By Kyle Young
We can now all wave good-bye to Stockwell Day with a sigh of relief more collective than a mandate from CPIRG. Without a doubt, it’s a positive thing for right wingers everywhere that wetsuit boy has taken his jet ski and driven off into the sunset. However, the looming question remains: will Harper be able to not only get the Alliance back in the black, but also bring it to a level where it can compete in the federal sandbox that is Ottawa?
Harper definitely stands a larger chance of getting the Alliance somewhere significant than Day did. We can only hope that, as Stalin seemed an angel in comparison to Hitler, Harper doesn’t seem so promising only because he’s compared to Day.
Few can dispute the fact that the right has numerous factors working against it in this country, and Stockwell did nothing to help shed the stereotypes. The fundamental view working against the right wing is the stereotype of the Bible-thumping, war mongering, gun-toting imbecile. Between Bush and Day, that view has been justified in the minds of the public all across Canada.
The problem here is not that these views don’t accurately reflect what the right end of the spectrum entails, only that these views seem to encompass religious spectrums, moral spectrums, economic spectrums, and political spectrums among others. It’s not neccesary to combine all of these in a right-wing political candidate.
It’s never been mentioned in any economics course I’ve taken that right-wing decision-makers must oppose abortion, support family values and oppose gay rights. A candidate for the right is defined by his or her trend to limit public spending, lower taxes and limit government involvement in the economy.
Harper represents a secular right, a right which hasn’t limited its world view to an Earth on which dinosaurs frequented the garden of Eden alongside our necessarily incestuous ancestors, and were only later killed off during some catastrophic flood. Does that make Harper a more credible candidate? Well, for the sake of not having a mailbox stuffed full of Watchtowers, I’ll leave that up to you. Just consider this: if you’re willing to believe a literal translation of the Bible over all the accumulated scientific evidence concerning the Earth’s history, how likely are you to listen to educated economists when it goes against your own personal beliefs?
With any luck, the Canadian political system has just birthed the male equivalent of Margaret Thatcher. In the worst case scenario, Harper will make a small dent in federal politics as the right fails to regain power within our lifetime. Either way, it’s better than the horror which Day dragged us through, and for that we should be thankful.