IMPORTANT ARTICLE TO SHARE ! Many of us could see this coming even before the Ottawa shooting, that Harper was so politically desperate, (record low in the polls, unpopular) and was prone to use that terror card in Canada, which meant front page pro-war, pro-patriotism, unbridled public sympathy after so called terror attacks and much less criticism of Harper policies and unpopular decisions, exploitation of more photo-ops to gain public support, producing more propaganda ads just in time for his election campaign mode, which were in it right now..National Affairs columnist Thomas Walkom does a great job of laying it all out so to speak. Militant patriotism, or what the Americans call “waving the bloody shirt,” is a powerful political force. So are government cheques. Combined, the two can be irresistible. The pro-Conservative ads are on the radio. The pro-Conservative visuals are on TV. The federal election isn’t slated until next October. Yet still . . . .To watch Prime Minister Stephen Harper is to see a politician in full campaign mode. But the fates are gathering in Harper’s favour. In particular, the murder of two Canadian soldiers on home soil has provided cover and justification for his decision to join the U.S. war in Iraq against Islamic State radicals. Patriotism is powerful tonic. The wanton killing of W.O. Patrice Vincent and Cpl. Nathan Cirillo reignited the militant side of Canadian patriotism, a side that — following the disaster of the Afghan War — had been in abeyance. The prime minister understands this well. It explains his decision to abruptly interrupt a long-planned trip to China in order to make a cameo appearance at Ottawa’s Remembrance Day services Tuesday. To miss the chance of publicly honoring military sacrifice would have been to miss a crucial political opportunity. Now, in light of the murders in Ottawa and Quebec, the politics of this war have become more fluid.This is lucky for Harper..All of this conspires to favour an early election. Harper is clearly keeping that option open. -: Thomas Walkom, Toronto Star thestar/news/canada/2014/11/11/stephen_harper_uses_terror_threat_to_tee_up_for_election_walkom.html#
Posted on: Fri, 14 Nov 2014 12:20:44 +0000
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