Dion thinks he is now a leader, but at what cost?

Last night Stephane Dion put his stamp on the Liberal Party of Canada when he whipped his caucus to vote against the extension of 2 provisions of the Anti Terror Act; and in doing so lost any hope what so ever that the centrist voters of this country will vote Liberal in the next election.

Absolutely unbelievable. If Dion wanted to play leader and show everyone just how well he can lead the New Dion Liberals ( NDL), his timing and choice of hill to die on may just be one of the stupidest decisions made by a Canadian politician in recent memory. You cannot play politics with the safety of Canadians and expect them not to notice; and it was all politics from start to finish for Dion and the whipped spineless Liberals who voted against their own legislation. Legislation which is still required, has already passed a Charter challenge, is supported by the majority of Canadians, and is still supported by, dare I say, a majority of those that call themselves Liberals.

Dion has given himself and the once proud Liberal Party over to the far left faction within the LPC, a group that while I suspect has been growing for years, still make up a minority of those that vote Liberal. The list is long of those within the party that oppose this decision including Keith Martin, John Manley, Roy Cullen, Tom Wappel, Bob Rae, Derek Lee, Anne McLellan, Irwin Cotler, among others. Law enforcement, every major MSM editorial board in the country, The Liberal dominated Senate, families of terror victims, and the majority of center voters are also in favour of these provisions being extended, as well there is a very real risk that this may derail the Air India investigation.

Does any of this matter to Dion? I doubt it, because in spite of it all Dion made his call and whipped his caucus to support this bizarre move to the left. What does Dion see as having been accomplished by his twisted decision to vote against former Liberal legislation? Where is the upside to this, not only for himself and party but also for the security of Canadians? While I myself would like some answers, I think I can safely say that there are plenty of Liberal voters out there who would also like to have these same questions answered. He can ignore me without risk, but can he ignore the others?

Al

Update:

Tom Wappel talks about the Liberal Flip flop and why he voted the way he did. Looks like the talk about an open discussion in the Liberal caucus is just more Liberal BS. h/t Middle Earth
From the CTV story:

"Given that it was Liberal legislation, given that our own Liberal ministers told us that there was nothing that they could suggest to us to fix in the act, I'm flabbergasted that I now find myself the only person supporting the Liberal legislation that the Liberal ministers supported,'' Wappel said in an interview.

Before the Liberals were turfed from power last year, two of their ministers, Anne McLellan and Cotler, appeared before the sub-committee and defended the act. Both, Wappel noted, recommended renewal of two controversial provisions empowering police to detain terrorist suspects without charge and to compel testimony before a judge.

In its report last October, the sub-committee also recommended renewal of the two provisions.

Wappel noted that there was not a peep of opposition from Liberals at that time. Nor did the matter become an issue during the Liberal leadership race, won by Dion on Dec. 2.

It was only after a caucus committee meeting on Feb. 5 that he learned the new leader had decreed "a 180 degree reversal'' of the Liberal stance on the issue.

"Under no circumstances did I expect that it would be anything but a formality and, yes, we'll support the extension . . . To me it was a total shock,'' Wappel said.

Iggy Calls 911 victims families a "Sideshow"

I am sure this is going to go over well. From the Hamilton Spectator. (note: original link dead. Updated with link to the Toronto Star)

"At a news conference before the vote, Maureen Basnicki, (pictured with daughter, Erica) whose husband Ken was among two dozen Canadian victims of the 9/11 al-Qaeda attacks, urged MPs to "stop playing politics" and to "vote with their conscience and not with their party."

Deputy Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff said he sympathized with terror victims but labelled their appearance during the debate as "just a sideshow," prompting an angry response from Basnicki.

"Sideshow? I was a victim of terrorism. My husband was murdered. I don't like to be a victim of politics. The issue here is the security of Canadians," Basnicki remarked.

Garth contradicts his new boss.

Who is telling the truth?

