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.

The OLO Responds to Wafergate.

From Kady O'Malley at ITQ comes the official response from the OLO to her query about Liberal involvement in the Wafergate story.

“This is nonsense. We didn’t record the videotape – CPAC did. And as the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words. Canadians need only look at the video on You Tube to see what happened.”

Bob Fife thinks otherwise:


Wow. It looks like the Liberals are still maintaining that this fraudulent story which has cost the job of Telegraph-Journal editor Shawna Richer is the truth, even though the paper retracted the story after finding they had NO facts to support it, and the priest who administered communion states that the PM ate the wafer. (Does that mean the Lib's are calling the priest a liar?)


Update: The Telegraph-Journal makes another apology.

Well what are you gonna do Iggy?

Michael Ignatieff has many times stated that he is going to do politics differently, with no attack ads and with much more "civility and common purpose."


This does not look very civil to me and if someone in your party is responsible for this, what are you going to do about it?


My guess, nothing. More hollow words from the hollow man.

Stelmach boots out MLA for speaking out on an unkept promise.

Fort McMurray MLA Guy Boutilier got a phone call from Premier Stelmach Friday informing him that he was being kicked out of caucus for speaking out about a long term care facility that was promised for his riding and approved 18 months ago but which has now been put on hold.

You can read the story here.


Classy move Mr. Premier; not only have you not kept a promise which would improve the health system overall by freeing up much needed hospital beds occupied by elderly patients with nowhere else to go, but you couldn't even meet the man face to face to fire him and had to do so over the phone. That sure is some leadership you are showing there. If you take this latest example added along to some of the other great moments of your governments record such as reckless and now deficit spending, the total disregard for rights and fairness with your support of the AHRC, your regulating what a private business can charge their own customers for product, and other such nanny state ideas, I can see it is going to be a banner year for the Wildrose Alliance Party and all thanks to your great leadership.

Keep it up Mr. Premier and you could go down in history as the man who destroyed a dynasty.

Hollow Words.

More from Michael Ignatieff, but this time he has gone international with his hollow words.

Canada's "fragile" unity is being rattled by a rigidly Conservative government that plays "region against region and language group against language group, "In our country, a politics that arouses ethnic and regional resentment, creating wedges in order to mobilize a conservative base vote, is playing with fire."

He has gone from coast to coast saying that he will not play the divisive politics game, but to date we have only heard the words. But the words mean nothing if they are not backed up with actions and so far Ignatieff has waffled on pretty much everything he has ever said or written. Seriously, has there been anything he has stood by? Yes Ignatieff is that predictable, and I expect him to again shy away from taking a stand or show any type of real leadership.

So you tell me. Will he waffle again or will he stand by his oft spoken words and for once show some balls and publicly distance himself from his alleged 'war room guy' for playing perhaps the most divisive card possible, religion. At the funeral of the Godfather of his own daughter no less.

It doesn't get more divisive and blatant than that people.

I say he waffles again even though he really can't afford to do it again. The man has almost no credibility left and the polls are starting to reflect this.

PM Harper and Michael Ignatieff are off to Europe.

Today the leaders of both major political parties in Canada are off to Europe, but they go to Europe with different purposes in mind. One of them is working for Canada. The other for himself.

PM Harper goes to Europe get some work done at the G8 summit in Italy.

Michael Ignatieff goes to give a speech and sell some more of his books. With Ignatieff the arrogance abounds.

Are the Liberals targeting my riding?

Being a resident in the EDA of Edmonton-Millwoods-Beaumont I often read in various places about how this riding is/should be targeted by the Liberals as a possible place to pick up a seat in the next federal election. I have read this on blogs, in the newspaper, and during the last election campaign I saw various talking heads on TV suggest the same.

But why us?

To be honest I have no idea other than the misguided thinking that because this riding was once held by David Kilgour that with a little work it could go Liberal again in the near future. I say misguided because this is based on nothing other than the popularity of one David Kilgour, who the last time I checked was not running, and who even if he was going to run, was not even a Liberal caucus member at the time of his retirement so it would not be for the Libs.

