Note To Green Party Supporters

...as your party self-immolates, please consider supporting Michael Ignatieff in the upcoming Federal election. It is an unpalatable truth that the Alberta tar sands cannot simply be shut down or wished away, only managed in a fashion more responsible than is currently the case. And, as the NDP proved in the last Federal and B.C. Provincial elections, they are too beholden to their Union base to push for the kinds of measures necessary to green our automobile, lumber and etc. industries.

And as for Mr. Hertzog, who writes

In attempting to be just like all the other parties in the belief that this will get a single Green MP elected, the Green Party of Canada has thrown out its principles in its bid for power.

...well, principles are lovely in the abstract but under the circumstances this is nothing more than the expression of a political death wish. Without Elizabeth May the federal Green Party is nothing, and if the federal Green Party itself is a factor in her failing to gain a seat in the HOC next election, then the Green Party will lose Elizabeth May. You people will be back to raising money by holding salmon bakes and selling mushrooms, less a political party than a cult of aging hippies running around the gulf islands in Jesus robes and eating roots and berries. D'you want that?

PS. I think she should have run here, by the way. I could see May easily adding another 10% to Nagy's total.

File Under: Politics Is Weird And Scuzzy

Did Liberals hijack the federal Green Party in Mississauga?

This is, I suppose, pretty "inside baseball" type stuff, and no names are given so everything remains a bit cryptic. The money passage:

In 2007 the Green Party of Canada in Mississauga Streetsville (MS GPC) was infiltrated by a group of people who not only were not Green but had one stated objective – to embarrass Wajid Khan. With sufficient numbers and the same old sleazy back room crap that the liberal party is always doing (check out their current leadership “issues”) they managed to get elected. Their agenda was to take over the electoral district association, and highjack the money the GPC Ottawa sent to the local EDA.

Apparently, the Lib infiltrators have been cleaned out and Mississauga's Green Party is back to being purely green. I guess that coalition didn't turn out too well either.

A good example of why I avoid riding-level politics.

Flaherty Stiffs The Green Party

...among others:

Under the new proposal [to cut party budgets], this is how much the parties stand to lose:

Conservatives: $10 million
Liberals: $7.7 million
NDP: $4.9 million
Bloc Quebecois: $2.6 million
Green Party: $1.8 million

A burgeoning political organization like the Green Party depends heavily on taxpayers' money. Green Party Leader Elizabeth May was able to greatly increase her profile in the recent election through cross-country advertising.

It's unclear how the Greens would be able to stage an effective campaign without that money, especially since they were unable to elect a single MP to Parliament.

I'm not quite sure how worried to be about this. I don't really follow the procedural niceties of parliament, but one of CG's commentors writes:

An economic update that would require changes to legislation?

It's hot air. Can't go forward without a ways & means motion, can't go forward without passing the senate.

And if this is really the case, if the move is "merely symbolic", then frankly I don't see it as being particularly clever symbolism either. I can already hear the cries of "Its an attack on our culture!" in Quebec, and you can make the case that it is a raw and ugly attempt to kill the environmental movement in the ROC.

It should also be pretty obvious to everyone that its an attempt to turn the channel on a possible 46 Billion dollar deficit, though it will do absolutely nothing to stem the red ink tide. Opportunism this rank is never good politics.

A Historical Precedent For Elizabeth May?

His name was Gordon Wilson.

I actually agree that this all might work out in Stephen Harper's favor. But... give the Greens a couple of seats and the party acquires the ability to pick candidates that aren't loony. It gives them funding, and all the accouterments of a real political party, instead of resembling a gang of lost hippies who raise money by holding salmon bakes.

So bad for the Liberal party, maybe, but good for the country.

Blogger Takes Campaign's First Head!

This appears to have caused this. Congratulations Mr. Jago. I myself aim aiming to take down a cabinet minister before the campaign's over.

PS. I was going to use "scalp" in the title but figured Robert, a "card carrying American Indian", might get bitchy.

PPS. Is the Green Party going to have this problem a lot? They seem to have had a number of "weirdo candidate" issues.

Liberal Green Alliance Pays Off For Liberals

NDP Leader Jack Layton's opposition to a carbon tax shows he's more interested in hurting the Liberals than helping the environment, says Green Party Leader Elizabeth May.

At last, someone to speak the obvious truths!

Strategic Counsel Speaks, Says "Statistical Dead Heat"

First, the important numbers:

The new poll of 1,000 Canadians, taken between Dec. 6 and 9, shows the Conservatives have the support of 32 per cent, still three points ahead of the Liberals, at 29. The NDP remained at 16 per cent, ahead of the Greens, but not growing.

Compared to SC's previous version, done in November, the Tories and Liberals are both down two points. Unfortunately, the new Liberal normal seems to be below 30%, which I find disturbing.

The big news is of course the Green Party's 13%, an historic high for them, and a support level the pollsters interviewed are beginning to think may hold come election day. If you're wondering why Dion is in Bali, I suspect it is a laudable attempt to shore up his green creds in the face of this leakage.

In Quebec:

...the Conservatives fell seven points to 18, behind the Liberals at 20 per cent, and the Bloc Québécois at 40.

Thank you, Brian Mulroney!

Go Green, Bill Casey!

From hfxnews:

After being unable to woo former Conservative now Liberal MP Garth Turner to join the Green Party fold earlier this year, May said Tuesday she's a big fan of the Cumberland-Colchester-Musquodoboit Valley MP and his stance against his former party.

Let me just recycle something I wrote last year about Garth Turner, but with the name "Bill Casey" subbed in for Garth:

Casey's joining The Green Party would constitute a historical moment in Canadian politics. Polling at about 10%, the Greens still do not have a seat in parliament and, given the de-centralized nature of their support, will be hard pressed to win one in the next Federal election, especially since Elizabeth May will probably not have a place on stage during the leadership debates. However, if Mr. Casey joins up, his seat comes along with him, and when an election is called Elizabeth gets her crack at addressing a national audience with the other contenders.

If you doubt how much influence a single good debate performance can have, remember the B.C. Liberals of the early 1990s'. Gorden Wilson's performance in the 1991 CBC debate propelled the Libs from zero seats in the legislature to Official Opposition status. Elizabeth May has been quite impressive in her televised appearances, and giving a good account of herself in the debates could be the shot that realigns Canadian politics.

And realigns it in God knows what manner? Many Tories would apparently pick the Green Party as their second choice in an election. Surely the NDP could lose support to the Greens. And I would not be surprised if a good portion of Liberal supporters would be happy to embrace a Left-wing party not so enamored with the Working Class Hero bullshit of the New Democrats.

In short, Bill Casey has a chance to to something of historic significance. I hope he takes it.

Former Green Party Campaign Manager Adds Michael Geist To The List, Is Now Suing Entire Internet

Wayne Crookes is a former organizer for the Green Party of Canada, and so litigious he makes Warren Kinsella look unflappable. Michael Geist is one of Canada's foremost experts on all things Internet (and an excellent speaker). Crookes suit against Geist, according to the latter, concerns:

...an allegedly defamatory third party comment on my site that I took down and for writing about, and linking to, P2PNet.net, which in turn linked to another site that allegedly contained a defamatory posting. In other words, I'm reportedly being sued for maintaining a blogroll that links to a site that links to a site that contains some allegedly defamatory third party comments.

I am frankly at a loss for words. Some things are so stupid as to be beyond even my ability to ridicule them