“We are more united than we have been for a generation.”

Michael Ignatieff August 31, 2009 : "We are more united than we have been for a generation."

Michael Ignatieff September 25,2009 after trampling on Denis Coderre's judgment and allowing Martin Cauchon to run in Outremont: "The result I think is good for the party, it reinforces the unity of the party,"

Today: Denis Coderre steps down as Ignatieff's Quebec lieutenant, demands that Ignatieff reshuffle his Toronto inner circle.

Background:"The rift between Ignatieff and Coderre broke open last week over who should be nominated as the Liberal candidate in the Montreal riding of Outremont. Former justice minister Martin Cauchon, who left politics in 2004, has signalled his intention to return to Parliament Hill and reclaim the riding he held for 11 years. However, Ignatieff announced last Monday that he would appoint businesswoman Nathalie Le Prohon, who was selected by Coderre, as the Liberal candidate in Outremont, The decision seemed to end Cauchon's hopes of a political comeback, but Coderre announced later in the week that another riding would be offered to Cauchon. Meanwhile, a number of Liberal MPs, including Bob Rae, rallied around Cauchon in his bid for Outremont.By the end of the week, Ignatieff had reversed his own decision about Outremont to allow for an open nomination contest in the riding." (h/t Searching for Liberty)

To quote a former Quebec lieutenant for the Liberal Party, Jean Lapierre: "So who is running the Liberal Party now?" "What is it worth a handshake from Michael Ignatieff?" More from Lapierre: "Is it a backbone or another wet noodle"

Update: A prominent Liberal Bloggers view of Denis Coderre and party unity.

Can you feel the love in the Liberal Party?

Cauchon vs. Mulcair

New poll up on the sidebar: Who will win in Outremont, Thomas Mulcair or Martin Cauchon?

So please vote and feel free to drop a comment below and tell us why you voted the way you did.

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

My personal thoughts are that Mulcair gets re-elected. I know this goes against the thinking of lots of Liberals out there who now believe that Outremont is in the bag with the return of Cauchon, but I think that is more wishful thinking rather than based on anything factual.

Here are a couple of reasons why.

First off Mulcair already has the job of MP in Outremont and the power of incumbency should never be underestimated. This will be diminished somewhat by the fact that Cauchon was once the MP for the riding, but not enough to neutralize it completely. Advantage Mulcair.

Mulcair has to be considered a star candidate more so than Cauchon would be. Mulcair is the only NDP member from Quebec, which makes him very high profile no matter what, and there is
a strong chance that he may be end up as the next leader of the NDP. While some have suggested that Cauchon himself may be working towards the leadership of the LPC, that is not something that can really be used to his advantage in a campaign without causing problems and ruffling the feathers of current leader Michael Ignatieff. We all know that this is probably Jack Layton's kick at the cat and it is no secret Mulcair wants the job, and while Cauchon may want the leaders job as well, there is no way he or his people can touch the subject with a 10ft poll come election time without negative repercussions. Advantage Mulcair.

The last and perhaps the biggest reason that I see for a Mulcair victory is the baggage factor. Mulcair will be traveling light in an election while Cauchon comes with more than a Samsonite sales rep. The past is going to be inescapable for team Cauchon and no matter how hard they try to make the past a non issue, it will be, and you can bet that both the NDP and the press are going to make sure of that. Big advantage Mulcair.

What do you think?

Update: Speaking of baggage....

Khadafi avoids facing the Cannon

Reports are coming in saying that Libyan Leader Muammar Khadafi has cancelled a stop over in Newfoundland planned for later this week.

There is speculation that the trip was cancelled so Khadafi would not have to face Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon who was expected to express Canada's "strong disapproval" over the hero's welcome organized by Libya for Abdel Basset al-Megrahi, the only person convicted in the 1988 bombing of a Pan Am jumbo jet over Lockerbie, Scotland, that killed 270 people, including two Canadians.

Score another win for the Harper Government.

There has been no comment from Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff who said recently "" Canada is becoming the country that dares not speak its name!"

Wildrose Alliance: The official opposition in Alberta?

I am not sure how accurate this is but if it is true............

McLoughlin is reporting as many as 10 Tory MLAs could join the Wildrose Alliance Party if Danielle Smith takes the reins. That's a big shake-up that could place the Wildrose Alliance as the new Official Opposition. McLoughlin attributes his information to unnamed credible sources.

Why the "we can do better" party have doomed the CPC.

