What DID Harper Say?

[maplesyrup]

What DID Harper Say?

The Conservative Leader’s sound bite file on everything from taxes to Iraq, health care, gay marriage, nature, left-wingers and keeping flexible.

Just the facts, please just the facts.

[maplesyrup]

Here are a few comments from the abouve article, just to wet your appetite:

Stephen Harper once told an Alberta magazine that his motto is “don’t listen to what politicians say, watch what they do.”

With a national election about to be visited upon us, we’ll rightly be hearing a lot about what Stephen Harper has said in the past. After all, he’s never been afraid to express opinions that would be regarded as unconventional at best outside southern Alberta.

He’s said parents should be able to pull their children from “union-run” public schools, he’s argued that Canada should adopt a U.S. congressional-style system of government, and he’s said Canadians are content to live in a “second-tier socialistic country.” He’s urged Alberta to build a “firewall” to preserve its values against a hostile federal government, he’s alleged a federal government conspiracy to stack the courts in favour of gay marriage, and he’s said human rights commissions amount to “totalitarianism” and an “attack on our fundamental freedoms and the basic existence of a democratic society.”

[takeanumber]

Stephen Harper once told an Alberta magazine that his motto is “don’t listen to what politicians say, watch what they do.”

With a national election about to be visited upon us, we’ll rightly be hearing a lot about what Stephen Harper has said in the past. After all, he’s never been afraid to express opinions that would be regarded as unconventional at best outside southern Alberta.

He’s said parents should be able to pull their children from “union-run” public schools, he’s argued that Canada should adopt a U.S. congressional-style system of government, and he’s said Canadians are content to live in a “second-tier socialistic country.” He’s urged Alberta to build a “firewall” to preserve its values against a hostile federal government, he’s alleged a federal government conspiracy to stack the courts in favour of gay marriage, and he’s said human rights commissions amount to “totalitarianism” and an “attack on our fundamental freedoms and the basic existence of a democratic society.”

That's just what the political elite in Calgary is like.

Those are all pretty mainstream positions too in the suburbs of Calgary.

When Harper was president of the CTF, he was speaking his mind.

Now that he's pretending to be a moderate, he's biting his tongue.

[August1991]

He met his wife, Laureen, at a Reform party convention in 1991 and he is supposed to have told friends that he was attracted to her in part because she read The Economist.

Such a line goes over well with the HEC in Montréal. Is it accurate? Will Harper come and give a speech to the HEC (even in summer)? He must! Ces francophones veulent savoir ce qu'il pense.

“Alberta has opted for the best of Canada's heritage – a combination of American enterprise and individualism with the British traditions of order and co-operation. We have created an open, dynamic and prosperous society in spite of a continuously hostile federal government.

Replace the word Alberta with Québec and many in the Beauce would agree.

In January, 2001, Harper co-signed a letter to the National Post that called upon the Alberta government to wall itself off from the rest of Canada and “build a society on Albertan values.”

Les Québécois francophones fédéralistes comprennent bien le désir. Is it a true statement?

[maplesyrup]

No women running for Tories in N.S

However, Ms. Stronach's strong showing in the race did not result in more women running for the Conservatives in the coming federal election.

No women will be carrying the combined Progressive Conservative-Canadian Alliance banner in any of the province's 11 ridings this time out.

Old white male club?