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Political Stalemate – Advantage Harper

Posted by Joanne on 18 March 2010, 7:55 am

Even though today’s EKOS poll shows a slight increase for the Conservatives (and where are you *Kady*?), I think we are in for a long period of more of the same in the political arena.

Angelo Persichilli and Peter Worthington have both recently alluded to the fact that ever since the right has been united it will be difficult for the Liberals to unseat the Conservatives. They will have to focus on trying to pull support away from soft NDP voters, which may explain the constant focus on mud-flinging pseudo-scandals and arcane issues like Afghan detainees.

Even some of the Liberal party’s strongest media supporters are now referring to the Conservatives as “the default government party.”  (Warning: Traversty alert!)

Worthington concludes that we should all just relax and enjoy the ride because “Stephen Harper is likely to be around for quite a while.”

And that’s a good thing.

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Update

Kady is on it – EKOS of the Week: Mind the (4.2) gap, Liberals.

Canada produces a rare economic hat trick- Jan Bryan, Gazette

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Saturday Update

Tories lose some ground, but Grits fail to capitalize – Vancouver Sun

Filed under Afghanistan, Canadian Parliament, Canadian Politics, Coalition of the swilling, Harper best PM ever, Harper smartest PM ever, Iffy, Iggo Waffles, Jack Layton, LPC, Liberal Party of Donolo, MSM bias, Michael Ignatieff, Pseudo-scandals, Stephen Harper, Stephen Harper Rock Star, Support our troops, The LPC is dysfunctional.
43 Comments

I’m just throwing this out there

Posted by Joanne on 10 March 2010, 8:21 pm

…and I may be way off base but it just struck me that perhaps all this crazy focus on the Rahim Jaffer and Afghan detainees might be a diversion from the fact that the Liberals let the budget pass.

I mean if this government is so bad, why didn’t the opposition parties take it out?

And why no amendments or even a speck of interest?   Why aren’t the Liberals doing their job? [Please join this Facebook group!]

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Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose:

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Also please also check out Alberta Ardvark – The Iffy Alternative.

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Friday Update

Liberals stuck in Afghan rut – John Ivison:

…The EI premium hike is a legitimate target for the Liberals — a government that says its first priority is reducing unemployment is increasing a job-killing tax — but would Mr. Ignatieff guarantee that any EI surplus would not be consolidated into general revenue to help pay for his pet projects? Not bleeping likely.

Mr. Ignatieff is a dreamer. In his most recent book, True Patriot Love, he muses: “The ambition of our ancestors should be inspiring us to equal them in daring, today and tomorrow.” Yet, as he has admitted to journalists, he finds Canada “a difficult country in which to dream.” In the absence of any plan to turn vaulting ambition into reality, the Liberal leader’s critics are likely to remain unconvinced.

Filed under Accountability, Canadian Government, Canadian Parliament, Canadian Politics, Canadian economy, Iffy, Iggo Waffles, Liberal Party of Donolo, Michael Ignatieff, Peter Principle, Too many Fools on the Hill.
40 Comments

Checkmate 2010

Posted by Joanne on 30 December 2009, 8:57 am

Yesterday we mused on the possibility of the coalition still being alive, but today rumours are circulating that would preempt any such move in the near future.

According to QMI Agency, sources say that “the Conservative government will ask the governor general to suspend Parliament today, delaying the return of MPs until the beginning of March.”

Meanwhile Prime Minister Harper is expected to fill five new Senate seats in January of 2010 which would give the CPC a “working majority” in the Senate. [Translation by Google]

Prorogation would end the stalling of Liberal-dominated Senate committees that have been responsible for holding up so many Government bills – thereby stopping Liberal Senators from undermining  legislation passed by elected representatives in the future.

Personally I don’t see a downside in this strategy and it will begin that long road towards Senate reform.

My only concern is that Iffy might get bored waiting for the keys to 24 Sussex and decide to go home to Harvard.

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Update: Tories planning new Parliament, to begin March 3 - CTV

Stephen Taylor – The case for prorogation. (Cross-posted at the National Post)

Stephen Harper, renegade in power – John Ivison:

…fury at the unelected Liberal Senate was not faux outrage. Mr. Harper was particularly upset when the Senate amended the government’s consumer protection legislation, which had received unanimous consent in the House of Commons. The Conservatives are set to become the largest party in the Senate with the appointment of five new senators early in the new year, yet the Liberals would still have dominated the committee structure. This would have allowed Grit senators to continue to bog down government legislation for months on end. Instead, prorogation will mean that those committees are reconstituted to more closely reflect the make-up of the Senate. For the first time since he came to power, Mr. Harper will have a plurality in both chambers of Parliament and in the committee rooms...

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Thursday Update:


Parliament on hold – National Post:

…Far from being undemocratic, the Prime Minister is seeking to eliminate an artificial log jam in the Senate, where unelected Liberals have been deliberately slowing legislation approved by the Commons. Conservatives will soon match Liberals in Senate seats, but Liberals could continue to block legislation by manipulating committees. Once Parliament returns, the committees can be reconfigured and delayed bills reintroduced and swiftly passed without Senate interference…

And in case you missed it, Sandy has reposted a link to the CTV interview with PM Harper.

