Editor,You gotta hand it to Stephen Harper. The guy is ferociously capable of acquiring power, then dismantling all possibility of opposition. There is a small but influential portion of our population that values such abilities ahead of all others. But let's not waste our time trying to convince them of anything, a nigh on impossible task. We should focus on convincing ourselves.What the Conservatives have done over the past decade, starting with ridding their title of that onerous phrase - "Progressive" - has everything to do with branding. However, the general misconception is that they were branding themselves. This is not true. They have been branding us. They have said as much. Their message to us, repeated ad infinitum like the beat of a drum, is that Canadians are fundamentally conservative. There is much truth in this, if you take the definition of conservative as literally as the dictionary describes.The issue of importance is that by branding ourselves "conservative," we must embrace their interpretation of conservative, as they imply. Are Canadians, conservative or otherwise, aligned with the values and attitudes on display by the likes of Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum, Herman Cain, or Mitt Rohmney? Only the fringe right wingers of us regard these people with anything other than contempt for their clearly stated values of right wing authoritarianism.The question is, are the Republicans' values the same as those of our Conservative Government? Sure, Harper claims that access to abortion or equality for gays among other things are not at risk here, but can you believe him? Scratch anywhere beneath the surface and there are numerous red flags suggesting otherwise. Does Harper, his entire Cabinet, and hired hands in the PMO office's religious affiliation have anything to do with their political ideology and policy? We don't know because they refuse to talk about it, unlike their uninhibited American friends.Who exactly are these people and do they really represent who we are? Do we believe in science and reality guiding our public policy? Do we really think that the steady economic erosion of the middle class is unworthy of discussion? Do we really buy their line of fiscal conservatism when billions are spent on baseless "tough on crime" legislation or we are deliberately mislead about fighter jet costs? Are they really champions of democracy when there is so much evidence to the contrary? Are we so tribal that to say "we are conservative" means that "we are American Republicans?"Personally, I would like our MP John Weston to address some of these questions, perhaps starting with a reply to this letter or in his regular mail outs, instead of focusing on how China likes us so much they send us Panda bears. I know he reads this stuff (or he bloody well should) so John Weston - WHAT SAY YOU?Bruce Kay
Squamish
