The Conservative war room doesn’t need to do much more than document Michael Ignatieff’s gaffes and flip-flops as he graciously provides fodder for the next election campaign.
Today Tom Clark called out the Liberal leader on his denial of his statement from Cambridge yesterday. Iggy was shown on a clip in Niagara saying, “I said no such thing”. (Starts around the 6:30 point.)
Well then, somebody is lying. The Record quoted Iggy as follows:
“We will have to raise taxes,” but not at the expense of hurting the recovery from this recession. He added that “an honest politician” cannot exclude a tax hike as an option.
“I am not going to load a deficit onto your children or mine,” Ignatieff said.
(Memories of asbestos.)
In any case, even Jack Layton disagreed with the tax hike idea:
…NDP Leader Jack Layton also piled on, saying tax hikes would be “the wrong approach” to eliminating deficits.
In an interview, Layton said a better approach would be to invest in things like energy efficiency and green bonds, investments that will generate the jobs of the future, spark economic growth and fill federal coffers without hiking taxes.
Both Layton and Baird scoffed at what they saw as Ignatieff’s attempt to backpedal on the issue, saying the Liberal leader is a serial flip-flopper who repeatedly changes his tune on issues.
“I certainly see (a pattern) because he’s for and against things on an ongoing basis. It leaves you wondering what he would do,” Layton said…
Even Don Newman was pushing this story today. Around the 17:00 mark he interviewed Kevin Gaudet of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. Gaudet wants Michael Ignatieff to clarify his position – with details on how governments can tighten their belts.
Kevin Gaudet made a couple of very important points:
1) The deficit is actually $34 billion, but Iggy has been throwing around this $80 billion number, which is quite disingenuous. Gaudet says it’s 84 billion in debt over five years, and that’s an important distinction. So is Iggy deliberately misleading Canadians or does he simply not understand?
2) Gaudet mentions that Ignatieff was the one that pushed the Harper Government into the deficit to a certain extent because he threatened to topple the government in December. Iggy helped create the problem because he said the government wasn’t ‘stimulus-spending sufficiently’.
Finally, Jim Travers deals the fatal blow at the 49:00 mark. This is a real shocker.
First of all, Travers says that when you’re having to explain yourself, that’s not a good thing. Or as Keith Boag said, “When you’re explaining it, you’re losing it”. Further, he says that Ignatieff does have a habit of getting himself in trouble, and this starts to worry Liberals.
Daniel Lessard says Ignatieff’s problem is that he doesn’t seem to have a real platform -that he has to put something concrete on the table right now.
And here’s the clincher: Travers says that the Liberals are playing the same old game - i.e. We don’t have to give you policies; we don’t even have to give you a good leader. Because sooner or later, Liberals will be back in power and everything will be fine.
“And I think that’s a very dangerous position…”
So when even your media shills are being critical, you’d better look out.
* * * *
Thursday Update:
Thanks to Lee Harding in comments for this link to Canadian Taxpayers Federation. The clip of Kevin Gaudet on ‘Politics’ is available there, as is one where various MPs debate the subject of Iggy’s proposed tax hike. Please note John McCallum’s response in particular.
Also please check out A Liberal will tell you anything you want to hear – BBS.
Ignatieff is for taxes except when he’s against them – Kelly McParland.
Y’know, given Iggy’s performance over the past 24 hours, I think a new nickname is appropriate for him. Does “Iggo Waffle” sound appropriate to you?
Phantom has another poll up to choose between two contenders for a nickname for iggy. Winner of first poll was iggomaniac, and the runoff is iggomaniac and iggowaffle. Go vote.
I vote Iggo Waffle. Has a certain ring to it.
Iggowaffle is kinda catchy.
I like Iggywaffle. Suits him to a tee.
Nobody really heard what Iggy said.
I have to paraphrase here but he said that he wouldn’t raise taxes during a recession but he wouldn’t rule out raising taxes as we came out of one.
Think about it folks.
He’s saying that he wouldn’t raise taxes during a recession but the simple fact is that he can’t raise taxes during this recession. The Liberals are not in power.
However…..
NeilD
BTW, I’ve already voted for Iggo Waffle.
NeilD
Iggy Iggy … I just can’t comprehend … comprehend … BC is having an election and I just can’t comprehend. Politics Bad Canucks Good … hockey hockey and no more corner GAS.
So shoot me … pics at 11
Sorry Blue … a bit OT … over time NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Iggloo Waffle…..I need to get that, ice in the veins stuff included.