Filed under Canadian Politics, Canadian Senate, Coalition of the swilling, Harper smartest PM ever, Iffy, Liberal entitlement, Michael Ignatieff, Senate reform.
54 Comments

Scott Reid’s directive lives on

Posted by Joanne on 15 December 2009, 8:38 am

The official Liberal Party of Canada’s website displays some of its brilliant strategy and great taste.  (H/T Liz J and Maz2)

I assume Peter Donolo has seen all this. Perhaps he was the one that suggested they remove an image of our Prime Minister being assassinated. Clearly your party needs a bit more adult supervision, Peter.

And is this the light you’ve been hiding under your bushel, Michael Ignatieff? You can keep it. Even your base seems to think it is disgusting. How will our Canadian media friends react, I wonder?

BTW – Merry Christmas. Peace on earth and all that.

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Update:

Here’s a blast from the past. And another.

But it’s all in good fun, right? Nobody would take it seriously.   Guelph woman arrested in Harper threat case – Guelph Mercury.

Michael Ignatieff’s Targeted Assasinations – ChuckerCanuk

Liberal photo contest takes macabre turn – Globe (H/T Jad)

Kady (H/T Jad) rightly points out:

…AFTERTHOUGHTDATE: As pointed out by Commenter Beachcomber, this particular web offence would seem to merit a more direct apology — as in, one directed at the prime minister, personally, from the Liberal leader than an update to the webpage. Also, comparing the kerfuffle to “Attila the Hun complaining about the Romans’ table manners,” as A Senior Liberal Official did this morning, according to the Globe’s Jane Taber? Not really helping sell the sincerity.

So when are we going to hear from the rest of MSM about the outrageous, U.S -style attacks? (H/T Frmgrl)

Canadian Sense has a dynamite post up with links to other bloggers following this topic – and they’re not all conservative.

Liberals post assassination photo to mock Harper – Kelly MacParland, Post

The Libranos: The Photo Contest – SDA

And they call this an ‘apology’???:

“Though we do screen the pictures before posting them, it appears the Lee Harvey Oswald picture slipped through the cracks – it has since been removed. We apologize to those who took offence to the image.”

The author of the blog that appears to have discovered the photo, rjjago.wordpress.com, called it “ignorant” for the Liberals to post such a depiction so soon after the bloody attack on Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who suffered a broken nose and lost teeth this week after a man threw a statue at him at a rally.

The Liberals have also removed a photo depicting the prime minister with his hand up the rear end of a cow.

“It was considered a joke on methane emissions from cattle. But since it can be misinterpreted, it was taken down as well,” said Lauzon…

Then & Now: Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition – Dan Cook:

‘…We don’t do that kind of politics in the Liberal party.’

Canadian Liberals post assassination photo - UPI

Liberals apologize for fake photo of Harper assassination - Star

Liberals remove faked PM assassination shot – Reuters

Tories may be close to mood of populace on climate change - Vancouver Sun

Filed under Canadian Politics, Iffy, Iggo Waffles, Iggyssiah, Liberal entitlement, Liberal machine, Michael Ignatieff, Peter Principle, Stephen Harper.
126 Comments

Let’s end the ten-percenters

Posted by Joanne on 1 December 2009, 7:08 am

I have to agree with John Ivison when I preface this post by saying that I too would like to see the end of the ‘ten percenters’. However, this morning Ivison points out an inconvenient truth about Durban 1 which is worth noting.

According to Ivison, the facts are that the Liberal Government had already decided to remain in Durban and since the Canadian delegation couldn’t be persuaded otherwise, it was then asked to ‘work from the inside’. Cotler of course contends that Canada was asked to remain there by the Israeli government:

…That is when we stood up, that was when we were asked to remain, and that is what we did. We were praised for having been the party that most condemned anti-Semitism at that Durban 1 conference.”

However, that is not the recollection of Alan Baker, Israel’s former ambassador to Canada who was head of the Israeli delegation in Durban. In an interview from Israel, he said that his government asked Canada, the U.S. and a number of European countries to pull out of Durban but the Canadian delegation was directed by Ottawa to stay. Led by Hedy Fry, then the Secretary of State for Multiculturalism, and Paul Heinbecker, then the ambassador to the U.N., the delegation was told to attempt to ensure the text of any final declaration was devoid of anti-Israel language.

Mr. Cotler himself seems to have been less than impressed with the Canadian government’s decision. On his return, he gave a speech in Montreal in which he said he felt that by remaining at the conference until the declaration was adopted by consensus, Canada had made itself party to it, despite subsequent attempts to disassociate itself...

According to Ivison, Mr. Cotler’s recollection of events seem to differ sharply with others:

…It all suggests that there is some rewriting of history in Mr. Cotler’s assertion that Canada stayed in Durban at the request of the Israelis. The decision to stay seems to have been made before any such request was forthcoming, which validates the claim that the Liberals were “willing participants” in Durban…

The Liberals are happily playing the victim card now, all full of self-righteous indignation and outrage.   Andrew Coyne said it so well:

…there is nothing a politician lives for more than to be unjustly accused of something—even if he has to levy the charge himself. The opportunities to play the victim are too tempting.

