Who Are The Senate's Tory Rebels

...who are resisiting the gov.'s efforts at Senate Reform?

I have compiled a partial list here. Furthermore, given his remarks on the radio yesterday (he said of Bert Brown, composer of the infamous Tory Senator's oath of loyalty, that the man was off his meds), and his earlier remarks here, I think we can add...wait for it...Mike Duffy to the list! So: the dirty half-dozen! In fact, from this it sounds like Pamela Wallin has gone a wee bit squishy, if she has not always been squishy and I just didn't notice. And this just confirms Jacques Demers general squishiness, which has been an obvious, long-term condition for him.

PS. I am off to the nation's capital with the wife to do some shopping and museum going over the weekend, so this may be it for today. I am scheduling a "media availability", probably for Sunday afternoon, but if non-media want to meet somewhere and just hoist a few pints, drop me an email and we'll see what can be arranged.

The Semiotics Of Stanley The Cat: A Few Notes

1) For all his "regular guy" posings, the PM treats these casual photo ops very seriously.  In this picture, all his familiar tropes appear:  staplers, folders, papers--the guy works hard, just not on one of them new-fangled computer thingies (and actually, given his age, the PM's formative work experiences would have been PC free, so...nostalgia?).  What I find interesting is the (cheap?) print of John A. over his right shoulder, which evokes the old campaign poster: The old flag.  The old policy.  The old leader.  Thus far, Harper has steered away from invoking the ghosts of Tories past, and its actually served him well. In contrast, where has the LPoC's "Party of Laurier" stuff got them lately?  Its interesting that the PM should make those gestures now, and who he should choose.  Although perhaps not surprising: name a Tory Prime Minister other than Mulroney, and you wouldn't use Mulroney for obvious reasons.

2) That cat is dead, IMHO, and has been stuffed.  A real cat would never look that stiff. Unless its been hanging around with the PM for awhile.  So who knows?  If I'm wrong give it six months and Stanley will wind up in the Senate.  Because breathing is a necessary qualification for being a Tory Senator.  I think.  Although I wasn't getting too many indications from sentience out of David Tkachuk the other night.

Picture is from here.

Harper And The Senate: The People Have Spoken

Last month, Prime Minister Stephen Harper appointed five people to the Senate. Two thirds of Canadians (65%) think Harper is being hypocritical by appointing new senators while at the same time calling for Senate reform. A third of respondents (35%) disagree.

[...]

Except for Alberta, a majority of respondents in all provinces say Prime Minister Harper is being hypocritical for appointing new senators.

Vision Critical is connected with Angus Reid, so I would assume the methodology is decent enough.

Demers Might Bail After Two Years?

I like and admire Jacque Demers. But the notion that you might bail out of your Senate seat after just 24 months if things don't go your way seems more than a little bizarre to me. Seems he's taking the whole appointment-to-the-upper-chamber thing rather lightly.

The Senate Gets More Jiggly

Former NS Premier Rodney MacDonald may be heading to the Senate, and I've been wanting to find a way to re-use this clip of Mr. MacDonald on a trampoline.

Bitch Bitch Bitch

From Guy Lauzon:

In June, by a 38-33 vote, Michael Ignatieff's Liberals voted to delay crucial Conservative legislation (Bill C-15) that would crack down on drug crime and on the criminal gangs that profit from illegal drugs. The Ignatieff Liberals also voted to block a vital law that would crack down on auto theft (Bill C-26). Michael Ignatieff and his Liberals continue to use the Senate to oppose and obstruct the tough new laws. The Liberals are using unelected Senators to block the will of the House of Commons and to ignore the needs of law-abiding Canadians. Enough is enough. We cannot let Michael Ignatieff and Liberal Party use the unelected Senate to stop legislation that is urgently needed to protect the safety and security of Canadians.

Actually, the June vote was in the Senate (Iggy and Co. supported C-15 in the House), and since its barely been a month since the Bills in question arrived, you can hardly blame the Senators for exercising their sober second thoughts.

In any case, it does look like the Liberals are tilting right in the HOC, and displaying common-sense in the back rooms. Too bad they can't do it in public.

Tories Phone One In

OTTAWA -- The Conservatives are giving Senate reform a third try. The federal government plans to table legislation in the Senate Tuesday that will limit a senator's term to eight years, Sun Media has learned.

Another Tory bill to reform the Senate introduced into a Liberal dominated Senate. Given the latest gun registry stuff, this appears to be the Tories modus operandi when they want to introduce legislation they know is doomed to failure. The lack of cheering you hear from the right side of the blogosphere is the sound of people (Tory hardcores esp.) catching on.

