Liberals Preparing For A Summer Election

[Machjo]

By the way, though I've bnever voted Conservative yet, I can think of a few members of the Conservative Party I would consider voting for if they were in my riding. And I think this is what helps keep candidates independent from their parties, when they know that some of us vote for the candidate according to his character and not blindly for the brand name he's wearing on his lapel.

 

[JLM]

I'm smart enough to know that neither party has been all that great for Canada. Liberals are no better than Conservatives; I am smart enough to know that. Apparently you aren't. So go ahead, play partisan politics, I don't really care. The country's just as screwed with one as the other.

Yep, they are all tarred with the same brush.

 

[Kakato]

I should run for PM,no handouts for anyone,no partisan politics and just get this country running again economically,I hate all lobby groups equally,I would make a good PM.

Fuc* the oilpatch and other energy industries,I know what they make for profit and what they can give up for exploration rights.

 

[JLM]

I should run for PM,no handouts for anyone,no partisan politics and just get this country running again economically,I hate all lobby groups equally,I would make a good PM.

Fuc* the oilpatch and other energy industries,I know what they make for profit and what they can give up for exploration rights.

Funny- I was thinking similar thoughts today. My first platform would be not spending money I don't have.

 

[Ron in Regina]

Gilles say's he's voting against the Conservatives in a Confidence vote....
Jack say's he's voting against the Conservatives in a Confidence vote....
Iggy is still pondering...weighing...measuring...ect...and the clock ticks....

Less than twelve hours 'till he's committed to actually committing himself
to anything at all, one way or another. That will be interesting all by itself.

Seventy plus Liberal votes with the Conservatives on Confidence votes
in the very recent past since Harper has been PM...

Will there be a whole lot of MP's out "ill" on Monday? Will it be blamed on
the N1H1 (Politician?) Flu??? Four Elections in Five years????????

Will there be an election in seven weeks? Will the Bloc make the
Conservatives look like amateurs in the coming weeks when it
comes to attack adds against the Liberals in Quebec?????

I don't think anything is going to happen. Quietly this will
blow away. For at least another year or so....

Gilles, Jack, and Stevie are all calling Iggy's bluff on
the Report Card issue. The clock is ticking away.
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[SirJosephPorter]

Party affiliation is just that, a brand name. Some truly incompetent candidates become MPs simply owing to the brand name they sported.

That is how it works in a Parliamentary system. Like it or not, it is the political party that forms the government, and an independent MP, no matter how good and how capable he is, has very little chance of accomplishing anything on his own in the Parliament.

It is different in USA; there it makes sense to vote for the best candidate. However, in Canada it makes sense to vote for the best party.

Many countries in Europe have proportional representation. There the candidate is relegated to an even more minor status, the party is even more important there than in a Parliamentary system.

Different systems work differently and it is important to tailor one’s voting practices to suit the system.

 

[pegger]

Gilles say's he's voting against the Conservatives in a Confidence vote....
Jack say's he's voting against the Conservatives in a Confidence vote....
Iggy is still pondering...weighing...measuring...ect...and the clock ticks....

Less than twelve hours 'till he's committed to actually committing himself
to anything at all, one way or another. That will be interesting all by itself.

Interesting in that there is someone who is willing to consider his actions before issuing a knee-jerk reaction like Layton's or Duceppe's?

That said - I will be disappointed if we don't go to the polls.

 

[Colpy]

Interesting in that there is someone who is willing to consider his actions before issuing a knee-jerk reaction like Layton's or Duceppe's?

That said - I will be disappointed if we don't go to the polls.

Prepare to be disappointed.

I am not a fan of Saint Ignatieff, but I think he is smart enough to know he would be severely punished for taking us to the polls this soon.........he is NOT Obama.....he does not have that swell of support that would win him a majority....

If we did go to the polls, I predict lowest voter turnout in history.....and another Conservative minority....a smaller one.

 

[pegger]

Oh - I'm prepped for the disappointment.

I think a majority is out for anyone for a while - I just want to see Harper lose some seats - and get booted out of leadership, so the Conservatives can get a leader that is worth voting for.

 

[Colpy]

Oh - I'm prepped for the disappointment.

I think a majority is out for anyone for a while - I just want to see Harper lose some seats - and get booted out of leadership, so the Conservatives can get a leader that is worth voting for.

Any ideas who???

Interesting question.........but I think the leadership belongs to Harper for as long as he wants it.....he united conservatives, and took them to power.

I am a CPC member, but not a Harperite.........

At the same time, I don't see anyone out there set up to replace him...

Baird????

Strahl???? (I'd like that, but he is sick...)

Who?

 

[pegger]

My pick - Prentice. He's got a bit of class, at least, and is not a total moron. Heck - maybe even a former premier like Gary Filmon, or something along those lines.

Although Harper "united" the right - he's morphed it into something unattractive to the swing voter. Part of the reason the bench is so thin for replacement for him.

I wasn't a huge Reformer fan - but I did like the idea of more grassroots control, and more power to the MPs and away for them PMO. Harper has all but destroyed those concepts in his party - in which HIS MPs are not allowed to talk, or only nod and smiled when directed to.

 

[Colpy]

pegger;1108251]My pick - Prentice. He's got a bit of class, at least, and is not a total moron. Heck - maybe even a former premier like Gary Filmon, or something along those lines.

Not bad.....but Harper is far from a moron

Although Harper "united" the right - he's morphed it into something unattractive to the swing voter. Part of the reason the bench is so thin for replacement for him.

