The real reason.....

It is not that all of the media and LPC hype surrounding Ignatieff, about how with one twitch of an eyebrow women would swoon and men would succumb to his awesomeness, has utterly failed with the Canadian public. It is not that even in the worst economic times this country has had in decades that Ignatieff is unable to gain support in the polls. It is not the fact that the Liberal brass tossed aside democracy and burned through a lot of political goodwill with their own members to appoint a dud (Ignatieff) as leader. No; none of these are the real reason why everyday Liberal strategists and the elite back room power brokers wake up screaming or are banging their heads on their desks thinking about the failed expectations and wondering what has gone so wrong.



The real reason is this:


And it is moves like this that show why PM Stephen Harper is a pure political genius and that those desks at Liberal Party HQ are going to continue to take a pounding for the foreseeable future.

From the article "Many people are using the word "inspired" to describe Harper's appointment of Doer, including former Canadian ambassador to the U.S. and former New Brunswick premier, (long time Liberal) Frank McKenna."

Brilliant absolutely brilliant.


Ignatieff and PM Harper are not even in the same league when it comes to political smarts and during the upcoming months this will become even more clear. Hang on to your fedora Iggy because you ain't seen nothing yet.

Gary Doer stepping down as Manitoba Premier

Gary Doer is stepping down as Manitoba Premier.

No word yet from Ed Stelmach, but one can always hope.


Update: No, Ed is still the Premier of Alberta but Mr. Doer does have a new job already lined up.

In the tank for Obama

I think I have seriously misunderestimated just how far the US media is in the tank for Obama.

Take this bit from CBS News and Katie Couric as just one recent example.




Can you imagine if George W Bush had said that? You don't have to since a simple Google search will reveal just how different he and Obama are treated for the same type of thing. BTW here is a look at the words "wee wee" from PTBC.

Just crazy. The next thing you know even media darling Cindy Sheehan will be criticised by the very same media that was fawning over her just last year and such things as legitimate protest are going to be looked down upon by the same people who were all for it a few months ago because the media won't call them on it.

Nuts.

Jack Layton is proud of this.

Here is something to think about the next time you are sitting around the kitchen table.

Jack Layton boasts that the he and the NDP are proud of the fact that their party is NOT making parliament work. Jack Layton: "Look at the record – 79 times in succession it hasn't been the NDP that Mr. Harper has counted on to get support,"

Keep up the good work Jack. Keep showing Canadians exactly why they should not be voting for ideologues who would rather play games for their support base than try to work for the good of the country.

Senator Edward Kennedy 1932 --2009

U.S. Senator Edward Kennedy, a towering figure in the Democratic Party who took the helm of one of America's most fabled political families after two older brothers were assassinated, has died, his family said. He was 77.

This morning at the OLO

Aide: Good morning sir, here is your much needed coffee.

Michael Ignatieff: Thank you Jeeves. By the way have you seen my media scan of the latest news stories about me?

Aide: Nice weather we are having.

MI: Um, yes it is but I would prefer a rainy day over a sunny one. I get some of my best thoughts thunk on rainy days. (long pause) Now where is that media scan?

Aide: The dog ate it sir.

MI: Dog? I don't have a dog. I have a Burmese cat who like myself is a rather refined creature who would never resort to eating common things such as a paper.

Aide: Er, I have to go. I am pretty sure that I left a roast in the oven and my front door unlocked so......

MI: Somehow I am having a hard time believing that Jeeves since you are a vegetarian and you live in my basement. Is there something in that scan that you think I shouldn't see?

Aide: (pointing to the other side of the room) What's that? (running out of room while MI turns his head)

MI: Jeeves? Jeeves? (Goes back to drinking his coffee)

(a knock at the door)

MI: (Looks up) Come on in Bob.

Bob Rae: Good morning leader, how is your coffee today? Oh and I have a copy of today's media scan for you. (smiles as he hands MI a copy of the media scan)



The latest top 5 stories for Liberal Party found at Google News at the time of writing:

Fall election risky for Liberals.

Ignatieff needs a makeover.

A cure for election fever.

Ignatieff missing in action.

Fall election might not be good for Liberals.

Liar!

Michael Ignatieff lies again. Ledevoir: ''But, let’s be clear, I’ve always spoken of arrangements, not of a coalition.''

Is there something in the water at the OLO or do all Liberal leaders think Canadians are stupid and are unable to remember anything.


