Here's an interesting site I found today that outlines 100 reasons not to vote for Harper: http://trustbreaker.freehostia.com/100+reasons.htm

I stopped reading about a quarter of the way through, but I could see that if you read about any of the issues mentioned, you'd probably agree "Yup, that's a good reason".

Do any of these really strike you as "I can't believe people are ignoring this" or "C'mon, that issue is so overblown"?

(reprinted here without permission)
  100+ Reasons Not to Vote for Harper

1. Calling an early election, breaking a legislated promise to have the next vote in 2009.
2. Writing ineffective laws, which do not apply to him.
3. Apparently Canadian laws do not apply to him either, ask Elections Canada, a number of other quasi-judicial bodies or Cadman’s biographer.
4. Turning a record budget surplus into a deficit in 3 years.
5.Running the biggest spending Canadian government ever and increasing spending at twice the rate of inflation and revenue
6. Losing 2 billion plus dollars of tax revenue due to an ill conceived income trust policy.
7. Cutting Canada’s Food Safety Inspectors just prior to a major food poisoning outbreak (Listeriosis) that has killed 15 people so far.
8. Adding a personal hair stylist and image consultant to the PMO staff and billing the taxpayer for her services
9. Fudging the costs of government jets used by Stephen Harper and his ministers after blasting Liberals for the same thing.
10. Kicking out Garth Turner for communicating with Canadians.
11. Firing Mp Bill Casey for doing his job and standing up for his constituents
12. Producing a 200 page "Manual of Dirty Tricks" to deliberately disrupt parliamentary committees and parliament.
13. Conservative committee chairman following that advice and walking out when ever a contentious issue is raise or they might lose a vote.
14. Parliamentary secretary Pierre Poilievre’s hand gestures in Parliament and F-word comments in committee.
15. Firing Conservative Senators Hugh Segal and Michael Meighan from committee work for independent thinking.
16. Muzzling Conservative MPs and banning them from unauthorized media interviews.
17. Spending more money in a single year than any other government in Canadian history, stoking inflation and threatening higher interest rates
.18. Broken promise on taxing income trusts.
19. Deporting hardworking, tax-paying resident Portuguese drywallers.
20. Conservative MP Colin Mayes writing a column saying journalists who disagree with Harper should be jailed.
21. Doing nothing about climate change or the environment for more than a year, and until forced to by the polls.
22. Making a former lobbyist for military arms dealers the minister of defence, in charge of $15 billion in spending.
23. Orchestrating a secret dirty tricks campaign against Bob Rae inside the Liberal leadership convention.
24. Preaching Senate reform, then appointing Michael Fortier to the Senate so he could be made an unelected cabinet minister.
25. Setting Jim Flaherty loose to attack Ontario’s economic policy (after he led them into deficit) and succeeding in driving away business and investment.
26. Failing to have any effective policy to help Ontario’s struggling manufacturing sector, other than tax cuts for the ones enjoying a profit.
27. Refusing to allow media coverage of the return home of our Afghan war dead, without consulting the families.
28. Broken promise on providing a health care waiting time guarantee.
29. Threatening Conservative MPs with loss of party status if they talked about funding cuts that affect their constituents.
30. Running the most secretive and least accountable government in Canadian history after running on a platform of accountability
31. Attempts to block access by the Parliamentary Press Gallery to the prime minister and cabinet. Secret timing of cabinet meetings to avoid press.
32. Trying to dismantle the Canada Wheat Board and sacking its president. Quote: "One Way or Another..."
33. Supporting Calgary Conservative MP Rob Anders’ bogus nomination process, later overturned by the courts.
34. Trying to buy the 2007 Quebec election with a 34% increase in transfer payments.
