Maybe We Ought to Thank Sen Ruth & Some Sage Advice From a Prog Blogger-The Last Thing We Should be Doing is to ‘Shut the Fuck Up!’- Part D’Uh

Ever since Senator Nancy Ruth started swearing like a sailor last Monday, it has gotten people talking and bloggers blogging, even corporate media to some degree. Since she  had her tantrum, we learned of 14 groups to date having had their funding cut. That’s getting even more folks talking and bloggers blogging further. One positive blogging trend amongst progressive bloggers since then has been sounding the alarm bells, warning of what can come if Steve ever got his majority, something I’ve known all along, but folks have ridiculed me for fear mongering–never mind Harpercon supporters, but by those who claim to be left of center/progressive! I think a lot of them have been woken up by Senator Ruth’s adversarial speech and ominous warning. So, for that, (don’t get me wrong, doesn’t excuse the menacing tone), maybe we owe her a thanks for this wake up call.

It is, however, sad, that such a champion of women’s rights has been reduced to threatening aid groups to shutting the fuck up and telling them to sit and be quiet like good little boys and girls.  Over at Big City Lib’s, commenter Holly Stick @5:05Pm is another person who compares the relationship between Brother Steve and everyone else (his own caucus, opposition parties, NGOs and of course, voters themselves) is very much that of battered woman syndrome—we be quiet, we don’t rock any boats, only for Steve do commit some other insidious act anyway.  However, as any women’s organization or therapist will say, the cycle must be broken. The question becomes, how do we do it? The answer is not easy and needless to say that our usual silence and apathy simply won’t do it. And yes, it has to be more significant than the CAPP rallies last January.

Before I go on, I would like to share a few items. The first, is a note I was tagged on yesterday on Facebook. It’s from a Grope & Fail commenter and it bears repeating here for all those left of center/progressives who still don’t fear a Harpercon majority. It’s a reminder of everything Steve has already said and done with a minority:

A commenter there says……

Q: Who gives Harper money with this record?

• Enticed recently re-elected Liberal MP David Emerson to cross the floor & join Cabinet
• Appointed friend & party organizer Michael Fortier to the Senate then elevated him to Cabinet
• Produced manual to train Conservative House of Commons Committee Chairs on how to make the Committees dysfunctional
• Promised not to tax INCOME TRUSTS, then taxed them
• Said he wouldn’t “cut and run” in Afghanistan, now he’s running in 2011
• Cut taxes for corporations and high income earners – BILLIONS LOST
• Cut GST from 7 % to 5 %, losing over $12 BILLION annually
• Created a structural deficit of $20 BILLION
• In 2008 told Canadians there would not be a recession, then biggest recession since the 1930 Depression occurred
• In 2008 told Canadians the federal government would never run a deficit
• Total deficit now $40 BILLION
• BILLIONS spent on military for war
• Cut spending on national child care program with provinces
• Cut Kelowna Accord for Aboriginal people to receive national average in services
• Promised open & accountable government, then muzzled Conservative MPs & Cabinet Ministers
• Will cancel public financing for political parties so that corporations can decide which parties receive financial support
• Prorogued Parliament in 2008 to avoid a non-confidence vote & loss of government
• Prorogued Parliament in 2009 to avoid accountability on Afghanistan, a House of Commons subpoena, & the Parliamentary Budget Office revealing Harper has mismanaged finances
• Appointed 27 Senators in 1 year including a 35 year old
• Passed fixed date election law-then broke it
• Alleged to have bribed dying MP Chuck Cadman for his vote
• In & Out scheme took $1 million from taxpayers to fund advertising in 2006, unethical

Threatening to cut aid to other nations if they don’t “Shut the f— up!”

No freedom of choice or freedom of speech!!

A: The same people who funded the angry Conservative Reform Alliance Party or CRAP. Stuff it!

The following two videos from Pale Cold also are must views. The first one, I’ve posted over here a few times, but will post again. It aptly demonstrates the powerful Socon element of the Harpercons.

The next video best describes that whole “boiling the frog” analogy Bob Evans, a guest once used  on Anne Lagace Dowson’s show. You know, Steve’s incremental measures that are not legislated like cutting funding  for various programs and changing regulations.