There are a couple of things that most people are forgetting about or are taking for granted here about why this riding ever went Liberal or would go that way again. The first is that when Mr. Kilgour was first elected in 1979 he ran under the banner of the Progressive Conservative Party; had he ran as a Liberal he would have probably lost and had a very short political career. He was kicked out of the PC's in October of 1990 by then PM Brian Mulroney over his objections to the GST, but in the 11 years previously he had already proven himself to the community as a good strong local representative so when he crossed over to the Liberals it was not the party that the good people of his riding were voting for but the man himself. The second thing is that our current MP, Mike Lake, has continued on with the tradition of his predecessor by being not only accessible but by working hard for the people of EMB both here and in Ottawa. This is what got Mr. Kilgour re-elected and this is what will get Mike Lake re-elected when the time comes. Sure I may be biased in my beliefs, but it is plain to see to anyone paying attention just how hard Mike works for this riding, as this recent Edmonton Journal article points out just one aspect of the good job Mike is doing.


So to all of the Liberals out there who continue to believe that EMB can be won in the next election; I say please keep it up. Keep sending those heavy hitters such as Bob Rae and Carolyn Bennett here to drum up support. Keep pouring all of the resources and money that you can into our riding, and keep on believing that the Liberal brand is enough for you to be victorious in EMB. Because the more you concentrate and spend on us, the less that you will have available for ridings where you actually might have a shot at winning.

Bring it on!


Reprint of Journal article written by Alexandra Zabjek. July 2, 2009

At ceremonies across the country Wednesday, Canada's newest citizens celebrated the nation's birthday by pledging to accept the rights and responsibilities some of their neighbours may well take for granted.

At a citizenship ceremony at the legislature, MP Mike Lake was on hand, paying special attention not only to the newcomers' collective words, but to individual voices.

For while they recited their oaths in unison and in a common language, their pronunciations were enriched with the tones of India, Africa and other far-off lands.

"It's in English, but you've got all of these different accents," said Lake, who has been the Conservative MP for Edmonton-Mill Woods-Beaumont since 2006.

"And you can pick out a whole bunch of different (ones), even if it's the same volume. It's quite emotional. These are people who are specifically choosing to become citizens of Canada."

In a riding where immigrants and refugees make up almost 30 per cent of the population, Lake, perhaps more than many MPs, has had to tackle head-on the issues newcomers face once they've taken their citizenship certificates home.

He has developed a strong reputation for helping newcomers and taking extra steps for those most in need.

"I'm really proud of our country and I always have been," says Lake, whose own family history in Canada stretches back so far he can't pinpoint exactly when his ancestors arrived here. "And I want people's experiences with Canada to be a good experience, and what we do in our office plays a part in people's experiences of our country."

Lake admits the sheer number of newcomers in his riding has meant he's had to develop expertise in navigating the immigration system. It's been a steep learning curve, and sometimes a delicate balancing act to determine exactly which cases deserve extraordinary attention.

"Any time you have a system that big, there are going to be times when the system is not going to function the way it should," he says.

"We have, in Canada, the most generous immigration system in the world. Understandably, there's a reason for all of the checks and balances we have, but it's important for me, as an MP, to balance the limited resources I have with the ability to recognize when someone is being affected by a blockage in the system that's really negatively affecting their family."

Take the case of Joseph Largao and Gbassay Konneh. The Edmonton couple was granted refugee status in 2005, years after they had arrived at a refugee camp for amputees in Sierra Leone.

The couple struggled for years to bring their young son, Quenty, to Canada, after a series of mistakes and a tangled bureaucracy had left him in the care of an aunt in the West African country.

The couple had been relying on advice from volunteers at the small Newfoundland church that sponsored them. When Lake heard the Mill Wood couple's story, he invited them to a meeting.

"(The church)tried their very best, but it was very hard," Largao says. "When I met Mike, it was very exciting. These are people in authority, and they can really help develop the country and the province."

The boy was granted a visitor's visa and was reunited with his family in February.

Lake credits his staff for working "tremendously hard" to contact the right officials to help the family's case. The MP goes without a legislative assistant in Ottawa so he can employ three people at his busy Edmonton constituency office.

"You look at a situation, you have to measure it and say, 'I have to get involved in this one. We have to see what we can do,' " he says.

Immigrants often retain close ties to their home countries, and it can be difficult for them to navigate the bureaucracy that governs how they might bring loved ones to Canada for a visit or to stay.

The most common request Lake receives is from Canadians wanting temporary visas for relatives to visit for a special occasion. Lake and his staff help people focus on questions that immigration officers need answered. In exceptional circumstances, he can help ensure officials look at an application in a timely manner.

For Varinder Grewal, an immigrant from India, Lake helped navigate the process of bringing a Punjabi-speaking live-in caregiver to Canada to help his 28-year-old daughter, who has a mental disability.

