Or a cartoon politcal characture;Wiley E. Harper, at worst.

What can the Tories do to close the popularity gap with the Liberals?

Elect a new leader. 47%
Alter political stances. 19%
Extreme makeover: Harper edition. 9%
Form a new party. 4%
Absolutely nothing. 21%

Total Votes for this Question: 10132

This is a non scientific poll.

I love the 21% who say do nothing, they must be from Calgary.

Like the nice Calgary folks now living in Ontario that want the Klein revolution for the rest of Canada and see the Harper as the Calgarian who can deliver it.

Kathie and Allan Anderson, who lived in Calgary for seven years, are rhyming off the glories of Alberta: charter schools, private liquor stores, private kiosks to dispense driver's licences. Mr. Harper, dressed in a golf shirt and dress slacks, approaches.

"I have to tell this story," Mr. Harper says.

"When I was 17, I worked at the Liquor Control Board of Ontario at Yonge and Eglinton. A woman walked up with a bottle of Baby Duck and asked: 'Sir, is there anything in this price range that tastes a bit better?' 'Yes, Ma'am,' the manager replied. 'Turpentine.'"

The guests laugh. Mr. Harper chuckles and adds: "Customer service."

This anecdote neatly packs in everything the leader of the Opposition wants to get across about himself while zipping around southern Ontario in a bright blue Chevy van emblazoned with "Stephen Harper Summer Tour 2005": (a) He's an Ontario boy, born and bred; (b) he's an ordinary guy who worked at the liquor store as a kid; (c) he likes to kick back and tell funny stories; and (d) having moved to Alberta in 1978, he wants to export that province's model, where government is minimal and private enterprise, that prerequisite for good customer service, is king.

'Real' Harper takes it on the road

To know him is to love him, his fans insist

But to other Canadians, those who live outside of Calgary, Mr. Harpers make over as social conservative has missed the boat.

"But among those who did, ( recognize Mr. Harper [ep] ) the response was as polarized as views on same-sex marriage. "He walked right past me and that's just fine,'' said Lori Mallory with a laugh. Another man, who would only identify himself as Daniel, shook his head and glared at Harper as the politician passed. He called Harper's same-sex marriage stance "offensive and divisive.His stance on the whole same-sex thing is problematic and not representative of a truly democratic society where you support all minorities,'' he said.

Harper is talking himself out of electoral success says Ottawa Sun columnist.

Ike Awgu Friday July 22, 2005

This man and his party desperately need a wake-up call -- someone needs to remind them that this is the 21st century and legislating like we still use horse-drawn chariots will not endear them to voters. I don't want to be overly critical, but I'm angry only because I care. How many nights however, have you spent awake at night wondering if you'll be able to pay your mortgage? Or your next month's rent? How about tuition for your kids? What on Earth ever happened to the Conservative Party talking about a serious decrease in taxes?

Gee, funny that, I just said the same thing here the other day.

In a book review of William Johnson's new political bio of Harper, Stephen Harper and the Future of Canada,William Watson a conservative reviews the book for the right wing Financial Post.

While Johnson tries to make Harper into PET2 in his bio, Watson points out the difference between the Old Harper and the New Harper, is classic Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

Is Harper our next Trudeau? William Watson, Financial Post
Friday, July 22, 2005

Johnson argues the old Stephen Harper still exists. But does he? The old Stephen Harper once voted with just 13% of Reformers who didn't want the party to take a position on the definition of marriage, arguing that such decisions should be personal, not partisan. But now the big plank in his platform seems to be same-sex marriage. (As explained by Johnson, Harper's current position is more subtle than he's usually given credit for: Although the courts knocked down a definition of marriage that had in fact been judge-created, they might show greater deference to a definition Parliament had provided.) The old Stephen Harper opposed business subsidies and wanted all provinces treated equally. But in our Gomery spring, as the Liberals pandered shamelessly, there seemed no pander the Harper conservatives wouldn't cover. They condemned the practice of bribing citizens with their own money but committed to carrying through on all the Liberal promises."

