Isn’t it ironic that the Conservative proposal to drop the $1.95 per vote subsidy that supposedly sparked the original Coalition has evolved into a Pro-Coalition movement that would decrease the taxpayer funding for opposition parties?
Barbara Yaffee seems to be pushing the Resnick-Whitaker plan:
…They argue that the only way to achieve a government other than a Conservative one would be for Liberals, New Democrats and Greens to gang up on the Harperites in the 60 to 80 ridings where, together, their 2008 vote totals topped the Conservatives.
The Opposition candidate with the best chance of winning should, alone, take on the Conservative in those ridings…
Yeah, and there goes their $1.95 for the parties that sit out.
Works for me.
* * * *
[Original post edited to reflect a much-appreciated correction by Bruce.]
* * * *
Related
This Dec. 7, 2008 column by Angelo Persichilli very clearly shows that Bob Rae is the one who really has a Unite-the-Left agenda:
…Then former prime minister Jean Chrétien got involved and one MP told me that “now it’s clear that Bob Rae is behind this.” He also said that Rae’s move “trapped” Ignatieff, who had to support the deal because otherwise “he is going to be seen as the person who kept Harper in government.”
( . . . )
…However, things might be much more complex and far-reaching. Ontario NDP Leader Howard Hampton this week had a warning for his federal leader, Jack Layton: “Bob Rae has always wanted to fold the NDP into the Liberal party, and I think Jack Layton has to be aware of that.”
I believe Hampton is right. By creating a “cause” using the anti-Harper sentiment in certain parts of the country, Rae wants to take “strategic voting” to a higher level and set the stage for another project – uniting the Canadian left…
So when if Mr. Iffy goes back to Harvard, is a formal Lefty Coalition next? Or even a whole new party?
If the latter, then running one candidate against the CPC would make more sense to their bottom line – which apparently is very important to them.
Yeah, works for me too!
Whatever it takes, even sell your heart and soul to get rid of those pesky Conservatives. Any one of the coalition of the Left will do.
Wonder what the Blocheads think of Bouchard’s latest comments re Separation? He says it’s not achievable, does that mean they’re raison d’etre is dead?
What makes them think that a conservative-minded supporter would continue to vote Liberal if that party was any further to the left than they are already?
Have the party hierarchy thought that far ahead? Are they prepared to sell their souls to the highest bidder when push comes to shove?
The 3 parties DO NOT exactly have EGO-LESS leaders and frankly also have, from what I see, as many differences as similarities.
An outward attempt to do this would be a declaration of a COALITION so why not quit being snakes in the grass and see how many MP’s TRULY agree.
I know for me, in the early days of a Reform/PC split, had the 2 parties done this, I likely wouldn’t have voted.
I think that the left voters are also far enough apart that this could indeed backfire, if ever implemented.
The yappers(and we know a few) that constantly bring up “65% DIDN”T vote CPC” forget that less than that didn’t vote for their PARTY either.
Michael I is a weak leader and imo could not unite a dysfunctional group such as this, he has a hard enough time with what he has now.
So clearly focused on ‘get rid of Harper’ with no real concern for Canadians.
Iggy couldn’t even cheer for the Canadian hockey team!
The only good I can see from this is we will get rid of the Green Party. A merger of the Libs and the CPC would work to. That way we would have room for a real conservative party.
And with Layton supposedly more popular than Iggy, would he be the PM under a coalition. Would Layton and the NDP demand that little plum to be part of said coalition.
The coalition must tell Canadians what their plans would be, they can’t dump it on us after an election.
It’s good to see someone in the msm picking up on a narrative that we want to discuss. Who would have thought that university profs could play the role of useful idiots, by getting the coaliton ball rolling for us. Maybe these two guys can get a hundred of their buddies to sign that open letter too ?
We’re going to turn the tables on the Opps, by using their good old “hidden agenda” charge against them. Every time some obscure candidate or campaign worker opens their mouth about the Lib/Dipper/Green “co-operation” occuring in their riding, it will bolster our case that there is skullduggery afoot. And voters should ask themselves: how high up the coalition food chain does that backroom dealing go ?
Yes the Liberals will lose supporters because of the shift to the left. And that’s a good thing.
I’d love to see this too.
1) the hard left would never vote Liberal, or any united party which they would consider to be just a continuation of the Libs. They’ll either form their own party or will stay home and not vote. Either way it’s good for us.
