Stephen Harper: All Hat and No Cattle?

During the 2015 election cycle, Stephen Harper has constantly reminded Canadian voters that the Conservative Party of Canada is the only political party capable of protecting them from the threat of global terrorism.  After the events of October 22, 2014 when a lone gunman/terrorist entered the sacred halls of Parliament Hill, Canadians of all political stripes were aghast at the violence and amazed by the bravery of the Sergeant-at-Arms, Mr. Kevin Vickers.  

Once the fray was over and the truth became apparent, Canada's Prime Minister addressed the nation.  As he states in this video, "Canada will not be intimidated (by terrorists)":

But, apparently, despite his on-air bravado, Mr. Harper was quite intimidated as we can see from these excerpts from Canada's mainstream media the next day:

Here's a quote:

"Several Conservatives said Harper initially tried to leave the room along with other MPs out of a north-facing door but was persuaded to stay in the room instead of going out into the melee and an uncertain fate. Many Tories were initially convinced Harper had gotten out, when in fact he was still in the room for about 15 minutes — hidden.

Harper hunkered down into what has been described as a closet or a closet-like space, according to multiple Conservatives. MPs and senators lay on the ground or stood pressed against the walls."

In a December 2014 interview with CBC's Peter Mansbridge, Mr. Harper did attempt to defend his actions by stating that his RCMP-based training was the reason that he spent time in a storage closet during the situation because the goal is to allow the prime minister to be able to continue to run the government.

In sharp contrast to the everyday Canadians who ran to the aid of Cpl. Nathan Cirillo while he lay dying at the base of Ottawa's memorial to brave Canadian soldiers who died for our freedom, our illustrious Prime Minister, the world's newest  Neo-Con cold warrior, chose to let Canadians protect him while he hid in a cubbyhole.  Mr Harper needs to realize that Canada's political machine could well function without him.  Canada existed long before he appeared on the political scene and it will exist long after he is collecting his gold-plated MP pension and has become a footnote in Canadian history.

As the Western Canadian saying goes, "All hat and no cattle".  Let's not forget the actions of Stephen Harper when the going got tough and his own caucus was prepared to defend themselves with whatever lay at hand while he spent the time talking on the phone to his mother.

A rule of thumb: You can tell more about a politician's true character when they are under stress than you can when they are in the middle of an election cycle.

Here are the links to mainstream media coverage of Mr. Harper's actions on October 22, 2014:

National Post

MSN

The Globe and Mail

CBC