What did the Tory literature (“these vile flyers”—the Toronto Star), widely distributed in Liberal ridings with large numbers of Jewish voters, actually say? Not that the Liberal party was anti-Jew, or even anti-Israel, but only that it had not been as robust in the defence of Israel as the Tories have been…

And that does seem to be the truth.

But who’s right or wrong is really not the issue here. It’s about using these ten-percenters to wage political war against the rival parties at tax-payers expense.

There are other ways to do that, for example by using truth-ads on television and radio – and let it come out of the respective party’s own coffer.

However my biggest gripe with ten-percenters is that they’re just more unwanted mail to have to sort through and recycle.

I already get enough junk mail. I don’t want any more.

Ten-percenters, begone!

Filed under Canadian Politics, LPC, Too many Fools on the Hill, Truth ads, Voter cynicism, Your tax-dollars.
25 Comments

Well actually, Tommy…

Posted by Joanne on 18 November 2009, 11:33 am

He pretty much did say ‘Just visiting’:

From the Harvard Crimson;

Ignatieff’s future with the Kennedy School remains dependent on whether he is elected.

“If I am not elected, I imagine that I will ask Harvard to let me back,” Ignatieff said. “I love teaching here, and I hope I’ll be back in some shape or form.”

Canadian members of Parliament can serve for up to five years, but standard leaves of absence from the Kennedy School of Government (KSG) are limited to two years. Exceptions to the KSG policy may be made under “extenuating circumstances,” KSG communications director Melodie Jackson said in September.

“He is still affiliated with the Carr Center and will remain so,” said Executive Director Fernande Raine. “We hope he will come back at some point depending on how long this run in politics actually takes.”

(Thank you Bruce! And thanks to Sandy for reorganizing the Iggyisms so I could find that one.)

In any case, that sounds more like au revoir than adieu to me.

But CTV’s Tom Clark gets it wrong again – just like he gets his Conservative guest’s name wrong. (see update) Peter BRAID!!! Not Bain.

It’s a truth ad, Tommy. If the Conservatives had made fun of Iffy’s slithery tongue for example, that would be different.

But don’t let pesky facts get in your way.

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Filed under Canadian Politics, Iffy, MSM bias, Media Watch, Michael Ignatieff, Truth ads.
89 Comments

Shock and awe – or rage

Posted by Joanne on 17 November 2009, 8:37 am

There are two ways for the Canadian media to deal with the success of Prime Minister Stephen Harper – grudging admiration or venomous hatred. Let’s slot Michael Byers in that latter category.

The Ottawa Citizen labels his November 2 column as an example of ‘Harper Hatred‘. Byers obviously sees the Prime Minister as some kind of national threat.  The mission therefore is to get rid of the Conservatives. The only way to accomplish that objective is to unite the left. So forget good policies and trying to figure out what Canada really needs. It’s still all about the power, ideology and fear-mongering for Byers:

…The chances of the Liberals forming government appear to have slipped away. The future of the country is in the balance. Whether we like it or not, the parties of the progressive centre have reached a decision point.

Will we let an outdated electoral system deliver a majority Conservative government on the basis of the preferences of less than 40 per cent of voters – and less than 25 per cent of those Canadians who are eligible to vote?

Or will we seize the moment, pull together, and put the country back on course?

The Citizen calls him on out it:

...In media interviews, Byers suggests that a Conservative majority would be a tragedy for Canada. Basically apocalyptic. The end of our country as we know it, he seems to think. Now the Citizen’s editorial board has been as critical of Harper as anyone, but Byers’ fearmongering is so over the top that you expect him any moment to come out and call for the Conservative party to be outlawed…

(Yeah well, he’s not the first to suggest that.)

By way of contrast we see that Lawrence Martin at least attempts to conceal his contempt for all things Conservative and instead focuses on Stephen Harper’s gift of political acumen:

…Harper’s conservatism is making Canadians feel good, or at least not dismayed, about what’s going on. He’s been lucky, helped along by the ineptitude of the Liberals. But in part, it’s been the prime minister’s craftiness that has made them appear that way….

But in the real world I sense that Canadians are by and large quite content with the way Prime Minister Harper has been competently managing the economy and other crises such as H1N1. (H/T Mary T)

People are not marching in the streets. There is no call to ‘throw the bums out’.

Rather than attempting to take down the Conservatives with desperate columns like Byers’, the Canadian media might try suggesting that the opposition parties try a little introspection and come up with a better vision of Canada – one that the average Canadian can relate to.

Of course, Stephen Harper is already doing that. So the best his enemies can hope for is that he stoop to their level of insults and anger.

But lately he has managed to stay above the fray. I strongly urge him to remain there.

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Update:

Dear Tommy Clark:  It’s Peter Braid, not Bain.  Did you not think that was a coincidence?  Was that intentional or just another amateur-hour goof?

P.S.  Memo to Peter: Total class. Well done.

Filed under Canadian Politics, Harper best PM ever, Harper smartest PM ever, MSM bias, Media Watch, Stephen Harper, Stephen Harper Rock Star.
52 Comments
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