Of Bombing Bridges

Chantal Hebert's column is worth a look today. I know Greg Staples is puzzled by her negativity toward "Canada's New Government" (puke, puke), but I am not. I realize being ideologically pure sells in Conservative circles (just as it does in certain NDP ones), but it is not a recipe for electoral success in a country that is as non-ideological as Canada. Harper, for all of his supposed tactical genius, has proven himself to be deaf, dumb and blind when it comes to making decisions that go against his narrow ideological leanings. Same sex marriage; the cuts to adult literacy; his bizarre views on global warming; his desire to scrap the gun registry; his "My Israel, right or wrong" comments; all stem from his ideological worldview. His stances on these issues are pure gold to his base, but are radioactive in Quebec and to a huge segment of voters living in the rest of Canada. It appears that Harper has decided that he would rather be "right" than popular. That's fine, but in the end, despite his and conservative protests, politics is about being popular enough to beat the other guy. That's something Harper seems to either not care about, or doesn't yet understand.

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