Though it took more than a year for the caregiver to arrive in Canada, Grewal was grateful.

"Whatever power he had, with whatever limits he had, he helped me," says Grewal. "My daughter is very happy. It's been especially good for my wife, because she's been taking care of her almost all of her life."

Lake knew before his election that immigration issues have long been a top concern in the riding. His predecessor, longtime MP David Kilgour, had a reputation for helping immigrants and refugees.

"You're judged by newcomer communities on how hard you try," says Kilgour, now retired from federal politics.

For Lake, working with immigrant communities has opened him to conversations he thinks all Canadians should have--where has your neighbour come from? It doesn't matter if that neighbour's family arrived in Canada in the last year or the last century, Lake says. He admits that before becoming an MP, he didn't necessarily realize just how many stories existed in his community.

"We have a real opportunity to travel the world without leaving your neighbourhood," he says. "What builds communities is getting to know each other. And that's a real key to the unique nature of Mill Woods and the unique opportunities that come with living there." © Copyright (c) The Edmonton Journal

Michael, you may have missed my comment the last time....

Michael, you may have missed my comment the last time but because you have been out of the country for so long I will cut you some slack on it and repeat it for you once again.

The Conservative Party of Canada is a separate entity from the Government of Canada. Got it?

This should be rudimentary basic knowledge for most people but I am afraid to say that if you keep saying stuff like "For heaven's sake, we're in the middle of a recession. We're in the middle of the toughest situation in 25 years and all this government can think of doing is running a $4-million attack campaign against yours truly." people are going to start to wonder if you are really as smart as you claim to be.

I mean if my 12 year old daughter knows and understands the differences between political parties and the government, why don't you?

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

A rather quick update to help those that still remain confused. Read the fine print.

Ardvark's Law: On Michael Ignatieff Quotes.

Godwin's Law: "As a Usenet (online) discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches 1."

Ardvark's Law: "The more damaging the words of Michael Ignatieff, the higher the probability that someone will claim that the words were taken out of context."


Some examples of Ardvark's Law in action.

On Ukrainians: "If Vic Toews wants to set me against the Ukrainian community, he will not succeed," Ignatieff said, adding that Toews took the comments out of context. (source)

On Qana: "One rule I understand about this is that you're fully responsible for your words. You're even responsible when they're quoted out of context, as I believe I was in this instance," he said. (source) and "Well, a remark taken ludicrously out of context." (source)

On torture: "But hey, that’s what I object to. I’ve had three years of people taking quotations out of context on the torture issue," (source)

There are of course hundreds of examples on the blogs where Ignatieff quotes on anything from his country being the USA, our flag looking like a beer label, his love for Algonquin Park, and his belief that the west has and always will be french, are claimed to be taken out of context by trolls Ignatieff supporters, but you get the idea and it would take too long to dig through all of them to make the point.

So the next time you have someone claim that Ignatieff's own words have been taken out of context, help stop the spin and feel free to cite Ardvark's Law.





h/t to commenter Jeff for the original idea and allowing it to be named Ardvark's Law. You rock Jeff!

Ignatieff Speaks in Edmonton.

Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff is in Edmonton for a few days and last night he held a little town hall style gathering where he took questions from the audience. I would put the crowd at about 450, which is larger than Stephane Dion's numbers last July, and has to be considered a good turnout for an Alberta event.

Ignatieff had plenty to say. Here is how it went down.

(long post warning)




The usual local Liberals were in the room, including Senators Tommy Banks, Grant Mitchell, and Claudette Tardif, former Liberal MP Anne McLellan and a host of other committee chairs and organizers. Alberta Liberal party leader David Swann was in the room with a couple of tag along Lib MLAs, and a city councilor.

After a brief mix up as to who was going to introduce Ignatieff, Tommy Banks took the stage and gave a little talk about how lucky we are in Canada to not have the political upheaval that some other countries endure and the reasons that "we have chosen Michael Ignatieff" as the leader of the LPC. I guess Senator Banks had forgotten the details of how Michael Ignatieff became leader and that the members did not 'choose" him or about how popular the coalition was with Canadians, but the partisan crowd ate it up.

Michael takes the stage. I can feel my pulse race ( Sorry about that. I think I may have been channeling Kady O'Malley there for a second.)