While I was checking out Garth Turners blog this morning I noticed a reply that he made in response to a readers comment about Bob Rae writing Liberal campaign policy. (Source, see the first comment)

Readers comment snipped for brevity ..."The Liberals at this time do not have a platform. It is being written by Maurice Strong’s nephew, and PowerCorp VP John Rae’s brother - former NDP Bob Rae as I understand it....Because the Conservatives had already brainstormed their election platform which you endorsed by running under it you did not like the fact that you were not part of it at that time.
Is this fair comment?"

Garth's reply:
"No, it is wrong. First, the Liberal platform is being written now by elected people. I know, for obvious reasons. Second, the Con platform is already written, and your MP has diddly to say about it. This I also know. — Garth''


Liberal Party press release: December 19, 2006 TORONTO – Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion announced today that fellow former leadership candidate Bob Rae will be Co-chair of the Election Policy Platform Committee for the Liberal Party of Canada ...

Another Liberal Press release: ...Leadership race runner-up Michael Ignatieff will serve as the Liberals’ Deputy Leader, bringing his wealth of knowledge and strong policy background, while fellow leadership candidates Bob Rae and Scott Brison will be in charge of developing the Liberal Party platform for the next election campaign.


Last time I checked, Bob Rae was not currently elected, but Garth does seem to be very sure of himself as he added this part to his comment " I know, for obvious reasons" , so what are the possible reasons for such a statement:

Maybe Bob Rae is on his way out because he opposes Dion's position on the anti terror legislation? Maybe Dion lied to Canadians about Rae's position in the party? Or just maybe Garth is just an idiot and has no clue what he is speaking about? Either way it looks like Garth is up to his old tricks again.

Al

Say What?

"The Vancouver Sun has learned that the father-in-law of the member of Parliament for Mississauga-Brampton . . . ''



That's it. All of it. Not even 20 words and nothing more. Yet, it is enough to get Liberals everywhere to feign outrage over what was, said, not said, implied, telepathically telegraphed , subliminally suggested; actually I am not sure how the above words sent the Liberals into a frenzy, but they have.

Maybe the LPC website can help me find the answers: "Prime Minister Stephen Harper must immediately withdraw allegations he made....", "Mr. Harper’s actions today are the worst ...", "...the Prime Minister explicitly suggested that..., "There can be no doubt about the Prime Minister's intention...", "....there is no doubt about what that insult was intended to be.", "Mr. Bains also demanded that the Prime Minister apologize for the smear.", "I had the opportunity to listen to the Prime Minister attack my integrity....".

Allegations? Smear? Attack? From this "The Vancouver Sun has learned that the father-in-law of the member of Parliament for Mississauga-Brampton . . . '' ? (you can watch it here as well)


Nothing was said people. You have no idea what the PM was going to say or where the statement was leading, because he never had a chance to finish. To claim otherwise puts you into a category with the Amazing Kreskin for 'psychic abilities', and if it is indeed the case than perhaps you could use your talent for good and email me next weeks winning 649 numbers.

If there is a legitimate complaint to be made, it would be against the Vancouver Sun as it was from their story that the PM was referring to, and as their story, they are responsible for its content. Yet somehow I do not expect to see a wild mob of angry sign carrying protesters at the offices of the Sun tomorrow screaming for an apology for this 'smear' and 'attack', because there would be no political capital in going after the source when the messenger makes a much better channel changer from the Liberals current problems.

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Update: A Step to the Right has an interview up with Kim Bolan the writer of the article at the center of this Liberal faux outrage.

What is really interesting is that in the interview she states that she had talked with some Liberals before writing the story and that they were aware of the content of the story; this group includes Navdeep Singh Bains.

