Ooopsie!

Gender-neutral language from ReformaTories? Not so much.

Don Martin on the shiny bright thing anthem change:

It has infuriated the Conservative base and captivated all political water cooler conversation, dwarfing debate about the Throne Speech and federal budget. If this was intended as a bad-news diversion, it worked so well the government may well need to unleash a diversion to this diversion.

Sensing it had a major oopsie on its hands, the government had reacted almost immediately.

Barely an hour after the Throne Speech was delivered, an MP ‘talking point' was rushed out from the PMO insisting the government was "not taking a position. We are simply suggesting that a parliamentary committee examine the subject and report back to Parliament."

That's politic-speak for backpedalling, if not running, away from an ugly mess.

Some rank this as one of Harper's top four biggest mistakes, right up there with gratuitous arts funding cuts which infuriated the key battleground of Quebec on the eve of the 2008 election, the political financing elimination which created the opposition coalition and the February prorogation move which whacked the Conservatives down in the polls.

That seems a bit too much significance for a word change, but keep in mind Quebec pundits say the $15-million arts funding reduction cost Harper his shot at a majority in 2008.

But for a government to propose an anthem alteration just (ital) three days (end) after Canada's patriotic tidal wave crested at the Vancouver Winter Olympics suggests Harper's tone-deafness to the average voter has become a pattern.

True, the scope of the reaction caught many by surprise -- and you can count me among them. But the timing could not have been worse and the Prime Minister clearly needs someone in an office filled with sycophants to grab his collar and shake these sorts of bad ideas out of his head.

Or as a commenter at Facebook said: 'Shiny bright thing blow up.'

DJ! Supports the Throne Speech

Well, one bit of it. Changing the lyrics of O Canada.

I've always balked at 'all thy sons' and thought: 'What am I, chopped liver?'

Of course, considering the source, Motherhood Steve, it's complete bullshit as any kind of progressive or woman-friendly move.

And, oh, look. Iggy agrees.

Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff said the initiative to change the lyrics is the kind of "symbolic gesture" the Conservative government makes when it doesn't want to do anything real.

"Anything that makes a national anthem more gender-sensitive is a good thing," he told CBC News.

"But, I mean, no disrespect to those who feel strongly on this issue, but, for heaven's sake, we have some very important challenges and every time the government is asked to do something real, it does something symbolic.

"There's lots of things to do for women that are more important than changing the words of the national anthem, just as there are lots of things to do for pensioners and seniors that are more important than having a Seniors Day."

But the best part?

It's pissing off their base base. Viz, the Freaks.

A sample comment:

Another example of bowing to the demands of the 'Socialist Republic of Quebecistan.' Its bad enough that some francophones embarrsed the country inter-nationally about the so called lack of french spoken at the Olympic opening ceremonies.

Who do the Tories think they are, LIEberals Shame on you

Which yet again demonstrates the reading comprehension skills of the knuckle-draggers. The ReformaTories' proposed change applies to the English lyrics only.