Ignatieff warmed up the crowd a bit talking about Canada Day, the size of the "Edmonton" crowd and about an earlier town hall that he had just finished with some members of the Alberta Francophone community. Ignatieff commented that "the west has always been french, never forget that" and that this part of the world has always been french and "always will be french". I am not sure that his explanation of how since we have french names for some of our mountains and lakes it is enough to declare that the west is french,or if he could get away with saying that the east has always been english, but he is the intellectual, not I. He opined briefly on provincial politics by saying that the reason that the room was full was partly due to the "monopoly party government" in the Province of Alberta, but quickly returned to federal politics by taking a shot at the Harper government on income trusts even though that horse left the barn a long time ago. He went on to preach for more big government by committing more to education as well as for a state run childcare program. No mention of how he is planing to pay for this, but tonight was not to be about pesky details. He also brought up what to me sounded like a plan to regulate, or more than likely just a plan tax the crap out of, certain foods/additives in the name of health. If you use salt, sugar or oil you had better watch out because Ignatieff is coming for you and your wallet if he ever gets elected. I found it kind of ironic for Ignatieff to be talking about this while half of the audience was still chowing down on their double cheeseburgers with sides of salty oily salads from the Liberal fundraiser BBQ attached to the event, but irony and the Liberal Party seem to go well together. He talked very briefly on energy and the need to conserve; screwing up when he said "not getting enough miles per litre" which he quickly corrected into "litres per gallon". I have to cut him some slack on this one since as he was visibly tired from what no doubt was a busy day and I screw up more than my fair share on a regular basis to complain about this. To his credit Ignatieff did keep his opening comments relatively short in an effort to make more time for questions from the audience.

Question#1 was about prorogation and the gentleman asked if Ignatieff would do away with the ability to prorogue Parliament. Ignatieff with his answer blatantly borrowed from Barrack Obama as to why he could not do away with this power saying that "is way above my pay grade" to understand the constitutional issues/history of prorogation. Ignatieff added that he too shares the anger of the questioner about prorogation bringing up some of the history of the coalition and how it formed because of the fiscal update with no mention of the provision to cut off political parties from the public purse, which was the real reason that the 3 parties tossed all of their principles aside to form the coalition. Interestingly enough he went on to say how he saved the PM by deciding against going with the coalition idea, which he had just agreed to support, in order to prevent the turmoil that it would have caused, even though he apparently thinks that he could have won an election at that time with polls reading in the 50%+ range for the CPC.

Question #2 related to seniors financial issues. Ignatieff answered by talking about the current economic situation and was very critical (Remember this for later on) of the "51 billion dollar deficit" budget that would stretch into a "170 billion dollars" over 5 years, saying that this is where the PM has taken Canada over the last 3 years. He also talked about a discussion on national pension reform and brought up healthcare costs and how the Liberals would defend the principles of the Canada Health Act by fighting the provinces if they ever "go down those roads" of having any type of user pay private system. I guess he was out of the country for too long or maybe it is above his pay grade to be familiar with this supreme court ruling or that there are plenty of examples where this is happening already in Canada.


Question #3 was on a carbon tax from someone familiar with Ignatieff's history on the idea. Ignatieff hinted that while he still liked the idea of a carbon tax, the political reality of such a tax makes it impossible to implement in a poor economy. He never ruled it out completely say if the economy improves, but votes ("practical politics") seem to be more important than the environment right now for the LPC.


Question #5 was a polite question which basically asked when Ignatieff was going to stop supporting the Harper government and force an election. Now of course he was not going to give a specific date or let too much out of the Liberal bag but he did give some specifics when he said that he would pull the plug if there were not significant changes to EI saying that he will "not settle for anything other than substantial reform". He also again brought up the coalition, praising Dion for forming it, and how it forced what was basically a "bad Liberal budget" to be passed for the benefit of Canadians, but adding that he thought that the coalition would lead to "permanent division" in our society. ( Remember how he hated the deficit budget in question #2, but now says it was good for the country.)


Question #6 was on medical isotopes, which is not above his pay grade to answer it would seem. This one was spin from the start when Iggy said that in 13 years of Liberal government that there was never a loss of isotope production in Canada while in the 3 years of conservative government it has happened twice. Look this is a serious issue but the PM does not take the limo down to Chalk River at the start of each day to crank out some isotopes before heading to the Hill for oral questions, give me a break.


Question #9 was about the recent proposed legislation giving more powers to police/security agencies for monitoring. Lots of fluff in the answer talking about rights but it looked like Ignatieff agrees with the legislation.


Question #11 Asbestos. While in the past Ignatieff has flip flopped on asbestos, tonight there was to be no beating around the bush on this one as Ignatieff answered by saying that "Canada has to be out of the asbestos business. We should not export it and we should not produce it".