2) the right-leaning Liberals would either vote for the Conservatives or stay home: either way we win
3) in Quebec, the hard left supporters would probably vote BQ rather than the Libs/United Left
What’s great is that no matter what they do they’re stuck. Status-quo means Conservative minorities, coalitions means possible Conservative majorities! lol
And everyone should be very clear. Even as it stands now, this Liberal party is already infringing on NDP territory with their leftist policies. Merging with the far-left Dippers and Seppies will move it even FURTHER left. That should be a big turnoff to the usual Lib voter.
The real problem is the money for the Bloc. These resources also help the Parti Quebecois in Quebec with manpower, indirect money and candidates switching from the Bloc to the P.Q. and vice versa.
Of course if the Liberals hadn’t originally supported the Bloc to the position of being the official Opposition versus the Alliance (the Bloc should never have been accepted even if they had a few more M.P.’s since they can never with their numbers, even if they wanted to, be ready to replace the government which is the essential role of the official opposition). They might have faded away long ago if not for the prestige and money this gave them t a crucial juncture.
The NDP led by Layton were willing to allow those corporate tax cuts under Dion to gain cabinet seats in 2008.
The Bloc were very close at controlling our Federal Government compliments of Dion-Layton. Canadians pushed the CPC to 46% in the Polls in December 2008.
Liberals spent millions (taxpayers money) and years selling how dangerous the Bloc and how the Liberals were our best federal option in saving our country. Time is up on that sham. The millions spent and funnelled may never be recovered unless we have a majority CPC.
The Liberal fearmongering Ontario-Quebec voters, keeping the “radicals” from the West out of power is nearly over for good. One more election should seal the fate of the leftist coalition.
They have done a poor job in playing political games with our Olympic Games, our Mission in Afghanistan, our H1N1 response and in providing an alternative platform for our economy.
The CPC clearly own “It’s the Economy, stupid” voter bloc and we will be eager to remind the tax and spend morons from the LEFT, get your filthy hands off my wallet.
That pro-abortion, hidden agenda, state funeral political stunts engineered by the Liberals will have dire consequences. All people of faiths will not support a corrupt party lacking in a moral compass.
Whew, the opp’s are busy but still spinnin’ their wheels. “Strategic votin” that was a not so shrewd move by the high priestess of climate doom last election, hows that strategic thingy workin’ for ya Liz? Course Elizabeth is tryin’ to dodge a leadership review, real hard to do that whilst bleatin’ about them nasty un-democratic Conservatives. Hard to talk out of both sides of your mouth at the same time. Strategic votin’ sounds good to me, anyone other than NDP, Liberal, or Green, gee that leaves the Conservatives, GOOD PICK!
Vote for us we aren’t here, we are over there? Don’t think it will catch on, why vote or support a party that won’t have a MP from your region? Will they dare “come out” as a coalition? We need to push them on that.
Robert Johnson legendary blues player said he sold his soul to the devil for the “lost chord” sounds like the Coalition is sellin’ theirs for the lost “Accord”?
Canada is “ownin’ the podium” go Canada!
Our troops are fighting hard and pushing the Taliban back, keep them safe, they are our best and bravest.
Did any of you happen to catch ‘The House’ on cbc this am? Petty did interview with Brian Topp (the dipper that wrote the expose ‘How we almost gave the Tories the boot’) Quite interesting,and raises some questions about what is going on behind the scenes currently)
Some highlights that I found interesting:
This has been thot about for yrs
2 lessons learned,were that this was a ‘constitutional’ and a ‘political’ matter,and that PM is like a King,with the right to ‘sack the gov’t’
***** BIGGEST MISTAKE WAS TO GIVE PMSH 2 WKS AFTER THE ANNOUNCEMENT TO PLOT HIS STRATEGY..’WE NEEDED TO MOVE QUICKLY’
* Dion would have been ‘interim PM’ then replaced by…wait for it..CHRETIEN!This was suggested by Roy Romanow.
Soooo,question: is there some stealth plotting going on behind scenes now..and with no prior warning this coalition will be sprung on Canadians?
Soccermom says:
February 20, 2010 at 10:19 am
“Yes the Liberals will lose supporters because of the shift to the left. And that’s a good thing.”
I agree. The more blue Liberals will join us and we occupy the center/center right where most Canadians are. Majority, here we come.
“Soooo,question: is there some stealth plotting going on behind scenes now..and with no prior warning this coalition will be sprung on Canadians?”
I have thought that for months….even expressed it several times in comments… Next time, they won’t give any warning, it will be done and Canadians will be livid, but there will be NOTHING they can do.
