Liberals Are WAAAAAAAY Smarter!!!

I stand corrected. My post yesterday appears to be wrong....The Globe and Mail has other thoughts.


Stéphane Dion plays it smart

Globe and Mail Editorial

February 28, 2008 at 6:42 AM EST

The critics are lining up to take aim at Stéphane Dion's refusal to bring down the Conservative government over its budget. Pundits suggest the Liberal Leader is hypocritical for allowing a plan he called "one mile wide and one inch deep" to pass. Members of his caucus fret that he is sapping their party's credibility. There are whispers that he is weak, even cowardly. Mr. Dion has deserved much of the criticism he has received over his 15 months as leader. But not this time. Not only did he make the right decision, but he made it in a manner that suggests a word not usually associated with Mr. Dion -- leadership.

On what pretense could the Liberals have forced an election on this budget? It is true that Finance Minister Jim Flaherty was compelled by his own overreaching tax cuts last fall to deliver a thin document. But with the government forecasting a decline in revenues, there is little different the Liberals could have offered. As Mr. Dion has been eager to point out, what new spending Mr. Flaherty managed was directed largely toward Liberal priorities such as infrastructure and research and development.

The biggest difference of opinion between the two parties is over how to spend this year's surplus. Mr. Dion would have put more money toward infrastructure and less toward debt repayment. But that isn't an issue to run a campaign on. Besides, it would be too late to assign that money to anything other than the debt by the time the Liberals took office.

To some Liberals, deputy leader Michael Ignatieff reportedly among them, it doesn't matter that the budget is relatively inoffensive; they believe it's simply time for an election. But Canadians apparently beg to differ. There is no strong sense of dissatisfaction with this government, no pressing issue on which the parties are at an impasse and no burning desire for change. Polls suggest an election would produce a Parliament closely resembling the current one, with the Tories maintaining minority power.

A delayed election plays to the Liberals' advantage, and not just because an economic downturn could sour voters on the Tories. Novice opposition leaders usually have about three years from the leadership convention to their first election, and even then are often ill-prepared. Mr. Dion has had much less time, and it shows. The Liberals' policy, their organization and his own communication skills are not election-ready. It may be that no time will be enough, but each passing day can only help.

Mr. Dion's immediate reaction to the budget, in fact, suggests he is improving. In the past, he might have vacillated for days. By announcing his decision just minutes after Mr. Flaherty had finished speaking, he appeared decisive. And for a leader sometimes accused of stubbornness, reports that senior caucus members swayed him from his initial inclination to bring down the government are encouraging. Perhaps he is learning.

Most Canadians will only really start paying close attention to Mr. Dion once the writ is dropped. By choosing that time to his party's best advantage, the Liberal Leader is giving himself a fighting chance.

Thank God We're Not Having an Election

At least that's what Harper is saying.

Cause shit like this would just be something us Liberals wouldn't know what to do with. Right up there with the economy, the environment, Afghanistan, firing the nuclear chair, Mulroney, Bernier, etc, etc.

Unbelievable. Simply unbelievable. Still my head shakes.

UPDATE: Of course CTV doesn't have a story on this.

Deborah Coyne Steps Aside

That's too bad. I would love to see her in Ottawa.

Of course, Rob Oliphant is a solid Liberal. And, the party owes him for stepping aside for The Bob Rae.


Here's Deb's note:

Dear friends,

Since entering the race for the Liberal nomination in Don Valley West, I have visited hundreds of people in all areas of this great riding. Don Valley West reflects so much of what makes Canada great. Our growing diversity, our huge pool of human talent from all over the globe: surely these are our greatest strengths as a nation and they are best defended by a Liberal MP.

It is crucial that Don Valley West return a Liberal to Ottawa in the next federal election.

With this in mind, I have decided that my campaign has run its course. I have withdrawn my candidacy and have decided that Rob Oliphant is the right person to win the next election, serve the diverse communities of Don Valley West, and build on the work of John Godfrey as a distinguished Member of Parliament.

Thank you for you support,

Deborah Coyne

Liberals Turtle Again...And I Have No Clue

And, the What Do I Know Grit is beside himself. I have no idea what happened to the close to 5,000 Liberal members that attended something we called "a leadership convention" in Montreal, December 2006.

I have no idea what became of the Red Ribbon Task Force. I have no idea what became of the Council of Presidents. I have no idea what became of the Dion Leadership Team and why they have become insignificant peons to the leader and banished to the wilderness - as if to say "you're guilty of some crime". I have no idea why the leader has allowed himself to be dictated to by the same old, same old that we announced to the world we were done with back in Montreal.

I have no clue as to who is really running this party. I have no suggestion as to who is making suggestions to the leader. Most of all, I have no idea why the leader, his brain trust and his MPs have chosen not to have an election to eliminate the most ridiculous excuse for a government since the last term of the Mulroney days.

