Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Hither And Thither



For a government whose every policy seems to be concocted with an eye to re-election, it is not surprising that Finance Minister Joe Oliver has not yet firmed up a date for this year's budget. After all, he and the rest of the cabal need to know how effective their war on Canadian peace-of-mind is going first.

Have they, for example, succeeded, via Bill -C-51, in diverting the masses away from what heretofore has been their biggest concern, the economy, now forecast to have a rough year ahead thanks largely to the sharp drop in oil prices? Are lavish tax cuts and credits having their intended effect? Is appealing to Canadians' self-interest at the expense of the collective still working?

A new poll might prove instructional for 'Uncle Joe' et al.
The economy trumps terrorism by a massive margin as a priority for Canadian voters, according to a new poll, even as the Conservative government turns its attention to national security in preparation for this fall’s election.

Canadians are also far more likely to favour infrastructure spending over tax cuts as the best way to give the economy a boost.
Apparently, Harper is in need of something spectacular to move some recently-awoken citizens:
A Nanos survey conducted for The Globe and Mail found 90 per cent of respondents said the party or leader with the best plan for the Canadian economy will be more important in determining who wins than the party with the best plan to fight terrorists. Only 4 per cent said fighting terrorism is more important than the economy.
Only 4 per cent place fighting terrorism above the economy? Such results are enough to make the most ardent of war propagandists blush.

These findings come despite all of the time being spent on entering unwinnable wars and trying to convince Canadians that the only thing standing between them and ISIS is Dear Leader and legislation that would weaken our Charter Rights.

And there is even more indication that Canadians are willing to think outside of their own immediate interests, despite the best efforts of the regime:
When asked by the polling firm what the government should do with a budget surplus, building infrastructure, at 32 per cent, was the most popular response. Paying down the national debt was the second-most popular response at 30 per cent, followed by 23 per cent who said the government should invest in social programs and 14 per cent who wanted tax cuts.
These are surely encouraging signs for progressives, but such obvious failures of the well-oiled propaganda machine cannot be comforting for the Harper government.

Surely heads will roll.

6 comments:

  1. Paul Wells has written that, when Harper falls, he'll be alone. If the poll is right, Lorne, the prime minister is more than ever -- in Charles Dickens words -- "solitary as an oyster."

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    1. I hope the polls are right, Owen, although I shudder to Imagine what Harper might do to get a boost.

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  2. .. watching mainstream media piling onto Jason Kenney this week has been interesting. At this point I have yet to see any sign of a poll, probing how vulnerable the Harper Club is to mainstream media broadsides, ridicule or revelations.

    Personally.. I feel the dark swans are circling.. and Duffy may be a nasty wedgie forced upward in Stephen Harper's already uncomfortably tight underwear..
    and is it Duffy, or in fact Nigel who might blow it all sky high?

    What happens if one or more, or many.. of Harper's minion MP's or aides suddenly sheds their memory loss & recalls exactly what happened inside the Conservative caucus room as the historic 10 second barrage of 20-30 shots echoed far up the hallway at the Library alcove?

    Unlike mainstream media.. I took the trouble to find a photo of our brave PM addressing his caucus.. just to get a sense of what it would be like.. him at his podium & row upon row of witnesses to the historic moment.. who saw nothing.. ! Nothing.. Nada.. a cloak of invisibility masked him for some 10 to 20 minutes after the gunman was shot to doll rags.. by our new ambassador to Ireland

    Yes.. 'solitary as an oyster' and a toxic one at that..

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    1. Duffy as a wedgie - I wonder what a skilled editorial cartoonist could do with that one, Salamander!

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  3. Thanks Lorne. Annoyance gone.

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