Remember, S. Dion has faced a wave of mud re. attack ads and bad press in Conservative newspapers, but this wave seems to have crested. Furthermore, the Libs seem to be hitting back on some of these issues, like the income trust non-scandal, with some success.
However, this hitting back has come a bit late, esp. with bill C-288 (Kyoto Implementation Bill). The Tories have managed with to paint this as an economy killer, and most of this success has been due to a lack of effort/arguments on the part of the Liberal Party to point out why it is not. Not that there are not good arguments for the bill, its just that nobody within the party seems to have bothered to make them.
In any case, C-288 is now in the Senate and can be kept there, given the makeup of that body (Lib dominated), as long as is necessary. And if you do the math, even with no delay it will not come out until about April/May, which means it cannot, as far as I can see, serve as a trigger to a SPRING election.
In any case, the Tories ability to muddy the waters with respect to environmental issues will end once their Clean Air Act emerges from committee. If this is toothless, it will be seen to be despite any efforts by the Natty Post. If it is not, it can be passed (and the passage of C-288 can be credited with giving it some teeth). The NDP and especially Green Party response will be key.
As for the party "split" over anti-terror measures, I don't think there is any way past principled differences of opinion, but the party should have foreseen the effect of cancelling some of the provisions in question might have on the Air India investigation.
Finally, remember that a lot of what we are seeing in response to this poll is merely CPC chest-pounding. 34 per cent is a long, long way from a majority. Millions of dollars and several weeks of mudslinging, borderline illegal, and often plainly dishonorable behavior have bought Harper three points and brought him to within sight of his last election total. He would be a fool to call another one on the basis of these numbers.
The best advice for the Libs right now comes from Tom Axworthy, who says to forget the euphoria of the convention and get on with things.
23 comments:
Once again BCL ignores the elephant in the room; the reigniting of the Liberal civil wars. Check out Cherniak's blog it's open warfare over there. Cherniak is rallying his troops, the 'Dionistas', to combat a rising intifada by the Iggy Faction.
You see the Iggy faction smell blood. They are smart enough to know that the Dionistas have let Harper back them into a hopeless corner on two critical issues: Kyoto and homeland security. On security the Dionistas want to let lapse their Party's own post 9/11 measures, measures which helped corral the 'Toronto 17'. If it's one thing people can understand it's bombs on Toronto streets. On Kyoto it is now abundantly obviously that this will only be met by the spending of hundreds of millions on 'Kyoto credits'. The Dionistas thought they were being smart with their Kyoto implementation bill because the Harpers would have to come up with the plan which they after thirteen years in power failed to offer up. Too smart by half; this 'after you Alphonse' trick is cute when in opposition but when your Party is running for office? The Kyoto shtick has just about run out it's string. Spending millions to buy 'Kyoto credits' from Russia may go over well in the halls of academe but not likely at the counter at Timmy Ho's when Jacques and Jill Lunchbucket realize it will be their money, an easy feat for Harper in a campaign. "A cruller, double double and some Kyoto credits to go".
The Iggy faction see defeat looming in a likely Spring election and are now positioning themselves to pick up the pieces. So BCL, it's time to suck it up, who are you going with? Rae is all but back in the private sector and Kennedy is AWOL and looking longingly at his old sinecure in the Ontario legs. Iggy or Dion, not a savory choice I'll admit?
Oh, and thanks for crediting me with having some personality you toad.
Thanks for finally revealing your name, wretch.
And, please, I read Cherniak. I see no signs of civil war at his blog or elsewhere.
Ready.
Fire.
Aim.
Gawd I luv it when Liberals nuke Liberals.
Just makes my day :) :) :) :)
What a load of shit Alfred just spewed. Everything was impression, lunatic speculation and anger...not a fact or a documented statement in sight. And it went on and on and on...
If he's your morning anon, then I stand by my earlier accusation; the guy's drunk off his arse a half-hour after he wakes up (...or still drunk from the night before).
You can always tell when the righties score one, ti-guy goes ape shit.
It's not "ape-shit", wingnut. It's the very reasonnable reaction of being simply appalled that people as stupid, angry and, worst of all...verbose...like Alfred (and you) seem honest-to-god proud of how wretched and primitive you all are.
I suspect I continue to be appalled because I rarely hear people like you in real life; you all at least have the common sense to know that if you acted like this in public, you'd be hauled away.
