You can tell a lot about a politician by how it approaches the topic of global warming.

For the purposes of this discussion we’ll leave out the deniers. They’re going the way of the dinosaurs, at least the honest ones are. Most of the rest have slithered over into the “we get it camp”, sort of.

The other two groups are the leaders, Group A, and the fearmongers, Group B.

The leaders are those who do what legitimate politicians are supposed to do – lead. They’re the sort who come to the fore in tough times such as depressions or wars. They rally the people, rationally explain the problem, what must be done about it and why remedial action is necessary, worthwhile, even desirable. In a word, they’re “leaders.” They generate awareness and consent. That’s Group A.

Then there’s the other kind, Group B. This is the bait and switch type of lowlife. In the face of challenges they begin with denial and, as that option closes, invoke the next option, delay. To buy as much time as possible to do nothing, they pull out their tried and true weapon – fear.

This is the face of our very own Furious Leader, Stephen Harper. Have a Merry Christmas, he says, warning that, come the New Year, we’ll all be wearing sackcloth and ashes as the government is forced to choke the very joy of life out of us in order to reduce industrial carbon emissions.

Hey Stevo, the Europeans are way ahead of us on climate change and just how are they doing anyway? Have they reverted to living in mud huts and eating grass? No? Why not? Maybe it’s because they’re focusing on ways to deal with the carbon problem that actually minimize the economic and social consequences. Maybe because they’ve explained to their people the positive side to this. Maybe because they’re not working to protect something as environmentally vile as the Tar Sands.

Now no one is saying the Euros are there yet but they’re a long way further down the road than we are, sitting on our fence watching them fade into the distance.

So Steve, take your fearmongering and shove it. Either lead or quit. Better yet, just quit. We’ll all be better off without you.