This is hard to admit as a conservative, but the new Liberal slogan "we can do better" is starting to worry me somewhat because it would appear that the Liberals can do better.

Some examples: They can do H1N1 vaccine better than GlaxoSmithKline , Sanofi-Aventis, Novartis, CSL and Sinovac can, they can do infrastructure better by getting projects done 7 years ahead of schedule, and they can even do video better, just to name a few.

For conservatives having the Liberals doing all of those things better should be worrisome, but it pails in comparison to the their latest. The Liberals can do democracy better as they appear to have found a better system by doing away with nomination races along with all of that pesky voting stuff.

Here is what Sheila Gervais, a former national director of the Liberal Party had to say:

"We've turned into one big appointment society, it's a perfect democratic deficit storm."

"They appoint the leader. The leader in turn appoints the election apparatus . . . . None of them have an elected basis and then these people have the right to choose and appoint candidates?"

"This simply has very little link to some of our most basic tenets of democracy. There is no power to the people in these types of processes." (h/t The Halls of Macadamia)

Well said Sheila but you forgot to mention that Michael Ignatieff has NEVER actually won a nomination contest of any kind as he was also appointed in his own riding of Etobicoke-Lakeshore* in 2005.



PM Harper might as well hand over the keys to 24 Sussex right now because if the Liberals can do democracy better, there is no telling what they will show us up on in any possible upcoming election. We are doomed.


Update: Democracy sort of lives in Outremont, but dies a painful death in the Montreal riding of Jeanne-Le Ber as Quebec lieutenant Denis Coderre has his judgement questioned, the candidate Ms. Le Prohon gets moved around like a piece of meat, and the Liberals of Jeanne-Le Ber get told what to do and have the option of choosing their candidate taken away from them by the guy who was appointed to his own job.

And so it goes in the Liberal Party of Canada.







*Well there should have been a nomination race for Etobicoke-Lakeshore in 2005 but the seeds of the "appointment society" were first sown when "Two would-be candidates for the nomination claim they were locked out of party headquarters when they tried to file their nomination papers by last weekend's deadline. Both were subsequently disqualified, leaving Ignatieff to be acclaimed." (h/t Warren Kinsella.)

Unintended Quote of the day

Michael Ignatieff: "Canadians don't want political games played with infrastructure funding," Ignatieff said. "You can't employ people with press releases."

"Look at the field behind me, it is not getting done," Ignatieff said.

( Ignatieff was quoted above while among an old soy bean field in Burlington where they say no progress has been made on the creation of the New City Park.) (h/t Bruce. Part of the crew @ Blue like you.)

All well and good except: Burlington Mayor Cam Jackson said the Liberals picked the wrong field to stage their press conference. The park project just got environmental approval last week and wasn't planned for years.

"This project was not slated to be done for seven years," Jackson said.

He added he won't criticize the Tories or the provincial government on infrastructure spending because he has projects happening all over his municipality.

Updated with video: (Thanks Robert)

It is amateur hour at the OLO and Ignatieff is proving again that he is out of touch with Canadians and out of touch with reality.

Related: Even Ontario Liberal MPP's think Ignatieff is out to lunch on this one. (h/t Searching for Liberty)

Michael Ignatieff can't see the forest for the trees.

Gerard Kennedy, stimulus, fail

The Liberal Non Confidence Motion

Michael Ignatieff: “After four years of drift, four years of denial, four years of division and discord — Mr. Harper, your time is up.”

The opportunity is quickly approaching for the Liberals to introduce their motion of non confidence on a government they claim that they can no longer support; but the question is....

Will they or won't they?

Oh to be a fly on the wall at the OLO.



Latest polls (PDF files)

EKOS

NANOS

Up in Smoke...........

Sometimes opening up an email can bring a smile to your face, thanks Mike.

CP. Just one question.

Dear Canadian Press: Since your story about pictures of the PM being removed from a government website has proven to be totally false; I think in the interest of openness, fairness, and public information that you should provide your readers with the names of these 'critics' who spawned this story spawned this story and headline? (edit: added 'and headline' to my poorly worded question. Thanks M)

The Canadian Press

Harper Photos Removed from Government Website.
Only a half-dozen of PM's 40 or more photos survive the cut after boosterism accusations

OTTAWA–The Government of Canada website set up to promote the Conservative economic action plan had a leaner look yesterday: more than 30 photos of Prime Minister Stephen Harper had been removed.