This looks like a good place to re-post this show on the Agenda, from Sept 2008:
The Left – Too Many Parties?
Features Tom Flanagan, John Duffy, Linda McQuaig, a Greenie and a university professor.
The high priestess of the Left, McQuaig, shows her frustration throughout the show. Duffy is arrogant. Flanagan is funny and gives some insights to how Harper united the right.
i’m still waiting for a real conservative to be elected in canada.
That’s the biggest irony in the public-financing scheme: The Bloc Québécois, the party that wants more than anything to break Canada apart, is a ward of the federal treasury. The only thing keeping the Bloc alive between elections is the forced generosity of the Canadian taxpayer.
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/opinion/Forced+support+separatists/2484339/story.html?id=2484339
Joanne, FYI the Chretien taxpayer subsidy to federal political parties is now $1.95 per vote.
I’d like to see the tax credit for federal political donations abolished as well as the Chretien per vote subsidy, in that situation the Conservatives would undoubtedly be the dominant party for decades to come.
AG-If they don’t run as a coalition Canadians would never accept it, unless the Liberals and the NDP could actually win enough seats to outnumber the Conservatives in the House of Commons, highly unlikely at this juncture.
Ignatieff has turned out to be even worse than the hapless Dion, the greatest gift that the Conservative party could hope for, how many Liberals will yet again stay home and not vote at all, or see the light and get out and help to vote in a Conservative majority.
If Bob Rae becomes the next appointed anointed Liberal leader how long will it be before Jack Layton is pushed aside and the left elements of the Liberal Party and the NDP merge?
If that happened most Liberal center right types would leave and either become non affiliated or join the Conservatives.
Joanne, FYI the Chretien taxpayer subsidy to federal political parties is now $1.95 per vote.
Really? Thanks Bruce. That’s worse than I thought. Anyone have a link? Thanks. I’m somewhat distracted today preparing for a family birthday so I may have missed some other significant comments. I promise to catch up later.
Coalition governments inherently unstable;
Dutch government collapses after Labour withdrawal from coalition
Row over extension of Dutch troops’ tour of duty in Afghanistan forces Labour out of Jan Peter Balkenende’s ruling coalition
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/feb/20/dutch-coalition-collapse-afghanistan
Canadians prefer solid leadership and stability, the three stooges can kiss my………..
Re: today’s Brian Topp interview that Sammy referred to, you can listen to it here
Starts at the 43 minute mark, of the one hour show.
“Yes, well unfortunately, there is no COALITION SCHOOL to go to. We made this play in a complex Parliamentary crisis, and we made some mistakes, no doubt about that … this was a carefully considered proposal … we’ve been thinking about for some years …”
The Conservatives will propose that all public funding of political parties cease immediately, a move they say, is aimed at saving Canadian taxpayers about $28 million each year.
According to the Elections Act, all political parties are to receive a public subsidy of $1.75 per vote, per year, following each general election, but that figure has been indexed to inflation and the parties currently receive $1.95.
“This is huge. This is so audacious and outrageous,” said Pat Martin, an New Democratic Party MP from Winnipeg. “This means war.”
Liberal Senator Celine Hervieux Payette said the financing that goes to Canada’s political parties is a small price to pay to ensure that politics isn’t restricted to the rich.
“I think there are other savings that can be made in Canada without diminishing the Canadian democratic practice,” she said, adding that similar financing provisions exist in many other western countries.
“If they want to do that it is a denial of democracy,” said Liberal MP Denis Coderre.
http://www.canada.com/topics/news/story.html?id=95c63336-9f94-4023-a38e-7c8bb9e2ec63
*Note that the Conservative Party has by far the highest number of contributors compared to the other parties.
This has nothing to do with “denial of democracy” as Hezbollah Coderre infers.
O/T springer has gotten the NBC tribute to Canada.
http://www.sortofpolitical.com/2010/02/tribute-to-canada-from-nbc.html
Simply amazing..
Thanks again Bruce.
I’ve made the corrections and given a shout-out to you.
So…. the subsidy is indexed to inflation but the poor taxpayer’s income usually isn’t unless you’re lucky enough to be in the public service.
Leftists in Canada, Holland, EUrope, USA, are in breakdown mode. Again.
The Left Wall of Shame includes:
Oswald, Bishop, Stack, TC Douglas, PET, Chretien, MartinJR, Dion, Iffy, Taliban Jack LaytoNDP, Bob Rae, et al.