The last question of the night dealt with farming and the difficulty with the selling/promoting locally grown products. There was nothing particularly special about Ignatieff's answer so I will not go into it other than to just highlight one comment that he made which sort of sums up why he is not yet ready for the job and shows the kind of trouble that he might find himself in if this was a real election campaign and not just a summer BBQ/speaking engagement. While talking about a book that he was reading just that very afternoon on the plane coming from Toronto to Edmonton, Ignatieff forgot the name of the book. Not a big issue really and not one that should cause much trouble for the Liberal leader, but it was not that he forgot the name, it was the little "joke" that he made about why he forgot that was the problem. Consider what a certain Liberal blogger who claims to be their war room guy, or even what the media would do if the PM had said the following about forgetting the title of the book: "I am having a senior moment I can't even remember its title". Do any of you think that this would not be spun to no end and that there would be a post dedicated to this small snippet possibly called "Making fun of seniors" at the top of his blog or appearing as the headline of a newspaper? It is a good thing for Ignatieff that I am not that petty.



Well that's it, take from it what you will and if you have read this far I thank you for taking the time.


Alberta Ardvark, going into the belly of the beast so you don't have to.

Update: Ignatieff had some thoughts for the press after the event last night.

"Governments have a role in saying there's energy demand out east; are there ways of moving some of that Alberta oil east to Sarnia for refining?
"But it's not for governments to say where the oil should flow," he was quick to add.

But he said it anyway. h/t SDA.


Update and Clarification: There have been some who believe that I have taken Mr.Ignatieff out of context with my use of the "the west has always been french, never forget that" quote. So I am going to do my best to transcribe what he said both before and after the quote and leave it up to you to decide if I did just that.(bolding mine)

"I would like to say one thing. Which is that before this evening began I had a session in french across the road. I had a session in french with members of the Franco-Albertan community of whom they have such a distinguished representative in Claudette Tardif. I saw something wonderful in that hall, which is I saw a great Canadian tradition, uh the west has always been french, never forget that. Yellowhead; where does that come from? It comes from Tête Jaune. Some anonymous (I can't make out the french term used) that named the mountains, that named the rivers. This part of the world has always been french, always will be french. That tradition was in the room, and there is another tradition which has renewed and strengthened our country. People who have came from francophone Africa, from the Congo, from Rawanda ..." He continues on about how great it is to have all of these people together and how it is good for the country.

Out of context? You tell me.

While some people take the summer off......

While some people take the summer off, others are continuing to work.

Take for example this little bit from the news.

While Michael Ignatieff enjoys his summer off and walks in parades that were in a large part paid for by a grant from the Federal Government; that very same Harper led government continues to work for Canadians and signs a free trade deal with Jordan.



Agree or disagree on some of their specific policies, any objective observer would have to admit that the Conservatives have run an effective government. Perfect they are not, but they are getting it done with regards to running that behemoth known as government.

Did you know that since November of last year this government has had 26 pieces* of legislation reach royal assent? Not bad considering the world wide recession, the coup attempt, a forced deficit budget, and a new arrogant Liberal leader who changes his positions almost daily.

*This does not include the crime legislation that is currently being held up by the Liberal dominated senate while coincidentally at the very same time we see Liberal MPs running around the country claiming to be tough on crime.

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

The records of the parties speak for themselves and that is why the next election is going to be much tougher to fight than what most Liberals believe.

Bring it on Iggy, we are ready. Are you?


Update: Another Harper policy that is paying off as Tim Horton's files to make their US division declared a Canadian company for tax purposes. Go Obama!

Update and Repost: More results that even lefties could love.

Summer blog notes.

With Parliament off on break, the threat of an election over for the time being, and with the arrival of summer, I am going to be cutting back on blogging for the next couple of months. I will still be making the occasional post and comment as the situation dictates but it will not be any regular basis as politics takes a backseat to other pursuits.

I would like to thank all of those who have dropped by to read or comment on my thoughts/opinions over the last couple of years and I look forward to returning on a more regular basis in the fall.

Enjoy the (election free) summer.

Hey Jennifer Lynch, file this!

It seems that Jennifer Lynch, chief commissioner of the Canadian Human Rights Commission, is keeping a "file" on those that are speaking out against the travesty that is the CHRC. A secret file no doubt with the names, and the examples of people exercising their right to free speech by criticizing the CHRC.