35. Refusal to even consider honouring the Kyoto Accord, or come up with a credible alternative, until forced to by Parliament.
36. Appointing Liberal MP Wajid Khan as a mid-east advisor to write a public report for Harper, then refusing to release it after he defected.
37. Claiming the Air India inquiry depended on anti-terrorism act amendments that opposition MPs opposed, when lawyers said it did not.
38. Blacking out pages which supposedly provide proof of tax leakage as justication for taxing income trusts when released under a Freedom Of Information request and stating that it was done in the “Interest of National Security.
39. Refusing to apologize for wiping out $25 billion in private savings with one tax measure, a great deal of it belonging to seniors.
40. Raising personal income tax rate for the lowest bracket to help pay for record government spending.
41. Vowing to dismantle gun registry after fatal shooting in Montreal with registered weapons.
42. Cabinet minister Peter Van Loan botching the electoral reform commission hearings.
43. Cutting the Energuide program for low-income homeowners and replacing it with a new one for higher-income homeowners.
44. Canceling the Kelowna Accord, cutting off talks with first nations’ leaders and refusing to deal with the Caledonia crisis.
45. Saying opposition MPs have “more passion for Taliban prisoners” than they do for Canadian soldiers.
46. Spending $150,000 per weapon to arm border guards.
47. Constant campaigning, rather than governing.
48. Not a single new child care space after promising 125,000 would be created in first Conservative mandate.
49. Finance Minister Jim Flaherty spending $400 on a pair of skates while bringing in budget for “working families.”
50. Promising a lean government, and then bloating the cabinet by six more people, with cars and drivers
51. Snubbing two of the world’s fastest-growing economies and most promising trading partners, China and India.
52. Firing acclaimed conservative candidate Mark Warner for daring to talk off issue about social issues concerning local residents.
53. Breaking a Conservative Blue book pledge to Prevent party leaders from appointing candidates without the democratic consent of local electoral district associations.
54. Spending millions attacking Stephane Dion as “Not a Leader”. Why? because he is the kind of open leader that Canadians respect and he fears.
55. Breaking promises to provinces, including Newfoundland and Labrador and Saskatchewan, over transfer payments, while showering Quebec.
56. Politicizing the police and the military.
57. Linking a vote on pension income-splitting for seniors to taxing income trusts.
58. Cutting funding to women’s programs only to restore it after staff was fired.
59. Accusing those concerned with human rights of being soft on crime, soft on terror and bashing police.
60. Heritage Minister Bev Oda spending $5,000 on Halifax limos to arrive in style at the Juno awards.
61. Allowing one of his “advisors” John Reynolds to be a registered lobbyist for the Rick Hanson Foundation (which I think he is on the board) and giving mega bucks for research for spinal cord injuries.
62. When everyone wants an end to school yard bullying and internet bullying he sets an example to kids that it is acceptable to bully.
63. Steals Liberal policies and renames them (and lies about it) just to get votes.
64. His budget (07) is costing Canadian taxpayers each $1,000. to buy Quebec votes.
65. Using taxpayers money to deliver and solicit responses via "10 percenter's" sent by out of riding Con MP's to distant ridings. Thinly disguised campaigning... yet another "bend the rules" Harper contrivance.
66. The Cadman Affair, questionable and possibly illegally attempting to influence the vote of a dying MP. More "rule bending".
67. Suing the opposition for doing its job.  
68. Continually changing his story about the Cadman tape. Unanswered questions abound.
69. Normally leaving the House of Commons by the back door to avoid answering media questions.
70. Ignoring Canadian scientists who had won Nobel prizes when their science didn't match with his views of reality.