Oh and speaking of bribery how's this for justifying the unjustifiable?

Harper says bribery OK, Anne Dawson - Windsor Star - June 21, 2005
Conservative Leader Stephen Harper continued on Monday to defend the actions of his MP Gurmant Grewal in the tape scandal, saying it is OK if someone attempts bribery but it is wrong for someone to take a bribe.

Not very Trudeau like, he would have just flipped them the bird and told them Fuddle Duddle.

Instead Harper construes that offering a bribe is less of an offense than accepting it. Hmmm that's NOT what the Criminal Code says:


119. (1) Every one who

(a) being the holder of a judicial office, or being a member of Parliament or of the legislature of a province, corruptly

(i) accepts or obtains,

(ii) agrees to accept, or

(iii) attempts to obtain,

any money, valuable consideration, office, place or employment for himself or another person in respect of anything done or omitted or to be done or omitted by him in his official capacity, or

(b) gives or offers, corruptly, to a person mentioned in paragraph (a) any money, valuable consideration, office, place or employment in respect of anything done or omitted or to be done or omitted by him in his official capacity for himself or another person,

is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding fourteen years.

Consent of Attorney General


(2) No proceedings against a person who holds a judicial office shall be instituted under this section without the consent in writing of the Attorney General of Canada.

R.S., c. C-34, s. 108.


Another Harper foot in mouth opps. While it may be common practice or accepted political practice in Grewal's former country of residence; Liberia, in Canada bribery is still against the law. And Harper, being Mr. Law and Order, should not have countenanced this no matter what. But that's the difference between the old Harper, Dr. Jekyl, and the new Mr. Harper.

Mr. Harper who defends breaking the law by his rogue MP then turns around and attacks Canadians of unnamed 'ethnic backgrounds' as terrorists. He does this in the U.S. to announce that he wants to create a joint Homealnd Security program with the Americans. A FireWall North America like he once proposed for Alberta.

The Grewal affair occured in an ethnic community, and while it's a criminal affair of bribery, well thats excusable to Mr.Harper and he doesn't say that all Indo Canadians are criminals because of the Grewal affair.

But in the U.S. away from home he announces that some generic 'ethnic' community is full of terrorists and thats bad.

In Canada our experince of terrorist actions recently has been around Air India bombings, And this occured because of political conflicts in India that imapacted on a specific ethnic community in Vancouver, the same one that is now embroiled in the Grewal affair.

So what the hell is Harper really saying? That he wants security checks and ethnic profiling of Indo Canadians? No of course not, in his own inimical racist way he was refering to Muslim Canadians, aw shucks lets be clear he means anyone who isn't white. The term 'ethnic copmmunities' is right wing talk for communities of poeple of colour. Or as the right has always called them, coloured people.

Except he forgets that their are white muslims, and when he says 'ethnic communities' I don't think he is refering to Boznians.

Harper wants to be PM. William Johnson thinks he is the second coming of P. E. Trudeau, I think not.

Even his biographer admits Mr. Harper, is well a bit of a cold fish.

"Canadians," writes Montreal journalist William Johnson in in an otherwise flattering biography released this month, Stephen Harper and the Future of Canada, "sense in him the absence of a common touch, of humanity, and for that reason they have not warmed to him or developed trust, despite all his impressive qualities. He is someone you can admire without really liking."

Yeah if you are a conservative from Calgary. The once policy wonk Harper is a fish out of water, when it comes to populist politics he has become the hardliner Mr. Harper.

Poor Mr. Harper like Mr. Hyde is currently the bull in the china shop of Canadian politics and no makeover will help him out of this dellima. Mr. Harper suffers from being a born again social conservative,with a proclivity for putting his foot in his mouth a meglomaniac need to control the party, and poor photo ops.