Skip to main content

“I am a Canadian, free to speak without fear, free to worship in my own way, free to stand for what I think right, free to oppose what I believe wrong, or free to choose those who shall govern my country. This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and all mankind.” ~~ John G. Diefenbaker

BESLER: You didn’t say how Harper defends globalism, you hint that he brings it together with populism. How does he accomplish this?


I just finished reading Stephen Harper’s, new book, “Right Here, Right Now”.  I was interested to see how Harper would bring together his populist views, with his advocacy of globalism.

On that topic, he stated that, “The right conservative path is not to bemoan today’s populism, it is to listen to it and learn from it.” He suggests that not doing so will lead to a destructive left-wing populism of which society may never recover.

I am paraphrasing here however, I believe former Prime Minister Stephen Harper is essentially saying:

  1. Andrew Scheer messed up, should have kept Maxime Bernier in the party 
  2. People are rejecting Trudeau’s “post nationalism” 
  3. They won’t return to the Scheer style Conservative elitism they also recently rejected 
  4. They will support Maxime Bernier, and values-based populist conservative ideas 
  5. If the conservative base won’t unite around values-based populist conservatism, then perhaps someone like Alberta’s Rachael Notley or BC’s Andrew Weaver could be next in line for high office. God help us then.
In talking about the book, with political friends, I was asked, “You didn't say how Harper defends globalism, you hint that he brings it together with populism.  How?”.




That is a good question, which I too was curious about.  How does he justify what, at this time, seems to be two contradictory positions?

Personally, I don’t think he was actually able to defend globalism very well, although it seems as he hopes for it to galvanize. He seems to lay responsibility at the feet of the “anywhere’s*”, to better understand what he believes is their responsibility to the “somewhere’s**”.  As to who these anywhere’s, and somewhere’s? … see below for my thoughts on that.  

Meantime, I wasn’t getting off easy, as this observation pointed out to me:

“Harper is an elitist. His screed is about how the globalists - the Anywheres - can manipulate the yokels using the existing political structures. It is a failing approach from a failed politician.”

My thought?  I’ll just say, ‘Quite possibly’, as it is in part an admittance of those failures. 

Regardless of all that, Stephen Harper’s, new book, “Right Here, Right Now” is a thoughtful read. Although I don’t agree with every position. I do recommend the book. 


BEN BESLER ... has been active in provincial politics for many years. Former Vice President of the BC Conservative Party and Regional Organizer for the successful Fight HST citizens initiative. He offers a often colourful perspective to conservative thought. 


*“Anywhere’s” are people that live anywhere, and therefore don’t see themselves attached to a nation state. “They are globally oriented in their careers and personal lives”.  

**“Somewhere’s” on the other hand are those whose “social life is connected to a church, service club, restaurant-bar, sports team, or community group. You only leave your region for brief vacations. Your values can broadly be described as localist”.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Nurses Take Job Action After Years of NDP Neglect

Image Credit:  BC Nurses Union BC nurses have reached a breaking point after years of unsafe conditions, rising violence in the workplace and a government that wouldn’t listen. Now they are on the picket line fighting to be heard. Last week, nurses began job action with a 72-hour strike notice, refusing non-essential overtime and stepping back from non-nursing duties. As of Tuesday, they have escalated to picket lines for the first time in decades. This moment was avoidable. It is the result of years of unanswered concerns from the frontline workers who keep our hospitals running. Nurses have been raising the same concerns for years: unsafe staffing levels, rising violence on the job, and a workload no single person should have to carry. None of it is new, and none of it should have taken a strike vote to get the government's attention. "Nurses are exercising their legal right to job action, but it shouldn’t have had to come to this," said Kiel Giddens, MLA for...
Post a Comment
Read more

British Columbians Still Don’t Know Who’s Paying for NDP’s BC Hydro Deal

The NDP is making billion-dollar promises with BC Hydro, but British Columbians still don’t know who will pay the bill. Last week’s memorandum of understanding isn’t what the federal government and the NDP are making it out to be. It’s an admission that the NDP failed to make the long-term investments needed to keep B.C. powered. Now British Columbians have serious questions about the cost and whether BC Hydro ratepayers will end up paying the price. David L. Williams, MLA for Salmon Arm-Shuswap and Shadow Minister for BC Hydro and Electrical Energy Development , said British Columbians deserve clear answers about the full implications of the Canada–British Columbia Cooperative Prosperity Agreement. “British Columbians deserve the full truth,” said Mr. Williams. “This multi-billion-dollar announcement does not answer who pays for cost overruns, who pays for new generation, who carries the risk if industrial customers do not materialize, or whether ratepayers will be forced ...
Post a Comment
Read more

NDP Government Blames Everyone but Themselves

The federal government has announced new measures to support British Columbia's forestry sector, including $65 million in funding for projects across the province. While any support is welcome, it falls far short of the level of assistance other provinces have secured for key industries. Conservative Forests Critic Ward Stamer says the NDP government needs to take responsibility for its mismanagement of B.C.’s forest industry instead of trying to pass on the blame. Despite promising to create more jobs in the forest sector, the NDP government has overseen the loss of thousands of forestry jobs and 21 mill closures which have devastated communities. “If Premier Eby spent more time addressing the regulatory issues impacting the forestry sector than he did complaining about the federal government, we would not be in the position we are now,” said Stamer. “And instead of trying to place the blame for mill closures on Donald Trump, Minister of Forests Ravi Parmar should t...
Post a Comment
Read more

Labels

Show more