The Conservative party actually bothered to pay people to go through Vision Green (our 160 page policy document released on Monday) to find stuff they could pick out in an attempt to make us look as crazy as possible. (I’m going to file this under “you know you’ve made it when.”) Today, they’ve posted a large image on their homepage (wait, that means they had to pay a designer too…that’s not cheap) that links to what they consider to be the “highlights” (their word) of our document. Of the hundreds of ideas and solutions contained within, there are four specific points they’ve decided are worthy of more attention, seemingly because they all start with the letter “P:”
PEACE – In addition to their policy of changing the “Department of Defense†[sic], to the “Department of Peaceâ€, the Green Party is calling a “notice of withdrawal†from the NATO mission in Southern Afghanistan, and a review of our participation in NATO and other military alliances (Vision Green, p. 133, 141).
Uh…wait, sorry, was there a non-spelling-related criticism coming there? No, that’s it? You’re just mocking us for our commitment to work towards peace? Ok then. Moving on.
POT – The Green Party will “legalize marijuana†by removing it from the schedule of regulated drugs (Vision Green, p. 107).
Correct. You know what other group of hippies recommends legalizing (and regulating, taxing) marijuana? The Canadian senate. Anyone who’s studied this issue knows that prohibition on pot has failed, and only serves to criminalize a huge number of Canadians while simultaneously financing organized crime and contributing to gang violence.
PROTECTIONISM – The Green Party wants to “immediately provide the required six months’ notice of withdrawal from NAFTAâ€, and to scrap the Security and Prosperity Partnership with the United States (Vision Green, p. 146, 148).
The six months notice is to trigger much needed re-negotiations of NAFTA, particularly the parts that say it’s ok for American companies to poison our drinking water, so long as they’re making money while doing so. That’s not trade protectionism, that’s protecting Canadians. Besides, it’s not like the US is respecting NAFTA anyway.
AND BELIEVE IT OR NOT…PARKING TICKETS – Attention shoppers, the Green Party wants to force malls and “megastore retail outlets†to charge customers for parking (Vision Green, p. 67).
Believe it or not folks, the Green party wants to discourage out-of-control sprawl and a debilitating dependence on cars. Shocking news indeed. (Attention shoppers, we cannot shop our way out of this problem.)
Look Stephen, last week we found out that concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere have already reached critically high levels that we previously believed would take ten years to accumulate. Meanwhile, the arctic is melting more rapidly than even the most pessimistic climatologists predicted. In other words, we should now be in crisis mode, and must take emergency measures. Given our situation, taking action to discourage the most “mega” aspects of our car culture is the least we should do.
Of course, I don’t expect the Conservative party to understand that. It’s clear they still don’t have any understanding of the extremely serious situation we’re in. That makes Harper and the rest of this government Dangerous with a capital D and that rhymes with E and that stands for Election. Canadians, I know you don’t want one right now (at least, that’s what my TV tells me), but you may need one. Soon, at least.
Hey Chris
Great blog!! As Gandhi used to say: “first they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they attack you, then you win.”
Given the Conservative’s “attack” on the Green Party — and the fact that the majority of Canadians support the legalization of marijuana — I’d say we’re about to win!
Jim
We’re not forcing malls, but offering compensation for towns that change their zoning regulations. O
ther than that, I must agree that any True Conservative.. the ones who think individuals should be accountable for their actions, that believe nations should not spend their tax dollars on expensive weapons, that think that nations should protect their resources and agriculture should be ready to switch.
I’d love to see the numbers on the legalization issue,
how much can we save on courts and prisons vs how much we can make marketing and taxing?
While pot is not an issue for me I do know someone who is jumping thru hoops trying to get medical pot, if and when you do get permission it costs more from the government than it does on the street, which is neither fair nor rational and cruely impacts a persons quality of life.
I do however think a pot breathalizer should be researched, impared is impared be it booze, pot or sleep deprivation.
Seconded. -CT
Our platform is now almost too large, how many people will familarize themselves with more than a few points? With conservative spinners, money and cynical press you know damn well that Pot will get more press than income splitting ,fair treatment of natives communities, or the environment.
Vision Green isn’t our election platform, it’s a complete vision for where we want to take the country by 2020 and how we’d get there. The election platform will be released during the campaign and be more focused as you suggest.
Vision Green is quite a good paper and if this is the best they can find to bitch about that’s not too bad!!!!
Exactly! To be honest, I was surprised they couldn’t find more controversial stuff hiding in there somewhere. ;-)
Thanks refreshing read for someone who hasn’t read our policy yet. Thanks for the intro.
Perhaps Harper is hoping that by telling his supporters what he thinks, they’ll just trust him and decide not to read the Green Party policy document. It seems to me that many of those people have decided to check it out for themselves, and a LOT of them actually like what they see. Believe it!
http://digg.com/political_opinion/Peace_Pot_Protectionism_and_Parking_Tickets_Conservative_Party_of_Canada
Hey Chris, what the Greens are experiencing is an application of Peter van Loan’s Partisan Polish.
Be happy, they are seeing former PC supporters bleeding from the CPC to the Liberals and the Greens. The Greens are a threat now and they know it. Red/Green Tories like myself see Harper for what he is, and no tax cut is big enough to buy my vote.
Keep your stick on the ice Chris.