Blue Like You

Interesting juxtaposition of headlines at National Newswatch : Will MPs summer last until November? Right below that is Liberals fall to fourth place in Quebec .

Of the rumour that the Government might delay the return of Parliament until after the Conservative policy convention, Ralph Goodale states:

"…They desperately want to avoid having to face either more question periods or more encounters with the media in Ottawa that would force them to deal with Bernier, the … election (financing) scandal or NAFTA-gate," Goodale said. "I think they’re running scared. They’ve never had to face this kind of downturn in public opinion ."

Sure, Ralph. If it makes you feel better to say that, you just go right ahead.

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Update : And here we have a somewhat tongue-in-cheek look at Bernier’s affair The Bernier Affair - How the Tories got their spunk back .

L. Ian MacDonald - Poll points to shifting political sands in Quebec . This is definitely worth a read.

Dion still dealing with $600,000 leadership debt - CTV .

Tories pass confidence votes as Liberals absent - Star.

Jim Flaherty is doing an awesome job handling the Canadian economy. He had the foresight back in October to introduce personal and business tax cuts, which are now starting to take effect.

Contrast this with Dalton McGuinty’s ‘Cherry-Picking’ approach to handling the Ontario economy. Or Dion’s Tax-Shifting trial balloon which is already starting to lose steam .

This Conservative Government continues to handle the Canadian economy with strength and vision.

For the Highlights of Harper Government accomplishments , please see Sandy’s list which she has edited for ease of reading and referral. For a more comprehensive list, click here .

Hunter has also done some excellent YouTube work on this topic. Enjoy.

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Related : End of the Hargrove era - National Post .

I’m having some difficulty deciphering Chantal Hébert’s column this morning - Canada’s Natural Opposition Party.

…Part of the reason for this self-defeating state of affairs may be that the Prime Minister and his coterie of advisers hail from the protest side of the conservative movement.

It is the first time in modern Canadian history that the right wing of the Conservative party produced a prime minister. Whatever institutional memory of government the party may have rests with its progressive wing. But while not all so-called Red Tories have opted to stay out of the tent, in Harper’s peculiar world, they are often as suspect as the Liberals.

Is she trying to say that the Conservative party’s fortunes in Government are adversely affected by a stronger ex-Alliance control at the expense of the Red Tories? If so, I can’t agree.

Granted, the former Progressive Conservative caucus members may have more experience in Government, but I don’t agree that they are being shut out of the limelight. Names like Peter MacKay and Jim Prentice come to mind.

And as for the notion that the Tories are spinning their wheels and seem more comfortable in opposition, I offer Sandy’s impressive list of the Harper Government’s accomplishments as evidence to the contrary.

Chantel, I’ll be patiently waiting for a list of accomplishments by the ‘Natural Governing Party’ . Let me get it started for you.

• Same-sex marriage.
• Canadian Charter of Rights and Entitlements .
• Lowering carbon emissions (Didn’t get it done).

Carry on…

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Update : Jack’s Newswatch - Daily Blogger .

Looks like I’m not the only one who saw yesterday’s Crop poll as a tremendous birthday gift for Stephen Harper . The Gazette’s L. Ian MacDonald was obviously also impressed with the results. (H/T to National Newswatch )

Of course we are always reminded that polls are merely a snapshot in time, and political fortunes can turn on a dime . (Hey, I might try writing poetry!)

However these Crop results indicate a worrisome trend for the Bloc :

…While Harper’s Conservatives are off two points from last month to 27 per cent, the Bloc has dropped two points to a virtual tie at 28 per cent, with the Liberals stable at 20 per cent, and the NDP growing three points to 17 per cent .

This is the first time in memory that the Bloc has dropped below 30 per cent. At 28 per cent, it is 14 points below its 42 per cent score in the 2006 election. Stated another way, one Bloc voter in three has moved away from it .

And when you look at the key francophone demographic, 85 per cent of the voting pool, the news is simply devastating for Stéphane Dion and the Liberals. The Bloc is at 33 per cent in this segment, the Conservatives at 28 per cent, the NDP at 18 per cent and the Liberals at 13 per cent. Yikes …

Yikes indeed.

