Reaction from Con base reversed anthem change!

[HeresyLives]

Reaction from Tory base forces quick reversal on anthem lyrics idea


Ottawa — From Saturday's Globe and Mail Published on Friday, Mar. 05, 2010 9:31PM EST

Stephen Harper, a man not known for political U-turns, has beat the quickest retreat in his career after facing a backlash from the Conservative Party base over his proposal to rewrite O Canada.

-snip-


The reversal came just 48 hours after the Tories floated the suggestion in their Throne Speech – a document that was supposed to showcase for Canadians all the ideas Mr. Harper's government had gathered during the two-month prorogation of Parliament.

Controversy over editing the anthem was proving an unwelcome diversion for the Tories, who had planned to use this week to unveil their new economic agenda for Canada and trumpet their plan to whittle down the deficit and make the country more competitive.

-snip-

Conservatives say an angry pushback from voters swiftly followed the Throne Speech and persisted through the tabling of the 2010 budget – a reaction that may have dented Mr. Harper's reputation as a master tactician.
If there's one demographic in Canada most likely to oppose an anthem rewrite, it would be Conservative voters
.
The Tory base is especially patriotic and deeply attached to symbols of pan-Canadian nationality such as the flag and anthem, former Harper adviser Tom Flanagan said


http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/reaction-from-tory-base-forces-quick-reversal-on-anthem-lyrics-idea/article1492081/


Okay...now they have trouble in River City...this will now look like sexism for sure.

[DRex]

1. I'd like a change...

not only to the 'thy sons'' part, but the 'god keep our land' part too.

And the french version has that stuff about carrying the cross... entirely inappropriate. I can't imagine why this hasn't been a bigger issue, it is hard to reconcile with our multiculturalism.

[HeresyLives]

2. Not a big issue because of our economy.

This is not the time to tinker with something as minor as an anthem. We shouldn't have revised it the first time, cuz it's not something that needs to be updated all the time.

The American and French anthems are about their revolutions in the 1700s.

[DRex]

3. It may need to be updated if it is no longer appropriate...

What if the US anthem had mention of the positive power of slavery? The 1700s wouldn't seem so glorious all of a sudden.

There's nothing sacred about an anthem if it does not represent it's nation properly. I agree that obviously it's not a big issue because there are bigger things on our plate, but that doesn't make it a non-issue entirely.

[HeresyLives]

4. No anthem is appropriate.

Most of them are old, and non-reflective of the country. The French one is even very bloody.

What made me laff was the casual way it was tossed into the throne speech without any thot apparently, and now they have another problem on their hands, entirely of their own making. Well...Harp's making. Nobody else knew about it.