Click here to see more of Pale Cold’s videos, they are informative and entertaining at the same time, as well as short, for those who do have short attention spans.

Also, here are two examples here and here as to why speaking out is so necessary to speak out and how much harm silence can cause to society, anywhere, really. One from Judy Rebick yesterday and another from Filasteen.  Both point out how silence and crawling into hiding not only isn’t helpful, but this cringing inaction makes us accomplices to the problem.

We hear the Harpercon cheerleaders cheer every time something bad or damaging  happens with the opposition,  the rare media page that isn’t in lockstep with the Harpercon mantra. When they keep hammering how Canadians are more conservative, many of us  actually believe it. In part, due to some of their bullying nature, and of course, we run scared. When they tell us to suck it up, we have the wrong attitude, we actually do suck it up.  I’m wondering how many progressive bloggers have given up blogging because they have resigned themselves to a neo-con Canada a la George W Bush Americana?

An example of this was the CAPP rallies (Canadians against Prorogation of Parliament) last January.  While successful to varying degrees, there were flaws that the corporate media pounced us with. I (and many others, I would hope) would take that as fear on the part of Harpercon cheerleaders for not being able to serve their kool-aid du jour. Nonetheless, other than a few snap rallies and splinter groups with different goals coming up, the movement fizzled out very quickly, rather than attempting to keep up the momentum.

Well, Pogge explains that  without opposition (and no, he isn’t talking about Opposition parties here; he is talking to us; the voter; the Canadian population) to Brother Steve’s ideologies and actions,  pundits and these politicians get away with pumping this growing neo-con Canada is happening and how we must embrace it rather than fight it. While we’re at it, Pogge also offers some very sage advice to us:

And perhaps most importantly, those politicians who might be willing to stand up and push back will feel like they have no support. If you want opposition politicians to support your positions, you have to make those politicians feel as though you’ll support them in return. Or they’ll shut up, too.

Once again,  it has fallen upon us to get  Steve out of office. I won’t presume to speak on behalf of Pogge. However, I will interpret the above quote as to what it means to me. But do read his post.

We’re now awake to the frightening hint of how a Harpercon majority would look? Want to prevent it? We must change our attitudes toward the opposition. In short, we have to stop blaming them and take some of the responsiblity, ourselves.

For that to happen, not only do we have to change our apathetic ways and make all kinds of noise, but we’re going to have to (I have been guilty of this as well)  stop whining about them or expecting too much, as I’ve noticed some have. When some see they can’t get a party they like into power and lament about the poor choices between Liberals and Cons, those folks tend to either stay home from the polls on election day or they spoil their  ballots if they do vote it would seem.

We keep hearing the same tunes over and over again: ideas! Where are the ideas and policies? How will they earn our vote? The opposition is soooo weak! Ideas! And I’m not just talking about conservative pundits or the blogging tories: they have an agenda they’re sticking to. They don’t want an opposition. They want a clear path to a Harpercon majority and they are ready to do anything for that to happen.  No, I’m talking about the left/Progressives.  Yes, there are legitimate questions and points up there. However, the Liberals (I will talk about the Liberals, not because the NDP or the Bloc don’t suffer the same problems and nit-picking, nor because the Liberals are my favourite party by any stretch of the imagination,  but the other 2 parties will never ever govern and folks know this; it’s probably why they don’t receive as much criticism as the Liberals)  can’t seem to win with us can they?  They present an idea, we criticise it for being too vague or too anemic or whatever.

Remember Stephane Dion’s proposed carbon tax and his green shift? We pummelled him for it.  We accused him of not being able to throw daggers at Steve. So what did we do? We voted Steve back in with a stronger mandate (and yes, unfortunately, staying home or spoiling the ballot favours the Harpercons in this instance).

When Iggy gave the closing speech at the Canada 150 in Montreal, many lamented about the speech as if they were determined to keep a closed mind and not even try to find any positive in it. What were we expecting? To see Iggy and his caucus put on a three ring circus, jumping through flaming hoops and swinging from a trapeze?  Conservative pundits are touting this event as a failure and we’re not coming out discussing anything positive that came from it.

Recently, Iggy proposes a national food policy and we scoff at it or say it isn’t enough. Well, another way of looking at that is under Brother Steve, there would be nothing of the kind, nada! We can say, yes, it’s a start.  There are other ideas over at the Liberal Party site. I invite you to read them with an open mind.

