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From: MercerReport
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  • Why do people keep voting for Overlord Harper?

  • I'm more disturbed that we're now under the so-called "harper government" than any navy throwback to colonial ties.

  • Please excuse me as I slam my face against the keyboard repeatedly at the top comment being "Rick Mercer for President!" odstjfdskldafilrbggdfnvdbngjdf­jwefrhgt

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  • I hope we open then eyes of ppl I called 20 ppl and couldn't get 1 to vote

  • You know, maybe this is actually a good thing. Maybe the fact that Stephen Harper is exploiting the system in unprecedented ways is actually serving to open our eyes to the problems that have always been there, waiting to be abused. Others were just not honest enough to take such advantages.

    Five years ago, Ontario let a big opportunity to improve Canada's democracy slip through its fingers. But five years ago, Harperland was still young. Maybe it's time we tried to change the system again.

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  • @RyanJTurcot @Eisenbarth11

    hmm, I agree with your ending statements

  • Haha yeah for sure, I understand where you're coming from. Most (average) people, right or left, just hear what they want to hear and ignore the facts, and productive discussions about politics just don't happen.

  • jesus people, Im not half as artarded as i sound, Obviously Canadia dudn't elect a presendent

  • Debate? How about remember Referendum?

  • Suppose I am an enemy to Canada.

  • Even more important than the pipeline, is the disaster that the tar sands have created. I wonder if Rick has an opinion on that. It's even uglier than Harper, the liberals and ndp combined. See the devastation on the TedxVictoria talk with Garth Lenz

  • Occupy Parliament!

  • Sorry but shouldn't we be blaming the opposition for this? It's their job to OPPOSE. Just because we have a majority doesn't give them the right to not hold the government accountable. I'm not understanding what you want from Harper. He's expressing his view that the pipeline is necessary. Would we rather he be spineless? Canadians voted him in and now he's doing his job. Many Canadians want the pipeline. I don't understand this view that he's a tyrant every time he says something.

  • @Eisenbarth11 Under a majority government such as the one we have currently, Harper's Conservative gov. essentially has the ability to suppress/ignore the opposition completely provided that his own party shares a common stance on any given issue (and Harper ALWAYS makes sure that his own party shares a common stance). That being said, the opposition DOES oppose -- if not through the system (which is dominated by the Conservatives), they do it by creating publicity and raising public awareness.

  • @Eisenbarth11 At the same time though, I agree with you when you say that maybe we (the public) jump to conclusions a little too fast when we say that he's a "tyrant" or "elected dictator". My philosophy is: be skeptical and aware of what he does, but consider both sides of any given issue. I don't agree with a lot of what he does, but I can acknowledge that, all things considered, he does have good ideas sometimes too.

  • @RyanJTurcot Sure, I have no problem with people not liking what he does. However, all I'm saying is, you can't be upset with Harper for there being no debate. The government has been set up so these majority governments have a lot of power. Be upset with the system, be upset with the opposition because they're not publicizing their opposition well enough, but how can we be upset with Harper on there being no debate? He's not schizophrenic, he can't debate himself. That's all I'm saying.

  • @Eisenbarth11 How can we be upset with Harper on there being no debates? He pulls stings to suppress/moderate them. For example, he strictly regulates what Conservative MPs can and can't say at House of Commons debates (any Conservative MP input must be pre-approved by Harper), and since they are the majority, this means that Harper has the final say on what is said by the majority of the HoC. Thus, MPs representing the opposition are systematically excluded from meaningful input in HoC debates.

  • @RyanJTurcot Also, the Liberals would be doing the same thing if they had a majority. Nice to see you agree with the tyrant/dictator point. I feel the left in this country often behaves the way the right does in the United States. Many of their supporters get into a panic when a different government takes over. I'm not mad that some people don't agree with Harper, in fact it should be celebrated that there are different views. But Harper is not to blame for using his majority to get things done.