This Liberal 'outrage' does not pass the smell test and it looks like it was indeed orchestrated and planned in advance as part of the Liberals continuing Campaign of Fear™. The Libs knew about the story, they had a copy of the story (in their media package all MPs receive) and they were so ready (in advance) to leap to their feet in outrage that they did not even wait for the PM to say ANYTHING that could cause such a reaction. Even the Susan Bonner from the CBC agrees "They were ready for this. They were primed and they were angry," Bonner said.

Liberals using manufactured outrage for their own political gain; why am I not surprised.

National Post Editorial on this issue and a good read for those that doubt how the Liberals like to operate.

Why did he do it?

I have a question for my Liberal friends.

How wise was it for Dion to not only appoint Iggy as his deputy, but to have Bob Rae and Scott Brison write party policy for him? All 3 of these gentlemen not only ran against Dion for the party leadership, but they all are sure to try again for the job once Dion fails at the helm.


To myself it makes no sense as to why he would put them into positions where they could easily undercut him and actually speed up his demise, but I am not an academic so I do not have the answer.

Comments welcome.


Al

From the Anthill : February 18th, 2007

Time for a catch up post on recent events.

Why all the fuss about Liberal appointed CDS General Hillier bringing up the "decade of darkness" again?

This is not the first time he has used that line in a speech, it is the truth (Liberals all failed history), and just a few months ago PM Harper was being accused of muzzling Gen. Hillier and now when the General speaks out, it becomes another Liberal created imaginary crisis which they would solve if only they were back in power. For heavens sake, please think of Susan Delacourt and her laying awake at nights thinking about those soldiers with guns in our streets, and have some compassion.

Thanks Denis Coderre; you have brought forward a quote by the general that would have otherwise gone unnoticed and not only exposed your partys, as well as your own weaknesses on this issue, but have given the Conservatives a big boost in one of their bread and butter issues. Some free advice for the Liberals:All the spin in the world won't ever make the Liberals look like they are friends of the Canadian Military, that horse left the barn long ago.

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Speaking of Denis Coderre; he is but one Liberal who sits on the HUMA Committee, which is dealing with the Bloc Quebecois sponsored Bill C-257. This nightmare of a bill has a chance of passing if enough Liberals support it. I would normally not be worried about such a flawed piece of legislation passing because the Liberals have twice voted down similar legislation in the past, but watching Dion flip flop from old Liberal positions and ideas to those of the far left, I am beginning to become a bit more concerned.

My original post on 257.

The NCC has some good stuff up as well.

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Dion looks to be flip flopping on the Liberals own anti terror legislation, which is causing some degree of problems among the few Liberals left who are not totally Left. I don't agree with Anne McLellan often, but in this case I agree that she is correct when she said this:
"After 9/11, we did not actually believe we were going to have to deal with homegrown terrorists." "The situation today is, if anything, more dangerous and more complex and the powers have never been abused, so why would you take these tools away from law enforcement?"

Do not forget that Dion himself voted for this legislation in 2001. Leadership at work, Dion style.

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Opposition parties pushed through legislation on Wednesday that requires the Conservative government to respect Canada's commitments under the Kyoto accord. There is just so much wrong with this legislation that I am astounded that Dion could think that Canadians stupid enough to buy into this cheap political trick.

I may be wrong, but I have not seen 1 single MSM organization that supported this move by Dion, as the reality of the situation makes the legislation all but impossible to accomplish (something which Dion HAS admitted himself in the past). This is but one example from the Toronto Star, which judging from the negative stories they have been writing about Mr.Dion lately, that I am beginning to get them confused with the Toronto Sun.
"There is a widespread consensus – stretching way beyond Conservative ranks – that Canada cannot even come close to meeting its Kyoto greenhouse emission reduction objectives in time for the 2012 deadline without launching a major offensive against the energy industries of provinces such as Alberta, and/or inflicting a crippling hit to the already flagging auto industry in Ontario, and/or diverting a debilitating amount of federal resources to a single cause."

Dion puts another nail in his political coffin and Iggy, Rae, Manley and perhaps a few others are probably out buying new black suits in anticipation of the funeral.