If the Liberals ever get off their collective butts and actually vote against the government on a confidence motion, it could very well be the Bloc that blocks it to save their own skins - as well as their salaries and pensions.

Federalist sentiment in Quebec is on an upward trend and the LPC is clearly not the favourite in that race.

The only bright spot for the Liberals is that the Bloc may allow them to regain some of their tarnished dignity and once again act like the Official Opposition rather than merely the Party of Outraged Seat-Warmers .

And as MacDonald mentioned, continuing to be Prime Minister of Canada for the indefinite future isn’t such a bad deal for Stephen Harper .

Who’s going to challenge him?

And here’s a special little gift via Elizabeth Thompson - New Poll Bad News for Liberals .

Is it possible that this minority government could last the full term?

I would like to join Dr. Roy in wishing our Prime Minister a very happy birthday today. The previous post also contains some birthday wishes from various readers towards the end of the thread.

Like Dr. Roy, I must admit I had my doubts about Stephen Harper at the beginning. Even when canvassing in the last election I ran into people who said they didn’t think Mr. Harper was the right man for the job.

However, over the last few years I have not only had the pleasure of hearing him speak in person several times; I have even shaken hands with him, had my photo taken with him and had that photo personally signed by him with my favourite gold Sharpie. It doesn’t get much better than that for a Blogging Tory.

So today I want to thank Stephen Harper for following his inner convictions and trying to do his best for our country. He’s here to get the job done. No, he’s not perfect. None of us are. But I truly believe that he is working for Canada; not for his own glory. That is why I support him and respect him.

Happy Birthday, Prime Minister!

Well, it’s not everyday that I get an opportunity to be a witness to front page news.

Last night my twenty-something daughter and I joined the massive throng of Conservative supporters in Mississauga to hear Prime Minister Stephen Harper rally the troops for a possible election which the opposition could force at any time.

The crowd estimates ranged anywhere from 2000 to 5000 depending on the bias of your media source. (Interesting that CBC seems to have picked the low end there.)

I can assure you that there were so many enthusiastic, sweating bodies packed in that massive hall like sardines, that everyone was peeling off as many clothes as possible to cool down. The Prime Minister was visibly perspiring from the heat. I don’t recall ever being in a closed environment with that number of fellow human beings at one time.

But no one complained.

There was an excitement in the air as the evening started with Jim Flaherty and Josée Verner warmed up the audience. The Finance Minister is a tremendous speaker; full of Irish wit and charm. Flaherty has definitely not reached his full political potential yet.

The Prime Minister’s speech is well documented on various news sources, but I can tell you that he seemed energized by the boisterous crowd, which was showing approval with cheers and applause, and the banging of thundersticks almost nonstop.

His remarks were targeted at the average Canadian; the hard-working silent majority who “didn’t have the time to stage protests or the money to hire lobbyists.” (CTV)

There was also a tone of humility:

“We cannot worry about what they say about us around boardroom tables but we must care what they talk about at the kitchen tables.”

In any case, it was a most enjoyable evening. The icing on the cake was the opportunity to meet some fellow bloggers; notably Sandy (Crux-of-the-Matter), and the Stephen Taylor! What a great guy! Stephen, if you’re reading this, I hope we didn’t embarrass you too much.

Our meeting up with Sandy was quite “serendipitous” as she referred to it. Perhaps she will elaborate at some point.

Anyway, Sandy and her husband are warm, friendly people whom my daughter and I were very happy to have met. We ended up sitting together, which was great. In fact, it was due to Sandy’s brilliant strategic skills that we were even able to find a seat. She is very clever about dealing with line-ups, and how to get around them. I highly recommend that you ask her for tips if you ever plan to attend an event like this.

After the rally, there was a large reception with various MP’s milling about, but my focus at that point was more on grabbing some cheese and cold meat, since we were starving. As my daughter and I settled in against a wall to devour our snacks, I noticed Jim Prentice advancing in our general direction. He stopped to chat to a couple of men beside me. I glanced over and noticed that one of them was Jason Kenney!

Didn’t get a chance to talk to them (especially with my mouth full of food), but it was fun to be in the same room watching MP’s mill around like common folk - which they are, and which we all are.