“The Kennedy
Assassination”
He didn’t even have the satisfaction of being killed for civil rights . . . . It’s — it had to be some silly little Communist.” — Jackie Kennedy, on hearing that a leftist had been arrested for her husband’s murder”
http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/home.htm
…-
“Joseph Stack: Disillusioned Leftist, Not Racist Right-wing Teabagger
Despite the leftist ideology revealed in Joseph Stack’s manifesto, shortly after he crashed his plane into the IRS building in Austin, TX, progressive media lept to align him with the Tea Party movement, describing him as right-wing, racist, anti-tax, patriot, or militia. Sensing the danger the average American citizen in the Tea Party movement represents to Democrats in 2010 and 2012, they seized the opportunity to insinuate Stack’s alliance hoping to halt the movement’s rising populist wave across the nation.
As expected, leftists at the NY Times, Washington Post, NY Mag, Time, Newsweek, ABC and Daily Kos swiftly established the talking points. ABC News went so far as to resurrect Janet Napolitano’s quickly retracted Depatment of Homeland Security April 2009 report citing,
“Rightwing extremists have capitalized on the election of the first African American president, and are focusing their efforts to recruit new members, mobilize existing supporters, and broaden their scope and appeal through propoganda, but they have not yet turned to attack planning.”
Quoting Mark Potok, of the Southern Poverty Law Center, ABC maligned,
“the result is what [is] referred to as a ‘broad-based, right-wing populist rebellion.’”
But Joseph Stack cannot be branded as a member of the right. Stack was neither a teapartier nor right-winger. And he was more than just a loon who attempted to avoid paying income taxes. Although incoherent and underdeveloped, his rants are decidedly left-wing and his manifesto, or at least parts of it, are very similar to diaries at the Daily Kos.”
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2455662/posts
…-
“Suddenly Concerned About Historical Accuracy, Leftists Attempt to Kill JFK Miniseries
This is America and leftist filmmaker Robert Greenwald and his ilk have every right to wage a propaganda war to pressure the History Channel to kill their upcoming JFK miniseries. The miniseries’ script might not be done yet, but that’s how we roll in this country and until Senator Harry Reid steps in and threatens to put the History Channel out of business, like he did ABC in order to muscle a “Path to 9/11″ edit to his and the Clintons’ liking, Greenwald and Co. can all knock themselves out. And knocking themselves out they are: a website, petition, videos, and an all-too expected personal attack against “24″ co-creator Joel Surnow, an openly conservative producer and creator of “The Kennedys.”
The New York Times reports that Greenwald appears to have gotten his hands on an early draft of the script for the 10-hour miniseries and found parts of it objectionable. According to a video Greenwald put together — where he has bad actors recreate the “offensive” scenes — JFK was some kind of serial adulterer. Who knew, right? Then there’s longtime Kennedy friend and counsel Ted Sorenson who appears in the video with a not very subtle threat to sue the History Channel should they proceed. He claims the screenplay contains Oval Office conversations that never happened. Who do you think is more worried about Sorenson winning a lawsuit against dramatic license? Surnow or Oliver Stone?
The most important fact in this dust up is that it’s occurring over a project that’s still in the development stage. The script is still being written and will be vetted:
Mr. Kronish, the “Kennedys” screenwriter, said that the History channel’s standards for producing its mini-series are more rigorous than the broadcast networks’, and that his finished scripts will require bibliographic annotations and legal vetting before filming proceeds. He also said that he was drawing upon nonfiction works, including books by Seymour Hersh, Robert Dallek, David Talbot and others. “If I’m wrong,” he said, “I guess all of them are wrong.”
Mr. Kronish acknowledged that some factual details, like the date that the Peace Corps was established, were changed for concision or dramatic license, but not with malicious intent.”
http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jjmnolte/2010/02/19/suddenly-concerned-about-historical-accuracy-leftists-attempt-to-kill-jfk-miniseries/#more-311214
Leftist CBC censors comments on behalf of the leftist Separatist Coalition.
…-
CBC: “This story is closed to commenting.”
“Hundreds attend rally for CFB Trenton troops”
“Crowds of supporters marched down the main strip of the base Saturday morning, waving Canadian flags and carrying signs praising the troops. CFB Trenton is one of the busiest air force bases in Canada, serving as a hub for many air transport and search and rescue operations.”
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2010/02/20/trenton-military-appreciation-day.html
Off topic but;
Rights agency under microscope
Interim president orders forensic audit into 5 years of transactions
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/768636–rights-agency-under-microscope
You’re welcome and thank you too Joanne.