Here are her own words on the file: "Please, please, look. We have experienced 16 months of invective hurled at us, and at any time when anybody has tried to speak up and correct misinformation, gross distortions, caricaturizations, then the very next day there's been some full-frontal assault through the blogs, through mainstream media. I have a file. I'm sure I have 1,200, certainly several hundred of these things."

So Jennifer, since you are so interested in keeping a record of those that dare speak out against your operation, you can add mine to the list and file this.

You should be fired and the CHRC disbanded. We have existing laws on defamation and hate speech in this country and we have courts which can deal with these matters in a fair and procedural manner, which is something that HRC's all over have had a real problem doing as normal legal process' gets tossed aside by tribunals in their twisted quest to stamp out real and existing rights and create non existent ones such as the right not to be offended.
You speak about honest debate but you are afraid to actually debate anyone. You commission a report, using an CHRC insider, and when you do not like the findings you file it away into a drawer and spend more taxpayer money to get another report written that is more to your liking.

Cowardly, and pathetic.

Fire them all!


h/t At Home in Hespeler.

A different perspective.

I was going to highlight a few lines from this post on the blog of Liberal MP Glen Pearson. You know the usual stuff about how this Liberal MP thinks that Ignatieff had a bad week and how PM Harper should get credit for his compromise, but while I was there I took a look at a few other postings and to be honest I was not expecting what I saw.

Being written by a Liberal MP the blog is coming from a different perspective, but I think you will be pleasantly surprised by what you will find there.


Take a look for yourself at his blog, and in particular take a look at this category. There is a posting there about Minister Peter McKay that is a must read along with a few others.

Enjoy.

PM Harper has gone too far this time.

I am outraged!


Sorry my partisan friends but I cannot keep silent on this issue any longer. When will this pandering to Quebec stop?



PM Harper has some serious explaining to do about this.

Edmonton Strathcona Nomination Update!

We have a winner. Ryan Hastman has won the CPC nomination for Edmonton-Strathcona.

In what was a late night Wednesday in Edmonton-Strathcona for the 3 candidates vying for the CPC nomination. In the end in what was described as a "redonkulous close" vote, Ryan Hastman was declared the winner over Linda Blade and Cathay Wagantall. With such good candidates it was not an easy choice for the residents of ES; congratulations to all of you for running such excellent campaigns.

Now the real work begins.

Paging Linda Duncan, paging Linda Duncan.
Ryan Hastman calling.

>=)

I guess this means...

I guess this means that Michael Ignatieff is done messing with PM Harper.


And I bet the PM is so relieved too. (sarcasm off)



The Liberals are desperately trying to spin this capitulation of everything Ignatieff has been saying since January as a win, and that is OK because with a couple of more 'wins' like this Ignatieff is going to resemble the Black Knight in the video below.



h/t

update: The Hill Times on how Ignatieff overplayed his hand and how Ralph Goodale has no clue.
"I think undoubtedly he came out of this week as a winner. He was faced with a nose to nose challenge with the Prime Minister and he won," he said, noting all of the concessions that were made with regard to the EI file, the third accountability report and changes to the House Standing Orders, or rules".

Ignatieff's Mirror.

We all know that Ignatieff seems to be very fond of himself, but today Gilles Duceppe really nailed it when he said the following:

"When looking in the mirror he (Ignatieff) saw Stephane Dion."

Zing!!


Mirror mirror on the wall who is the ______ of them all.



A mirror blog post from Dr. Roy.

A little Adler for your late night enjoyment.

Charles Adler has some advice for Michael Ignatieff:

Dear Michael,

It must be very strange being Michael Ignatieff. You are operating in your usual manner. Your M.O. has the same three-boned skeleton that is the architecture of your unreliable character:

1) No firm decisions;

2) No serious commitments;

3) No 100 percent certitude.

Read the rest here.

When they start laughing at you, it's all over. Fini.

February 2008: "when they start laughing at you, it's all over. Fini."

June 2009: From the Toronto Star: Pickles or onions? Iggy needs time.

Chantel Hébert (CBC At Issue Panel) on Ignatieff says "If it walks like a duck, and it quacks like a duck, it's a duck, and in this case it looks like a dead duck." and "I know that he is not Stephane Dion, but even Stephane Dion with all of his language challenges I don't think could have muffed a message that much".

All eyes are on Ignatieff.

All eyes are on Michael Ignatieff today as he ponders whether or not to throw the country into an expensive and unwanted election, and I bet he is loving every minute of it. The man does like being the center of attention and he is getting lots of it today.



