The overpaid, clueless commentators at the Toronto Star, Globe and even the National Post have once again missed the political boat.
For weeks, all these supposed experts have been predicting the fall of Harper and the Conservatives.
You expect that sort of thing from the Star’s Salutin and Walkom, who have been overdosing on the leftist Kool-Aid for decades.
But even the normally politically astute Chantal Hebert has fallen victim to the Star’s biased, herd-like political reporting and commentary.
The Globe’s Radwanski began breaking “insider” stories about the crumbling Conservative base; voters were gravitating to Mulcair one day, and to Trudeau the next.
Even John Ivison and Andrew Coyne of the National Post have been prematurely sitting shiva for the Tories.
What evidence do these political windbags cite for the Fall of the House of Harper?
According to them, three recent events have allegedly crippled the Harper campaign:
The Duffy trial, the economy and the Syrian refugee crisis.
Let’s look at each supposedly fatal blow to the Conservative campaign.
The Duffy Trial
This tale of a puffed-up pol with his fat nose in the political trough is of no political significance.
We’re talking about a mere $90,000 of taxpayers’ money that may or may not have been illegally reimbursed to Duffy. These funds were repaid by Nigel Wright out of his own pocket, because even the appearance of misuse of Canadian taxpayers’ money was, for the Tories, unethical.
Contrast that with the $40 million that Liberal-connected insiders stole from the public in the famous “sponsorship” scandal. Not a cent was repaid.
Or the billions of dollars the McGuinty/Wynne governments used to stay in power, (the $1.1 billion gas plant scandal being the most obvious.)
The silent majority of Canadians care about the bottom line: How politicians use voters’ hard-earned money.
And for ten years, Harper and his government have respected taxpayers.
Canada’s Recession That Wasn’t
Remember when the Canadian economy slipped into a “technical recession” for about ten minutes?
Journalists all reported with glee that the Canadian economy was in decline, and Harper and Finance Minister Oliver were responsible.
Trudeau immediately announced that if elected Prime Minister, he would plunge Canada into three annual years of $10 billion dollars deficits to stimulate the apparently moribund economy.
The myopic political analysts had conveniently ignored wiser men and women, including Harper, who had argued rationally and persuasively that Canada’s economy was holding its own in all sectors except oil and gas.
Then lo and behold, the Finance Department released figures indicating that the economy was back in growth mode. Exports were finally up, and a surplus had been recorded by fiscal year end.
Once again, these so-called political pundits looked like fools, with huge gobs of congealed eggs dripping down their blank and dumbfounded faces.
The Syrian Refugee Crisis
Over two hundred fifty thousand Syrian innocent civilians had been killed as a result of the horrific Syrian civil war.
Trudeau’s response? Send them touques and Roots jackets.
Mulcair’s response? It’s not Canada’s job to stand shoulder to shoulder with our western allies fighting the murderous ISIS.
But thanks to a photograph of a dead Syrian boy washed up on shore (under suspicious circumstances) Trudeau and Mulcair tried to outdo each other in the fake compassion sweepstakes.
“I’ll see your 25,000 refugees and raise you another 10,000 refugees.”
In contrast, Harper called for calm. International and UN supported procedures had to be followed before any refugees could be admitted.
He added that, in the interests of national security, these refugees had to be properly vetted.
Editorials lambasted Harper for hurting Canada’s international reputation.
Despite the public fulminations of these self-acclaimed political elites, Harper stood firm.
And the silent majority of Canadians supported him.
Then the backlash occurred in Europe as country after country closed their borders to these surging refugees, proving Harper’s measured reaction had been the correct one.
In summary, Harper will triumph once again, because a substantial number of people in Canada agree: Duffy, the non-recession and the Syrian refugees are minor issues. They’re sideshows.
Most voters believe that Harper and his party are the best choice to manage the economy while respecting the hard-earned incomes of Canadian taxpayers. The Conservatives will do that by keeping taxes low, spending when necessary, but also making hard choices when it comes to cutting back government.
Meanwhile, Trudeau wants to tax and spend Canada out of a non-existent recession.
Mulcair talks about balancing the budget, but his “tax the rich” strategy to fund numerous government programs is just voodoo economics.
The not-so-hidden agenda of the NDP base, to destroy the oil and gas industry and with it the Canadian economy, has many Canadians back to the Harper fold.
And another electoral victory.
Folks, you read it here first!
Mitch Wolfe: The Playful Contrarian 