CALGARY BUSINESS WANT PRENTICE IN
AND HARPER OUT!
Yesterday evening I attended a Calgary Christmas party hosted by a financial consulting firm, a couple of whose partners are friends of mine. Given the present political turmoil in Ottawa and the fact that I am known as an unrepentant contrariarian Grit in a sea of Conservatives, I had some trepidation about the event.
On the Conservative side, passions are running high in these parts. A coalition deal with the Bloc and NDP is about as popular in Calgary as a personal appearance at the Petroleum Club by Pierre Trudeau in the early eighties. For all of his efforts to sell the Greenshift plan and now his dalliances with the Socialists and separatists, Stephane Dion is an object of scorn and derision in the cowtown's downtown business establishment. I thought for sure that some of the guests would try to take it out on me, as has happened many times in the past.
I tried to prepare myself for the onslaught that I thought was sure to come by deciding to talk about Stephen Harper whenever the subject of the Liberals in Ottawa was to arise. And boy, did my strategy work! I am here to tell you today, that the members of the business community that I spoke to last night - oilmen, professionals, financial advisors, planners, small business owners, and big business movers and shakers - to a man (or woman), believe that Stephen Harper should be given the boot by the Conservative Party. No kidding! Bringing up Harper's name generated derision, anger, disgust and vituperation, the like of which I had not heard here since the dying days of the Mulroney government. In fact, the anger in the crowd directed at Harper was more palpable than it was at Dion. The mention of Dion at least generated some chortling at his gaffes. There was no laughter at Harper.
In addition, the men and women that I spoke to had 'got it' about Harper. They went after him for his meanness, his bully-boy tactics and his blatant attempt to choke off the opposition. They spoke of him as the one who was mostly responsible for the parliamentary crisis, and that he had squandered his good will and his strong minority for all time to come.
And remarkably, each had settled upon the same conclusion for the Conservatives, namely, that Harper should be dumped and replaced by Jim Prentice as leader with all due haste, after which they predicted everything would settle down. For further evidence of hostility towards Harper, see: http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/story.html?id=54e0cb82-4137-4bf8-8b34-f34228a5c76b
Believe me, that event was as good a snapshot of opinion in Calgary's downtown business community as any as I've attended. Calgary remains a dogmatic conservative city and the voting habits of its people in federal elections are not likely to change soon. But they 'get it' about Harper.
On the Conservative side, passions are running high in these parts. A coalition deal with the Bloc and NDP is about as popular in Calgary as a personal appearance at the Petroleum Club by Pierre Trudeau in the early eighties. For all of his efforts to sell the Greenshift plan and now his dalliances with the Socialists and separatists, Stephane Dion is an object of scorn and derision in the cowtown's downtown business establishment. I thought for sure that some of the guests would try to take it out on me, as has happened many times in the past.
I tried to prepare myself for the onslaught that I thought was sure to come by deciding to talk about Stephen Harper whenever the subject of the Liberals in Ottawa was to arise. And boy, did my strategy work! I am here to tell you today, that the members of the business community that I spoke to last night - oilmen, professionals, financial advisors, planners, small business owners, and big business movers and shakers - to a man (or woman), believe that Stephen Harper should be given the boot by the Conservative Party. No kidding! Bringing up Harper's name generated derision, anger, disgust and vituperation, the like of which I had not heard here since the dying days of the Mulroney government. In fact, the anger in the crowd directed at Harper was more palpable than it was at Dion. The mention of Dion at least generated some chortling at his gaffes. There was no laughter at Harper.
In addition, the men and women that I spoke to had 'got it' about Harper. They went after him for his meanness, his bully-boy tactics and his blatant attempt to choke off the opposition. They spoke of him as the one who was mostly responsible for the parliamentary crisis, and that he had squandered his good will and his strong minority for all time to come.