Because Dion said ‘no’ to a coalition during the campaign and did it anyway,
NO Canadian will believe any Liberal (CPC will make sure of it) that a coalition is off the table.
Because Layton traded the NDP #1 election policy of ‘no corporate tax cuts’ for a Cabinet seat,
the NDP election platform is negotiable.
Because Dion/Chretien/Rae/Iffy dropped their #1 election policy of ‘the Green Shift’,
the Liberal election platform is negotiable.
The ONLY party that has a ‘what you see is what you get’ election platform, is the CPC.
Voting Dipper or Liberal in the next election, means you are signing a blank cheque,
policy/amount to be negotiated and filled in later.
haha
I think we all need a new approach.
We need to start with the idea that Michael Ignatieff will NEVER be PM of this country. Just not going to happen. If he tries we(the CPC Oppo. war room) have more than enough ammo. to send the professor back to Harvard.
That Bob Rae wants to unite the left is no surprise on anyone in Ontario. In his autobiography Rae himself says that this is his ultimate goal. When we understand that he’ll likely go to his grave trying the strategy for the CPC becomes slightly shifted.
That said, there are more than enough NDP faithful who can’t stand Bob Rae and would never have THEIR party swallowed up by the Liberals, no how, no way.
I don’t want to seem cold but the NDP have to be doing some serious thinking now about the future of their party, what with Jack ill and all. I can’t see Layton settling for or playing second-banana to Rae.
Re: NBC’s celebration of Canada – I watched in before the opening ceremonies and I’ll say now what I said then. The NBC did a better job of instilling pride and confidence in our country than our own media did. What’s particularly got me pissed since then, is the total sh**-kicking the media has done of our athletes. From their uneducated expectations to the really, REALLY stupid comments I hear about how we failed to “own the podium” – that may well be true but we only have to watch as each and every athlete that the media promoted heavily fell from their grace in a very big way and the newer unknowns seem to have escaped the media radar and have owned the podium themselves. I’d love to strap Laflamme to a luge sled just to watch her sweat through her ultra-suede and muss her hair.
Mostly I found Taber’s article condemning Mike Duffy and the CPC’s salute to the athletes and our country. I glad they did it to be honest because it’s better than what the Canadian media has to offer them. At least our athletes know that if the media doesn’t have their backs the PM and Canadians do.
If Libs and Dippers do not run 308 candidates,
the CPC is the ONLY national party in Canada.
This is why the coalition of losers wanted to do the nasty WITHOUT Canadians knowing what was coming.
Democracy is just too messy to trust to the people,
Liberals think they know what’s best for all.
What puts a smile on my face thru all this is
the consensus in the media seems to be that Liberals can not win, and there seems to be a fear that Libs can’t win for a long time.
Why have LibDippers been planning a coalition for years, likely since PMSH united the right? Libs ruled for 13 years, and now they think PMSH has put a stop to them winning ‘ever’ again?
If Jack Layton and the NDP were smart they would avoid the Liberals like the plague, if they played their cards right they have a good shot at becoming the official opposition if Iggy stays as leader of the Liberals.
Remember, Ignatieff has to continue to be an MP until the end of January 2012 to qualify for an MP’s pension.
Resnick is one of 11 BC professors who signed the anti prorogation letter.
I have spent a lot of time at the site-election target, trying to find those 60-80 seats these guys are talking about.
I have found a few liberals who had more voting against them than for the, Keith and Ujjal come to mind.
There are non in AB, and Duncan will be a one shot wonder.
Someone is trying in vain to take Anders seat but wont succeed.
And, as Layton is a more popular leader than iggy, why not him for PM in a coalition. And what does Gilles think of all his “friends in the coalition” turning against him.
And suggesting that with no other candidates running, May would win-shows how silly they are. Didn’t help her in NS.
And how many of her voters will stay home after her antics to stay on as leader and prorogue the leadership review.
Just wondering, is the NFLD govt in session, with Danny recovering from serious surgery.
Resnick is one of 11 BC professors who signed the anti prorogation letter.
Not exactly an objective viewpoint then…
One of the advantages we have over the Libs, in the “negative ads” department, is that we can BACK UP our narratives with actual quotes from Iggy. And even better, SHOW him in all his glory, bloviating on whatever–we’ve got TONS of video tape to choose from.
Meanwhile, Iggy is fond of throwing out stuff like “Harper wants you to believe that we have to choose between the economy and the environment …”.
