On the contradictions and hypocrisy -
Ottawa â †Stephen Harper came under fire yesterday from anti-racism groups and a member of his Conservative Party for what they say was a bid to cash in politically on the Holocaust and the internment of Japanese Canadians more than 60 years ago.
"It's just trying to score political points and I don't think that it's appropriate to do that with this particular issue," said Pat Case of the Canadian Race Relations Foundation. "Mr. Harper could learn a lesson or two from his own words," Tamara Kronis said. "The internment of Japanese Canadians and the legacy of 'None is too many' reminds us that there was a time in Canadian history when it was acceptable to discriminate against those minorities and to deny them equal treatment."
Ms. Kronis said that, as a Tory, she was "disappointed in Mr. Harper's lack of leadership and judgment on this issue, and in the insensitivity that is evident in his remarks."
I think that's where we should draw the line, and I don't want to get into the polygamy debate - but I fear if we do this, the next thing on the Liberal agenda will be polygamy and who knows what else," Harper said in a news conference. "Polygamy is ok for cows." - Stephen Harper
"This is bizarre, way out there," said a senior adviser to Nova Scotia Premier John Hamm ... "The strategy has got our political people just shaking their heads. Is this where you draw the line, really? How about dealing with issues that really affect our lives."
"Harper's gay marriage strategy exposes rift among Conservatives, Canadian Press, Jan. 27, 2005
"And make no mistake. Canada is not a bilingual country." Stephen Harper, "Official Bilingualism: The God That Failed," NCC
Online,
"Human rights commissions, as they are evolving, are an attack on our fundamental freedoms and the basic existence of a democratic society," says Stephen Harper, president of the National Citizens' Coalition. "It is in fact totalitarianism. I find this is very scary stuff." BC Report, January 11, 1999
"Stephen Harper - the leader of the Canadian Alliance, Canada's Official Opposition - trotted out a conspiracy theory this week so loopy he risks never being taken seriously again." Globe and Mail, September 6, 2003.
Harper's words: "We aren't going to let these guys off the hook ... They wanted to introduce this through back channels. They didn't want to come to Parliament, they didn't want to go to the Canadian people and be honest. They had the courts do it for them. They put the judges in they wanted, then they failed to appeal, failed to fight the case in court."
On Atlantic Canadians:
"There is a dependence in the region that breeds a culture of defeatism." www.cbc.ca, May 30, 2002.
I hope that establishes sufficient proof. As for the "red neck magic bag" well, perhaps ignorant or small minded or both would have been a better adjective. You are right, using terms such as red neck weakens my points and makes me look like I'm attacking him personally as opposed to his opinions. We'll keep our sticks on the ice.