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State of the nation: We're seeing how badly Harper misread Canadians

Contributor
By Contributor
October 10th, 2011

By Murray Dobbin

Hudak’s defeat and Occupy Bay Street are latest signs PM’s politics aren’t embraced.

Occupy Wall Street — and now Bay Street? The 99 per cent? Conservatives losing elections all over the country? American billionaires demanding to be taxed at higher rates?

Is something happening here?

Perhaps the first indication was the totally unexpected reaction to Jack Layton’s death. It may be that it was unexpected, because so many people had become numbed by the state of the world.

Not just the election of a majority Harper government and the terrible consequences it would bring, but famine and war and economic meltdown, and the pushing to the backburner of the life and death issue of climate change.

Wasn’t everyone at home with the blanket pulled over their heads? Would they even know that Jack Layton died?

Apparently, yes. And in a response that was deeply ironic, that one last piece of terrible news (how many signs do progressives need), instead of driving people to greater despair, released a flood of both grief and celebration of the best of Canadian values.

  • Article continues at: http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2011/10/10/Harper-Misread-Canadians/

Murray Dobbin writes his State of the Nation column every other week for The Tyee and on Rabble, and he also publishes articles on his blog.

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