Harper talks tough with US

I'm actually pleasantly surprised by Stephen Harper's willingness to stand up for Canada's interests in the softwood lumber case. I guess it is sort of incumbent upon any leader of a political party in Canada to make a claim to stand up for Canada if elected - hey, that's even the Tory campaign slogan - but the Tories have tended to be be, how should I put this, willing to bend over a desk and allow the insertion of... *AHEM* er, US policy. Yes, US policy.

It sort of says something about how seriously the Tories are taking getting elected this time. These guys are really, really trying. Stephen Harper wants to be prime minister almost as badly as Paul Martin wanted to be Liberal leader, and he's taken his party on a complete 180 on so many issues - Kyoto, healthcare, abortion, Canada/US relations and EEE Senate to name a few - that they're hardly distinguishable from the Liberals at this point, which is actually kind of depressing. And yet, they stand firm on gay marriage? Can you believe that? They're willing to sell their principles on healthcare and abortion of all things - but not gay marriage. Think about what this says; to oppose abortion, one has to believe that it is the murder of children. So, what they're saying is they would rather compromise on the murder of children than let fags get married. Does anyone else see something a little bit screwy with that position?

I look forward to the next issue the Tories change positions on. Who knows? Maybe next they'll endorse sponsorship programs.