Plastic wading pool is liberal response t G-8 pavilion.

It appears that fake lakes are springing up all over Canada. First the 1.9 million dollar Muskoka Lake look-alike in the Toronto G-8 pavilion. The simulated lake was created to maximize the experience of reporters who couldn’t make it to Huntsville, Ontario. Liberals, not to be outdone have responded with a faux lake of their own. Their’s ringing in at less than $20.

The difference? While Harper’s display includes cityscapes meant to highlight our economic success as a nation, a bar and a serene backdrop for all-important telecasts Ignatieff’s version is a little less extravagant. It’s made up of a blue plastic children’s wading pool in the Liberal leader’s front yard. The $20 dollar lake comes complete with a “No Diving” sign and life vests for anyone hoping to take a dip in the 3-inch deep water.
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Depends on the tune - Photo Credit: Global News

HCBAX9NPSJB8 It is a truism that the Conservative’s base votes. When it comes to the nitty gritty hardship of going all the way to that local community building and making an X, the core supporters of said party are never apathetic (except arguably about what the Conservatives are doing).

The base on the Left? What base on the left? There may be a few who remember the union-championing roots of the NDP and never sway from supporting said party. There are certainly some environmental activists who swear to vote Green all Green and nothing but Green so help them Mother Earth. What is the Liberal core, and really how can either of the other two (the Greens are actually rather right when it comes to social policy but we’ll play the perception here) ever expect to match the one recognized haven for the socially conservative vote, especially given that despite enacted policy the Conservative Party also manages to cling to the illusion of fiscal conservativism?
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Photo Credit: The Canadian Cave of Coolness

Recent elections and polling indicate that two great Canadian federal parties, the Liberals and the NDP, are in real trouble and could continue to face irrelevance or even extinction in future elections. These are the parties of titans like Laurier, J.S. Woodsworth, Tommy Douglas, Pearson, and Trudeau, whose names reverberate throughout Canadian history.

Is it now time for an old and little known political idea to be revisited? Should the Liberals and the NDP consider some form of partnership? Having endured numerous unsuccessful election results, the Progressive Conservatives and various conservative splinter groups successfully entertained the thought of union, creating the Conservative Party at the federal level. Would the same type of marriage work for Liberals and the NDP?

The marriage between the Progressive Conservative and the Reform political parties was like a marriage between a wolf and a domesticated dog. They share a common evolutionary history, although there has been recent branching off from the evolutionary tree. Whatever differences that do exist, they are still genetically similar enough that they can produce progeny and get along reasonably well. Thus, the marriage of the two parties could and did occur. This union, which resulted in the Conservative Party, required a lot of compromise and effort, but a relatively happy marriage ensued.
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The yellow-bellied turtle

On December 30th, two weeks after the House of Commons ended its last sitting of 2009, the Conservatives presented themselves with a belated Christmas gift, unexpectedly proroguing Parliament until March 3rd. It was to resume sitting on January 25th. As a result, the House of Commons will be vacant for nearly three months. The Conservatives assert that this is to allow them time to consult with Canadians, particularly regarding their economic action plan, before releasing their budget on March 4th. Is this what hockey fans would call “a turtle”, or is it a brilliant strategic move that once again demonstrates the Conservatives’ ability to outfox the Liberals?

Most Canadians have seen a few hockey fights. First there’s some verbal sparring, maybe some shoving, and then two guys go at it, sometimes by prior arrangement. It’s a good way to vent frustrations and stir up the crowd. Other times, a player is a pest or has done something that deserves some retribution. In this case, when the first punch is thrown the guy on the receiving end (the pest) refuses to fight back, unwilling to take the thumping he might richly deserve. He won’t put his money where is mouth is and either skates away or falls cowering to the ice, gloved hands covering his head – he is a turtle. The net result is that someone who deserved some payback doesn’t actually get much of it, and his team, in fact, gains an advantage.
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As parliament nears its end for the current session, some reflection on the most recent sitting is in order. What better way to start than with the release of today’s EKOS Research poll where we find, yet again, stagnation in voting opinions across the country. The breakdown is as follows with the numbers in brackets indicating the percentage of support from the last federal election: Conservatives- 36.5% (37.65%), Liberals- 26.5% (26.6%), New Democratic Party- 16.7% (18.18%), The Bloc Quebecois (in Quebec only) – 39.8% (38.1%), The Green Party- 11.3% (6.78%) and undecided were in the 14.6% range. These figures show what many political analysts have known for some time, and that is that the electorate is not as volatile as it has been in the past. The biggest change is the rise in support for the Green Party, which jumped almost 6% from the time of the last election. It should be noted that the Green Party always tends to garner more support in a non-election year than it does during an election. The NDP’s numbers are down a bit too, but are actually trending upwards in recent months as a result of their stance on the Harmonized Sales Tax.  All the other numbers are relatively unchanged.  So what does this mean in real terms?
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Former Prime Minister Jean Chretien talks with his communications director Peter Donolo in this June 20, 1999, photo.