First the signature:



Dec 1, 2008: "I support the [coalition] accord because it's fiscally responsible, it provides responsible economic leadership in tough times and it also conserves the basic principles of national unity, equality, that our party has always believed in." and upholds Dion as party leader until May. "We are at one, the three of us, that the only person who can lead the party is the duly elected leader of the party Mr. Stephane Dion,". “I stand at one with other parliamentary colleagues in believing that we need to present the alternative of a coalition.”

Dec 5, 2008: "Canadians can have confidence in a coalition, provided they know certain things are on the table and certain things are off it at all times. And they have our iron-clad assurance they we will govern in their best interest.

"I think this is what Canadian people pay us to do. They pay us to get it right, and I think we have to find a way out of this for all Canadians. I am convinced we can do this. We are up to it. "We are aware we are we are living historic moments. We are aware of the responsibility."

Dec 11, 2008:(Now as leader of the LPC) "I told the caucus this morning very clearly I am prepared to vote non confidence in this government and I am prepared to enter into a coalition government with our partners if that is what the Governor General asks me to do,"

Jan 21, 2009:"The choice is up to Mr. Harper," Ignatieff said after the meeting. "It's up to him to make the right decision and up to me to decide if he made it. A coalition is still a possibility . . . a coalition if necessary, but not necessarily, a coalition."

The man is a liar but I will entertain opinions to the contrary if you got something to back it up. So come on Liberal spin meisters; please explain to us all how this is not another bald faced lie from the leader of your party Michael Ignatieff. Oh and before the fun starts "because I say he isn't" won't cut it.


From the comments: a link to a Liberals view of Ignatieff's coalition problems, H/T Wilson
and anon gives us an example of Ardvark's Law in use.

And you want to run the country.

You can't even organize your convention to allow enough time to discuss the only policy proposal that was known beforehand and could be considered noteworthy, and you want us to trust you with running the entire country.

Good luck with that.

2 hours lost and other weekend thoughts.

A few thoughts and mini link dump for a Saturday.

First the political: Could someone please explain to me why unions( CUPE, USW, CEP) have standing at the NDP convention and are allowed to submit policy proposals to the floor? Local EDA's can do this as they are made up of paid party members who are supposed to represent the members/grassroots in their EDA's. They do the party grunt work and are the backbone of the party so this is understandable, but why unions? Unions are no longer allowed to donate money directly to political parties, they are not representative of any type of grassroots, they do not vote, and although they can spend to advertise and do lobby both in out of the writ period, this spending is not guaranteed and certainly it is not guaranteed to be for the benefit of the NDP. Also since the unions never ask or put to a vote of their own members if they should be spending money advocating for a particular political party, or coming up with policy proposals for that party, why would such non democratic principles be welcomed in a party that wants to now be called the Democratic Party?

I would really like to hear the reasoning and logic for allowing this. Anyone?

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

Arrrg. Without looking it up I would say that we have already lost well over 2 hours of sunlight a day since the start of summer, last night there was a frost warning for outside of the city, and the leaves on my neighbors tree are starting to turn yellow; all of this can only mean one thing, I must kill that damn tree. Perhaps there is hope though, maybe PM Harper does have a weather machine and can stop all of this nonsense.

Related: From the above linked Scott Feschuck article comes perhaps the best subtle burn of the month: On Ignatieff "Author of several great books and also his latest book." Ouch!

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

Some US politics: I know this is being discussed all over the web but I think these 3 videos sum up the nuttiness and hypocrisy of the left in a way words cannot.







So the Democrats like protesters when it suits them but play the Nazi card when the protests are against them. Lovely and typical.

Here is Glen Beck with a very nice collection of idiocy and hypocrisy.



What is up with using all of these Nazi references anyway? Pelosi opened the can of worms with her comments above and since then the floodgates have been opened with all sides comparing everyone and everything to Nazis. Are they not aware how desperate and foolish this looks? There is even a law on this subject: Godwin's Law: "As a Usenet (online) discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches 1." Which basically means that when you play the Nazi card you have already lost the argument.


This is insane. Where will this nonsense end? I mean the next thing you know anyone wearing a black hat with a skull on it is going to be called a Nazi.

Real Nazi:


Not a real Nazi:
Which is silly; I mean they could just be a pirate or any number of other things ;)





Lighten up it is a joke and goes to show just how stupid playing the Nazi card really is so don't sue me.

Enjoy your weekend.

Liberal candidates and lies on asbestos.

From the Sherbrooke Record: In an interview with Le Devoir in May, Ignatieff is quoted as saying Canada should not export toxic substances....

