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But SHAZAAM! Watch me pull Thomas Mulcair’s 2007 job hunt out of my hat! ABRACADABRA! It’s an attack ad against Justin Trudeau set to an ISIL anthem, complete with pictures of a drowning cage! PRESTO! Actual climate change policy on a shorter timeline than 85 years is a tax on EVERYTHING! This summer, no trick is too silly or cynical to keep votes from disappearing in a lousy economy.

Stephen Harper isn’t to blame for that lousy economy, as much as his opponents would like to frame it that way. He doesn’t control global oil prices.

What the Conservatives are to blame for, however, is waving their magic wands and producing a “balanced budget” by dipping into a contingency fund and selling General Motors shares at a big loss to taxpayers so they can spend the summer on a cross-country spending binge ahead of October’s election.

What these supposed fiscal conservatives fail to acknowledge is that poor decisions today will lead to far more difficult decisions down the road — and if you don’t believe that, maybe peruse the Ontario Liberals’ latest budget. But no, the Conservatives insist on implementing expensive tax-splitting measures for high-income couples, introducing a plethora of new boutique tax cuts of dubious merit, and have even floated the idea of another GST cut (ALAKAZAM!).

So what happens in future years when the budget is a shambles, but the election is safely behind us? A tax hike? A return to deficits? More government job cuts to further depress Ottawa’s economy? Ah, why talk about that when you can toss money around while making fun of Justin Trudeau’s hair and passing around a re-hashed story about free agent Thomas Mulcair talking to the Conservatives (along with every other party) about a possible job?

Voters should remember what’s really going on behind all that smoke.