“Do not criticize your government when out of the country. Never cease to do so when at home.”
Winston Churchill

OK….I admit it.

This is a slightly re-worked reprint of a column I wrote back in 2006. It even had one of my customary inflammatory titles, but I fear InformedVote.ca might not be ready to entertain me in all of my salty, fight-provoking glory yet. I’ll give you a hint though…the previous title implied Stephen Harper is soooooo enamoured of a certain country to our immediate South, that he metaphorically got down on his knees and….uhmmm….pleasured them.

Now, there is a perfectly good reason why I have chosen this column to reprint and there’s even a reason why I do so today.

The Federal Budget came down today and….well….you don’t need me to tell you. It’s all over the news and smarter people than I have written about it on this very website….suffice to say, the Budget does little more than pay lip-service (see that? I made a funny) to helping our country’s most vulnerable populations.

5 more weeks of EI?

Wooo-Hoo!…But, the maximum benefit is $413/wk, regardless of how much you’ve earned and paid into the system…There is nothing that would help folks like me (homeless, jobless, disabled) and I was looking specifically for the economic stimulus programs for small business….nada.

But if we look to Stephen Harper’s past, we see why these demographics are ignored by Harper’s Minions of Government Evil (a phrase I coined earlier this week and have grown quite fond of).

This very disturbing transcript came to my attention in 2006 and although it was widely ignored by everyone else in the country, it made me sit up and take notice….

Does anyone who has such disdain for his country deserve to be it’s Prime Minister?

Let me share some quotes from Harper’s speech:

“It may not be true, but it’s legendary that if you’re like all Americans, you know almost nothing except for your own country. Which makes you probably knowledgeable about one more country than most Canadians.”

“First, facts about Canada. Canada is a Northern European welfare state in the worst sense of the term, and very proud of it. “

In terms of the unemployed, of which we have over a million-and-a-half, don’t feel particularly bad for many of these people. They don’t feel bad about it themselves, as long as they’re receiving generous social assistance and unemployment insurance.”

“…the NDP is kind of proof that the Devil lives and interferes in the affairs of men.”
- this is actually a really good line, speaking as a humorist.

There’s an episode of Seinfeld when Jerry’s dentist Tim Whately converts to Judaism and Jerry suspects he did it so he could tell the jokes…Jerry goes to see a Priest. The Priest asks if this offends Jerry as a Jew and he says, “No, it offends me as a comedian”.
Am I offended by Harper’s sentiments about the country that he would eventually lead, ….

Or am I offended by his attempts to be funny?…..

Are these things Harper said even TRUE?

Doesn’t Canada rank considerably higher than the US in areas such as literacy and mathematics? Don’t more of our children attend post-secondary education? Aren’t American companies actively recruiting Canadians because of our high-calibre educational system? (otherwise referred to as the Great Canadian Brian Drain?)

So where does Stephen Harper get off saying most Canadians know nothing?….don’t believe me….read it again.

European Welfare State? Proud of it?…

We bloody well should be proud of how we provide outstanding healthcare and social programs and still managed to run budget surpluses…(until Harper came along anyway). Should we be ashamed of this? Look at the rest of the world. Canada has accomplished something very few other countries have. We should be a shining example to the United States. Not derided and sneered at behind closed doors.

How dare Stephen Harper suggest otherwise to this group of American lawmakers and dignitaries….His portrayal of/disrespect for Canada is shameful.

How dare he suggest that our unemployed and struggling citizens are lazy and happy to be on the ‘dole’. I will tell you from firsthand experience, the cuts to EI and social programs have been devastating. Did you know they recently stopped providing food allowance for children through Social Assistance? The way they present the new “math” makes it appear the same or better, but reality does not support their assertions.

Generous??

I wonder how Harper would characterize the same programs if he was suddenly forced to support his family on $712 per month (just a guess. I would receive about half that for me and my son if I were on Social Assistance)

Or am I offended that he would say these things while speaking to an audience consisting of a very powerful (now get this!)…..”super secret Conservative group”, the American Council for National Policy.

Awwwwww…..isn’t that cute! The Conservatives have a club…Do they roll up the ladder when everybody’s in the treehouse? Maybe they hang a sign on the door written in crayon that says “No Liberals Allowed” with the “r” all adorably backwards….

I think I’m offended that he made blanket-negative comments about Canada and Canadians while purportedly educating powerful people from another country about his country….about OUR country.

..A country that I happen to be enormously proud of.

There needs to be a love the sinner/hate the sin approach….Fine, criticize the system…you’re entitled to the opinion but, temper it with some loyalty….

An American politician would never stand in front of any audience and say his country is full of stupid, lazy people….at least he wouldn’t get away with it if he did.

If you hate the performance of your team do you fire all of the players or do you fire the coach???

And if you can’t stand the game to begin with…do your country a favour and GET OFF THE GODDAMN FIELD!

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Tags: conservatives, employment insurance, federal budget, stephen harper

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