And remarkably, each had settled upon the same conclusion for the Conservatives, namely, that Harper should be dumped and replaced by Jim Prentice as leader with all due haste, after which they predicted everything would settle down. For further evidence of hostility towards Harper, see: http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/story.html?id=54e0cb82-4137-4bf8-8b34-f34228a5c76b
Believe me, that event was as good a snapshot of opinion in Calgary's downtown business community as any as I've attended. Calgary remains a dogmatic conservative city and the voting habits of its people in federal elections are not likely to change soon. But they 'get it' about Harper.
9 comments:
Thanks for this post.
Interesting to read first hand what the thoughts are on the ground in Calgary.
(don't tell Harper, he said just yesterday that Canadians support him, and no doubt he will say it again and again, and again in the next 7 weeks)
''They went after him for his meanness, his bully-boy tactics and his blatant attempt to choke off the opposition.''
LOL, I call BS.
The propaganda war has begun.
Stop Harper, is now Dump Harper.
Same charactors, different theme.
Darryl,
Canadians think he's an idiot
A generously kind understatement. :)
I am looking forward to the alternative, one who cares about Canada rather than his own posessed quest for power and revenge.
p.s. that was me at 1:08- typos
I agree 100% Sassy. Keep up the good fight! Justice and what is right will win out in the end!
Darryl, Darryl, Darryl. Since you are an ardent LPC worshiper, why not solve your own LPC problems first, namely:
- lack of platform;
- lack of beliefs and principles;
- lack of an electable leader;
- power at any cost, even if it screws the nation; and
- lack of money.
On all these points, Harper and the LPC is light-years ahead of you and your brethren so, please, stick to your knitting and get rid of your hairball first, before presuming to blather on about "what Canada needs". Because, to put it directly, the LPC is more likely to continue its flight to obscurity and nuclear waste residue, than to appeal to Canadians in an electable sense, if they follow your puerile advice.
Have a nice day. And remember, Darryl, it's always better to stand for something, even something as repellant to the LPC as Principles, than to steal it in the middle of the night with Red Jack and Goodbye Gilles.
Oh, almost forgot, Darryl. If you don't realize it by now, the Greens were successfully hijacked by the Think Twice (greater) cabal, installing their charter member as Leader. Now it's the LPC's turn. Plan "A" (codename The Three Amigos) seems to be failing, so now socialist Bob is executing Plan "B".
If you value what you and your party should stand for, start taking an interest in it, rather than dissing about nits. And a good first step would be to find a good strong leader for the LPC who has a centre-left orientation to provide a foil for the centre-right Tories. And a wall against the socialists.
Because, if you don't, and quickly, it's very likely that you will be in bed with Sid, Jack, Bob and Liz very soon. And marching to their drumbeat, probably as a "merged" party. Don't expect "help" from Duceppe, either. It's to his advantage that the LPC just sink under the waves as a separate party.
I fear for Canada. You should too. The nation is much better served by centre left/right parties, than the union and special interest supported socialists.
Think about the big picture, not the nits and gotchas.
Burpy -
Just when I was beginning to think you disappeared, you show up with your usual bullshit.
The Liberal Party is alive and well and well poised to take power from your cavemen buddies of the RAT (Reform, Alliance, Conservative) Party in 2009. Your hero Harper is so out of step with what this country is and needs, that he is already toast. One more slip and the Conservatives will be on him like the pack of Jackals they are.
As far as principles are concerned, anybody who wishes to kill off parliamentary opposition by cutting off its money, is about as principled as Stalin and Hitler in their hey day.
And don't worry you dim-witted head off about the Liberals finding a Leader. We will and he will be the next Prime Minister of Canada, with your pal Harper cast into the trash can of history with merely a footnote. That's where it's going Burpy and you know it!
By the way, thanks for reading my blog. I hope you enjoy it!
I'm impressed!! Out of an absolute rout during the election and then having Dingus Dion getting put in the hot seat by Mini-Marx and Co., you arrive at a victory.
Good on you. Hope springs eternal.
Just don't count on the Canadian People letting the criminal organization called the LPC anywhere near their money.
Not now, and maybe not ever, if they don't clean up their debt problems.
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