Screw you, Stephen Harper!

[elbows]

The city I reside in, though provincial, is large enough that during an election you can pretty much count on each of the party leaders to make a stop here. And rightly so, it’s a large city and home to a prestigious University.

Just a few days ago our Prime Minister made a stop here, all part of campaigning for the forthcoming election. He’s hoping to turn his minority into a majority.

It turns out, if you’d like to attend the event, you had to preregister on line. That seems a little dodgy but perilous times, he is the PM, etc. So two young women, poli sci students from the uni, duly register and show up, get their ID badges and head in to listen to him speak.

Only a few minutes later, a couple of fellows, directed them to ‘come along’, they were led into a private room, where their badges were ripped from them, shredded before their eyes and they were told they had to leave. So caught off guard, they burst into tears, and meekly left. The reason for their eviction? When Iggy was in town earlier in the week, one of the girls had managed to get her photo taken with him, and had posted it on her Facebook page! WTF?

(If Canadian’s weren’t so damned polite perhaps they’d have stood their ground and said, “Bite me, call a cop, I can’t wait!”)

And they weren’t the only ones! They bounced another guy, who had an NDP sticker on his car! WTF?

WTF ? Citizen’s have to register to see their own PM? And if they don’t like your politics they can keep you out? Aren’t you supposed to be everyone’s PM, whether we voted for you or not?

When it hit the papers, officials from the event said, “That shouldn’t have happened, we regret it.” Really? Seems like you have a protocol in place for this very thing.

This guy is the very scummiest kind of career politician and I pray every day that he loses the damn election!

[seanchai]

As Charles II once remarked, when taxed with the discrepancy between what he said and what he did:

“My words are my own; my actions are my ministers.”

What cite / proof have you that Harper himself ordered these actions?

[Leaffan]

You think he personally threw the girls out? He has staffers working for him who did this, well, instructed the RCMP to do this.

Anyway, it’s his party’s political rally. He has no problem getting people with Conservative affiliations to show up. Why would he want supporters of other parties at his political rally? It might get a little embarrassing if he got pied or something at a Conservative rally, wouldn’t it? Sounds reasonable to me.

[elbows]

He’s the Prime Minister, and he’s supposed to represent everyone, not just those who voted for him.

His hopes for a majority might be strengthened if he could sway a few of those who voted otherwise, last time around.

They didn’t want to pie him, no pies were seen. They wanted to hear the leaders, of each party, speak. How dare they!

I still think it’s a pretty douchebag thing to do and demonstrates pretty clearly who he really is.

[orcenio]

This happened just a few days ago: [

A Dartmouth volunteer who helps homeless veterans was turned away from a Stephen Harper election rally last week and the man calls it a slap in the face to those who have been injured in service of their country.

](http://thechronicleherald.ca/Metro/1236896.html) It’s been making solid news which has overshadowed anything else that Harper was promoting.

[Leaffan]

@elbows

I still think it’s a pretty douchebag thing to do and demonstrates pretty clearly who he really is.

Yes. An astute politician.

[alice_in_wonderland]

You know, I’m no Stephen Harper fan, but I have trouble believing that he has time to comb through facebook pages looking for people to bounce from his rally.

If you want to get your shirt in a knot about an over zealous campaign worker, be my guest, but I don’t think you can hang this particular incident on Harper.

[saoirse]

@Leaffan

Yes. An astute politician.

He doesn’t seem to be that at all. It looks like everyone is talking about how he managed a rally, instead of what went on there.

@alice_in_wonderland

You know, I’m no Stephen Harper fan, but I have trouble believing that he has time to comb through facebook pages looking for people to bounce from his rally.

No, but he has enough time to tell his campaign manager that he doesn’t want anyone who isn’t reliably Conservative at his public events, or approve when his campaign manager says something like that to him.

I mean, people generally get held responsible for the things they delegate to their underlings.

[Euphonious_Polemic]

@Leaffan

Yes. An astute politician.

Sure, right, really astute. What did it get him? Headlines in every paper around the country about how Harper lives in such a tightly controlled bubble that his staffers kick out 19 year old students from his “public” events, because they were once seen with his rival. He now comes across as a scared little man.

He has let the media away from his message because he’s afraid of 19 year old poli-sci students.

He may not have personally ejected the students, but he is responsible for the policy surrounding his events and the actions of his staffers. Or he’s a stupid puppet. Your choice.

I note that he has recently apologized. Sort of.

“**If **anybody is kept out of any of our events who’s there to hear our message, we obviously apologize to them,”

Bolding mine. Typical weaselly non-apology which implies that maybe it never even happened (“IF”) and that those kicked out were obviously there to cause trouble anyway. What a shit-stain.

[Cat_Whisperer]

Previous discussion of this incident in the Canadian election thread. (Starting at post #280.)

[Leaffan]

Oh look, we’re in the pit.