Signs signs everywhere a sign*

As sure as the sighting of the first Robin is a sign of spring approaching, so is the return of The Campaign of Fear™ a sure sign that the Liberals feel that they are in trouble.

From Question period, February 13th, 2007. A big tip of the hat to Officially Screwed.





Some history:

The Liberals first saw the results of scaring Canadians with the use of the Campaign of Fear™ in the 2000 Federal election when Jean Chrétien faced off against Stockwell Day and the Alliance Party. The Alliance were portrayed as racist rednecks with a Neanderthal as a leader in an election campaign that Chrétien, to his full credit had called on the bluff of the rookie leader Day. The election was in the bag from the beginning, but it was here that the Liberals first got the taste of something that would turn up again in following election campaigns; creating fear in the electorate works.

By the time that Jean Chrétien had started his long goodbye, Paul Martin had been busy working to gain control of the LPC to become its leader, and once the coronation was completed, stories of a potential huge majority for Martin soon filled the MSM. Those predictions soon hit a snag as Auditor General Sheila Fraser brought forward evidence of scandal in Quebec and the once touted huge majority looked to be in doubt once the election of 2004 got under way. With the polls indicating that newly elected Conservative leader Stephen Harper was gaining strength over Martin, the Liberals looked to the past for advice and brought out the Campaign of Fear™ for another appearance in an effort to improve their fortunes. Soon Canadians were bombarded with advertisements proclaiming that a vote for Stephen Harper would not only destroy the country, create more gun crime, stamp out abortion and gay rights, but may just be a vote for the devil himself. ( I could use some links to the 2004 ads. If you have any links, please email me or put them into the comments) The end result was that fear mongering had worked again and Paul Martin ascended the thrown, not on his own merits, but by scaring the people he wanted to represent away from the Conservatives and Stephen Harper.

Paul Martin had achieved his goal of doing what his Daddy was never able to do, but with more details of Adscam emerging everyday on the front pages of the MSM, and the fact that he never really had any goals once he had obtained that power; the Paul Martin government fell and an election was called for January 23, 2006. In an election that started out with Paul Martin proclaiming that he would run a positive campaign on his record, and with advertisements of him sitting on a porch wearing a spiffy sweater talking to Canadians, soon saw that sweater hung up and a return to the old standard Campaign of Fear™ with its message of 'Choose your Canada'. With their backs against the wall the Liberals dusted off their old playbook and Canadians were again told of the 'hidden agenda' of Stephen Harper and his plans for deficit spending, his ties to the evil USA, the destruction of health care along with woman's right to choose, and with these came the ultimate example of just how far the Liberals would stoop in this smear effort, the 'soldiers in our cities' advertisement.



So confident were the Liberals in their oft used Campaign of Fear™ that some of the ads had the audacity of carrying the tag lines of, "We did not make that up" "We're not allowed to make stuff up." This time, on the third trip to the 'scary' well, it was just to much to believe for most Canadians and the Liberals were defeated as Stephen Harper was elected as Prime Minister of Canada, albeit with a minority government.


To borrow a line from Jack Layton; the Liberals went to the repair shop after their 2006 election loss for some much needed work, but instead of real repairs and change, the Liberals held a leadership convention of B list contenders, put a quick green paint job on the winner, and claimed they were all better and ready again to lead Canadians. The quick makeover first looked to be working, but after an initial honeymoon period of high hopes and expectations, Stephane Dion and his party now are appearing to be in some trouble as Canadians are looking behind the fresh green paint job and seeing that what is underneath is just the same old tired Liberal red.

While the Liberals today may deny that they are starting to worry about their new leader and political future; the return once again of the Campaign of Fear™ is a sure sign that they are feeling the heat and are getting desperate. Even though all of the previous claims and scare tactics from the Liberals have turned out to be false as Stephen Harper has shown that he is not the right wing monster he has been portrayed as, you can expect much more of the same in the future from Dion and the Liberals as it is all they really have.

