Getting to know you.....

With Election Day growing closer and an official endorsement posted and printed, the Globe and Mail felt the need to let us get to know the guy they would like to see as the next Prime Minister.

The weekend edition of the Globe presented probably the most in depth examination yet of Stephen Harper, his love of hockey, his troubles with asthma, policy wonk proclivities and much, much more. John Ibbotson, put together the briefing notes on the Conservative leader in a concise, but well researched bit of journalism. The article details what drove him into politics, what has made him stay, when many suggested he wasn’t the guy to unite the Conservative factions in Canada. It portrays the man who may become Prime Minister as having grown into his job of late, a “what you see, is what you get person”, still with a bit of a temper but learning how to better deal with setbacks and motivate his compatriots.

It’s the, “what you see, is what you get” bit that caught my attention most in the article. Over the years whether by devious design or with a sixth sense on things, Liberals and the media have always painted Harper as a guy with a secret agenda, some form of dark knight ready to pull the wool over our eyes and launch some neo-con agenda on the nation. The concept is still spoken of today, even as he seems to grow in the polling data daily and apparently no longer seems to scare old men and women, nor little children on the streets.

Now there is no doubt that some of his fellow Conservatives are surely more right wing than even Harper may be, over the years a few of his fellow travelers, have uttered some pretty strange comments on the more contentious issues of the day. But when you think about it a bit, is it any more worrisome than some of the things that have popped out of various Liberal mouths over the years? I mean Carolyn Parrish certainly seemed to proclaim many things over her time in the public eye that would cause one to raise an eyebrow or two. Even as a Chrétien loyalist, Parrish frequently caused no shortage of outrage and embarrassment with her antics. Same with Svend Robinson in the NDP, there were many days when Robinson would cause the saintly and patient Ed Broadbent to no doubt wonder whether politics was worth all the trouble.

Now every party has its loose cannons, the guys and gals that say things that probably have their own party members wishing they’d venture forth and take up some other line of work. While trolling the political section of the bulletin boards of the local hackingthemainframe site, I discovered this bit of political theatre and tracked it back to its originating website, a clip from February of 2005 featuring the Conservative candidate for Ajax in Ontario, Rondo Thomas. We haven’t heard much of Mr. Thomas in this campaign, he’s what one would call "overly enthused" with his personal causes. The clip does not portray him particularly well, it’s probably the kind of nightmare scenario the Conservatives dread becoming thought of as typical of the current batch of would be MP’s.

But for every Rondo with the Conservatives there may be a Carolyn in the Liberals, for every Stockwell, a Sheila or a Svend. Politics attracts a wide cross section to the parade; it’s up to the electorate to weed out the misguided from the masterful.

Finding the friendly middle ground in Canadian politics takes a lot of work, it’s easy to appeal to the right wingers and the left wingers, they rarely change their opinions and seem lost in old line doctrine, never conceding that the other side may have a valid point to make. It’s in the ebb and flow of the middle where the majority of Canadians live and where the politicians have to earn their pay.

This time around, if the current trend continues any lingering fear of the Conservative candidates, is being trumped by a valid urge to rejuvenate Parliament. Democracy is only healthy when it’s not taken for granted, sometimes change is needed to make it work properly, to be afraid of change doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense. The power is actually ours to use, if the Conservatives tread too far off the beaten path of the middle, they’ll be gone in short order.

That could be why the various scare tactics about the Conservatives haven’t seemed to have had the same effect as in past years. Rondo’s unusual warbling not withstanding, Canadians probably realize that if the Conservatives win the election they won’t be able to make draconian changes to our way of life.

After all we’ve been weaned on Liberal milk for pretty well most of a century, with only occasional changes of direction, so any change may seem unusual at first. Yes the agenda will no doubt change; some things will look different with the Conservatives. But one wonders if the Conservative brand will really be as life altering as has been suggested of late.

If they go too far off in the wrong direction, they’ll know pretty quickly the error of their ways. Should Mr. Harper win the day, it will be interesting to watch the political and Parliamentary pendulum. Canadians don’t like drastic swings, should they hope to extend their stay in power they’ll have to be mindful of that.

When Canadians decide that they want a change, they don’t necessarily want drastic revisions to the political compact. All they really yearn for is good and honest government, one inclined to listen to them and act in their best interests.

When the politicians stop listening, that then is pretty well the same time that they don’t have a job anymore.