When I saw his back track today, I was dumbfounded. He was saying it with a straight face and I thought that he was going to duck another screw-up. The media has COVERED his proverbial butt so often, why not again?
I am astonished and encouraged, that the usual suspects are also getting sick and tired of this man’s, chronic free ride.
I’d like to call Iggy a tool, but tools are useful when used properly and I wouldn’t want to insult tools in general.
“Iggy : Not A Leader 2″
lol. iggy is turning out to be pretty amusing. Wait until the no policy convention. Maybe he can flip flop on carbon taxes
Btw Joanne, ‘Puffinocchio’ is hysterical! You come up with the most wonderful headlines! Thanks for ALL you do!
Thanks Bec! I appreciate you mentioning that.
Here’s a Progressive Blogger who thinks Iggy must be getting ready for the Olympics.
How about IGGOMANIAC.
OT here..but I have come up with a whack-a-doodle theory on why PMSH agreed to the KHS/BM inquiry.He gets to kill 2 birds with one stone.
1.Get KHS out of the country once and for all!
2.Opens the door to let BM SUE the pants off cbc!Also,the Gov’t should request the cbc refund taxpayers all the millions of dollars they have blown on chasing this garbage over the past decade.
Watching this dog and pony show replayed tonite,and all the references to the BS that KHS fed the cbc..and they pumped it out like gospel…maybe..just maybe,PMSH and BM have played this magnificently.Ooooooh..I just hope and pray!
And,oh yeah,Iggy’s a real Dion Redux!
What??? How can this be? Jack Layton disagreeing with a tax hike??? No, say it isn’t so??
If he says “investing” in green stuff, doesn’t that mean even MORE spending?? Not to mention his National Daycare, HomeCare, Pharmacare babies, and he would have no choice but to raise taxes.
Jack is sucking and blowing at the same time also. Hypocrite.
Iggy is going, going, gone!! Ok, who’s the next “joker” to lead the Liberals in their farce of a party??
O/T: a good-feeling news story: Susan Boyle
http://news.sympatico.msn.ctv.ca/abc/home/contentposting.aspx?isfa=1&feedname=CTV-TOPSTORIES_V3&showbyline=True&date=true&newsitemid=CTVNews%2f20090415%2fsusan_boyle_090415
I vote for Iggy-Wienie
Bruce – you apologize, right now, to useful tools all over the world. Harumph! LOL.
Here’s a crazy idea: I think that Harper should form a soft alliance with Layton. Yes, it sounds crazy but hear me out. Harper could move further to the right and Layton could provide a balance on the left if he could be persuaded to move away from his “out there” policies.
Together, they could slay the LPC. Iggo Waffle is dangerous. The man is obviously being controlled and when he balks at the control, he says really dumb things. Such a person is dangerous because the one time he digs in his heels and says: “I’m the boss around here”, it will mean devastation to our country.
I personally believe that Layton is so hungry for some little bit of influence that he could be handled quite nicely by our PM. Our PM is obviously more intelligent than the average bear – that’s for darned certain – and I am sure he could handle Layton. I don’t think it would take much to bring Layton into a moderate and useful state. He was betrayed by Iggo Waffle and I’m sure he’s hurting right now.
While we’re at it, Duceppe should be shunted aside – that would be more difficult but I’m sure our PM has the brains to pull it off.
At the same time, our overly discreet PR machine needs to get its butt in gear. What the heck is stopping those truth ads, anyway?
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ATTENTION MICHAEL IGNATIEFF!
SUSAN BOYLE HAS FOUND YOUR EYEBROWS!
The difference of course is that Susan Boyle’s a rising star…Michael Ignatieff – not so much!
I actually think the PM is playing this all perfectly, letting Iggy do all of the work for his war room.
Let’s not forget I believe that the PM truly believes that the coalition is still very much in play where Iggy’s concerned, and that he(Iggy)can’t be trusted to be consistent in his positions on issues how can he be trusted to lead the country?
Short answer – he can’t.
It’s the country we have to worry about, the Liberals only care about power. To lure a person to lead who has been away for decades, with no experience in politics, is all the proof we need.
I don’t think the two-stepping Puffin even knows enough to lie. He’d need someone like Chretien to give him a few pointers. Old Chrech got a majority by telling us, the hated GST would be gone and lied again when he said he didn’t say it. It was on tape,”a proof is a proof, if it’s proven, it’s a good proof”.
Looks like another Liberal (McCallum) was caught in an untruth yesterday in Windsor. See Blue Blogging Soapbox.
“Let’s not forget I believe that the PM truly believes that the coalition is still very much in play where Iggy’s concerned…..”