By the way, the only scoring you righties do is with your right hand or, on a good day, a hapless farm animal.
Who was the better president - Bush or Clinton?
Bush - Harper methods of control, same strategy team, etc.
Clinton: I watched him in an interview last year and his advisors and staff and cabinet were all picked for their different points of view. He felt debate and discussion on issues was healthy and he said better solutions come from this exercise.
Hmmm...
How's that grassroots fundraising going? Kinda sucks not getting the corporate and gov't kickbacks like when you were in power, doesn't it?
I can't wait to see the new batch, of "mean, harsh, scary" anti-Harper ads you've got ready to put on YouTube.
And now supporting Elizabeth May over a Liberal to run in Peter McKay's riding.
I cannot wait until the next election. The Liberals are toast.
Hopefully they can provide 'moral leadership' on a number of issues. You know, say you'll do something, then do absolutely nothing towards it. But the 'saying' is more important than 'doing', according to Liberal-speak. Why is that?
Well now, check out the Decima poll - Cons 32, Lib 30 but most importantly Ontario and Quebec.
The Liberals are hardly tanking. Harper hardly making great gains.
anon 2:08. Gotta a link to that?
ti-guy, your reply was
AWE
SOME!!!!!
I haven't seen such a witty, pithy, insightful, and intelligent reply since Grade One recess. Well, I hope you enjoy Grade Two in a couple of years.
Thank you. Now shut up, like I told you.
...Or say something much stupider; I'm getting bored.
Say what you will about the Liberals, but at least they have something to argue about and that it is accepted to do so. Who bothered to point out that Stockwell Day ruined the Alliance party or that they really stood for nothing when the CPC finally got their act together and had their leadership race? No one, because it was excrutiatingly obvious that Day was a wanker and that the party really had no history to debate. The best the candidates could do was tease Belinda because they had nothing else to talk about.
I don't see how it's a bad thing to disagree and call other party members on their shit. It's the only way a party can move on and cull the weak from the herd, as opposed to the BS that Harper has been pulling with his people. Besides, I wanna hear what Uncle Myron's got to say about them 'queers'!
Hey, Hapless Fucks on the "Right":
The newest poll has the Libs around 40% in Ontario, with the Cons stalled and possibly tanking.
Putting that into imagery you can easily relate to, that would be Dion sliding a raw two-by-four up Harper's fat ass.
Gloat about that, cretins.
Oh, and I love Alfred's paranoid musings about the laughably named "Toronto 17", those kids arrested for playing with blasting caps in somebody's back-yard. They have yet to be tried, and there's a ban on the publication of evidence, but Al has already convicted them (he was probably right about Maher Arar, too). Al even gets all graphic about it. He talks about "bombs on Toronto streets".
"Yes. Bombs. On Toronto streets. We're not kidding".
Wait for the trial before cracking out the rope, jackass.
No signs of intelligent life forms here.
Shut up, stupid.
Shut up some more, stupid.
2x4 up the butt? Shakespearian writing quality.
Cursing, sign of an expanded vocabulary. Or a frustrated debate loser.
It's pretty obvious that Dion will be cannibalised very shortly; the only question the backroom boys have is 'how soon to do it? the election is right around the corner . . . '
I've got my popcorn and beer ready for the show (Thanks again for that cheque, PM Harper!)
"No signs of intelligent life forms here".
...proof that the odd neocon can be fairly self-aware.
"Cursing, sign of an expanded vocabulary. Or a frustrated debate loser".
And sentence fragments might be the signs of an illiterate.
Thanks for your "Shakespearian"
post, jackass.
"Jackass" sounds too authentic. Miss Priss Anonymous 6:30 was just being an irrelevant, long-winded, banal little scold.
Righties: brains in neutral, tongues hinged in the middle. Adept at fellatio (just ask Big Daddy Harper), but otherwise, a complete waste of time.
"...proof that the odd neocon can be fairly self-aware."
"And sentence fragments might be the signs of an illiterate."
But clearly, you aren't self-aware of your own sentence fragments. Illiterate, indeed.
Learn what a sentence fragment is before you attempt to identify one, jackass.
SIB,
Are you going to pick the flysh!t out of all the pepper here? No wait, on this site it's more appropriate to try to pick the pepper out of the flysht!
Take your sentence fragments and ride out on your high horse!
I'm sure you'll respond with another 'Jackass', as that seems to be how you end your posts. Or is that your signature?
Post a Comment