Bérubé (the Liberal candidate selected for the Richmond-Arthabaska riding) argued that Ignatieff did not use the word asbestos and that he was talking hypothetically when asked the question by the Devoir.
“He did not state his opposition to the asbestos industry specifically, just to things that are toxic.”
“I don’t believe our asbestos is a toxic substance and the question of its safety should be examined by a committee after we are elected to government.”
Long-time Liberal Lucien Richard from Asbestos agreed with Bérubé that his party leader did not target the industry in the Devoir interview and hopes to discuss the matter further with Ignatieff.
“I want to hear him say it to me,” said Richard.
“I don’t believe he said the asbestos industry should be stopped.”
Local Liberal organizer André Beaumier said Ignatieff met with industry officials in early June and argues the industry will not be shut down by a future Liberal government.
“Our studies have shown that the fiber mined here is safe if handled carefully. “
“If Ignatieff said it was a dangerous industry, I don’t think he knew all the facts then. I am sure he will change his mind on this issue.”

Michael Ignatieff in Edmonton June 30th 2009: "Canada has to be out of the asbestos business. We should not export it and we should not produce it".

You can't be clearer than that folks. Is it any wonder that the entire country is confused as to what Iggy's policies are, or what he stands for, when even his own candidates have no clue as to what he believes in either.


A previous related post: This time it was Ignatieff doing the lying about what he said on asbestos.


h/t MaryT

They stab it with their steely knives but they just can't kill the beast

No matter how much they try, no matter how much they wish it would just go away, the coalition will live on well into the next election campaign.

“Attacking the Liberals so early could be dangerous for the NDP. In all likelihood there might be some sort of coalition government after the next election,” said Nelson Wiseman, a political scientist at the University of Toronto."

It still lives, and like or not it will be THE issue of the next election campaign. In fact the first shots have already been fired across the bow by the Conservatives as Democratic Reform Minister of State Steven Fletcher was quoted as calling for an end to political party subsidies.
Yes, those very same political subsidies that even the threat of cutting back in December caused the coalition to first form; although all the coalition partners deny that the cuts were the real reason, anyone with a brain knows it was the cuts to funding that was the real trigger.


As a little refresher Jack Layton reminds us all just why/how the coalition formed. BTW, one BIG question that has never been answered properly or even at all, is when did Jack Layton first discuss a coalition scenario with the Bloc? I guess that one will can be asked again during the campaign.




You can listen to the entire conference call here and pt 2 here.



So get ready Iggy because like it or not, here it comes again.


Oh, and for the first first journalist who sticks a microphone in Bob Rae's direction and asks him if he still thinks the coalition was a good idea, a free cup of coffee on me.

Something lighter for a Monday morning: 16 Tons parody

I saw this at Hunter's place and thought that such a well done parody deserved recognition and its own post.

The Ghost of Tennessee Ernie Ford. (video deleted from Youtube but try here.)



The original 16 Tons.

Getting it done. Early August Edition.

The conservative government continues to get the job done for Canadians while Iggy, the man with no policies, tries and fails miserably with his plan for E.I.

One new free trade deal with Peru becomes reality, with another deal with Panama just on the horizon.

Lets face it, the US economy is a mess and with their new President spending money at a historical pace, it may take more time for the US to recover from the recession than is currently believed. We can not put all of our eggs in one basket and even though the US is and always will be our largest trading partner, we have to try to look beyond our neighbors to the south and expand our markets. These 2 deals along with the recent free trade deal with Jordan are more positive examples of how the Harper Government continues to work for all of us while the Liberals do nothing but complain and get made up stories from the Liberal friendly press.

Auf Weidersehen Karlheinz Schreiber

I wanted to make sure it actually happened before writing anything and it does look like it has indeed happened.

Karlheinz Schreiber is now in German custody and bound for his homeland.

Auf Weidersehen Karl Heinz, thanks for the memories. Make sure to send Paul Szabo a postcard when you land and let him know that important information you promised to give us before you left.


Update: The government still can be efficient when they want to be.

From the Globe:
"Karlheinz Schreiber was whisked onto an overnight flight by RCMP officers Sunday night after an Ontario Superior Court Judge dismissed his last-gasp court challenge to delay his extradition to Germany.

At about 7:45 p.m., about three hours after the 75-year-old lobbyist turned himself in at a Toronto area jail, he called his wife from a cellphone belonging to one of the Mounties.

“He couldn't speak long. He only said to me he is on the plane and I should be not worried,” his wife, Barbel Schreiber, said....."

Boom. Done and out within hours! Kudos for a job well done.

Now if we could only get the rest of that beast known as the government to be this efficient we would really have something to be happy about.