You’re jealous because your shitty candidate, with his shitty policies isn’t winning. Maybe a different voice in Canada than what’s been held for a couple of decades is finally being heard.

If a couple of students being expelled from a political rally is all you have to get worked up about, perhaps the country isn’t in such bad shape after all. I mean it’s not like we’re talking about giving away millions of dollars to well-connected friends, right?

[elbows]

Say what now?

You mean like naming to the senate, fellow conservatives who had run for seats and been rejected by voters, and yet got named to the senate because they were his pals?

[RickJay]

If you wanna talk election we have a thread for that. This thread’s about the bouncing incident.

What I find fascinating is how the RCMP isn’t being raked over the coals; they have admitted they bounced the two women out of the event while simultaneously trying to weasel out of it by saying that isn’t their job. God knows they haven’t done a lot recently to maintain public trust in their judgment.

[Nanoda]

@RickJay

What I find fascinating is how the RCMP isn’t being raked over the coals; they have admitted they bounced the two women out of the event while simultaneously trying to weasel out of it by saying that isn’t their job. God knows they haven’t done a lot recently to maintain public trust in their judgment.

That’s probably why I don’t feel that bad about it; they right away admitted they fucked up and said they won’t do it again, which is a darn sight better than usual.

Booting anyone much further below “cronie” from their events is stepping outside the bounds that I like my politics, and the press is right to make him squirm.

[DWMarch]

I think this whole thing is being blown out of proportion. Stephen Harper is not just the Conservative candidate for Prime Minister… he is the Prime Minister. I know we’re not prone to violence up here in quiet, polite Canada but there is always the possibility that someone might try something and the RCMP need to remain vigilant in protecting the PM regardless of his party affiliation.

These girls have a picture with Iggy and they think it’s to blame. But what if among their Facebook friends they know someone who advocates violence against Harper? In any case, we don’t know what the RCMP have on them (but we know there’s obviously something) and since they haven’t committed any actual crimes the RCMP aren’t at liberty to say. But I’m certain this happens more often than we could imagine and it’s only an issue right now because Canadian election cycles are boring and the media finds the need to invent an outrage of the day. Seriously, think about it for a moment: how close can you get to the Prime Minister of Canada on any given day before a security person intercepts you?

[elbows]

what if

Shouldn’t be enough to toss someone. Period.

[RickJay]

@DWMarch

But I’m certain this happens more often than we could imagine

Oh, this happens ALL THE TIME. People have always been heaved out of campaign events, be they Liberal, PC/Reform/Conservative, or NDP events. It’s nothing new.

What’s bothersome about it is that people would be tossed out not for yelling or heckling, but for an innocuous picture on their Facebook page.

[orcenio]

@DWMarch

These girls have a picture with Iggy and they think it’s to blame. But what if among their Facebook friends they know someone who advocates violence against Harper? In any case, we don’t know what the RCMP have on them (but we know there’s obviously something) and since they haven’t committed any actual crimes the RCMP aren’t at liberty to say. But I’m certain this happens more often than we could imagine and it’s only an issue right now because Canadian election cycles are boring and the media finds the need to invent an outrage of the day. Seriously, think about it for a moment: how close can you get to the Prime Minister of Canada on any given day before a security person intercepts you?

That is just your imagination running a bit wild on us. They were plainly told that it was due to their “ties to the Liberal party through facebook.”

[Euphonious_Polemic]

@Leaffan

Oh look, we’re in the pit.

You’re jealous because your shitty candidate, with his shitty policies isn’t winning. Maybe a different voice in Canada than what’s been held for a couple of decades is finally being heard.

Ya, that’s right, you got me. I’m simply jealous of Mr. Harper, because he’s clearly a superior man. Ya, that’s it.

It can’t be that I find his micromanagement and control of the PM’s office objectionable. Certainly it could have nothing to do with his plunging the country into debt after 12 years of surplus budgets. Purchasing expensive and useless fighter jets must not enter into my calculations.

And in terms of this thread, Harper being such a pussy that he directs his minions to toss out 19 year olds who have had the audacity to actually MEET his opponent… That must just be meaningless, right?

[Leaffan]

@Euphonious_Polemic

…Certainly it could have nothing to do with his plunging the country into debt after 12 years of surplus budgets.

In case you haven’t noticed, there’s been a bit of a global recession of late. The fact that Canada has fared better than just about any other country speaks volumes for the current, and yes, past governments of this country.

Purchasing expensive and useless fighter jets must not enter into my calculations.

It’s useless to provide our military with new equipment every, oh, 40 years?

And in terms of this thread, Harper being such a pussy that he directs his minions to toss out 19 year olds who have had the audacity to actually MEET his opponent… That must just be meaningless, right?

I doubt it was a direct order from the Prime Minister. I’m sure he has more useful things to do than peruse Facebook looking for enemies.