Doom and Gloom Mini-Rant

[Bragi]

I note the following poll story:

Majority supports Israel
Poll of Canadians shows contrary view in Quebec
Published: Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Almost two in three Canadians believe Israel's military action in Lebanon is justified, a new poll has revealed... etc.

(See http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=201868ff-2685-4321-b222-a9307230d14e)

I posit that progressives should acknowledge that evidence (such as that above) indicates that Harper is winning the foreign policy debate in Canada, and that the serious issue now is what, if anything, can be done to reverse the process of Canadians increasingly embracing Harper's view of the world, and Canada's role in it.

What bothers me most right now is not concerns about polling methodologies. (I will pause for a moment for amateur quantitative and qualitative public opinion research critics to reflect.)

What concerns me is that Harper's foreign policies represent some of the very worst aspects of Bushian neoconservative thought, and I'm concerned that this fact has been loudly touted by his political opponents, and even picked up in the media, but this hasn't stopped a growing number of Canadians from supporting these policies.

Why is this? How can this be happening in Canada when many Americans, and just about everyone who isn't American, has pretty well concluded that the neocon foreign policy that Harper is selling, and that Canadians are buying, has been nothing short of catastrophic in the Middle East, and that we have probably not even started to pay the high price we will eventually have to pay for these reckless policies.

The ugly situation is that the Middle East looks about to implode, and here's the topper: the folks who brought us the Iraq war are still in charge of things there, and our country has now "stepped up to the plate" ready, aye, ready to help these folks whatever comes.

I suppose we Nord Americanos will be able to insulate ourselves from the worst of what will happen in the Middle East, at least for a while, as geographically-handy Europe gets hammered first by terrorists, but I'm sure things will hold long enough for the Bushes and Harpers of the world to put their whacked vision into unstoppable motion, with, of course, fulsome public support.

- B

[Spazito]

1. Wow, you really are falling for the faux con propaganda....

if you feel you must, so be it, I chose not to. The article in the NP is about as slanted as could possibly be produced but, no surprise there, it is their job to do just that. Remember the disgusting, lying propaganda article the NP published recently regarding Iran and the outrageous lie that Jewish people in Iran had to wear a distinguishing color. Same newspaper, same absolute trash.