The Liberals, NDP, Bloc, or the Green Party didn't have anymore foresight than anybody else.
Certainly a lot more then Harper..... how long did it take him to clue in to what they, the Canadian public, the US, and the rest of the world was saying again?
They where all just trying to buy the Seat of Power with your (& my) tax dollars before the election.
That's all any of them ever do.... but who called that pointless election, only to bring us right back into the exact same crap that was the "reason" why the election was called in the first place?
At the time I voted for the party that promised away about 1/25th of what the other Parties where promising to spend (with OUR tax dollars) in vote purchasing promises. I don't think any of them truly had a friggin clue of the scope & magnitude of this economic mess.
Whether or not they understood just how big of a problem there was doesn't really matter in comparison.... the point is, they knew there was a problem.... