According to script

It's always interesting to take a look at what the Cons really hope to do to Canada. But the opportunity usually doesn't come up until they emerge from under Stephen Harper's thumb - such as when Monte Solberg revealed that the Cons' minister in charge of employment insurance ultimately hoped to scrap the very concept.

But today provides an even more interesting insight as to what Michael Taube - Harper's apparent first choice to help frame his message upon taking office - thinks to be the best possible direction for the Harper government and the country in general:

If some conservatives now believe there's no difference between Ignatieff and Harper, this government has a real identity problem. It's up to the PM to re-establish a clear distinction between the Conservatives and Liberals.

Here are some ways to do it:
...* Stop throwing away taxpayer money on ineffective social programs like universal health care, and utilize market-based approaches to reform them.

Now, it's especially striking that Taube doesn't even limit his attack on health care to the areas most often suggested by "reform" advocates - e.g. private service delivery or funding. Instead, in Taube's view, the problem is universality: in other words, he thinks that Canada would be far better off if we could just ensure that some people don't have access to health care.

Of course, there's no way of knowing just how many within the current upper echelons of the Cons' government may share Taube's views. But the fact that Harper was so quick to invite Taube's mindset into his inner circle would seem to speak volumes about what the Cons might do given the opportunity.