I am just home from working the night shift and am off to bed. Somebody please wake me if it looks like we are going to the polls.

Something I heard last evening.

If there is one thing that really shows just how much Michael Ignatieff is out of touch with your average Canadian it is his belief that somehow the public is interested in having another federal election.

I couldn't agree more.



Have a good weekend everyone. Take some time to enjoy all that life and the weather has to offer while Ignatieff ponders spending $300,000,000 of your tax dollars in the middle of a recession to pad his own résumé.

Iggy blew his chance.

A article today from the Chronicle Herald on how Ignatieff does not have the killer instinct needed for a party leader and how this has lead to him having now missed his best opportunity to bring down the government and force an election.

My favorite line from the above article: "If Jean Chretien was somehow magically the Liberal leader right now, does anyone doubt that we’d be in an election?"

This to me is a telling line. Not so much because it is true, but it is a subtle reminder to everyone that when it comes to throw 'em down nasty politics, Jean Chretien was in a league of his own. The Liberals like to yell at the top of their lungs about how PM Harper is being such a bully, but when you compare the 2 most would have to admit that Jean wins in the "bully" department hands down.

The Nomination Candidates: Edmonton-Strathcona.

Tonight is the last of 2 scheduled CPC nomination candidates forums which will be taking place at the Granite Club, 8620-107 St at 7 p.m. If you are a current member please take the time to come out and listen to the candidates and get informed. One of these three is going to become the Conservative candidate in the next federal election and with a bit of hard work will become your Member of Parliament for Edmonton-Strathcona.

The candidates: some background and some personal thoughts on each.

(in alphabetical order)

Linda Blade: Website. Linda has been married for 20 years and has 2 children, she has a PhD in Kinesiology, has conducted research and sport-related seminars at the university level in Africa, Asia, North America and South America and is currently the Sports Performance Manager at the RoyalGlenora Club. She was the Canadian Champion in the Heptathlon 1986 and Pentathlon (indoor) in 1987 and represented Canada in international competition. She has been active in the community being a founding member of the Edmonton Sports Council and the International Society for the Advancement of Kinanthropometry as well as having experience as a multiple term Board Director for Athletics Alberta.

Some personal thoughts and opinions: If I could sum up Linda in a single word it would be energy. This is quite evident when you meet her in person and her success in the world of sports both personally and with training/coaching others bears this out. While not having the most political experience of the bunch she is well aware of the situation in Edm-Strathcona and after speaking with her it is clear that she knows what it will take to win and the determination to make it happen. Her performance at the candidates forum was good and she was able to show off some of that energy as well as her political skills in a public setting.


Ryan Hastman: Website. Ryan is married and is a graduate of the University of Alberta School of Business. He speaks French, started his own business and was also founding director of the Edmonton Young Professionals association and Her Dream Next Door, a mentoring organization for young women. Politically Ryan has been active on many boards in the past and he recently returned home to Edmonton after working in Ottawa for a senior cabinet minister and in the Prime Minister's Office.

Some personal thoughts and opinions: Ryan may be the youngest of the candidates (which could be an asset in the riding) but he has plenty of political experience. His ability to speak French has to be considered a plus and he too knows what is required to win back the riding and has some good ideas towards achieving that goal. His performance in the forum was very good and I was impressed that he used no notes. He came across as very approachable with good political knowledge and instincts, and looks to be a good team player with fresh ideas for the conservatives.


Cathay Wagantall: Website. Cathay has been married for 33 years and has 3 married children and 5 grandchildren. She studied Physical Education at the University of Saskatchewan and served as Athletic Director at Taylor College and Seminary as well as in development, accounting, and student loans. She and her husband have ran their own business and she has been very active in the community. Politically Cathay has served on Conservative Party of Canada Board of Directors for Edmonton – Mill Woods – Beaumont since 2004 where she has been the Election Readiness Chair, President, and Financial Agent, she was a delegate to the last 2 Conservative National Conventions and was the campaign manager for MP Mike Lake for 2 successful election campaigns.

Some personal thoughts and opinions: Here is where my bias is going to show through. Having personally worked with Cathay in the past, briefly on the 2006 campaign and to a much greater extent on the 2008 campaign, I can safely say that she has a work ethic that is second to none after having seen her in action. This work ethic combined with her history and desire to serve the community will be a strong asset. Her performance at the forum was good as she came across as straight forward and honest, demonstrated a good grasp of politics both locally and nationally and like the others she knows what it will take to win in the riding.





