Harper thinks politics is war, instead of working together for the good of the country

The Vanity Press: Enemy

In reality, of course, rival political parties are not "enemies." That's a war metaphor imported into politics -- but politics is the alternative to war. It's how you distribute and exercise power without the use of force. The idea of "killing" other parties in favour of single-party rule is abhorrent to politics and democracy, and especially reprehensible in a minority parliament. Yet, there's that sentiment, expressed by someone who seems to have been working within the Conservative Party for years. That can't be good, and suggests an impatience with the diversity of opinion and diffusion of power that is just a normal part of any democratic polity. It's an autocratic instinct, and frankly I don't want it anywhere near power.

And no, it doesn't matter that this enemy-talk is just metaphorical at this stage. This sort of thing sinks in, and doesn't lead anywhere good. Eliminationist rhetoric has been a problem in American political culture for a long while; David Neiwert has a useful sample of it here. It starts out with jokes and metaphors, and ends up poisoning the totality of political discourse. It's a real shame to see it beginning to crop up in Canada (and lest we think it's restricted to the Conservatives, just look here -- although I haven't seen that sort of thing from any other person affiliated with the opposition). If politics is the art of working to find a modus vivendi, then this is the opposite of politics; it chokes off reason and reduces everything to war. If the Conservatives really think this way, then they need to be removed from power until they learn some other way -- and it seems clear from his recent actions that Harper does think this way, and from this report that perhaps a number of others do too.