We complain about them not having a strong opposition to the Harpercons. Well, when they try to be oppositional, we make them pay and pay dearly for that. Remember the proposed coalition? I know for a fact not just Harpercon supporters, but Liberal  and NDP supporters as well (I have spoken to such people; co-workers, aquaintances, etc.)

When Iggy threw the gauntlet last fall, we contributed to sending his numbers plummeting.  I’m not a fan  of  some of what the NDP have been doing in recent years, but if not for Jack Layton, we would probably be living what we once thought not so long ago to be unthinkable today; a Harpercon majority.  Yes, Layton was lambasted for propping them up, in spite of those looming numbers favoring a Harpercon majority, I guess many would have been willing to throw the dice on that, not realizing that a Harpercon majority would simply not be four years of the same rule as other years gone by.

No, Iggy isn’t an ideal leader.  Yes, he’s too corporate friendly. Do the Liberals need to come up with more policies?  Definitely.

Yes, we need a less corporate friendly Parliament with parliamentary reform, but we’re not to get it with Brother Steve.  If he does get that coveted majority, there will be parliamentary changes, but it’s a safe bet we won’t like them.

Then, many lament that the Liberals would only maintain the status quo.  Another way of looking at it is if we get a Harpercon majority, guaranteed, the status quo will change all right. But I think we’re going to refer to what have today as the “good ol’ days”.  Remember Steve did say that after he was done with Canada, we would no longer recognize it.  Harpercon MP Gerry Ritz said that if they ever got a majority, “All Bets would be off”.

Then there are those who ask the Liberals and the NDP :  What would you do to earn my vote? Well, Read the copied and pasted note above, watch Pale Cold’s videos, read quotes from Harper, clearly illustrating what he has said and done ane what he would do.   Click here and here, the legwork has been done on those sites.  I can pretty well guarantee that  the opposition parties won’t provide that climate of fear. For openers, following the Sen. Ruth event, we know Stevie Spiteful will criminalize abortion, here in Canada.  The opposition won’t.

We’re even more divided than the other side, and you know something? I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, Steve’s game of Divide and Conquer has not only created a wedge between opposition parties thus ruining chances of  his biggest fear, a coalition, but he has divided us;  left of center/progressive pundits and citizens alike. That is exactly how a batterer succeeds in keeping his victims in submission. He isolates them from the outside world and even create a wedge between the victims and their entourage. Brother Steve has proven time and time again that he is no different than a batterer.

If we and the opposition are battered by Brother Steve? What should we do? Well, for the most part, battered women who manage to successfully escape do so with help, either from family, friends (estranged or not) and from their community resources offered to them. Likewise, in order to break away from Steve, we’re going to have to take action. Start showing support to our opposition parties. Yes, even  if that means holding our noses and voting Liberal, or better yet, lobby for a coalition with the Liberals and NDP.  We do this by writing to our MPs, write letters to the editor, start or join a grassroots movement like  Canadians Rallying to Unseat Harper who are presently funding and creating ads for newsmedia.  Find the time to volunteer for an opposition party. Do something. Because doing nothing but lamenting about the sorry state of affairs and lambasting the opposition simply won’t do it. As Pogge also said, if that is all we can do is sit and allow the Harpercons and their cheerleaders to steamroll over the Canada we always knew, we might as well pack it in and wait for everything to just happen to us.

If we want real change from the status quo like parliamentary reform, again, it won’t happen under a Harpercon minority or majority. He’s proven that after stacking the senate, prorogation and his schoolyard bullying. I say this reform starts with supporting the opposition to get Steve out of office once and for all and then work toward reforms we may want to  have happen.

I have been guilty myself for writing despondent posts, but I still haven’t given up my blogging, for I know if I do, I will only be contributing to the problem.

I am repeating  what I have said before in other posts, but in light of Senator Ruth waking up a lot of Canadians with her terse words, I am hoping that this time readers who disagreed with me in the past, might, at least, keep an open mind this time around.

Sidenote: I’m  borrowing the  term “d’uh” sported by progressive bloggers like the Wingnuterer and Unrepentant Old Hippie.