NDP-Liberal coalition an affront to democracy: Harper

[HeresyLives]

NDP-Liberal coalition an affront to democracy: Harper

By Alexander Panetta, THE CANADIAN PRESS

2008-09-23


SASKATOON - Stephen Harper is decrying the very notion of an NDP-Liberal coalition government as a violation of the will of Canadian voters.

If the Conservatives emerge from the Oct. 14 election with the most seats but not a clear majority, the next Parliament would be duty-bound to let them form a government, the prime minister said.

snip~

The Liberals have been playing down the idea of such a deal, but leader Stephane Dion left the door open just a crack Tuesday night in a campaign appearance in Vancouver.

"I'm good to work with others," Dion told about 500 students at the University of British Columbia. He quickly went on, however, to emphasize that first he'd have to win the job of prime minister on election day.

snip~

Under constitutional convention, the Governor General would almost certainly let the opposition try its hand at forming a government.

Harper, however, dismissed that scenario as anti-democratic.

"Whoever wins the election will have a mandate to govern," he told a news conference.

"I think it will be incumbent upon the opposition parties - at least for a period of time - to respect that mandate. I think they would not do so at their peril."

The latest polls have placed Harper close to majority-government territory, but have also suggested a slightly larger minority mandate as the more likely outcome.


http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/CanadaVotes/News/2008/09/23/6852076-cp.html

[tuvor]

1. Is Harper implying that the constitution is anti-democratic?

[HeresyLives]

2. Harper sees anything but a Conservative govt

as anti-democratic, I think.

Not to mention evil, unfair, and downright wrong.

I forgot to add: :rofl:

[Athelwulf]

3. And when Harper's Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservatives merged?

Should we believe that wasn't an affront to democracy?

[HeresyLives]

4. I'm guessing that was

'the universe evolving as it should.'

Hey, I didn't say it made sense!

[IntravenousDemilo]

5. Listen, I was in the room when MacKay and David O signed the deal that MacKay later reneged on.

The hostile takeover of the PC Party by the CRAP was much more than an affront to democracy. It was an affront to decency.

[HeresyLives]

7. Yet they've all happily gone along

with it ever since.

[offog]

9. Yeah!

If it's okay to "unite the right", it should also be fair game to unite the liberal/left.

We should also remember that a government can have a comfortable majority in Parliament with as little as 35% of the vote. If Harper does drastic things while having only 35% or 40% of the vote, doesn't that count as undemocratic? And make no mistake, Harper will do drastic things if he gets a majority government. He'll use the George W. Bush playbook to govern. Harper's already using the Republican playbook to campaign.

[daleo]

6. An affront to democracy

He's become quite expert at this.

- bribing Cadman.
- In and out financing fraud.
- breaking his own fixed election law.

Who knows what stunts they are pulling during this very election.

[HeresyLives]

8. Yes, that's what worries me.

They don't even have to pull stunts, they can out-and-out lie, and nobody calls them on it.

This is the most criticism we've gotten so far:

'On Tuesday, Mr. Harper cast his lot with “ordinary, working people” and not with “ivory tower” justice experts or with a cultural elite he characterized as government-subsidized whiners.

“I think when ordinary working people come home, turn on the TV and see a gala of a bunch of people, you know, at a rich gala all subsidized by taxpayers claiming their subsidies aren't high enough when they know those subsidies have actually gone up, I'm not sure that's something that resonates with ordinary people,” he said during a campaign stop in Saskatoon.

Mr. Harper's barbed shot at whining elites attending glitzy affairs was curious, given that his wife Laureen is the honorary chair of the National Arts Centre's gala next month in Ottawa.'


http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080924.welxnarts0924/BNStory/politics/home

[iverglas]

10. there is surprising silence

on the in-and-out. And their stunts in committee on that question.

What's that about??

[daleo]

11. Yes, I haven't heard much on any of these affairs

A few guesses:

- "in and out" and committee stunts are deemed too complicated for the general public, or too Ottawa-centric, so the opposition parties are ignoring them.
- neither the Liberals or NDP want to appear to be going negative. They want to focus on their programs, project a positive attitude.
- Liberals are concerned that scandal talk will just lead back to sponsorship scandal, so they think it won't really help them, on balance.
- I don't know about the NDP's relative silence on the matter. Perhaps the pot and skinny dipping stuff that has come up in the B.C. campaign has made them gun shy about this sort of thing.
- of course it may be that the media is just not reporting much on these items, even when the opposition brings them up.

[iverglas]

12. probably all of those

especially the Ottawa-centric bit. I've read the committee proceedings (missed watching them on tv) and my goodness. But tedious to other than fans of the genre. ;)

[LiberadorHugo]

13. Harper can't count...lol

32 + 20 (just arbitrary numbers) > 39