71. Massive spending on advertising prior to an election call.
72. Rona Ambrose, as environment minister, firing a government scientist for writing a book on global warming.
73. Stacking a stem cell research advisory committee with pro-life Conservatives.
74. Breaking the Atlantic Accord after promising not to.
75. Denying all veteran's widows extended benefits after promising to do so.
76. Snubbing Canadian United Nations High Commissioner for Human rights, Louise Arbour
77. Causing the loss of Bell Canada and dozens of Income Trusts to Private equity firms with an ill conceived Income Trust policy, resulting in reduced tax revenue
78. Stacking the judiciary with pro-Conservative judges after vowing open appointments.
79. Selling out to the Americans on softwood lumber and leaving a 1 billion dollar tip on the table.
80. Cutting funding to literacy programs, then sending Laureen Harper to a literacy event.
81 The Elections Canada raid on Conservative party headquarters, investigating the ‘in and out” election financing scheme.
82. David Emerson
83. Ignoring the advice of the Canadian Nuclear Agency on the Chalk River reactor
84. Firing Linda Keen the head of the Canadian Nuclear Agency a supposedly independent quasi judicial body hours before she was to testify a parliamentary committee  
85. Hiding the Minister responsible for nuclear safety Gary Lunn, for weeks and billing taxpayer for an imagine consultants services before he would re-appear
86. Dropping his friend and valued advisor Brian Mulroney like a hot potato, when Schreiber’s allegations are made public.
87. Losing all the correspondence sent to the PMO by Schreiber over a year.
88. Resisting all calls for a public inquiry until his ex friend Brian Mulroney demanded one.
89. The Obama Leak, leaking confidential diplomatic comments to help right wing friends.
90. Vigorously attack the Liberal party plans on the economy, environment, and poverty while having no effective plan after 3 years.
91. Maxime Bernier Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister leaves top secret documents at his girlfriends' house.
92. Not realising for weeks that he had done so (until pointed out to him), so much for taking homework home!
93. Ignoring one of John Manley’s key recommendations on Afghanistan to improve communication to Canadians on progress.
94. Dredging up anti-gay sentiments by forcing another vote in Parliament on same-sex marriage
95. Conservative MP Helena Guergis leaks details of Stephane Dion’s top secret tour to Afghanistan thus endangering his life and those of the troops protecting him.
96. Attacking Dion for pointing out that Pakistan’s support of terrorist training camps was a major problem in Afghanistan. Something that evidently had not occurred to him
97. Pushing recognition of “the Quebecois as a nation” through Parliament in order to win seats in that province.
98. Smearing MP Nav Bains’ father-in-law as being a potential terrorist, in the House of Commons
99. John Baird’s partisanship.
100. Security Minister Stockwell Day denying a former MP was bought off to secure Day a seat in Parliament.
101. Refusing to lower Canadian flags to honour our fallen military heroes.
102. Promising investors a break on capital gains taxes and then abandoning it after being elected.
103. Refusing to use the Canadian Press Gallery except on one occasion.
104. Refusing to accept questions from the press except a few carefully screened journalists.
105. Attempt to introduce a copyright act based on the Digital Millennium Act, a wish list produced by industry. Refusing to answer questions as usual.
106. Stopping public servants making statements without approval from the PMO
107. Stopping Conservative MPs making statements without approval from the PMO
108. Harper’s broken promise to rescind a 'temporary deficit reduction tax' on gas, in spite of the deficit having been eliminated..
109. Harper’s broken promise to reduce federal fuel taxes if gas goes over 85 cents/l, saying “get used to it” and “the reduction would be insignificant” after being elected.
110. Making this list too darn easy to write

