Harper the cheater

Harper’s imperial vanity could be his Achilles heel

What do NFL quarterback Tom Brady and Stephen Harper have in common? Both men play by their own rules … which is to say, they cheat.

Where do they differ? Brady was caught deflating footballs before a championship game to give himself a throwing advantage. He has been punished with a four-game suspension to start the upcoming NFL season. (He is appealing that punishment.) More to the point, there will be an asterisk beside his name in the record books. Like Mark McGwire and Alex Rodriguez, Brady’s star is now besmirched, perhaps permanently.

As for Stephen Harper, he has been caught numerous times breaking the rules. He has crushed individuals who opposed him and set the RCMP on his enemies. He has misled Parliament. From contempt of Parliament to cheating at elections, the Conservatives under Harper have managed to play fast and loose with the rules — so far, without consequences.

In fact, Canadians rewarded Harper with his only majority government in three electoral victories after he refused to provide documents to a parliamentary committee. And — oh yes — he didn’t want to tell Parliament how much some of his new programs would cost. Harper has reversed the rules of parliamentary democracy in Canada: The government is not the servant of the House, the House is now the servant of the government.

Even as you digest the fact that the NFL takes cheating in football more seriously than many Canadians appear to take cheating in politics, here’s the question you ought to be asking: Just how much can Harper get away with before he pays a price with voters? And to what extent will Canadians allow him to play by his own rules?

READ MORE: http://www.ipolitics.ca/2015/05/21/harpers-imperial-vanity-could-be-his-achilles-heel/