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[Pligganease]

Anti-Americanism Dragging Canada Down Conservative Leader Warns Prime Minister

HALIFAX, September 9, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The venomous attacks against the United States leadership and its citizens by brazen Liberal politicians using any excuse (Iraq, missile defence, mad-cow, softwood lumber) to assuage their seething hatred of American pro-life and pro-family policies by Bush-bashing, is beginning to have palpable effects.

The President of the United States seems to have less and less time and priority for Prime Minister Paul Martin, and given the strained relations, it's no surprise suggests Conservative Leader Stephen Harper.

In an address to the Conservative Caucus Wednesday, Harper noted poignantly that "This government's lack of competence and vision in the Canada-U.S. relationship has led Canada to lose influence and relevance with our most important trading partner. Now, we are threatened with having to have a passport to cross the border by 2008."

Harper pointed out that the trade relationship between Canada and the US is essential for both countries. "There is simply no economic relationship in the world - or in the history of the world - that is as large and important as the Canada-U.S. trading relationship," he said. "In 2003, two way trade between our two countries amounted to 645 billion Canadian dollars - over 1.2 million dollars per minute in trade."

The Prime Minister, who has been woefully slow to react to the US Katrina disaster, was reminded that "A relationship as important and integrated as ours is with the United States cannot be based on treaties and laws alone. A mature and secure relationship is based on commitment, trust and clear communications. Treaties and laws are no substitute for good relationships."

"Sadly," continued Harper, "these elements have been allowed to deteriorate under the current Liberal government."

Harper suggested that Martin's lack of cordiality goes beyond sloppiness. "On ordinary matters of simple good relations this Liberal government has been oddly - and I must assume deliberately - distant with the Americans. Whether it's 9-11, the BSE crisis or hurricane Katrina, they are always reluctant to simply pick up the phone (though never unwilling to stage the grand photo-op)."

Martin stressed that friendliness did not entail bowing to all requests. "Let me be clear here - the ways these decisions have been taken are far more damaging than the decisions themselves," he said. But he accused Martin of saying '"no" in ways that foster the worst possible feelings in our relationship." In fact on the softwood lumber issue Harper said he would be firm in insisting that unfair trade duties be repaid.

Harper gave several examples of previous Canadian Prime Ministers who, as he put it, "have been capable of disagreeing with the Americans, for clear and honourable reasons, without their offices or caucuses exploding in anti-American ranting."

Bottom line, said Harper, "This kind of bungling is unacceptable. When we face a crisis . . . we must have a Prime Minister who can call the President and get that call returned in less than three weeks."

See the full speech:
http://www.conservative.ca/EN/1004/22692

[On the other hand]

Okay, as most of you know, I'm no fan of anti-Americanism. However, it should be pointed out that had Harper been PM when the current Iraq war started, we'd almost certainly have sent troops into the fiasco.

[Octavius Hite]

1. Iraq- A Vietnam style mess (exactly as all of us left wing tree huggers predicted) that Canadians wanted no part of. And remember we have had soldiers in Afghanistan since 2001 and we have taken casulties (the first time since the Korean War).

2. Missle Defence- a hair brained scheme designed to enrich Lockheed Martin, drain the US coffers and in not a single way protects against any asymetrical threat (terrorism).

3. Madcow- America was right to close the border but now the problem has been dealt with to satisfaction of the federal US gov't but a few protectionist judges and farmers don't want to reopen the border.

4. Softwood lumber-the NAFTA body has ruled repeatidly that the tariffs against Canadian lumber is illegal and the US is in the wrong.

5. Bushes pro-life agenda- Canadians have no beef with the US's social policies, our problem lies in the fact that when we were having our debate on same sex marriage US based evangelical groups spread hundreds of thousands of dollars around to try and defeat the legislation. American's can do whatever they like in their own country, just stay the hell out of ours.


Stephen Harper is, as usual, completely off in gauging the Canadian publics mood on all of this because most canadians agree with being pi**ed off about this stuff. Our wood and beef is not acceptable but surprisingly enough our oil and electricity are. Shocking! Duh, of course people are angry.

[Gopher]

This article treats Canadian politics more than Canadian antiAmericanism per se.

That being said, I agree that Canada's particular brand of self-righteous morally superior antiAmericanism contributes nothing good to Canada or Canadian affairs. They are only preaching to the converted and they are not winning any new friends either.

What I've seen on this board, apart from utter ignorance, is a tendency for Canadians to use any pretext or reason to justify their antiAmericanism (I don't believe for a minute that it's about their disagreement with Bush's foreign policy). Along the way, they distort, oversimplify, and just plain mischaracterize U.S. history, particularly U.S. diplomatic history, claiming such nonsense as "Manifest Destiny" or the Monroe Doctrine were aimed against Canada, even in part, or that the War of 1812 was not between the U.S. and Britain (and mostly over Britain's economic blockade of the continent that the U.S. was not respecting) but rather the U.S. and Canada (and mostly over Washington's imperial designs concerning Canadian territory). And this, of course, is ridiculous and outrageous -- unless you're a Canadian or a coreligionist of another nationality.