"Critics have complained that the website, actionplan.gc.ca, looks like a partisan promotion – complete with a Tory-blue colour scheme, glowing third-party testimonials, more than 40 photos of Harper and repeated references to "the Harper government" rather than the Government of Canada."


I think it is a valid question to ask and even more-so since we all still have this made up story so fresh in our memories and who there was that other time........


So let us know CP we will be waiting.




Remember it is your job to cover the news, not be the news; or worse, create the news.

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

Update: This is the so-called evidence found at Impolitical.

Case solved:

The picture still remains on the site and can be found here.

Cauchon; and tough choices.

Choices choices.

It must be tough being a Liberal strategist these days.

Do you keep supporting the judgment of a guy who you had your doubts about in the past and who now is proving to be a political disaster in part because he is making decisions like this.

Or do you call it as you see it and come out on side with the judgment of your old boss , support his former Quebec Lieutenant and tell your new boss that this is a mistake.


What to do, what to do.



Update: Ignatieff the uniter in action.

Feelin' lucky?

"I don't get this Ignatieff guy. I can't figure out what he believes. Because I don't think he knows."

Read the entire entry from Kelly McParland at the National Post.


Slow blogging day today as I, unlike Michael Ignatieff, am actually doing something to help out the economy with a little help from the renovation tax credit. The same tax credit which Ignatieff voted against.

On Body bags and Boy Scouts

While Michael Ignatieff was busy spending some of his 34 years out of the country he once called Canada a "herbivorian boy scout".

Well that was then and this is now: Michael Ignatieff September 17, 2009 on a routine shipment of body bags: “When that is combined with the fact...that they haven’t sent preventative measures that can save those lives, it sends a message of callous lack of compassion.” "It sends a message, it simply says: 'We expect Aboriginal Canadians to die,'"

It makes for a nice soundbite but he seems to have forgotten the boy scout motto.

Be prepared!

Sorry if it offends your sensibilities Michael, I honestly think it doesn't and this is just another example of the opportunist and his "pretend to have emotions that you do not actually feel" in action, but preparing for a possible H1N1 pandemic includes PREPARING for the fact that people will die. To not do so would be nothing short of negligence on the part of Health Canada and you would be crying about that if given the opportunity.




Related: In his presser September 11th he said the following to a question about how the government could be doing more on H1N1: " public information, public health campaigns and get the vaccine ready. I mean in my view they have been treading water on this all summer."

Yes folks, the 'we can do better' party would put on their white lab coats and go out to make the vaccine themselves for Canadians. Take that you evil Stephen Harper.

From today: Liberal MP Ujjal Dosanjh said that First Nations communities like Ahousat on Vancouver Island are already reporting a flu outbreak, but the government's vaccine will be too late to help.

Some facts:The vaccine is not yet being used anywhere in the world. Australia is scheduled to be the first nation to start vaccinations but not until about September 30th.

H/T: To quote a comment at The Halls of Macademia. "Ujjal Dosanjh is talking out of his ass again."


Update: While the Liberals are playing politics the government gets work done.

Another Update: Oct 8, 2009: Even thought he Liberals tried to make a scandal out of this it was all much ado about nothing.

Liberals Vote Against the Reno Tax Credit.

They actually did it. In what can only be described as a textbook example of playing political games* the Liberal Party of Canada voted against the ways and means motion that included a provision allowing the HUGELY popular renovation tax credit to become law.

And they should be reminded of it each and every day.

Update: The arrogance of Ignatieff as he expresses his joy on voting against the renovation tax credit: (ht Halls of Macadamia)

“Personally, it felt like the right thing to do."

Hey Liberals, missing Dion yet?



*Voting against something that you support 100%, not for the good of the country or any of your constituents, but for your own benefit = political games.

Fact checking the Liberal fact checker.

Fact checking the Liberal fact checker. Alternate title: How many lies and distortions can we squeeze into a web page.