I tend to be a little wary of fast paced lists like this one... I think he/she even repeats her/hisself.  

While I agree that it's good to be wary of any such lists, is there anything about this particular list that tells you to dismiss it?

First off, the fact there are no names with that site is disconcerting.  Why not put your name to it.  It is a no-name blog with issues I have listed below.  I agreed with some, disagreed with others, and did not comment on those I knew nothing about.


1.Calling an early election, breaking a legislated promise to have the next vote in 2009.

He did leave himself an out, because he is in a minority government and apparently he did see the other leaders and asked them if they would continue to support the government, when they declined he called the election.

2. Writing ineffective laws, which do not apply to him.

Same can be said about the liberals (gun registry, environment).  Too general a comment.

3. Apparently Canadian laws do not apply to him either, ask Elections Canada, a number of other quasi-judicial bodies or Cadman’s biographer.

Yes, those are valid points.

4. Turning a record budget surplus into a deficit in 3 years.

Perhaps the writer is not aware of the whole world economy going downhill.  To think Canada would not be affected by economical events in the US is naïve.

5.Running the biggest spending Canadian government ever and increasing spending at twice the rate of inflation and revenue

Whenever the economy turns a government spending will increase and surpluses will dwindle.

7. Cutting Canada’s Food Safety Inspectors just prior to a major food poisoning outbreak (Listeriosis) that has killed 15 people so far.

If true it’s damning, but because no citations and the blog is quite devoid of author’s names, this lacks credibility.

8. Adding a personal hair stylist and image consultant to the PMO staff and billing the taxpayer for her services

He fucking needed it!  But he should fire them because he still has fischer-price hair!

9. Fudging the costs of government jets used by Stephen Harper and his ministers after blasting Liberals for the same thing.

Is this something new?  Doubt it.

10. Kicking out Garth Turner for communicating with Canadians.

This is valid.

12. Producing a 200 page "Manual of Dirty Tricks" to deliberately disrupt parliamentary committees and parliament.

Minority government is not easy to maintain.

13. Conservative committee chairman following that advice and walking out when ever a contentious issue is raise or they might lose a vote.

Again, perhaps they didn’t want a confidence vote so they sought to avoid it… it’s what happens in minority governments.

14. Parliamentary secretary Pierre Poilievre’s hand gestures in Parliament and F-word comments in committee.

Trudeau’s Fuddle Duddle… This has happened before, they are human, they should kiss and make up and move on!

15. Firing Conservative Senators Hugh Segal and Michael Meighan from committee work for independent thinking.

Again, in this party system that happens!  Party doctrine is all!  Liberals probably did the same thing.

16. Muzzling Conservative MPs and banning them from unauthorized media interviews.

Tried to lower the probability of gaffs, but people need to hear from their MP’s.

17. Spending more money in a single year than any other government in Canadian history, stoking inflation and threatening higher interest rates

Interest rates are pretty darn low, historically speaking!

19. Deporting hardworking, tax-paying resident Portuguese drywallers.

People get deported all the time…

20. Conservative MP Colin Mayes writing a column saying journalists who disagree with Harper should be jailed.

Retarded bone headed move on Mayes part, if true.  A link to the article would be nice.

21. Doing nothing about climate change or the environment for more than a year, and until forced to by the polls.

As if liberals did any better.  All major parties stink… that’s why I vote green.

22. Making a former lobbyist for military arms dealers the minister of defence, in charge of $15 billion in spending.

This is stupid, but again nothing new… unfortunately.

24. Preaching Senate reform, then appointing Michael Fortier to the Senate so he could be made an unelected cabinet minister.

Classic double talk.

25. Setting Jim Flaherty loose to attack Ontario’s economic policy (after he led them into deficit) and succeeding in driving away business and investment.

There’s ALWAYS been friction between federal and provincial governments.

26. Failing to have any effective policy to help Ontario’s struggling manufacturing sector, other than tax cuts for the ones enjoying a profit.

I don’t think McGuinty did better.

27. Refusing to allow media coverage of the return home of our Afghan war dead, without consulting the families.

Not really an important matter in my opinion.

28. Broken promise on providing a health care waiting time guarantee.

I’ll hold my breath…

29. Threatening Conservative MPs with loss of party status if they talked about funding cuts that affect their constituents.

See 15.

30. Running the most secretive and least accountable government in Canadian history after running on a platform of accountability

This is true.

31. Attempts to block access by the Parliamentary Press Gallery to the prime minister and cabinet. Secret timing of cabinet meetings to avoid press.

Press doesn’t need to be ‘in’ on the cabinet meetings, but any policies arising should be discussed with media.

32. Trying to dismantle the Canada Wheat Board and sacking its president. Quote: "One Way or Another..."

Don’t know if this is a good or bad thing.

34. Trying to buy the 2007 Quebec election with a 34% increase in transfer payments.

Liberals did it… anyone remember that little scandal thingy.. remember..?

35. Refusal to even consider honouring the Kyoto Accord, or come up with a credible alternative, until forced to by Parliament.