With few exceptions (and the exceptions on this board are clearly truly exceptional people), they're simply ignorant and resentful.

[Pligganease]

[Tiger Beer]

[Pligganease]

I'll take #2...

Why do Canadians feel the need to try and tell Americans how to spend their money? If it enriches LM, so what? If its a waste of money, so what? How does this, in any way except by providing Canada with a free missile defense system, affect Canadians?

Not only do you have an opinion about it, but it is negative with no reasonable basis for the negativity.

[Gopher]

It's not just Canada, by the way.

Here's what one Chilean historian has to say about antiAmericanism as a distorting influence:

http://www.cepchile.cl/dms/lang_2/doc_3236.html

"Anti-imperialism or 'anti-North Americanism' has been a powerful motor of Latin American politics and its vision of the world. In Chile all political forces and ideas have either been pro- or anti-North American at different times during the 20th century. All have asked for North American intervention or something like it at one moment or another, and obviously not at the same time...

Anti-imperialism has been a favourite recurring weapon in public politics in Latin America. Underlying this is the thesis that the United States is the principal culprit for the general problems of societies south of the Rio Grande. This has been the El Dorado of the anti-Establishment forces of the region, although it also has planetary explanations in that the United States arose as the global power during the course of the 20th century. Certainly it is the emotion that dominates every 'conspiracy theory,' at the moment of taking sides, not only regarding inter-American relations but also regarding any type of diagnosis of our societies. We believe we have found the thread of the plot that leads to the culprit, to the puppet master sprawled on his chair in some large North American city...

To reason in this manner is completely puerile: it is also as puerile to maintain that 'the CIA overthrew Allende' as it is to say that the United States had nothing to do with it or that Cuba (and the Soviet Union) did not play a role..."

So Latin Americans mix a strong dose of yanquifobia with their legitimate antiimperialism...

And the U.S. has always confused what I call "hegemonic" or "sphere of influence" issues with legitimate leadership issues like anticommunism in its Latin American policies...

But Canadians, likewise, suffer from the tendency to resent the U.S. for showing, just by its very existence, how small Canada is in the world, and whatever legitimate issues (and there are legitimate issues) they may bring into play concerning the U.S. and its problems, particularly in U.S.-Canadian relations, get caught up in and undermined by this hypernationalistic nonsense. Canada is not much, in comparison to the U.S. -- but there is an important symbiotic relationship, important for both of us. To make this state of affairs easier to swallow, Canadians adopt their posture of moral superiority.

If we could only extirpate these childish issues and concentrate on businesslike discussions of real problems and real solutions for a change, our hemisphere could become a nice economic, if not political unit. I, for one, however, am sick and tired of hearing Canadians preach. That's the first thing that's got to go.

[Moldy Rutabaga]

I do intend to preach.. to Canadians who fail to realize that, rightly or wrongly, antagonizing American political leaders and Americans in general will eventually have a cost. Whether we like it or not, we are more reliant on their trade than they are on ours. I work with several Americans and others who fully expected their new co-worker to be another pompous, preachy Canadian, and were relieved when I wasn't. This is our new international image.

[Summer Wine]

[Ya-ta Boy]

Pligganease, I think it has been established that Octavius Hite is not capable of talking about Canada in terms solely of Canada's virtues and problems, but only in how they relate to the US. He's a NotAmerican.

[Gopher]

[Summer Wine]

Gopher,

Firstly, I must state I enjoy these discussions. You educate me to where I lack.

[Octavius Hite]

First off I should apoligize about missle defence. We do not care if america wastes its money on this Wile E. Coyote meets ACME scheme I should have been clear about this. We just don't want to spend any of our tax money on it. Also we don't want American missiles or planes entering our airspace and we don't want radioactive elements crash landing in our country. What do you think would happen if USA asked China or Russia for something like that, it would never happen. Also our PM was indecisive trying to please everyone by agreeing to allow over flights but not contributing to the project, that was a poor decision , he should have just said no.

Next- pro-life/anti-gay marriage. Yes we have pro-lifers in Canada and yes they opposed gay marriage. Our problem was that AMERICAN special interest groups traveled to canada and sent money here to change canadian policy, that is wrong and if we did that to you we would have to hear about it.

Finally, Iraq. Moldy Rutabaga I think you must have been on Mars when that started. I was living in Ottawa at the time and Chretien made it very clear that without UN support Canada would not be a part of that mess and most of Canada supported that call.

[Pligganease]

Summer Wine,

I think what Gopher meant to say was:

"Write or call your senator or congressman, but carry a multi-million dollar lobbying budget with you."


OH,

Even in your concession you managed to be "NotAmerican." (Thanks for the term, Ya-ta)