A couple from the LPC's Just the Facts: ( my comments in parenthesis)

Liberals vs. Conservatives on culture:
- The Conservatives slashed $45 million from the culture sector. ( yes they did but why the convenient leave out of this :spending on cultural programs in the second year of Stephen Harper's Conservative government will be $509-million or 15.2 per cent more than it was in in fiscal 2006, the last year of Paul Martin's Liberal government.)
- Liberals defend culture and artists. We have promised to restore the funding cut by the Conservatives in 2008. While the Liberals were in power, this key sector’s budget was a high priority. ( Paul Martin priority #2,467 I guess. How can you restore funding to a sector that is getting more money now than it was in 2007? So unless you are planning on making massive cuts to the arts, as Martin did in the early 1990's, it would be impossible to 'restore' funding to 2007 levels.)
- The Conservatives have left Radio-Canada to fend for itself while the Liberal Party wants to ensure its long-term financial stability. (the CBC gets 1.1 Billion dollars from the federal government, not exactly fending for themselves is it.)
- The Conservatives introduced Bill C-10 giving the government the discretionary power to censor films while refusing to subsidize productions considered contrary to “public order”. The Liberal Party, on the other hand, has fought tooth and nail against this censorship law. ( Note quote of the words “public order”. November, 2003, when Paul Martin was about to take over from Jean Chrétien as Liberal Prime Minister, and after what they described as a long period of industry consultation, Deputy Prime Minister John Manley and Minster of Heritage Sheila Copps proposed that Canadian film and video productions will receive tax credits provided that "public financial support of the production would not be contrary to public policy." So you have fought tooth and nail against a policy that it turns out was basically written by the Liberal Party have you? Considering that John McCallum called the bill "sensible" and not a peep was heard from ANY Liberal MP when the bill was before Parliament, I would hardly call that or even the re-write of history on the origins of the bill, fighting tooth and nail against it.)

Liberals vs. Conservatives on EI:
- While Liberals believe that all Canadians have the right to the same EI coverage, regardless of where they live, Conservatives rejected this proposal and failed to present anything constructive as part of this summer’s EI working group. ( but yet we have the government introducing improvements to EI and now we have the very same Liberals trying to fast track this non constructive and apparently non existent legislation through both houses of Parliament. Lies and political games with this one, a double bonus)



I wonder what a Liberal fact checker makes now a days? It looks like easy money to me; just distort or make stuff up, re-write history, hit enter and collect your brown paper bag of cash at the end of the week for services rendered.

h/t Christian Conservative.

Can we now put this lie to bed forever.

The court challenge from Democracy Watch over the timing of the last federal election gets thrown out.

The last election was legal and no laws were broken. Now if only the trolls, and the Liberal Party would stop with the "Harper broke his own election law" crap we can move on to reality and the present day.

Your daily Kinsella.

Your daily Kinsella. Today's episode: Why the The Campaign of Fear™ will not work.

Related: please read Joanne's latest at Blue like you.

Enjoy.



October 16th, 2006: "The problem is that Stephen Harper doesn’t really scare Canadians anymore, or possibly never did. That’s the Grits’ problem. "

January 5th, 2006:

"TO: LIBERAL CAMPAIGN BOSSES
FROM: YOUR REALLY GOOD PAL WARREN
RE: TOP SECRET AND SUPER CONFIDENTIAL STUFF

Dear guys: it won't work. Did last time, won't this time. Have a nice two weeks, and good luck in your return to the Liberian shipping industry.

...

As I related to a group of scary-smart U of T political science students last night, there are three reasons for this:

One, every Canadian who is not comatose understands that Harper can't form a majority government, even if he wants to, and he does. Paul Martin's top-notch handling of the Quebec file means federalism is hooped in la belle province for the forseeable future. The numbers for a majority aren't there. Folks know that.

Two, (Shameless Book Plug Alert) as noted in no less an authority than Kicking Ass in Canadian Politics, in order for an attack ad to work, it has to be factual or, at the very least, plausible. The Liberals' planned Harper Is Satan™ campaign is not plausible. Canadians have now had a couple years to see how Harper operates. He isn't neceessarily(sp) someone you'd cuddle with on the basement couch to watch 'Friends' reruns, but neither is any other politician. In this case, familiarity breeds a comfort level.

Three, as my sage pal John Wright opined a while ago, Canadians gathered around family Christmas/Hannukah tables at the end of last month and came to a collective decision: we want change, and if Harper's the only way to achieve that, so be it. Pass the cranberries.

The coming ad war won't assist the Liberals, but it certainly will have their bankers wondering if they plan to repay that fat line of credit.

Now, where is that helmet?"

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

I disagree with the man politically but I must say that he does have a certain flair for writing.

A Must Read Scathing Criticism of Ignatieff

An absolute must read on Michael Ignatieff.

Who is the author you ask. Well you will find that out at the end of the post.