Ya right, whatever you say Iggy. You got ANYTHING to quote from Harper to back that up ? Didn’t think so.
One of the advantages we have over the Libs, in the “negative ads” department, is that we can BACK UP our narratives with actual quotes from Iggy. And even better, SHOW him in all his glory, bloviating on whatever–we’ve got TONS of video tape to choose from.
Good point CJ. And I love that word bloviating.
JDot at 12:11 pm – Thanks for that tip about the NBC tribute! What a great video.
That stunning video from NBC has made my day! I was already a proud Canadian..but my heads a little higher,my chest a little more puffed up after viewing.I would love love LOVE to force feed this to Mallick,Milewski,and Mansbridge..the triple M of maggots,and see what their response would be.Throw in a Travers,Taber,and Torstar,and it would be a thing of beauty to watch the joint head explosions.
BTW,where the hell are all the Canadian journalists,and why hasn’t ctv/cbc bothered to come up with something even half as good as this? Why you say? Because they hate the fact that we ARE a country being so ably run by a CONSERVATIVE PM..and they just cannot abide this.
I love my country,I am proud of our athletes…I am NOT ashamed of the great job they are doing..the whole world is seeing what a tremendous country Canada is..and cbc keeps telling us about all the glitches,about every miniscule ‘black mark.’ I honestly find it despicable,and if cbc and their Toronto centric staff is pissed off about being shut out of the prestige coverage..and have to whine about everything,then pack up their tax-payer funded asses and get out of BC.Go back to TO,and your little world and leave us alone here in the West.
Oh..and just now cbc is glumly tells us our Alberta based ladies curling team will LOSE. Nice going guys..who are you cheering for????
This article was actually published on February 8th. Is Barbara Yaffe just a really slow reader ? Even the Liberal blogs think this idea is a non-starter.
Sorry about the language in prev.post Jo,and all my other friends here,but I am just sick and tired of all the negativity being heaped on our athletes,our facilities in BC,now cbc tells us their is a lawsuit against VANOC by Slovacs over one of the venues.It’s like Hiscox can’t wait to break the bad news.My B/P is thru the roof.I need some respite from the hate Canada rhetoric.
This article was actually published on February 8th.
Jad – I noticed that too. She must be hoping the idea doesn’t die.
Sammy, @4:02pm
No apology needed to ‘this’friend. I completely agree with you and every verb, adjective and noun is perfectly acceptable and far more rational than what I said and did BEFORE I DECIDED TO PURGE THEM FROM MY LIFE…..
Actually I heard a psychologist on Adler (I think??) explain that negativity sells and the viewing market thrives on ‘bad news’. That’s all the CBC has because it certainly isn’t entertainment.
Must be why they feed their leftie viewers and they are all such mean spirited commenter’s at their sites.
Sorry about the language in prev.post Jo
If the filter didn’t catch you, then you’re good to go.
Bec, I think the CBC folks have their collective noses out of joint because the action is at CTV.
Whew..thanks Jo and Bec! Glad your filter isn’t too fine.Sometimes I just need a darn good vent session to lower the B/P. I just wonder if any other country that has hosted the Olympics has had their own ‘hometown’ msm turn on them as much as cbc is doing?
And yes Jo,there is a HUGE cluster of sour grapes hanging at the cbc.I think they just cannot believe that they aren’t getting the glory of 24/7 eyes on them.As if they have huge viewership anyway.I would love to see the ratings over the past wk..and how low cbc has sunk.Where do I find this????
solution only pay the $1.95 to the political parties that run candidates in 308 ridings
seems fair to me
fh
Joanne says…
“JDot at 12:11 pm – Thanks for that tip about the NBC tribute! What a great video”
No doubt, this was the vid we where talking about a few threads back. We both seen it live, it is awesome that springer got the youtube clip..
Calgary Junkie says…
“One of the advantages we have over the Libs, in the “negative ads” department, is that we can BACK UP our narratives with actual quotes from Iggy.”
