CONSERVATIVE "HATE MAIL" IS COSTLY AND TOXIC
What do you think of Stephen Harper using your tax dollars on partisan junk-mail – some of it outright hate-mail – pumped into millions of homes across Canada?
Never before has a Canadian political party stooped so low to slander their opponents and then send taxpayers the bill.
Financial reports published last week by the House of Commons exposed Conservative M.P.’s severely abusing their Parliamentary mailing privileges. They have racked up $6.3 million in postage costs (on top of their regular office budgets) to stuff millions of vile pamphlets into mail-boxes in Opposition-held constituencies.
These mailings are riddled with personal attacks, falsehoods, smears and innuendoes. The Speaker of the House has already ruled some of them out of order. Others have been so bad, the Conservatives themselves have had to stand up and apologize.
The worst example is probably a Conservative flyer recently sent to thousands of Jewish homes accusing non-Conservatives of anti-Semitism.
It was absolutely outrageous, provoking prominent Jewish Canadians to condemn such propaganda. They don’t want to be considered the “property” of any one political party; nor do they condone such dishonest tactics that sew division and hatred.
First elected to the House of Commons in 1974, I have never seen a more bitter and abusive atmosphere around Parliament Hill than that which exists today. It’s toxic!
In an adversarial political system, like ours, there will always be conflicts. But Mr. Harper and his brand of neo-conservatives have carried junk-yard dog behaviour to extraordinary lengths.
Self righteous and sanctimonious in the extreme, the Harper Conservatives actually believe they are morally superior to everybody else. So (they think) it’s “OK” to treat all others like dirt.
That nasty attitude erodes the tolerance, fairness, accommodation and generosity which have always been fundamental to the basic decency that defines our country.
-30-
|