"It is not very often that one gets to witness a "leadership frontrunner" immolate his own candidacy so blithely, so recklessly, but if you click here and you peer inside, you will see the corpse of Michael Ignatieff’s vaulting ambition. He is done – and if he isn’t, he should be.

Now, it is true that I objected to the learned professor before reading this essay, posted over the weekend on Pierre Bourque’s site. I objected to the manner in which his supporters trampled on democracy in a Toronto riding – literally locking out opponents. I objected to his support of George W. Bush’s illegal war in Iraq. I objected to the fact that he mocked Canada (Link dead) during the three decades he was abroad, and that he likened Israeli policy to the fascism of apartheid. I objected to what I perceived to be breathtaking arrogance – calling Canada a "herbivorian boy scout" one day, then jetting up here to run it the next.

And then came this essay. Below I have culled a representative sampling of some the things Ignatieff says about torture in his just-published tour de force. His Kool Aid drinkers – and he has many already, rest assured – will bombard me with emails, braying and screeching that I quoted him out of context. But the fact is that they are his words. And the fact is that, in politics, voters and reporters are not patrician Harvard students, willing to keep quiet until the very end of the great man’s hour-long treatise, or until the end of a 10,000 word essay in the New York Times Magazine. They can be counted upon to object right away to the objectionable. Up here in the frosty herbivorian Boy Scout camp, all that it takes is a few sentences, usually, to permit a glimpse into what passes for a soul. We have that skill, boy scouts that we are.

That said, here’s Michael Ignatieff on torture. If you don’t read them now, you’ll be reading them enough during the next election campaign.

"…torture is not served by collapsing the distinction between coercive interrogation and torture. Both may be repugnant, but repugnance does not make them into the same thing."

"…necessity may require the commission of bad acts…"

"An outright ban on torture and coercive interrogation leave a conscientious security officer with little choice but to disobey the ban."

"…it must be the case that other acts of torture occur because interrogators believe, in good faith, that torture is the only way to extract information in a timely fashion…"

"The argument that torture and coercion do not work is contradicted by the dire frequency with which both practices occur."

And, finally, the epitaph:

"I am willing to get my hands dirty."

"I am willing to get my hands dirty." That much, it seems, is true."

Wow. There is a lot of info there to digest including the "herbivorian boy scout" comment which I have not heard of until reading this.

If you were thinking that the author of this is not big fan of Michael Ignatieff you would be wrong because today he is in fact a big booster of Ignatieff, but back on March 27, 2006 when this first appeared on his blog, it was obvious that the author Warren Kinsella was not the fan that he is today.

Related: More from Warren and here.

"I could be sitting here as your prime minister, but I turned it down.."

“I could be sitting here as your prime minister, but I turned it down because I didn’t think it was right for someone who believes in the national unity of my country to make a deal with people who want to split the country up,”

The above was said in March 2009, on September 10th he used a similar line at least 2 times in his press conference, and on the 11th he again went before the cameras and repeated it at least 2 separate times in both official languages.

I think that this would have to qualify as Michael Ignatieff's favorite quote and I expect him to use it again in the upcoming days or weeks.

I have a problem with it though.

Is he sure that he would have been PM and that Jack and Gilles would not have a say in the matter? I am not sure that he is/was aware because according to one of his MP's he never read the agreement before he signed it?

John McCallum speaks on Ignatieff signing on to the coalition agreement.

Related: Other posts on John McCallum Here and Here.

Ignatieff on being an American. The numbers.

Last Saturday I posted a disturbing 2 minute and 8 second long You Tube video that contained part of a speech made by Michael Ignatieff. I asked the question(s) How many times did Ignatieff use the words "We", "us", "our" and "ourselves" in the short video.

Although that post generated around 3000 views nobody managed to post the actual numbers in the comments.

So without further ado here are the numbers:

"We" = 10 times
"Us" = 5 times
"Our" = 4 times
"ourselves" = 3 times

Oh, and 2 "being an American is not easy" for the record.

Iggy's response.

A couple of points on Ignatieff's response (in a quickly rushed presser) to the PM expressing what any leader of a national political party desires, a majority government.

This one is a doozy. In response to a question on the party subsidy being eliminated he responded that: That is exactly what produced the crisis in the first place! (exact quote will follow) From the first day of the coalition each and every one of the coup plotters went out of their way to deny that it was the subsidies that caused the crisis, it was the economy they said in unison and brushed off any comments to the contrary. Today Ignatieff finally told us the truth. The opposition parties were only interested in the money that they themselves would lose.