Oh ya, and Iffy is giving us a wealth of material. Once again the CPC is going to have to do the media’s job and point out Ig’s stupidity…
Should be fun to watch the MSM faux outrage, when the truth ads come out…
Another cut to the arts of spelling: G-M misspells Fox, er …
…-
“Canny old fox Bouchard delivered a smackdown to the separtists(sic)”
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/canny-old-fox-bouchard-delivered-a-smackdown-to-the-separtists/article1474993/
CTV must be on its last legs. There has been no money spent on production. Has anyone seen a graphic depicting any of the Alpine venues? Or heard any intelligent analysis of the sport being covered? Ben Mulroney , Jeff Hutchison, Darren _____. Why are these lightweights covering a sporting event? Or Seamus O’Reagan who was honest enough to state during one of his morning walkabouts…I am a political reporter not a sports commentator? Totally incompetent and embarressing to listen to these these 3rd rate and cheap hosts.
Milking Big State Nanny/Cash Cow.
The “pensioners” are digging for our tax dollars.
Watch/wait for Liberal-socialists McGuinty, Iffy, Rae, Taliban Jack LaytoNDP on this.
Further: wait for TDGreen to bloviate on Iffy’s behalf with the MSM leading the way.
>>> “The Ontario government [of Liberal McGuinty] recently told Nortel employees who worked in the province that the first $1,000 of their monthly pension payments will be guaranteed under an emergency pension insurance fund, but Sproule said Canadian pensioners are still facing a funding shortfall.”
…-
“Nortel pensioners worried about U.K. claim
A group of Canadian Nortel pensioners is worried that a claim filed by British pension regulators against the company could have a negative impact on Canadian workers’ pensions.
The Globe and Mail is reporting that the U.K. Pensions Regulator filed a $3.3-billion claim against Nortel in an Ontario court.
Don Sproule, chair of the Nortel Retirees Protection Committee, said he’s concerned that the British pension administrator is making an attempt to “deplete the Canadian estate” at the expense of Nortel’s Canadian pensioners.”
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2010/02/20/ottawa-nortel-pension-dispute.html
That was a SUPER video narrated by Tom Brokaw!! I agree with Sammy as that is very enlightening for viewers on both sides of our mighty friendly border. Cheers for Canada, USA, and North America! We have a great thing here, something the Liebrals would never own up to…
http://www.sortofpolitical.com/2010/02/tribute-to-canada-from-nbc.html
Nor would they ever give credit for responsible credit management, as in the case of PM Harper’s relatively frugal travel expenditures, pointed out by the Sun’s contributor, Peter Zimonjic. This should be required reading for all Canadians, and not such an obscure article.
http://www.torontosun.com/news/canada/2010/02/19/12952211.html
LOTS to be proud of in Canada! Some of the coolest items just don’t make the Lamestream Media, and I guess that’s why it’s lame.
solution only pay the $1.95 to the political parties that run candidates in 308 ridings
Fh – Sounds great except the Bloc would start screaming. We taxpayers have to pay to support the party that would dearly love to have their province exist without us, don’t ya know. We are such fools.
After watching CBC and the only real headlines are about the small little negatives about a world international event like the Olympics and nothing about the amazing positives for our country and athletes I also have asked my husband to program any CBC channel as blocked.
I am taking this step to get rid of negativity in my life.
I also will not watch CTV’s little Jane Tabor rants anymore. Guess it is time to join the 99.9 % of other Canadians who really don’t care what these strangely creepy people think.
Real Candians think for themselves.
Canada’s political left should unite if they want electoral success.
The big turning point will happen post 2014, when new seats are created in the House and it becomes possible for any party to win a majority without seats in Quebec. This will marginalize the BQ, and Quebec voters will abandon the BQ in droves to keep a “seat at the table” in Canada’s Parliament. Since the NDP is a Social Democratic party and the BQ is a National Socialist party, the BQ voters will move to the NDP as the national party with the closest political philosophy.
The core philosophies or ideologies of the NDP will appeal more to the Greens and BQ than anyone else, and only the NDP has the critical mass of operatives, money and political experience to actually do this. Certainly if the Progressives want to finally gain political power, this combination makes the most sense, uniting similar groups into a single national party rather than several marginal and regional parties.
This also makes the choice very clear to all Canadians on election day, a clear decision between the Classical Liberal philosophies of the CPC (however much they honour them in the breach) and the Progressive philosophies of the new Socialist Alliance Party. The post 2014 landscape will be much clearer for all.
The BQ have no real incentive to merge today, but their voter base will see the changes in the wind after 2014, that should start the process of an NDP/BQ merger, or an NDP takover as former BQ voters move to the NDP to keep a seat at the table.