I’m sick of the H1N1 plague, Act of God, pandemic, curse, Rumsfeld’s gold, whatever you want to call it. It’s just too stupid for words at this point. I simply can’t believe the media coverage of a simple flu bug that causes less damage than SARS did.

So today I’ve decided to laugh my ass off at poor Peter Donolo, who I’ve had the great pleasure of meeting, is a very nice fellow, and probably just accepted the biggest butt-frigging job a communications guru could take.

It makes me laugh to see how relieved Liberals are at the very mention of Peter’s name, like he was the Messiah or something.

I’ll point out a few facts most Liberals (also known as the 20 something crowd) fail to take into consideration:

1. When Peter was brought in to work for JC, Jean Chretien had the advantage of being about as low in the opinion of Canadians as he could go. Iggy, sorry mate, but you have quite a ways to sink yet before everything that happens is all good.
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When two people in a relationship are the same, one is unnecessary

The reason Mr. Harper maintains a significant lead over Mr. Ignatieff’s Liberals is because there is no significant difference between the two.

- Both of them would have put Canadian soldiers in Iraq, and both of them are saying “Oops” now.
- Both of them think the tar sands should go full speed ahead.
- Neither one of them has a real plan to deal with climate change.
- Both of them seem to have mixed feelings about being Canadian.

If Harper and Ignatieff would both take largely the same direction when in office, then one of them is unnecessary – the one not currently in office.

Canadians might as well go with the devil they know.

On the Iraq war then:

Stephen Harper: In an interview with [Fox News], Harper said he endorsed the war and said he was speaking “for the silent majority” of Canadians. Only in Quebec, with its “pacifist tradition,” are most people opposed to the war, Harper said.

Michael Ignatieff: A year ago, I was a reluctant yet convinced supporter of the war in Iraq.
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Lately the Liberal party of Canada has displayed a funny little characteristic that is eerily similar to the Republicans south of the border: neither of them can stand the idea of not being in power. Obviously all political parties want to be in power, but in the case of the Liberals and Republicans, there seems to be a lack of long-term strategic thinking that might one day lead them to a solid majority representation. Instead, they seem to be fighting tooth and nail for immediate leadership, and are using dirty tactics to do so. The Republicans wrote the book on dirty modern political tactics, but the Liberals have seemed eerily sneaky as well.

The Liberals, after the sponsorship scandal which helped sweep Harper into power, should have seen that period as an opportunity to reorganize and develop a long-term game plan that would one day deliver them a majority government once again. Instead, the last few years have seen them consistently lose elections, swap leaders, sign a coalition agreement under Stephen Dion, elect Michael Ignatieff when Dion was sliding in the polls, and now they have tabled a non-confidence motion that is likely to fail this week. This doesn’t seem like a party focused on its future; rather, it seems like a party intent on gaining immediate control while gambling away future prospects. They seem unwilling to wear the ‘Opposition’ title and are trying desperately to climb back into that more familiar ‘Government’ role.
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So Denis Coderre is the latest casualty in the internecine wars between the Chretien and Martin camps. Apparently the Martinites have come out ahead again despite the party faithful’s best efforts to circumvent both camps by electing Stephane Dion at the last real leadership convention. Alas, Stephane just couldn’t get it together and is rumoured to be contemplating a quiet withdrawal from the ongoing Liberal knife fight – now that his campaign debts are likely paid off.

What oh what are generations of loyal grass roots Liberals to do?

Iggy is floundering like a professor out of college. The Quebec wing is in theatric disarray and there isn’t a safe Liberal seat west of Barrie.
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It appears that Michael Ignatieff is doing what Liberals do best. Threatening to bring down the government if they don’t get their way. Usually, this bravado is backed up with all the power and force of a yelping chihuahua. Rather annoying and not meaning much. This isn’t too harsh a description. Two years of Stephane Dion’s less than stellar turn at the Liberal leadership left many Canadians with that impression.

No. No. Mister Harper. Back our initiatives or we will bring down this government
(re: green shift – carbon tax). Then, nothing.

No. No. Mister Harper. We cannot support this government. (re: extension of Canadian troops in Afghanistan past February 2009) Then, nothing.

And again. No. No. Mister Harper… that just won’t do. (re: Conservative budget – Feb 2008) And again… nothing.
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