Harper The Anti-Democrat

I find it amusing (in the blackened comedy sense) that the leader of a party that is supposedly a "grass-roots" organization is showing himself to be more and more of a control freak.

His latest move to muzzle the opposition response to his throne speech on Oct 16 only reinforces my opinion that Harper is no democrat - not in any sense of the word.

I'm sure his supporters are all sitting around clapping at this "masterful stroke" of political tactics. But Canadians have seen this before. Not on the federal stage to be sure, but we've seen it before.

Moves like this are old school for Albertans - at least those of us who actually paid attention during the Klein years. Under Klein, the Alberta Government became (and remains) the most secretive, uncooperative government in the country. Klein would go out of his way to stage as much as he could outside the legislative session, and to minimize the ability of the opposition to respond and hold him (and his government) accountable.

Harper's latest move smacks of the vicious partisan politics that he has fostered since he became leader of the Canadian Alliance (taking pages out of the US Rethuglicans), and draws heavily on the tactics of control and muzzling that Ralph Klein used with success in Alberta.

Alberta's legislature is a shadow of what it has been in the past under leaders who understood that their job was to lead and represent the people, Harper is doing his best to imitate that on the Federal scene.

Canadians should be worried - very worried, indeed.