The other point I want to bring up is Ignatieff's comment that the Bloc is not the enemy and that he would not categorize them as separatists. Well Mr. Ignatieff it is too late for that isn't it.

"Micheal Ignatieff: "“I could be sitting here as your prime minister, but I turned it down because I didn’t think it was right for someone who believes in the national unity of my country to make a deal with people who want to split the country up,”


More thoughts: Does anybody believe that the PM did not think that his words would become public? The guy with the video camera might have been a hint. This was a private event but not a top secret meeting with people sworn to secrecy and aside from the M word is there anything else in there that is new or that the PM has not said in the past? The answer is no.

Unlike this guy who likes to pretend and say one thing in public and another in private.


Feel free to comment on Ignatieff's non response to direct questions on a coalition.




Lets get it done. A Conservative majority is possible and we can make it happen.

The Recession Hits The Mole.

Do you remember the various "mole" stories from a couple of years back about a Liberal insider who was leaking out all sorts of damaging stuff or just generally creating havoc from within the LPC?

If you do remember "The Mole" we have some bad news for you tonight.

It was announced today that the so called "Liberal Mole" has been laid off. The current recession was cited as the reason Mr.Mole was being let go, but insiders suggest that his position recently has become redundant since this guy assumed the leadership of the LPC.





The mole was good, said the insider, but the new guy is even better. It really is too bad the recession made us have to cut one of them.

.

Editorial comment: Keep up the good work new guy.

Video of PM Harper in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont on the new reality.

Nanos Poll tomorrow.

Nick Nanos has another poll coming put tomorrow that puts the Conservatives ahead with a strong increase in Quebec, shows Ignatieff has already gone stale, and shows that the NDP is going to be in real trouble if an election comes soon.

So in an effort to save electrons I will post the Liberal response a day early.

'It is an outlier poll'.

Too bad for the spin meisters that Nanos has the best record for accuracy in the last 2 elections.


Listen for yourself: Link available here (for a limited time) Did I hear Nik say that if you look outside the island of Montreal that CPC support could be near 30%?


Update: Here are the poll results (PDF)

Ignatieff is faking it all to become PM.

Here you go folks the smoking gun. Ignatieff is faking the entire thing.





I guess that Michael Ignatieff really was not among friends that day.


Is anyone surprised considering that he said this in 2007 in the New York Times:"Politics is theatre. It is part of the job to pretend to have emotions that you do not actually feel."





Bring it on because Canada really can do better.



H/T Lorraine from the comments at BLY.

Is the new Liberal ad as fake as Ignatieff?

I have not been following the blogs on this to this point but from what I see I think that LPC video looks like it was shot in front of a green screen in a studio.

There seems to be an outline around Iggy, there is a breeze that moves grass, leaves and everything other than Ignatieff's hair, and can anyone explain just why the Algonquin forest is moving behind Ignatieff? What do you think?


A fake forest, a fake Canadian. What a way to start a campaign.


Update: It appears that the forrest shots were filmed in downtown Toronto at Cherry Beach, or at least the background was filmed there.

“The only thing I missed about Canada was Algonquin Park”.

And sure enough he filmed his first television ad there.




Damn right we can do better!

Update: It appears that the video is just as fake as Ignatieff is. From the strange outline around Iggy, to the mysterious moving background, it appears that this was filmed in a studio in front of a green screen.

That sure is a far cry from what he was saying in this video.


Bring it on!

Ignatieff: How many...

Watch the video and count how many times Michael Ignatieff uses the words "we", "our", "us",and "ourselves".


Direct link to video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49We8C2tzMQ

A telling 30 seconds from the video: "and there is only one thing we can do about this and that is live the way we are supposed to live. As our constitution commands us. Being an American is not easy, it is hard. We are required as a country to keep some very serious promises. We are judged by a high standard the one that was crafted for ourselves in the founding document of this republic."


Seriously, this guy wants to be our Prime Minister and he is willing to spend 300 million of our tax dollars to do so.

The time to end this nonsense and instability will soon be upon us and only a conservative majority will do it.

h/t Kitchener Conservative.

Google News caught torquing headlines?

Google news Sept 4, 2009


The Real Headline:

Isn't it amazing how one little word can change everything.

Update: It has come to my attention that the original error may have been made by the National Post on this and not Google News.

