Reihan rallies the GOP troops around Canada's conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper:
In a typical Harper stump speech, the phrase “low-tax” was used dozens of times, to hilarious effect. Yet there was no mystery as to what Harper intended to deliver: low taxes. The beauty of Harper’s approach, however, is that he has carefully balanced tax cuts with planned spending reductions, to avoid mounting debt levels. At last [week's] Republican presidential debate, the candidates spent a great deal of time lambasting President Obama and demonstrating their conservative bona fides. They spent very little time explaining how they would defend the interest of the middle class, or how they intended to make inroads with the Latino and Asian voters who are so crucial to victory in 2012 and beyond. They need to give Stephen Harper a call.
Or David Cameron. The critical difference between conservatism in Britain and Canada and conservatism in America is that the Brits and Canadians want low taxes in the context of balanced budgets. The Republicans simply want low taxes, and refuse to contemplate raising any regardless of the effect on the debt.
(Photo: Prime Minister Stephen Harper celebrates his majority government win in the federal election, May 2, 2011 in Calgary, Canada. By Mike Ridewood/Getty Images)
The Dish 