Alliance/PC Union Dealt Fatal Blow By Harris Withdrawal?

<i>the worst fears of Progressive Conservatives who suspected this union was, in fact, a takeover of the PCs by the Alliance.</i><p> Of course it is. Mulroney all but killed the PC party. It's time that Canada has some sort of opposition to the Liberals. That will only happen if there is one Right of Centre party for conservative voters to latch on to.<p> That why the Reform Party was created to begin with.<p> Harris wasn't the frontrunner. The only thing that would have been worse than Harris leading the party would be *gasp* Mulroney returning from the undead.<p> Steven Harper is starting to come into his own, McKay can't be trusted (Ha!, imagine a politician other politicians can't trust!) and Harris was the only other big name conservative not currently on assignment.<p> <p>---<br>"History does nor repeat itself, but it does rhyme" Mark Twain

I don\'t usually read much about Harris\' past. Usually I only read the colossal lie that he\'ll throw the Liberals out & save the country. (with nothing to back it up)

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"So many right-wing christians, so few lions." - t-shirt I saw @ school

1 - Harris had the support of Ralph Klein, Gordon Campbell, etc. and he WAS the front-runner.

2 - The Reform Party is the \"Republican Party north.\" They have no chance, short or long-term.

3 - With the Liberals the way they are now, that makes 3 RIGHT-WING PARTIES, not 2. A united right would make it 2, NOT 1.

4. Mike Harris had no chance in Ontario, due to his ignorance, incompetence, aand hatred, and no chance in Quebec due to his right-wing slant and his inability to speak French. That being said, Stephen Harper is a radical, who favours full integration. As witty as he is, he has already angered Quebec, Ontario and the Maritimes. Harper won\'t last.

This entire process from the convention on, is nothing but a big farce and the people of Canada are being subjected to a bunch of political entertainers, who very likely know the outcome before the election! They probably have the leader picked out groomed and ready to take his place as soon as they are ready. The liberal party same game! Let\'s hope the NDP will rise above this crap and show us some real people, with intelligent ideas on how to same this country. Not to mention it\'s a great distraction from the real business of running this country, like dealing with the sell out, the census going south etc.

Check out what Toronto Star readers had to say about about Mike Harris on the national stage: http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1067857370042&call_pageid=968332188492&col=968705899037 It only shows the top-down nature of this "Conservative Party" exercise that Harris' name was even mooted for the leadership, let alone trumpted as the front-runner.

Comment from the Star comments: \"I was kind of sorry that he decided not to run. I always supported him and found him to be a good statesman who didn\'t get corralled by popular opinion.\"
Catherine Reed, Mississauga, Nov. 3

Heaven forbid that an elected representative of the people should be corralled by popular opinion!! Yeah I\'m really sure it\'s just left-wing heresy that people should have some role in a democracy!! lol what a capital-B B$%&*!

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"So many right-wing christians, so few lions." - t-shirt I saw @ school

<i>1 - Harris had the support of Ralph Klein, Gordon Campbell, etc. and he WAS the front-runner.</p> 4. Mike Harris had no chance in Ontario,</i><p> Those two are mutually exclusive. Harris had the best chance to lead the right, but he couldn't win in Ontairo, then he couldn't lead the right. The conservative movement cannot be government without Ontairo support.<p> So therefore, Harris wasn't the frontrunner.<p> <i>That being said, Stephen Harper is a radical,</i><p> *snicker* That's like saying Mr Rogers was a swinger party animal. Oh no! He's a Free Radical! He must be reduced! Aaaaaaa!<p> Radical. That's funny!<p> <p>---<br>"History does nor repeat itself, but it does rhyme" Mark Twain

I'd have to agree with that sometimes a leader shouldn't get corralled by public opinion. Sometimes, they should just do what is right.<p> The public doesn't always know what is right, just look at California. Bread and Circuses, and the 'Leaders' are told by the public what to do. All that is left to the elected leaders is to decide how to pay for it.<p> I research who I will vote for, and I ensure the guy I vote for has enough brains to do the right thing without always having to do research polls first. Otherwise, I chose badly.<p><p>---<br>"History does nor repeat itself, but it does rhyme" Mark Twain

Harper is the most right leader since Mulroney. He made his Canada hating - consensus ignoring - self be known when he crawled on his hands and knees to the US over IRaq. Public opinion was vastly against the war - he did not care.

Harper and party will only further the sellout of Canada - that makes him a radical in millions of Canadians minds.

So Mulroney was a radical? (he was an idiot, not a radical) Many Canadians may have been against the war, but many Conservatives were for it.<p> Harper isn't trying to please the Left, only the Right. He knows the Liberals, by increasing government spending and taxes and allowing our dollar to fall into the toilet for 10 years then tying us so heavily to the US economy, has left us at the whims of the US. Our production and export costs are pitiful, our only saving grace has been a low dollar. The only way we can be saved, is dropping personal and corporate taxes, and forcing our exporters to <b>compete</b> against the US, not ride it's coattails.<p> That won't sell us out, that will make us stronger internationally.<p> <p>---<br>"History does nor repeat itself, but it does rhyme" Mark Twain

But Dr. Caleb, cutting taxes even more wil erode of standard of living, which will ALSO cause corporations to leave Canada. The European economy is greatly outperforming the U.S. economy, and their taxes are through the roof compared to North America\'s.

Increasing production, as you seem to want, will ONLY HAPPEN if we invest in research and development, and better fund our universities. The British Empire tried the U.S. class-based system, and eventually were unable to compete globally due to a poorly educated, less-healthy population, due to its disproportionate spending on its expansionist activities. This is the US model, which doesn\'t work. Without taxes going UP, we\'ll have to cut services -and that we\'ll ruin us!

We\'ve already had 20 years of tax-cut crap, and our productivity and job growth rates HAVE DROPPED!!!

Do the right thing, such as Ralph Klein, you mean?

NO NO NO - we already have some of the lowest corporate tax rates in the world!!! It has MADE NO DIFFERENCE other than having to shift that lost tax onto the masses!

That is the biggest misnomer going - that canada is not friendly to business.

Harris bowing out of this race is welcome news!!! In fact, it`s the best political news I`ve heard in a while! Now if we can only find a way to get rid of likeminded people such as Klein, Harper, Mulroney, Martin, Campbell, and, ever increasingly, Jean Charest. In fact, sad to say, Charest has hired Mulroney on as some sort of adviser at a price of 1000 dollars a day to try to figure out some scheme of creating \'super hospitals\' in Quebec. All this while he ponders cutting Quebec`s envious daycare program!

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Dave Ruston