That could be.....certainly he does not project a shining personality....but then neither did Jean the Don.....

I wasn't a huge Reformer fan - but I did like the idea of more grassroots control, and more power to the MPs and away for them PMO. Harper has all but destroyed those concepts in his party - in which HIS MPs are not allowed to talk, or only nod and smiled when directed to.

I was a reform member.......largely for the reasons you give........which is why I am not particularly fond of Harper.

But I like the Liberals less.........on foreign policy, on gun control, and just on their view of society. Damn we need to step away from the all-powerful Nanny State ....and the Liberals are in less interested in doing so that the CPC.

As for "those nobodies", what you say about the power of the PMO has been true since at least Mr. Trudeau's time. we elect a dictator for several years...it sucks, but Iggy would be exactly the same.

 

[pegger]

Not bad.....but Harper is far from a moron

Never said he was...I was thinking Flaherty, Baird, etc....

That could be.....certainly he does not project a shining personality....but then neither did Jean the Don.....

Jean was at least entertaining

I was a reform member.......largely for the reasons you give........which is why I am not particularly fond of Harper.

But I like the Liberals less.........on foreign policy, on gun control, and just on their view of society. Damn we need to step away from the all-powerful Nanny State ....and the Liberals are in less interested in doing so that the CPC.

As for "those nobodies", what you say about the power of the PMO has been true since at least Mr. Trudeau's time. we elect a dictator for several years...it sucks, but Iggy would be exactly the same.

Well, there's the crux of problem then isn't it. While I don't want a Nanny State either, I am much more concerned over my democratic rights, and the ability of parliament to function like it should. One of the reason I don't mind the Liberals so much is that Liberals are more apt to criticize each other in public. The only CPC member that I remember doing that was Turner - and he got booted. (Oh, and Casey - who also got booted).

 

[JLM]

Prepare to be disappointed.

I am not a fan of Saint Ignatieff, but I think he is smart enough to know he would be severely punished for taking us to the polls this soon.........he is NOT Obama.....he does not have that swell of support that would win him a majority....

If we did go to the polls, I predict lowest voter turnout in history.....and another Conservative minority....a smaller one.

Yep, engineering an election at this time would be the next worst thing to political suicide. People have other plans in July and August & also I doubt if Canadians have a $300 million appetite right now.

 

[#juan]

I don't think there will be any Summer election. As Ignatieff and the Liberals are getting stronger. They would be foolish to call an election unless they think they would get a majority. A Summer election would end up with an even worse voter turnout than last time. Personally, I would like to have fixed election dates like Harper said but didn't do.

 

[pegger]

Seems we're dancing now....

Looks Like Iggy is trying to throw it back at Harper....

 

[Ron in Regina]

Gilles say's he's voting against the Conservatives in a Confidence vote....
Jack say's he's voting against the Conservatives in a Confidence vote....
Iggy is still pondering...weighing...measuring...ect...and the clock ticks....

Less than twelve hours 'till he's committed to actually committing himself
to anything at all, one way or another. That will be interesting all by itself.

Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff said Monday he is "not seeking an election," but....

Source: Ignatieff 'not seeking an election'

At a news conference in Ottawa where Ignatieff was expected to say "yes" or "no"
to the question of whether he would introduce a non-confidence motion on Friday
that would trigger a summer election, Ignatieff instead said he is willing to be
flexible and is seeking co-operation from the prime minister.

The ball was in Ignatieff's court because the NDP and the Bloc Quebecois have
already said they are willing and ready to bring the government down. The
Liberals have the opportunity to introduce a non-confidence motion on
Friday, the last scheduled day of the spring parliamentary session.

The Liberal leader said his party has "serious questions" about the government's
recent economic progress report and that if Harper this week commits to
answering them, a summer election can be avoided.

If the prime minister, however, does not give Ignatieff what he is looking for this
week, the Liberal leader said his party will vote against the Conservative
spending estimates Friday, which would demonstrate a lack of
confidence in the government.

Despite the Liberals' assertion that the Conservatives are mismanaging the
economy and have also dropped the ball on the medical isotope crisis
due to the shutdown of the Chalk River nuclear reactor, the party
had to weigh whether forcing Canadians to the polls during
the summer would backfire and cost them votes.

 

[captain morgan]

It was sure interesting listening to Iggy this morning. He spent lots of time offering disclaimers on the liberal position and trying to explain why he will support the gvt regardless of what Harper forwards as policy. The media and reporters were interested in getting answers (anything) and clarity - it was never delivered after multiple requests... That doesn't bode well for the next round of polls.

The guy is losing most of the political face-offs.

 

[#juan]

I listened to Ignatieff as well. He had a couple very valid points. Why is it that the federal finance minister can't say how much the deficit is. Why can't the prime minister? That question has been asked numerous times to no avail. Canada is not some little Caribbean republic. I've looked at Flaherty's record in Ontario and this kind of performance is not new from this man. We should all be embarrassed. The ninth largest economy in the world and we can't find out how much the deficit is.

 

[SirJosephPorter]

I listened to Ignatieff as well. He had a couple very valid points. Why is it that the federal finance minister can't say how much the deficit is. Why can't the prime minister?

I don’t know what is the Messiah’s excuse, but Flaherty is a bungling moron. When he was the finance minister of Ontario, he could not tell us what the deficit was in Ontario either. He claimed that the deficit was 2 billion $, while in practice it was 6 billion $, as became evident when Liberals opened up the books after the election.