When Conservative Pundits Go Awry

I saw this today:

It’s Canadian liberals, not Canadian Muslims themselves, who identify the faith's most extreme adherents as its most authentic exemplars

— David Frum (@davidfrum) October 17, 2015

and responded thusly.

Um, no. Not even close. But go ahead and pander to the fearful, the ignorant, and the hateful. https://t.co/eSphedc2Go

— Steve Saideman (@smsaideman) October 17, 2015

No Liberal or liberal is saying that the niqab wearers are most authentic.  They are mostly saying:

• that it would be mighty arrogant to say that we outsiders know better than those who wear them why they are wearing them and whether their beliefs are authentic. 
• that liberal democracy means respecting the exercise of rights up until such exercise does real harm to others to society at large.  Hence the difference between niqabs and vaccines.
• that tyranny of the majority is something that one must fear far more than the religious beliefs of a tiny minority
• that any pretense that this is a feminist stance--that these poor Muslim women are being oppressed--is utterly undermined by the record and positions of the Conservative Party and of Stephen Harper on women's issues, from abortion to the murdered/missing indigenous women to representation in their party, and on and on.  
• that this entire campaign has been tainted by appeals to fear and to hate.  
• The clearest example of a barbaric cultural practice is the promise to create a tip line to report on the barbaric cultural practices of others.
• that this use of religious differences for political gain risks real harm as it incites violence against Muslims. 

While politics is multidimensional and people should consider all of the issues at stake, the pandering to the worst instincts by the Conservative Party should be reason enough to vote for any of the alternatives.  Nothing in this campaign has done more to show that one of the leaders and one of the parties is "not ready", not fit to serve than the combination of stances that seems to single out one group.

So, on Monday, do vote and vote for someone other than the Conservatives.  They have had enough time, and they have done more damage in the two months than perhaps in the previous nine years.