H/T maz2 in the comments at BLY

I know I have said it before but BLY is a daily must read.

And you want to be my latex salesman Mr. McCallum

John McCallum, MP for Markham-Unionville, scheduled a press conference with MPP Michael Chan and Deputy Mayor Jack Heath in Markham this morning to call on the federal government to support Buttonville. Mr. McCallum, who has been in Sudbury for the Liberal caucus meeting, said he had not been told about the Armadale redevelopment plan.

"Well, I'm a little bit puzzled to tell the truth, because just two or three days ago I spoke to Derek Sifton and he was very pleased that the three representatives of Markham-Unionville - federal, provincial and municipal - were going to back him up and request financial support from the federal government," Mr. McCallum said yesterday.

Mr. McCallum said their message was going to be focused on the 300-plus jobs that would be lost if Buttonville went, as well as the importance of the airport to hospitals, York Regional Police and local citizens and businesses who use the airport.

"I guess I'll have to consult with my colleagues about what to say now," Mr. McCallum said.

And you want to be my latex salesman finance minister. By the way Mr. McCallum, what type of car do you drive?

Update:

Chucker has a post up on McCallum's latest comments.

Bob Rae lies about the coalition

Bob Rae was on the Dave Rutherford show earlier today and this is some of what he had to say.

Updated with better audio* and added document.

I see Bob Rae like his boss Michael Ignatieff likes to lie on the subject of the coalition. Too bad for him that we are paying attention.

Steve Janke has a run down of it here.



And here are 3 signatures. You decide whether or not this signed agreement would constitute a deal. A deal that formed a coalition whose goal it was to take the power of government.






* My apologies for the earlier volume problem as the video ran fine on my machine. So dear readers if you notice any major screw-ups like that on the blog please drop me a line in the comments.

Thanks Al

Renovation Tax credit. Will they or won't they?

So it looks like Ignatieff and the Liberals will get their chance to practice what they preach and vote against the government early in the session as a ways and means bill that includes the very popular renovation tax credit comes to a vote as a confidence measure.

Will the Liberals keep their word and vote against it or will they back down yet again and support the measure?

It is tough to say but this single issue might turn out to be much more than they ever imagined it would be.

First off I would not want to be a Liberal MP and have to explain to my constituents that I voted against the much needed and very popular renovation tax credit just for the purposes of playing political games. There is no good that can come out of voting against the renovation tax credit, zero, nada. You might as well just shoot yourself in the head electorally for any upcoming election if you did so; but what to do.

Here are a few possibilities:

You could play swallow the leader and vote against the super popular tax credit and make plans for a new career in the near future.

You could get a case of the red flu and miss the vote. Sure it looks kind of pathetic but at least you could claim not to have voted against the reno tax credit with a straight face.

You could go against your party and vote for your constituents and the country and support the measure. This might not go over too well with the party brass but I guess you could try to claim your one time pass to vote against your party just as the Newfoundland caucus did against the budget in January. I mean if they got to do it why not you.

Or another possibility, one that I think has a real chance of happening in the next couple of weeks, is that you can announce that you are done with the rhetoric and games and cross the floor. Oh I know some of you might be thinking that there is no way this would happen but with the large number of Liberal MP's who would be very vulnerable in any election, or who are due to hit the magic date for full pension in 2010, or just want to honestly do what their constituents want and not play games in such poor economic times, I think it is a real possibility that we will see someone cross the floor to the CPC over this issue.

We are a few weeks away from any such vote and in politics that is a very long time but considering that currently I can not find even a single MSM source that is agreeing with Ignatieff on the need for an election ( if the normally liberal friendly press has this figured out you know the public is way ahead of them) and the soon to be released poll numbers inevitably showing a nasty decline in Liberal popularity is sure to cause fractures in the Liberal caucus and even more headaches for the unelected leader of the Liberal Party, Michael Ignatieff.

Stay tuned folks because the fun is just beginning.

Even more important than the empty suit Ignatieff's bluster.

The beginning of the end of Section 13.

Finally!








H/T our favorite combustible feline. BCF has a very complete listing of links on this.

CTV News Staff: Giving advice to Ignatieff.

CTV News Staff: Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff's main task today: turn the doves in his caucus into hawks, and set forth a plan to take down the Tory government in the fall.

Since when does CTV news dictate what the main task is for the leader of the official opposition. Get over yourselves, it is not like you are Krista Erickson.

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.