And as for the last bit:

This time, Tories are confident their Senate reform bills will pass because the "institutional resistance" they have faced from Senate Liberals will be replaced next year by an appointed Conservative majority.

Well, its false. The Libs lose their majority next year. The Tories don't get one for another couple of years (2011, I think), so Senate Reform is a non-starter for quite awhile yet.

Wonder if this is a matter of the MSM just getting it wrong or Tory sources feeding them crap in the hopes that their political base is similarly fooled when they read it in the paper.

In any case, my guess would be that, come 2011 or whenever and a Tory Senate majority, Harper and Co. find a reason to support the status quo. They've swallowed their principles often enough to assume it will happen again.

My Big Fat Rogue Senator

Invited to give the keynote speech at the first luncheon at the Ontario Trucking Association's annual convention, veteran CTV journalist Mike Duffy revealed that his sources in Ottawa don't think slashing the tax is a priority for the minority government -- and he said all this before the ill-advised coup attempt by the NDP-Liberal-Bloc coalition and the Parliamentary turmoil that followed.

I guess, once seated, there's nothing you can do to get rid of these people, right? Plus, with this guy and Puffy in place, is the Senate ready to become Party Central?

Imagine Mike Duffy dancing naked to Mancini's Tequila. Now try to make the images go away.

Who Said That?

A senate chair should be occupied by someone with a democratic mandate, and Canadians should be able to mark their ballot for their Senator, as well as for their MP. We need a ballot with senators' names, and seats with senators that have been elected. Under a Conservative government, Canadians will choose who sits in this chair. In the 21st century, those who want to sit in the parliament of a democratic state should have a mandate from the people.The Prime Minister currently holds a virtually free hand in the selection of Senators. As Prime Minister I will use that power to establish a federal process for electing senators.

Probably the same guy who said this:

"In Canada, Senators remain appointed, not elected," he said. "They don't have to retire until age 75, and may warm their seats for as long as 45 years. By the nature of the system, they're not accountable to voters."

Lets be clear: Harper has the perfect right to stuff the Senate with cronies. Its the Canadian way. One might even argue that the integrity of the institution demands these appointments be made.

However, they are most accurately viewed as signalling the inevitable process by which a political party or movement sheds its Idealism in the face of hard reality. Where once the CPoC could argue that there was a clear moral distinction between them and the Liberals, now they can merely argue that there is a barely perceptible moral distinction between them and the Liberals. In three months, they will be arguing that their latest scandal isn't as bad as Adscam was. In six months...well, everybody count the spoons on Parliament Hill.

(PS. I'm hoping Harper does what so many people have tried to do for so many years-- get Puffy off the air-waves. For one thing, that would literalize the "stuffing" metaphor. Would they be forced to give him two Senate seats, a la the major airlines?)

H/t Ted.

And It Will Die In The Senate

Frances Russel of The Winnipeg Free Press has a nice precis of the Lib strategy this Fall:

[The Federal Liberals] will not defeat Harper on the throne speech. They will wait for a defining issue that plays to their core strength -- and stay in sync with the majority of Canadians who oppose an immediate election and want minority government to work.

Back to the ole Rope-A-Dope for Dion and Co., in other words. Not a lot of fun, but fairly sound strategy. And remember, the Senate is our secret weapon. No matter what passes the House, it can lay there in the upper chamber like a beached whale, helpless under the weight of political ennui, to be finally speared through the brain at night when nobody is watching.

Worked great during the first session.

Then Make It Vanish

From CBC:

If his government's efforts to reform the Senate are stymied, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Tuesday, the upper chamber should be abolished.

As an Ontarian and a city-dweller, there's nothing in a Triple-E Senate for me. Given the various deviations from rep. by pop. that already dilute my vote in favor of rural ridings, why would I want to see MORE power shifted West and into the hills? So bring it on, Stevie, bring it on.

Except that, of course, abolishing the Senate as much as reforming it would require a constitutional amendment and the consent of all ten provinces, so that's not a go either. If the country is still here, the Senate will still be here, and in its current form, the day our sun goes supernova.

(And of course Harper's plan for an elected Senate is a crock)

Conservative Senators Off One Of Their Own?

Rumour has it that Liberal turned Tory Anne Cools has been

...removed from caucus for several reasons including not supporting the budget and failing to attend a caucus meeting since October 2006.

I've seen nothing on this in the MSM yet, so I suppose it must remain a rumor. Given her history, I wonder if the Libs will want her back?

Update: One of my buds at Free Dominion says Harper mentioned that Cools was no longer in his caucus at his press conference yesterday. Still no word in the papers etc., however.