Harper Majority One Year Later

How you view the Harper record depends on your political conviction

After leading a minority government since 2005, Prime Minister Stephen Harper won his coveted majority on May 2nd, 2011.  After almost six years of trying to move his agenda on the gun registry, the omnibus crime bill, and opting out of the Kyoto accord forward, there should not have been many surprises for those opposing him of what the Prime Minister would do.  For years there was opposition fillibustering, stalling, threats of a coalition and he list goes on and on.  At one point the Prime Minister prorogued Parliament and used every other parliamentary option to keep his government alive.

While there was a loud outcry from those that opposed his views, the electorate handed the Conservatives a majority, punished the Liberals and especially in Quebec, the New Democrats gained 59 seats, which in the end gave them enough overall seats to form the official opposition.  Essentially the winners in the 2011 election were the Conservative and New Democratic Party.

As we pass the one year mark of Harper's majority, the Liberals are still looking to identify themselves, the New Democrats under their new leader Thomas Mulcair have gained ground.  Latest polls indicate that the NDP is in a statistical tie with Haper's conservatives.

While Harper scrapped the gun registry and eliminated the Canadian Wheat Board, his latest budget also included legislation to speed up environmental reviews and giving the Minister the power to approve environmentally sensitive projects.   Harper has handed Provinces a fate accompli when it comes to health care funding, changing the current formula of 6% annual increase to one that is tied 2% above GDP. 

There has been controversy on back to work legislation for both Air Canada employees and Canada Post.  Needless to say the NDP, a strong supporter of unions, was not too thrilled.   There are the allegations of election meddling with Robo calls, presently being investigated by Elections Canada.  The discrepancy in F35 stealth fighter funding.  The Harper government is being accused of maintaining two sets of books, one for the public and another with the actual cost.

Harper's action plan raised the eligibility age for Old Age Security from 65 to 67 for those 54 and younger, claiming it to be a matter of sustainability.   19,500 jobs are being cut from the public service, while CBC's budget has been reduced by 10%. 

This week the government was accused of preferential treatment for Conrad Black, while denying  a black man, who spend just 30 days in a cook county jail for shooting a policeman and eventually charged and convicted of aggravated assault, entry into Canada.

Depending on where you stand politically, the Harper government has either been a success or a total disaster.


It's the Economy Stupid

The Harper government has focused on the economy, cutting the deficit, keeping corporate taxes low, jobs and family. The government is on target with its economic action plan, which the opposition says is ruining the country.

After one year of a majority government, the country is in relatively good shape, and the government hasn't pushed an agenda on social issues like gay marriage or abortions, just as the Prime Minister promised.

What is clear, is that the burden of the country rests on those that govern and the critique with those in opposition.  Hopefully the debates will become more civil.   What will the second year bring?

Where is the Hope and Change?

During a wide ranging interview with Steve Kroft on CBS' 60 Minutes, President Obama defended his record and said he did not over promise that he always believed that changing the culture of Washington would be a long term project.  He blamed the GOP for intransigence in blocking his policies and reiterated that the more fortunate had to pay their fair share.  On he economy he blamed Bush for the present mess and stated that it would take more than one term, perhaps more than one President to fix it.  In other words, "Hope and Change" could have occurred if it had not been for the big bad GOP blocking him every step along the way.

Asked on the failure of the stimulus, Obama rejected critics that it had not worked and said that it had created or saved millions of jobs and avoided a recession.
"We've gone through an incredibly difficult time in this country. And I would be surprised if the American people felt satisfied right now.  They shouldn't feel satisfied. We've got a lot more work to do in order to get this country and the economy moving in a way that benefits everybody, as opposed to just a few."

While Obama was blaming the GOP for blocking his policies, Steve Kroft reminded the President of the latest polls, in which 75% of Americans thought that the country was moving in the wrong direction and 54% believed that Obama doesn't deserve re-election.  Obama was asked why he should be reelected and rattled off a myriad of accomplishments during his term.  These included, saving this country from a Great Depression and rescuing the auto industry. There's also healthcare reform, financial reforms, ending "don't ask, don't tell" and decimating Al Qaeda, including the death of Osama bin Laden.
Obama said that more work was necessary on the economy and that he was being judged by an ideal and invoked a quote by Vice President Joe Biden, 'Don't judge me against the Almighty, judge me against the alternative.' "
While the President may want to blame the GOP for the failure of the economy, and take some comfort in the recent drop of the unemployment rate from 9 to 8.6%, the reality is that his policies have had a direct impact on the economy.  The House has send close to two dozen bills to the Senate, all of which have been ignored by the Senate.  It seems the latest House bill on the payroll tax reduction extension might face the same fate.  Yet it will be the Republicans that are the bad guys.  Who exactly won't compromise?
Obama started his "We can't Wait" campaign a few weeks ago, signalling what his re-election strategy will be.   Deflect the economic troubles and blame the GOP for the failure of implementing his policies.  The speech on Wednesday at Osawatomie, Kansas kicked off his reelection campaign and strategy, making a clear distinction between his vision (distribution of income) with that of the GOP.  In other words, according to Obama, he defends the middle class, while the GOP defends the rich.  How absurd.
Since last week the payroll tax reduction has been a hot topic in Washington.  The Senate rejected both a Republican and a Democratic bill.  The House, late last week, introduced a new bill, which includes the extension of the payroll tax reduction, an unemployment benefit extensions  and the XL Keystone Pipeline among others.   The Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid said it was going nowhere in the Senate, while Obama said that he would veto any inclusion of the XL Keystone pipeline. According to the GOP the bill not only grants the extension, but also includes job creation initiatives.  The XL Keystone Pipeline is expected to create 20,000 good paying union jobs immediately, while infusing millions of dollars into the economy.
While accusing the GOP of the inability to compromise, the President has demonstrated over and over again that his inability to compromise on any issues have put him in an ideological box, which hampers his ability to lead.   A President's function is to provide a vision for the country and then lead to implement that vision by talking to leaders of both parties.
Message for the President -  The Democrats are not the only ones with good ideas.  Maybe an effort should be made to reach out to Republican leaders with an open mind.  Give up the ideology and implement policies that work for the whole country.   In other words "Lead".

He faulted the GOP for not having “an honest conversation” about the economic policies that caused the nation’s recession and complained that Republicans made a calculated decision to block most of his policies to inflict maximum political damage after he assumed office.
Asked by interviewer Steve Kroft whether he had made too many promises to Americans during his hope-and-change campaign in 2008, Obama insisted that he “always believed that this was a long-term project.”
The president said he knew that “reversing a culture here in Washington dominated by special interests would take more than year, more than two years, more than one term, probably take more than one president.” Washington Post