Al

A nice collection of Liberal Press releases courtesy of Christian Conservative

*with apologies to the Five Man Electrical Band and long haired freaky people everywhere.

As usual this entry is a work in progress and Links may be added as time permits.

Are the blinders off?

Is it just me, or are MSM stories about Dion's lack of leadership/political skills becoming an almost daily occurrence? We on the right have always known that Dion was lacking, but seeing this type of sentiment is now coming from much of the MSM, I think Mr. Dion may want to start work on a knife registry program soon for his own protection. Those Liberal brand knifes hurt when stuck in your back.

Have the blinders come off, or is it more of a case that the MSM can no longer cover for or attempt to speak for Dion when public opinion seems to be in agreement on how well he is doing in his leadership roll.

The honeymoon is indeed over; time to re-write some history to prop up support for Dion, or as Cherniak likes to call it an "artistic licence"[sic] with reality.

A couple of things

The Prime Minister does what is right again and stands up for Canadian values. No doubt the Liberals will twist themselves in knots trying to spin away what the PM is doing, but for the average Canadian watching from the sidelines, this just continues to showcase the leadership abilities of the PM. Putting values before politics; is that not what we want a PM to do?

And from the left another article on Stephane Dions leadership, and how Stephen Harper's past successes can give some hope for Liberals that Dion will grow into the job. Not wanting to be picky here, but in the 'battle of Steve's' there really is no comparison as to which one has the skills. Dion only has his job thanks to some fine political maneuvering between the 3rd and 4th place candidates at the convention, and the fact the real contenders to the title didn't even enter the race. Same article online here ( The Star links go dead after some time)
Enjoy your weekend.

Al

The Liberals can't even get it done in opposition, and other thoughts.

My blogging has been light this week, and I missed commenting on many news items, including the big Garth story (which I will comment on later in this post), because for most of this week I have been working to not only support my family, but also as a result of that hard work, I get to send a nice chunk of those earnings to Ottawa in taxes.

So speaking as a taxpayer, I feel that I am not getting my monies worth from the Liberal Party.

Yes they are the opposition, and I get it, but if they really are so concerned with the environment, senate reform, crime, or just about everything else they claim to be concerned with, why are the Liberals using every type of delay or stall tactic available to hold up the government from getting anything done? Just look to the Liberal dominated Senate taking 255 days with Bill S4, which sets term limits on Senators, and think back to how that same Senate handled the accountability act ,which was conveniently delayed until after the Liberal convention, as examples of not only delay but also as examples of how they are deliberately wasting our tax dollars with this nonsense.

They wasted our money while they were in power, and now they are doing it in opposition all the while claiming to be concerned with _____________________. -----Insert issue here, the Libs support 'em all.

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Ardvark's smack down of the week award goes to my MP, Mike Lake. Read it @ Hansard here

"Mr. Speaker, I want to take this opportunity to address an inconvenient truth, not the movie but rather the inconvenient truth about the opposition leader's record on the environment.

The previous Liberal government talked a good game when it came to the environment but the truth is that in 13 years it did not get it done.

Under the Liberals' watch, greenhouse gas emissions rose to an astonishing 35% above Canada's Kyoto targets. Under their watch, Canada slid to 28 out of 29 OECD countries in air quality rankings. Under their watch, Canada set records for the number of smog advisory days in our cities.

Canadians are demanding action and finally getting it from a new Conservative government that in just one year has established a reputation for action on the issues most important to the people we represent.

Wearing a green scarf does not make the Liberal leader an environmental champion any more than wearing a blue and white jersey and a foam finger makes a 40 year old with a beer gut the captain of the Maple Leafs.

As for the opposition leader's now famous dog named Kyoto, my seven year old daughter could name every one of her stuffed animals A-plus but she would still have to take responsibility if she earned an F on her report card."

To top it off, this was the last statement before Stephane Dion started off oral questions.