Particularly when we recall from history, that his (MI) hero PET, formed one with the NDP in 1972.
These guys only know how to reheat the coffee, not make a fresh pot!
Someone earlier was asking WHO and WHY MI, came back to Canada.
I found this little piece where he was a regular contributor. I think you can read between the lines, it WAS NOT the Paul Martin camp.
http://www.observer.com/node/38035
Wow Bec – that was some article – even way back then Iggy was a waffler…..
“While Mr. Ignatieff wrote that an outright ban on torture itself was necessary, he said that Congress should define exactly what constitutes “acceptable degrees of coercive interrogation,” and suggested that acceptable degrees might include “forms of sleep deprivation that do not result in lasting harm to mental or physical health, together with disinformation and disorientation (like keeping prisoners in hoods) that would produce stress.”
You know – torture if necessary, but not necessarily torture!
The guy is a waffler to the core. lol
I should have added after reading that article, that Iggy probably thought he would waltz back to Canada and right into 24 Sussex – I mean why have to go through a silly election process.
An election IF necessary, but not necessarily an election – that’s Iggy’s view. So far with Iggy, it has been the latter.
Interesting Bec, so I’m gathering it must have been the Chretien backroom boys, maybe even old WK himself who was scouting afar for the next best thing to sliced bread?
I love the line in the article that says that Iggy’s promised to “return home and save them”(Canadians).
and that he is only “suspending” his career to do this…I take that as a sign that he’s going back to his diva roots, and is really chalking up another experience for a book. It’s not about doing what’s right for the country….not at all.
“widely regarded” as the next PM? – so that’s the hook the scouts used to coax drop him back into Etobicke is it? As Iggy continues to defrost those waffles those who actually “widely regard” Iggy’s PM material are likely that same closed old white guys who sweet talked the diva into giving politics a try.
It’s all so funny in so many ways.
“I said no such thing”.
Iffy did not flip flop,
he out right lied.
Did you know Iffy is the ONLY Liberal leader to
never hold a Ministerial post, and
loss a leadership bid in a convention!
Iffy unneccessarily stole the leadership, ruthlessly took advantage of a very very weak party,
tossed real Liberals (Rae not a liberal) and , the grassroots overboard.
Woven into the fabric of Canadians from coast to coast is… fairplay.
That why the negative reaction to the coalition of losers,
and Iffy will face the same.
Wow…When even Travesty criticizes, you can see the writing on the wall. Iggo Waffle aka Count Igula is turning into another Dion and even the media sees it.
Maybe just maybe the slobbering love affair the MSM has with Iggywaffle is waning.
Doubt whether Giggles Tabor will have an awakening. Don’t think she’s the sharpest knife in the drawer.
We have video of Kevin Gaudet speaking on this issue, plus the political parties on Don Newman’s “politics” debating Igantieff’s stance: http://www.taxpayerblog.com/2009/04/would-ignatieff-raise-taxes-or-not.html.
Awesome. Thanks Lee. I noticed those videos this morning, but haven’t had a chance yet to check them out.
Much appreciated.
Lee, I would really appreciate it if you would check out the next post and give us your opinion on the deficit. If you’d rather email me, that would be great too. Thanks.
Bec Says:
April 16th, 2009 at 8:55 am
“These guys only know how to reheat the coffee, not make a fresh pot!”
The trouble with the Liberals is that their foundation is rotted, yet they continue to build on it.
PM Stephen Harper and his Conservative minority government (despite the coalition threat) have been doing an excellent job leading this country, especially during the global economic crisis.
If you have a winning coach and team, why would you want to get rid of them? You’d want to keep them for as long as possible. You wouldn’t even think of another coach.
If Canadians fail to understand this, they deserve what they get. I mean, it’s so blatantly clear that this Conservative government is the “Real McCoy” – for the present, and for many years to come!! In the world of sanity, it’s a no-contest. Really!!
“the trouble with the Liberals is that their foundation is rotted, yet they continue to build on it”
Exactly Bec and it’s the folks who were promised a total rebuild and redefinition who have been taken to the cleaners by those responsible for Ignatieff putting his diva career on hold and playacting the role of the next PM. If you ask me no serious foundation of the LPOC can take place without a total purge of anyone remotely connected to either Martin or Chretien…and that includes Ignatieff.
Thanks CC, for giving me the credit of that super analogy but ed, is the deserving poster.
I liken the situation to a fractured dysfunctional family, that would rather close the windows and draw the blinds, than get counselling.
Pretend it ain’t so and maybe the neighbours will start to believe it too, until the next time.
…..and there will always be, a next time!
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