  • @Eisenbarth11 And I'm not saying the Liberals are better. Ideological bigotry needs to be replaced with context-specific proposals in my opinion, because sometimes right-wing is the way to go and sometimes left-wing is. For example, I feel we need to keep corporate tax rates low even though it creates socioeconomic cleavages, because we need to keep it competitive to draw business to Canada. But education, for example, I feel needs to be accounted for by a leftist social program that will equal-

  • @Eisenbarth11 --equalize everyone's opportunities to post-secondary education. Why? Rapid technological advancement is forcing Canada to demand two simultaneous things: higher-educated workers, and more of these higher educated workers. We're not going to get MORE people to undertake post-secondary education unless it can be made more affordable to low-income citizens (such as myself). The opportunity for education is fair, but the margin for error for low-income people is far too large imo.

  • @RyanJTurcot Couldn't agree with you more. Ideologies are very restricting in this way. I think it would be awesome if we could find a way to make education more open to everyone. Only then could we truly claim that hard work equals success in our society. It would be nice if a balance could be struck. That's why I think Canadians are often very moderate in their political viewpoints.

  • @Eisenbarth11 Cool. And likewise, I agree with you here. It seems to me the average Canadian is too afraid to be associated with either "extreme" right-ism or left-ism, when really both "extremes" are stereotypes more than anything.

  • @RyanJTurcot Every time I look at the far-right (on either side of the border) I feel like I've stepped into a cross between V for Vendetta and an Austin Powers movie.

  • @BoredomCorner I've never watched V for Vendetta, so I don't know what your trying to say haha.

  • @Eisenbarth11 So it's not too much to expect that Harper DOESN'T do what the Liberals did? Especially since he not only specifically promised a change from that, but because THAT'S WHAT HE'S SUPPOSED TO DO ANYWAY?

  • @BoredomCorner This doesn't make any sense. What specifically do you want him to do? If it's to remove the party whip, I agree, he should do that. But I'm not outraged that he hasn't, because this is how politics has worked in this country forever.

  • @Eisenbarth11 @BoredomCorner Here's what I see: Harper uses his majority to suppress/ignore comments from MPs representing parties other than Conservative, and the question is: is that justifiable? If over 50 percent of Canadians truly supported the Conservatives, than sure. BUT, here's the catch: our single-member-plurality system allowed Harper to gain a majority with less than 40 percent of our population. Thus, I think it's wrong that he's ignoring the views of what the other 60% wanted.

  • @RyanJTurcot Really though, you can't say it's what the other 60% want. The other 60% is fragmented into four other parties. I doubt the Liberals would be entirely against the Keystone. The point is, this is how the system works. It's not often that a party receives +50% of the vote. You may call it ignoring, but this is how our political system enables a government to be effective in getting things done, which is a big problem right now in the USA.

  • @Eisenbarth11 I'm not trying to say what the other 60% want; every MP has a unique voice, but most aren't being heard. And you know what, Harper doesn't even allow his own party's MPs the freedom to say everything they want to, so really I was being nice in saying that 40% of what we voted for is getting heard. By the way, I don't know why you're bringing up the Liberals or the Keystone project, I never said anything about either; our tar sands are another discussion in itself!

  • @RyanJTurcot Because that's what the video uses as an example. I'm not exactly sure how you seem to state that he doesn't listen as if it's a fact. Do you participate in caucus meetings? Anyways, if you're saying we should remove the party whip, I've already said I agree with that, but this is how our politics have worked for a long time, so to be suddenly outraged with Harper, simply for the purpose of being upset with him, is kind of silly.

  • @Eisenbarth11 Touche haha, he does use that example. My bad. Now, when I say he doesn't listen, I'm going mainly off of what is expressed publicly by MPs within the system. Others (including some of my former Poli Sci profs) have done substantially more research than I have and come to the same conclusion, and it would seem Rick Mercer has as well, hence the topic of this video. And yes, Harper's just playing the system (like others have before him). That doesn't justify his actions though.

  • @RyanJTurcot No it certainly doesn't justify his actions. However, all that bothers me is that no one seems to care or notice when the Liberals behave the exact same way, (Not necessarily you.) but when Harper does it, he's some crazy dictator who's hell bent on destroying the nation. As someone who leans to the right, it offends me and frustrates me that a civil discourse can't take place because people insist on this outrageous propaganda.