Again no other major party has done anything.

36. Appointing Liberal MP Wajid Khan as a mid-east advisor to write a public report for Harper, then refusing to release it after he defected.

How many reports get lost?  

37. Claiming the Air India inquiry depended on anti-terrorism act amendments that opposition MPs opposed, when lawyers said it did not.

Looks bad, if true

40. Raising personal income tax rate for the lowest bracket to help pay for record government spending.

Then lowering it again.

41. Vowing to dismantle gun registry after fatal shooting in Montreal with registered weapons.

That’s bad timing… that’s all.

46. Spending $150,000 per weapon to arm border guards.

Seems too high.     

47. Constant campaigning, rather than governing.

What political party does not ‘spin’ it’s arguments to the media?  That could be considered campaigning.  Though, the conservatives do take it to a new level.. I don’t think this is a major issue though.

48. Not a single new child care space after promising 125,000 would be created in first Conservative mandate.

Frankly, the universal child care benefit IS a benefit for us!  Especially since Chubbs is staying at home to look after the girls.

49. Finance Minister Jim Flaherty spending $400 on a pair of skates while bringing in budget for “working families.”

Lame… he can personally buy whetever the hell he wants.

50. Promising a lean government, and then bloating the cabinet by six more people, with cars and drivers
51. Snubbing two of the world’s fastest-growing economies and most promising trading partners, China and India.

50 and 51 can be linked together, he decided to stay in Canada and not spend tax payer dollars unlike Chretien who gallivanted all over the place.

52. Firing acclaimed conservative candidate Mark Warner for daring to talk off issue about social issues concerning local residents.

This is the party system we have… tow party lines, like or not.

54. Spending millions attacking Stephane Dion as “Not a Leader”. Why? because he is the kind of open leader that Canadians respect and he fears.

Liberal bias perhaps?  Did Dion ‘lead’ when he was environment minister?  No, because party priorities were paramount and he had to tow party lines.

55. Breaking promises to provinces, including Newfoundland and Labrador and Saskatchewan, over transfer payments, while showering Quebec.

As IF the Liberals have any leg to stand on in this issue!!

56. Politicizing the police and the military.

Perhaps not the military themselves, but the use of such.

59. Accusing those concerned with human rights of being soft on crime, soft on terror and bashing police.

There is a fine line here.  If a person does the crime they should be treated humanely, BUT they shouldn’t get off easy.

60. Heritage Minister Bev Oda spending $5,000 on Halifax limos to arrive in style at the Juno awards.

As IF the Liberals didn’t spend lavishly on such things.  But I agree, excess is not needed.

61. Allowing one of his “advisors” John Reynolds to be a registered lobbyist for the Rick Hanson Foundation (which I think he is on the board) and giving mega bucks for research for spinal cord injuries.

This guy ‘thinks’ Reynolds is on the board?  Not good enough.  Plus the Rick Hanson Foundation is a CHARITY.. good luck trying to lampoon the government for donating to a charity!  Not an issue.

62. When everyone wants an end to school yard bullying and internet bullying he sets an example to kids that it is acceptable to bully.

Weak argument.  Does he bully his children?  What reference is he using?

63. Steals Liberal policies and renames them (and lies about it) just to get votes.

Liberals were accused of doing the same…

66. The Cadman Affair, questionable and possibly illegally attempting to influence the vote of a dying MP. More "rule bending".

Certainly this is concerning.

67. Suing the opposition for doing its job.  

I agree, that was stupid.

69. Normally leaving the House of Commons by the back door to avoid answering media questions.

Yes I think the PM should be available.  But this is really a weak argument.

70. Ignoring Canadian scientists who had won Nobel prizes when their science didn't match with his views of reality.

Yes that is concerning.

71. Massive spending on advertising prior to an election call.

We get messages from the government of Canada all the time.  

72. Rona Ambrose, as environment minister, firing a government scientist for writing a book on global warming.

There was absolutely no other reason?  Not enough info.