Having spoke with each of the candidates and after having attend the first forum I can honestly say that any of them would make a good representative both locally and in Ottawa for the people of Edmonton-Strathcona. All have expressed and shown a willingness to work hard to serve their communities and have committed to increase the conservative presence in the riding. All are supporters of PM Harper, all have expressed a belief in conservative principles, and all have shown that they know what it will take to turn Edmonton-Strathcona blue once again. But only one will get to face off against incumbent Linda Duncan of the NDP and it is going to be up to the CPC members of Edmonton-Strathcona to make the decision on which of these three worthy candidates gets the nomination.

So get out, get informed, and choose wisely.




The nomination vote will take place Wednesday June 17, 2009 at the Delta Hotel South located at 4404 Gateway Blvd NW.

Voting will take place between 5:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. Note time change!

The ballot will be preferential where you list your first, second, third choice.

Please bring two pieces of ID. One photo ID as well as something that shows your name and address within the riding. (Examples: Driver’s license, current original bank or credit card statement, current original utility bill, personal cheque, vehicle registration etc)

Ignatieff makes the sports page.

From The Lighter Side of Sports by Cam Hutchinson, Star Phoenix, Canwest News Service.


"People keep referring to Mine That Bird as a Canadian horse, even though he was foaled in Kentucky. To me, Mine That Bird is about as Canadian as Michael Ignatieff."

Zing!

I know I feel more united now. How about you?

Ignatieff in Montreal:

A great wind is coming "This wind will bring hope back to Canada, "It will bring Quebecers back to power in Ottawa. The best possible Canada is a Canada with Quebecers in power."

"With Mr. Harper's right-wing Conservatives, Canada's international reputation has been tarnished and its financial edge has been wasted. There are more unemployed, more poor children and, as concerns the environment, Canada has become the laughingstock of the world."

----------

Coming from the man who said this: "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." I can see now that Ignatieff knows all there is to know about uniting this country.


And here I thought that bad mouthing Canada or dividing us up into groups based on where we live would be more of a divisive tactic rather than a uniting one.

Silly Ardvark.

Ouch. Scott Feschuk on Ignatieff the politician.

Scott Feschuk on Ignatieff the Politician. Read it all for yourself at Macleans.

Some of the highlights:

"People of Canada, I ask you: is Michael Ignatieff—typist of books, enthusiast of yoga, trimmer of eyebrows—really a threat to “mess” with anyone? More important: is this what passes for tough-guy talk in academic circles?

“Mess with me and I’ll mess with you.” “I can take a punch.” It’s beginning to seem that Ignatieff considers his position as party leader less a job to do than a role to play. He behaves the way he thinks we expect politicians to behave. He makes the empty promise. He utters the empty threat. He’s so determined not to be defined as Prof. Tweedy McMonocle that he’s inadvertently becoming the next can’t-miss WWE villain: the Hyperbolist.

You half-expect him to turn to the camera and say: “I’m not a two-dimensional caricature of a modern politician, but I play one on TV.”

Ignatieff is widely perceived as a deep and respected thinker. But if you actually listen to him these days, you’re likely to conclude that the problem isn’t that he left Canada for 34 years. The problem is that his intellect failed to clear customs on the journey home."

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

I guess there is more to this quote from Ignatieff than I thought: "Nothing is personal in politics, because politics is theater. It is part of the job to pretend to have emotions that you do not actually feel."

and the Oscar goes to......

Does that mean she is a liar?

Did Michael Ignatieff call a 26 yr old hill staffer who worked for Natural Resources Minister Lisa Raitt a liar? Here is a bit of what he said on the subject.

Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff called the minister's allowance of a staffer to take the blame "despicable". "It's presumably the same staffer responsible for the isotope shortage and it's presumably this 26-year-old who is responsible for the whole darned department" "How are we supposed to believe such a fiction?"

The staffer in question has taken responsibility and resigned over the incident.

I am just a knuckle-dragger so tell me dear Liberal friends if I have got this wrong. If Michael Ignatieff thinks that this is all a "fiction", does that not mean that he thinks the staffer is lying? Because that is what I am getting out of it.


Related: Michael Ignatieff: "I don't like people blaming 26 year olds."

Yes Michael, blaming 26 year olds, even if they take responsibility, is not the Liberal way. This is more the Liberal way*.

Any comments on the staffer incident from Judy Sgro yet? Just askin'.



*This works as long as the brother is not 26 because Iggy doesn't like that and what Iggy doesn't like could never be the Liberal way.