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The name Mark Holland is now as well known in Alberta as that of Stephane Dion; so for you Liberals out there who figured that his little mistake would be forgotten soon, send out our western homeboy Gerrard Kennedy to run out here, and we will show you how we really feel.

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Champion of 'social justice' Dion, leader of the 'party of the charter', may bar men from seeking nomination for the LPC. Remember kids, it is not discrimination if Liberals do it. Some Libloggers agree that it is not a good idea for obvious reasons.

-----------------------

Question of the day: Did all Liberals fail history, or is it more of a short term memory loss thing?

----------------------

And last but not least, Garth Turner joins the Liberals.

To quote the secret memo from PM Harper's office on this subject, " Hahahahahaha, hahahahaha!!

Almost everything this guy has ever claimed to believe in has been the polar opposite of Liberal Party policy, and now he joins them; priceless.

The thought of Belinda, Bob Rae, and Garth Turner working together for the cause of Stephane Dion and the Liberal Party of Canada makes me laugh, not because it is just so preposterous in appearance, but because all of them would be happier if Dion was gone and they could be in charge.

Kyoto compliance and how I now get a good nights sleep.

Bumped up to the top so others can be as green as me; with an update at the bottom on how we can do this together.

-----------------

I am proud to announce to the world that I am now in 100% compliance with the Kyoto Accords. Ok, I haven't walked down to the corner to finish off my plan just yet, because it is currently too cold outside, but it is the first thing that I plan to do in the morning after breakfast.

It took a many days of hard work and the use of some very complicated graphs, charts and formulae to arrive at my solution, but let me tell you that the weight of the world has been lifted from my shoulders and all the difficult work as been worth it as I have been able to reach the summit of Kyoto compliance. This is big. This is something that none of the party leaders, including Stephane Dion has been able to do, and I doubt even 1% of the Canadian population can make claim to being my partner in compliance. This is going to allow me to get a good nights sleep, while the rest of you suckers bicker amongst yourselves over who is more green. This will allow myself to declare that I am more green than you!

I can hear everybody out there asking as they read this; "How did you do it Ardvark?" and "How can we do the same thing, and be in compliance with Kyoto?"

I will let you all in on it in a minute, but before I do I have to again state that the tough decisions that will be required of you to meet what is spelled out in Kyoto are not going to be easy, but in the end it will all be worth the effort. The environment is worth it, and Kyoto can help you to meet your international obligations.

Here is how I did it in easy to follow point form.

1. I took an exhaustive look at everything I was doing that was producing green house gases and made a list of everything involved. eg. Furnace, Car, Breathing, Electrical use (sub divided by device), etc.

2. I looked at the list and prioritized the importance of each item and evaluated their need in my life. eg. Breathing = good #1, ... , 2000 watt Gas powered generator to power patio lanterns while camping = bad # 2845, etc

3. I eliminated what I really did not need from the list, and took a hard look at what I did need.

4. I realized that there is no way in hell that I could continue to live in Edmonton with it's climate or continue to make a living to provide for my family and reach the goals that the Liberals signed us up for with Kyoto.

5. I Grabbed an envelope, addressed it to V. Putin, and stuffed in a nice fat cheque.

6. And finally I cracked open a beer and was able to relax knowing that I had done my part to save the world through Kyoto for only a small amount of cash.

There you have it; I had achieved compliance with the Kyoto Accord!

I feel so good right now that I think I will crank up the furnace a degree or 2 and perhaps tomorrow I will drive to the corner to mail off that envelope to Russia instead of walking. What a wonderful world we live in when the worlds major environmental action plan allows you to buy your way out guilt free without actually doing anything for the environment.

I will definitely sleep easier knowing I have done my part.


Al

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Update: Since I have made my conversion to Kyoto I have been racking my brain as to how I can help others to achieve ultimate greenness, and I think I have come up with an idea.

