Ottawa

Harper 2012

Josh Barro suggests a solution to the Republican Party’s current predicament.

On @mattyglesias‘s point re: moving successful public sector leaders to bigger markets, why not make Stephen Harper the GOP nominee?

Barro figures Mr. Harper has always wanted to the President of the United States and Yglesias says Mitt Romney would be better off running in Canada. Barro ventures Mr. Harper is “massively more charismatic and relatable” than the current Republican frontrunner.

Setting aside the citizenship requirement, this makes for some fun speculation: How would Stephen Harper do in a race for the Republican presidential nomination? Or, put another way, how would Stephen Harper do in a race for the Republican presidential nomination if he was able to carry his record from Canada? I’m tempted to say he’d do very well. But he would conceivably have to directly engage social conservative issues like abortion and same-sex marriage and that would require a fairly major deviation from how he has handled himself as a party leader here.

Looking for more?

Get the Best of Maclean's sent straight to your inbox. Sign up for news, commentary and analysis.
  • By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy. You may unsubscribe at any time.