Like I always say: never judge a pol by his speeches. (eg "Can you believe it? That flatulent codger Paul Martin is actually going to fix health care for a generation!")
And if you did, you'd still find Harper saying unequivocally that emission cuts fly in the face of "reality" (visions of Thatcher dancing in my head...) Maybe he'll revive Drive Clean and call it a day :P
The Cullen thing is total come-into-my-parlor shit. Makes them (and Layton's whole unending Monty Hall shtick) look excruciatingly dumb, and people don't vote for dumb.
Martin was kind of a weather wane, but Harper has been consistent for years on many themes, so I think I'm not alone, even amongst experienced political watchers, to be surprised by Harper's rapid dumping of some core facets of his political persona.
Agreed. Although, as long-time environmental watcher in terms of the media, I think we're seeing a rather dramatic shift in terms of coverage. Years and years of talking about el ninos and "freak" weather systems and whatever, and now we're finally starting see more connecting of the dots. I remember we had this sort of blip of green in the early 90s--Earth Day and Ferngully and lots of fluffy alternative stuff, but this time it seems a little more urgent and serious... which is why I think we're seeing it actually show up in the polls as a voting issue.
I think, had Harper tried to stick to his position, he'd be bowled under by the other parties. I also don't think he's changed all that much. I mean, he did cut huge chunks of money from departments researching climate change--entire departments and projects Dad was working with were just gone overnight.
As far as I'm concerned, the little song and dance he's putting on is no different than that 'addressing pollution as if it were greenhouse gas emissions' trick that Bush is pulling in the US... Clear Skies or Clean Air, or whatever the hell it is... it's just blowing smoke until we get to the polls.
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branchandroot
Re: Hooray?
Date: 2007-02-05 06:21 am (UTC)And if you did, you'd still find Harper saying unequivocally that emission cuts fly in the face of "reality" (visions of Thatcher dancing in my head...) Maybe he'll revive Drive Clean and call it a day :P
The Cullen thing is total come-into-my-parlor shit. Makes them (and Layton's whole unending Monty Hall shtick) look excruciatingly dumb, and people don't vote for dumb.
Re: Hooray?
Date: 2007-02-05 06:24 am (UTC)Re: Hooray?
Date: 2007-02-05 09:04 am (UTC)I think, had Harper tried to stick to his position, he'd be bowled under by the other parties. I also don't think he's changed all that much. I mean, he did cut huge chunks of money from departments researching climate change--entire departments and projects Dad was working with were just gone overnight.
As far as I'm concerned, the little song and dance he's putting on is no different than that 'addressing pollution as if it were greenhouse gas emissions' trick that Bush is pulling in the US... Clear Skies or Clean Air, or whatever the hell it is... it's just blowing smoke until we get to the polls.
Re: Hooray?
Date: 2007-02-05 10:36 pm (UTC)