As I sit here and listen to Peter MacKay, Bev Oda and the saddest excuse for a minister that resembles Maxime Bernier, hold a press conference about Afghanistan and tell us how great the progress is in that country, I can't help but continue to shake my head.

Whatever the game is up in the Liberal caucus room, the troops here on the ground are baffled and mystified. And, as the MSM states, this party, this leader and this country are in peril.

Isn't there something about a biennial convention this year??

Dion's Double-Edged Budget Vote

Now that most of Stephane's leadership team have been banished to the wilderness, my thoughts are focused today on whether or not Mr. Dion sticks to his own instincts and pulls the plug on this rancid Conservative Government.

My guess is that his current advisers - or as CTV refers to them, the Rae Team - is imploring him not to. How a strong position for Liberals on Afghanistan, the economy, the environment and the poor has faded so quickly in 2 weeks is beyond me.

Extending the Afghan mission is one thing. Not having an exit strategy is quite another. Add that to Harper's finance team adding every little past Liberal non-perk into the budget today -like a billion to infrastructure-, and, voila, no election.

So the leaderless ground troops get to hurry up and wait yet again. And the leader gets to be called every derogatory synonym for "wimp" that there is for a further year-and-a-half.

The Dion I voted for at leadership was a man of conviction. True to his thoughts. If that man shows up this week and opposes the Harperites, I would be more than happy to go to battle by his side. That's the man I came to admire. That's the man I chose to end Mr. Harper's unruly rule. That's the next Prime Minister of Canada!!!

To Arms! TO ARMS!

Nanos Poll Says we're Even Steven

Today Nik Nanos released his latest poll. Here it is:


Federal Deadlock Continues / Key Ballot Drivers


Our latest tracking shows the Conservatives and the Liberals continue to be gripped in a deadlock. Support for the NDP has dropped 5 points nationally in the past 16 days while the Conservatives are up 3 points (within the Margin of Accuracy).

In order to understand what was driving the vote every committed voter was asked why they had a particular vote preference.

Conservatives were more likely to be driven by policies and job performance, the Liberals by a belief they were the best option and party policies/platform and the NDP by policies/platform and a belief they care for the average/working person.

Support for the Bloc was based on their standing up for Quebec/French and the belief they are the best choice. Green Party support was driven by their environmental credentials and policies/platform.




Methodology
Polling between February 16th and February 20th, 2008. (Random Telephone Survey of 1,001 Canadians, 18 years of age and older). The Nanos Research Survey of 1,001 Canadians is accurate to within 3.1 percentage points, plus or minus, 19 times out of 20. The subset of committed voters is accurate to within 3.3 percentage points, plus or minus, 19 times out of 20.


Question: For those parties you would consider voting for federally, could you please rank your top two current local preferences? (Committed Voters Only - First Choice)

The numbers in parenthesis denotes the change from the previous Nanos Research Survey completed on February 4th, 2008.

Canada (N=878, MoE ± 3.3%, 19 times out of 20)
Liberal Party 34% (+1)
Conservative Party 34% (+3)
NDP 14% (-5)
BQ 10% (NC)
Green Party 8% (NC)

Question: Why is ______ your first choice?
Liberal supporters:
1. The best choice (20.8%)
2. Good policies/Platform (19.4%)
3. Tradition/Always voted for them (19.0%)

Conservative supporters:
1. Good policies/Platform (27.0%)
2. Doing a good job (18.8%)
3. The best choice (13.1%)

NDP supporters:
1. Good policies/Platform (26.7%)
2. Care about the average/working person (20.0%)
3. The best choice (18.3%)

Bloc supporters:
1. Stand up for Quebec/French (37.6%)
2. The best choice (18.8%)
3. Am a separatist (15.3%)

Green supporters:
1. Best for the environment (52.9%)
2. Good policies/Platform (20.0%)
3. Deserve a chance (11.4%)

The detailed tables with the regional sub-tabs and methodology are posted on our website at: http://www.nanosresearch.com.

Feel free to forward this e-mail. Any use of the poll should identify the source as the latest "Nanos Poll."

The Troops will be in Afghanistan Forever

Notice how the Government's new Liberal-inspired motion on Afghanistan states that Canadian Troops will be out of Kandahar by July 2011?

My question is: When do the troops leave Afghanistan for good?

Roy Cullen Steps Down

Here's a brief bio.

Rumour is the party has already appointed a stellar female candidate.

Houston We Have an Obama

Listening to Mr. Obama tonight while he spoke in Houston, I couldn't help but think, where have I heard this before? Anyway, the man is on a roll and the mojo is hard to stop. Hillary's got a big hill to climb.

Lead us to Victory Oh Great One

Yes Mr. Chretien, we are ready.