The Greens will probably come to the NDP if asked nicely (i.e. offered some real incentives), and a large fraction of their voter base will follow since the NDP offers pretty much the same ideology. This is probably something the NDP will have to initiate and manage to completion, and yes, it is something of a wild card as to how and when this can happen. Left leaning Liberals might start flocking to the Socialist Alliance Party in a sort of reversal of the former NDP players shifting to the Liberals since they will follow political power, and a rapidly growing Socialist Party will certainly be an attractive force compared to the constant bickering and searches for a new “Dear Leader” that the Liberals have been reduced to. After all, who will have a better chance at getting the keys to the treasury?
Will this happen tomorrow? No, of course not. Many Liberals are clinging to the idea that the Young Dauphin will be their “Dear Leader” who takes them back to power (and the ones who don’t are probably gathering around the Bob Rae/Power Corp faction). This fight will take some time to play out. There are five years to go before seat reapportion becomes mandatory (and the Prime Minister can upset the entire timeline by bringing in legislation creating the new seats any time between now and 2014), which I see as the trigger. Jack Layton could start the process sooner by reaching out to the Greens, and maybe to disaffected left Liberals, but the big shift won’t come until Quebec voters see that it is really possible to have a Parliamentry majority without having seats in Quebec.
Two notes here:
1. The rush from the BQ might take place right after the 2014 period, or they might need to be “convinced” of their irrelevance in one post 2014 sitting of Parliament, but the Quebec voters will indeed move.
2. “National Socialist” in its correctly political meaning: this is a Socialist party which divides the spoils on the basis of “ethnicity” rather than “class”, “gender”, “victim hood” or other non racial group identifiers.
It is great to have esteemed professors go public with the news there is no way Iggy will ever be PM, without a lot of help from his friends.
If a coalition was elected, would it be the coalition on govt side, with the conservatives on the other. Would the ndp/bloc/jennings/holland/bennett, still be allowed to ask questions, as they would be the govt.
Would they all agree to sit as backbenchers, and give cabinet seats to layton and gilles.
I wonder if those esteemed professors have really thought what would happen, rotating PMs, iggy on mon, layton on Tues, gilles on wed, lizzie on thursdays.
And with Layton ahead of iggy in popularity, would he be full time PM.
But, if they agree to run as a group, then they are willing to give up their 1.95/vote.
Bob Rae’s dive into federal politics as a Liberal is one thing but the fact he aspires to lead that party should be all the proof needed he’s on a mission to unite the Left. The more Right element in the Liberal party will not be happy or comfortable, where will they turn?
If he wants to emulate Stephen Harper’s feat uniting the Right, he’ll have a tougher time with the Liberal party itself in a great divide. The ever present option of a Coalition reactivation may be their first step, problem is they need help from the Seppies to take down the government. Taking down governments in a democracy is tricky business, if they try it again any time soon they’ll look even more desperate for power, the people will then have to give the Conservatives a majority to have stability, it’s the only option.
The Liberals are lost at this point. They’re neither left, right or center but flailing in the wind with a leader who has no vision and continues to put his foot in his mouth on a regular basis. Wading into the abortion debate, making it his own is a recent example, he’s not up to that challenge. Rae may think he’s fooling the masses with his phony support of Ignatieff’s leadership. He’s not.
I just watched that NBC video about Canada – US relations, and it made me proud and happy and emotional.
Do you remember when (under a Liberal Government) Canada’s military budget was squeezed, and how the lack of REAL support for the US in the Iraq conflict strained relationships between us?
I do. I remember clearly that when a Canadian hockey or baseball team played in a US venue, O’Canada was booed by many American fans. I hated that, but knew where they were coming from.
At that time, my work often took me to the company’s Head Office in South Carolina. As a Canadian, I often felt embarrassed rather than proud at our (then) Governments position of NOT standing shoulder to shoulder with our American friends and allies.
Since the CPC and Stephen Harper have become the Government things have changed in this regard. Support for our military, financially and otherwise, has become a priority, as has our support of our biggest trading partner to the south.
Back to sporting events, a good barometer of how Americans really feel about us, there is no longer booing of O’Canada. The singing of BOTH national anthems are met with equal respect. I have even noticed immense Canadian Flags of equal size to the American Flag, flying along side at major events. The World Series comes to mind. I am once again a proud Canadian.
Dave @ 10:14 am, that great NBC video would never have happened when Liberals were in power. We have a PM now who has respect for our greatest ally and trading partner who share this continent,respect too for whoever the people of that Nation choose as President. We don’t have to agree on all matters, sometimes we have to make deals to do what’s best for all concerned.
Stephen Harper has fixed what the Liberals broke in US relations, showing respect played a big part.