Countdown - 60 Reasons To Dump Harper Continued

xtra.ca brings us a countdown of 60 of the ways Harper is reshaping Canada in his own image. Since our last post:

#40 MPS GROOMED FOR HOLY WORK IN SECULAR HELL

Picture a Miss Manners school for so cons, run by everyone's favourite Reformer, Preston Manning. In Feb 2006, a few weeks after Stephen Harper plucked up enough seats to form a minority government, newly elected MPs and their aids gathered at an Ottawa Holiday Inn for a lesson in "diplomacy".

Don't abandon your beliefs but you must appear non-threatening, Manning told the recruits. It's a message the Conservatives have taken to heart. You can let God direct the public agenda, he advocated, but don't appear that God is directing your political work.

The theme of the workshop was "a sheep among wolves", but the xtra.ca staff is sure it's the other way around. Apparently, Manning went off his notes and stumbled into some claptrap about how us gays choose our lifestyle after a bad hetero relationship sours us. That's bad — but his gaffe highlights the message he was trying to send the newly faithful: keep your mouth shut and just do it.

#39 TRANSPARENCY TALK IS JUST TALK

Prime Minister Stephen Harper's latest controversy is not over policy, but over make-up. That's because Harper and his aides are refusing to say who foots the bill for his personal stylist, CBC make-up vet Michelle Muntean.

In the grander scheme, it hardly matters if the taxpayers are paying for Muntean's services. An argument could be made that, as embarrassing as it is, Harper represents the public face of the nation to foreign leaders and the press.

So why won't they say whose name is on the top of Muntean's cheques? It's part of the classic Harper double standard. He wanted access to all the details of Liberal spending when he was in opposition, but he's been one of the most tight-lipped prime ministers in recent memory. If there's nothing to hide, don't be so mum, Harper.

LINK: Xtra.ca
LINK: Cartoon credit - Cam Cardow