- Harper Carries The Torch of Extreme-Conservatism Handed-Off From George W. Bush

Posted: 9:37am, PST, 24 Mar.'10 CBC News
Liberals defeat own family planning motion, CBC News, 24 Mar.'10
http://www.cbc.ca/politics/story/2010/03/23/politics-liberals-contraception-g8-motion.html Tab 234

Bob Rae is absolutely right (morally) when he states that Canadian policies must be based on "scientific evidence" and not "failed right-wing ideologies".

The purpose of our government is to help those that need help and to protect those that need protecting. It is not the government's purpose to promote an ideology, 'spread the faith' that was so prevent centuries ago before the age of enlightenment.

Stephen Harper and the Con's ignore sound rationality, they use no more than an emotional appeal to the Con's right wing voter base. Harper's approach is deliberately devoid of logic, rationality and fact based policy development. As Van Loan once said “The professor has a different philosophy than us,” ('professor here be just about any rationally and honestly motivated person). Harper and the Con's are dragging Canada back into a dark age of irrationality and fear. In a complex modern, diverse, tolerant Western democracy with a first world economy like Canada we cannot afford to revert to a medieval mindset. This is something I feel strongly about an have been shouting out for quite a while now. If ever there were a wedge issue and one that separates Harper, The Con's and their die-hard supporters from the vast majority of Canadians it is this one.

Bob Rae is also right (morally) to draw our attention, and in as dramatic a fashion as it takes, to the very strong ideological connection between Harper and the Con's and the extreme, right wing ideology of George W. Bush and the Republicans. Harper's mentors lie in the US. It is as if he and the Con's have picked up the torch of ultra-conservatism from Bush's hand-off. Everyone in Canada ought to be keenly aware of this.

Michael Ignatieff is right (morally) in pointing out that Harper policy is a sharp right turn in Canada's position for the last 25 years. Given that Harper's government is a minority and its position on this issue is supporter by a small minority of people Harper has no moral right to take such a position. Oh, and by the way, did I mention that Harper's position is opposed to other G8 members (which really shouldn't be a surprise).

Lloyd MacILquham cicblog.com/comments.html