  • @Eisenbarth11 @RyanJTurcot i agree with drfye. this is actually seems to be one of the least hostile comment sections on youtube i have ever seen, it convinces me that you're both true canadians. and eisenbarth, i totally agree that whatever party is in power tends to abuse it to some extent and this is been happening pretty much since we gained political sovereignty. but from my perspective its more about harper's political agenda rather than how he goes about trying to achieve it.

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  • Next thing Harper will sign something called INDEFINITE DETENTION OF CANADIAN CITIZENS

  • I prefered The CANADIAN ARMED FORCES. It showed the world we are our own Country, not merely a little puppet Colony of England. Since none of my ancestors were from England I feel it is a slap in Canadians faces. I am scared of How much more Damage that Jackass will do to our country in the next 3 years and 4 months. That is assuming there will ever be another Federal Election

  • @Kevinrocksat69 nope. President, he is the one guy I've never met and would truly trust without any hesitation. Rick Mercer you are a true legend.

  • @hardon4babes President of what country? Certainly not this one, we don't elect a President.

  • @turbofun998 Cool story. Tell another?

  • Yeah-'bout how it is here in the U.S. now too. :( Especially if you are conservative and say something about the liberals. Oh no!! Can't have that!! All of a sudden your a racist or whatever!! :(

  • Rick, it used to be Royal Canadian Navy and Royal Canadian Air Force. The Liberals changed them to Canadian Forces (Maritime Command) and Canadian Forces (Air Command) without any debate either, and it upset a whole lot more people than it pleased. I know almost all active and retired service members in my area are happy to get their pride back with the original names. As an Honorary Colonel of 423 Squadron, what do the members in your unit think?

  • Rick Mercer for President!

  • @hardon4babes Do you mean Prime MInster?

  • @hardon4babes You mean Prime Minister?

  • @hardon4babes you mean Prime Minister right?

  • @hardon4babes You mean Prime Minister, right? Cause we aren't exporting him to the US, he's ours.

  • @hardon4babes Ditto!

  • @hardon4babes WE DON'T HAVE A GODDAMN PRESIDENT AND NEVER WILL!!!!!!!!!!!! O CAAAANAAADDAAAA

  • Oh Rick...you are an awesome and courageous hero for us all....no freaking way is that pipeline going through our precious and beautiful BC while massive oil tankers wait to take the dirty sludge to China. Those tankers have to navigate through some of the roughest rockiest waters in the world, putting our fragile BC coast in constant jeopardy...we can't we lose our dependance on importing oil and create jobs while processing it ourselves in Canada...what the heck is King Harper thinking???

  • A government without a majority should not rule like it has a majority. Plurality =/= Majority.

  • @Tweeeked but the Conservatives do have the majority...

  • Bang on Rick!

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  • OpXroads..Liberals are not the official opposition..It would be a wasted vote..But I agree His "holiness" has GOT TO GO!!

  • I'm a 40 year old guy who never cared about federal politics. But when the next federal election comes around I will vote -> Liberals. I don't care who the liberal candidate is in my riding, I'll vote for him/her. This Harper regime has got to go.

    Liberals may be a herd of political whores but if I'm forced to choose between corruption and fascism, I choose corruption.

  • the united food and commercial union did the same thing. I don't want to work in a real canadian super store, I want to work in a Loblaws Supermarket, that is the real canadian super store.

  • were still better than the u.,s where they are trying to pass SOPA which will destroy the internet as we know it but shutting down sites like google and wikipedia. and DODA which will allow the government to arrest and detain U.S citizens on U.S soil permanently without trial just like in Guantanamo Bay. Now thats a real loss of freedom. This here in Canada is nothing.

  • @TheAce1082 if that's what u think u better do some research! harpo wants the equivalent of SOPA here!! + he's already given the US forces auth. to come on to Cdn soil and arrest and detain Canadians!! Not better than the US!!!

  • And Harper apologists were saying that nothing would change, under him... that we'd still have freedom. Say goodbye to that.

  • Best wishes for 2012 to you guys in Canada.

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