Harper Still Hasn't Got The Concept

[Update:]
And Harper makes my point for me by ignoring his own accountability rules. Can you say 'double standard'?
[/Update]

Apparently nobody bothered to tell PMSH in 2006 that winning an election means he should start acting like a leader, and not like a Bush league thug that takes his orders from Karl Rove.

His challenge – “Mr. Dion must decide to fish or cut bait” – came as the Conservatives faced head-on the growing economic concerns of Canadians; in particular, rising fuel costs. Keenly aware of concerns from constituents, MPs have suggested a series of potential tax measures aimed at reducing housekeeping budgets, but Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said the economic health of the country did not currently allow for “big new tax reductions.”

I think, Mr. Harper, that the man who has to 'fish or cut bait' is you. It's time to quit acting like you are still in opposition and start taking responsibility for your actions as a government.

But, the real non-sequitur is here:

The Prime Minister reiterated his consistent position that Canada's fundamental economic indicators remain strong, though he too allowed, in his speech Wednesday night to the party faithful, that there is “global economic uncertainty” and that “no economy in the world is immune from what is happening, especially in the United States.”

The fundamentals are strong, but apparently they're shaky too. Right. Got that one. Next time I'm looking for an earthquake forecast, I know exactly where to go - Harper's campaign office.

On hard specifics, Mr. Harper promised not to increase taxes at this point, while Mr. Flaherty's earlier comments suggested that, in this “time of economic slowdown,” the government is limited in what it can do to help Canadians cope with rising gas and heating costs.

I don't know about that - I can think of lots of things we could do about that. Of course, none of them would ever be approved by Harper's masters in the GOP...

“A carbon tax, especially when it is explained by Mr. Dion, can seem complicated, even incomprehensible,” Mr. Harper said. “In fact, this tax invented by the Liberals will touch everyone and everything, without exception.”

Why yes, it will. But the real genius of Dion's carbon tax is that it rebalances the tax burden, and ultimately offloads the middle class taxpayer considerably - who has become the primary carrier of the tax burden while large corporate interests have gradually lobbied themselves into a position where they pay minimal or no taxes at all - and so often leave the taxpayers to clean up the mess when they move on.

Of course "Public Safety Minister" Day had to open his yap:

Mr. Day said his government is also looking to improve security in prisons, including getting rid of rules that prevent the government from forcing inmates to work or that hinder proper searches for drugs in prisons.

While I have no objection whatsoever to making it harder for inmates to engage in illegal activities such as drug dealing while incarcerated, I have major problems with forced labour. We incarcerate people as punishment. Incarceration is not an automatic condemnation to what amounts to slavery or indentured servitude to the government's whims.