75. Denying all veteran's widows extended benefits after promising to do so.

I wonder, in a minority government where the opposition parties taken all together form a majority, would Harper be able to unilaterally make law?  No, so I wonder what part of this statement is the oppositions fault as well?

76. Snubbing Canadian United Nations High Commissioner for Human rights, Louise Arbour

What’s a snub?  Not shaking hands?  Not talking to them personally?  No point of reference.

77. Causing the loss of Bell Canada and dozens of Income Trusts to Private equity firms with an ill conceived Income Trust policy, resulting in reduced tax revenue

Don’t know if that would have stopped the sales.

81 The Elections Canada raid on Conservative party headquarters, investigating the ‘in and out” election financing scheme.

That is alarming to say the least.

82. David Emerson

He should have been forced to resign and rerun.  How likely would he have been re-elected for wasting tax payer money.

83. Ignoring the advice of the Canadian Nuclear Agency on the Chalk River reactor

ALL PARTIES DID THIS!!!  THEY ALL AGREED TO RE-OPEN IT!  Making it sound like it was only Harper is a lie.

84. Firing Linda Keen the head of the Canadian Nuclear Agency a supposedly independent quasi judicial body hours before she was to testify a parliamentary committee  

See above.  I think all parties are to blame!

86. Dropping his friend and valued advisor Brian Mulroney like a hot potato, when Schreiber’s allegations are made public.

That’s what politicians do.. someone becomes to hot to handle they distance themselves.

89. The Obama Leak, leaking confidential diplomatic comments to help right wing friends.

That was a stupid thing to do.

90. Vigorously attack the Liberal party plans on the economy, environment, and poverty while having no effective plan after 3 years.

Again minority government politics might be a major contributor to the issue.  Certainly environment was never a big issue for the liberals.

91. Maxime Bernier Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister leaves top secret documents at his girlfriends' house.

A bit of a dumb move, but it was not sensitive material like canada’s secret military research and development.  And I’ve heard that many times MP’s or bureaucrats take files home to work.

92. Not realising for weeks that he had done so (until pointed out to him), so much for taking homework home!

Now that is un-excusable.  And the woman in question, she must have been dumped because this is ‘a woman scorned.’

94. Dredging up anti-gay sentiments by forcing another vote in Parliament on same-sex marriage

I don’t recall there being a second vote on this manner.

95. Conservative MP Helena Guergis leaks details of Stephane Dion’s top secret tour to Afghanistan thus endangering his life and those of the troops protecting him.

If this is the case it to is inexcusable.

96. Attacking Dion for pointing out that Pakistan’s support of terrorist training camps was a major problem in Afghanistan. Something that evidently had not occurred to him

Talk about Dion snubbing an ally.

97. Pushing recognition of “the Quebecois as a nation” through Parliament in order to win seats in that province.

Nice spin… as opposed to giving out oodles of cash like the liberals did.

99. John Baird’s partisanship.

That’s what party politics is!

101. Refusing to lower Canadian flags to honour our fallen military heroes.

I actually agree with the conservatives on this one.  If it is done all the time it loses meaning.

102. Promising investors a break on capital gains taxes and then abandoning it after being elected.

Again minority government problems

103. Refusing to use the Canadian Press Gallery except on one occasion.

This is a retread of 27, 31, 69, 16

104. Refusing to accept questions from the press except a few carefully screened journalists.

See 103.

105. Attempt to introduce a copyright act based on the Digital Millennium Act, a wish list produced by industry. Refusing to answer questions as usual.

See 104.

106. Stopping public servants making statements without approval from the PMO

That is a bit Machiavellian.


107. Stopping Conservative MPs making statements without approval from the PMO

See 105.

108. Harper’s broken promise to rescind a 'temporary deficit reduction tax' on gas, in spite of the deficit having been eliminated..
109. Harper’s broken promise to reduce federal fuel taxes if gas goes over 85 cents/l, saying “get used to it” and “the reduction would be insignificant” after being elected.


These two could really be one. And yes it is a broken promise.