In the spirit of all the great UN programs, like oil for food, I propose that you send your Kyoto compliance payments to myself * and I will make sure that I get them to the right place using the greenest ways possible.

Address for payments to follow.

Thank you for being green.


* Disclaimer: Subject to a liberal handling fee that will guarantee I really will sleep better at night. Most forms of payment, including Paypal, accepted. Bags of cash will be accepted as long as it is in small bills. Livestock may be considered in lieu of cash but please, no goats. Limited time offer, see your dealer for details. Not responsible if Russia uses the money to build weapons systems to sell to Iran. Caution Kyoto is larger than it appears in your rear view mirror. People named Brent need not apply. Offer void where prohibited by law and in Quebec ( they never get to do anything fun). Please allow 30 days for delivery, and if it doesn't arrive.....blame the goat.

It has been a very busy Sunday.

Too much to comment on when so many others have already done such a great job.

Link Dump.

Canadian Christian Conservative on Mark Holland, and the Ottawa Citizen's Randall Denley article about how Dion is NOT fit to lead this country.

A Step to the Right with Coren's Sun article on Dion.

Kate on Mark Holland here and here.

Former environment minister Anderson from CTV

Progressive Conservative on the Liberals ability to take a position.

BBS has the Mp3 of Dions interview by the editorial staff at the Citizen here. It is an hour long and painful to listen to, but it reveals much about Dion.

Not a good day in Liberal Land.

The National Post has this editorial today.

Coincidence or not?

This past week I happened to get into separate conversations with 2 very different Liberal voters and supporters.

The first one is what I would call a 'brainwashed Liberal' who really has no reasons for supporting the LPC other than they are not the conservatives; we all know the type. The second one I consider to be a very independent thinker who does not drink party Kool-Aid™, but continues to support the Liberals for reasons I have failed to yet understand.
Each conversation eventually got around to politics, big surprise, and the subject of how Stephane Dion was doing in his new job came up. Both of them, for very different reasons ended up having the same opinion as to how well Dion was doing; and that opinion was not a good one. I didn't put much value into the fact that both of them agreed and thought nothing of it except to rub it in a bit that we agreed about Dion.

But after catching up on some my blog reading I am beginning to wonder if it was a just coincidence or is there starting to be some doubt in the Liberal camp about their new leader?

Al

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A little update: It looks like some of the press has noticed in a big way. HT to everybody who had this up today.


An must read and well written article from
Randall Denley
The Ottawa Citizen
Sunday, February 04, 2007 linked here

I've just met Liberal leader Stephane Dion for the first time and I have to say, it was a frightening experience. The thought that this fellow could become the prime minister of Canada ought to alarm us.

Everything about Dion seems soft, from his handshake to his policies. His appearance at the Citizen editorial board Friday confirmed the fears I had when the Liberals chose him as their leader. Dion is a verbose, mild-mannered academic with a shaky grasp of English who seems unfit to chair a university department, much less lead a country.

Don't take my word for it. You can catch the interview yourself at ottawacitizen.com.

The Liberal leader is probably very smart in an academic sort of way and quite a decent person, but his ideas reflect the full, knee-jerk left-wing spectrum, and he can't even articulate them well. Nuclear power? He's against it because of concerns about the waste. At the same time that he's against this clean source of electrical power, the Liberal leader is for a dramatic reduction in greenhouse gases.

He's snidely un-American, in the way that the Liberal elite so often is. Canada's failure to meet its Kyoto commitments was partly due to the Americans' election of Kyoto-unfriendly George W. Bush, Dion would have us believe. He also believes it's OK to take shots at the Americans for domestic consumption, but not if you're in Washington. Dion doesn't seem to have learned much from the mistakes of his predecessor, Paul Martin, the man who thought American-bashing would get him re-elected.

Dion is, of course, opposed to an increased private sector role in health care and thinks the federal government would play a useful role by identifying best health care practices, so all the provinces can follow them. Here's a best practice: having enough doctors and nurses. That means having enough money. What's his plan?

