- Harper a Dictator. The Devil, You Say.

Submitted: 7:16am, PST, ("We are unable to add your comment at this time." What's that mean)

"Running party like a war machine is key for Harper", Vancouver Sun December 15, 2010
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/editorial/story.html?id=e37686b8-20d8-455d-afc1-615ce4c0a8eb

"Reform-style bottom-up policy making is gone; because of minority Parliaments, parties continually must be election-ready. So, 'the leader has been accorded wide latitude to develop policy for strategic purposes.'

Flanagan laments that election-twitchy federal politicians today have come to resemble 'child soldiers in a war-torn African country: All they know how to do is fire their AK-47s.'"
[referring to statements by Tom Flanaghan]

Sounds dictatorial to me.

But I must say, I'm not too surprised to hear it, given the way Harper conducts himself as PM.

What Flanagan is describing is the common knowledge in the media that everything Harper does is strictly for partizan, and hyper-partizan, purposes, with Canada and Canadians be dam[redacted]ed.

A review of the Harper 'policies' shows a series of one-off's - ad-hoc, disjointed, micro-changes that are then pumped for the PR effect rather than developing a coherent policy. Because there is no underlying general 'good' external to Harper expediency and desire to attain, maintain and wield power, but Harper wants to con Canadians into believing that there is, these policies and statements of Harper often are contradictory and hypocritical. "Tough on Crime" policy is a prime example, so too, the policy (or non-policy) on global warming and the long form census.

The things he does seem to be working from a general plan he is secretive about - dismantling Federalism and abdicating to the Provinces, defending the powers that be in the Oil Sands and racking up huge debts all to the detriment of Canada and all Canadians.

The only restraint Harper has is precipitating a consolidation of the (66% Canadians) Moderate Majority - the 66% Canadians that do not buy into the political extremism of Harper and his Con's, that don't want him or subscribe to what he stands for.

As long as the Harper policies do not consolidate the opposition then Harper can, and continues to, implement policies that are strictly partizan with no concern for the good of Canada and Canadians.

Lloyd MacILquham cicblog.com/comments.html