Dion tries to tie every issue back to the environment, since it's the one area where he's supposed to be strong. Unfortunately, he's a one-issue candidate with no coherent position on that one issue.

Dion can't say often enough how unfortunate it is that Prime Minister Stephen Harper has wasted a year by not immediately enacting the Liberal environmental strategy. That still compares favourably to the seven or eight years the Liberals wasted. Greenhouse gas emissions went up under the Liberals' watch, but now Dion is attacking Harper for not fixing it all at the last minute. That just doesn't make sense. Dion introduced a motion in the House of Commons this week to force the Conservative government to meet Canada's Kyoto commitments, the same ones the Liberals couldn't meet. It's certainly not feasible at this point.

Dion says he's sorry the Liberals failed to make the environment a big issue in the last election, when Harper was particularly vulnerable. One can understand the strategic regret, but what does it tell us about the Liberals? They'll damn the Conservatives now for not making the environment the issue of the millennium, but only a year ago, they were doing the same thing.

Dion does show a certain intellectual agility when he suggest (sic) that the Liberals' very lame Kyoto performance was in part the Conservatives' fault, because they were just so against it. It's challenging to see how this could have mattered in the years when the Liberals had a majority.

Hopeful Liberals have suggested that one of Dion's strengths is that he's not a slick politician. Slick he's not, but it's tough to make an asset out of that. Dion isn't one of those down to earth guys like Ralph Klein. He's more like the wooly-headed professor next door. Dion simply cannot give a clear, succinct answer to a question. It's a necessary skill for any politician at his level.

Harper just wants to build up the military and cut taxes, Dion says, and it's clear that any right-thinking, sorry, left-thinking, person would realize how ridiculous that is. While these priorities will clearly fail to galvanize Canadians, Dion is offering to make us a world leader in "water management."

I'm not a natural consumer of the Liberal brand, but as a voter, I like to feel that I have two valid choices. With Stephane Dion as Liberal leader, that's not the case. Dion would have us believe he's qualified to be prime minister. If he thinks that, he's kidding himself. Let's not let him kid us, too.

Contact Randall Denley at 613-596-3756 or by e-mail,
rdenley@thecitizen.canwest.com

Michael Coren has some similar thoughts here.

A couple of noteworthy quotes.

"Even before becoming Liberal leader, his ineptness caused all sorts of problems. In 2004 a Jewish school in St. Laurent, Que. was firebombed, the terrorists leaving a note saying the attack was in response to the policies of the then-Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon. Dion publicly condemned the outrage but said it was wrong "because not all Jews support Sharon's policies."

The logic of the statement, of course, was that the firebombing would have been acceptable if all Jews did in fact support Sharon. Dion and his people went into a political spin and explained it was all a language issue and he had not meant to say that at all. Firebombing schools was, it seemed, never a good idea. He was, we were told, lost in translation. Which may or may not be true. But prime ministers can't afford to be lost anywhere."

"Dion dismisses contrary opinion and is renowned for having an absolute belief in his own particular and sometimes peculiar views. He is willing, however, to retract important statements within hours of making them if there appears to be any political advantage."

This type of thing is going to be more prominent now that the honeymoon is over for Dion.

Changing spots

Iggy serves one right up the middle of the plate with this one.

The reality is people are prisoners of their past beliefs,'' said Michael Ignatieff, the party's deputy leader.

"This is a man with ideological opposition to the scientific reality of climate change. Now if that's the case, it's very difficult for this old leopard to change his spots."

Source

So Mr. I support both torture and the war in Iraq, how can you now be the deputy for a man who not only voted against same sex marriage but was a self admitted separatist?

Will some member of the press please stick a microphone in this guys face and ask him how his above statement fits with what Dion has done in his past? The entertainment value of watching Iggy spin would be well worth the effort.

People change, and to deny that this is the case is pure BS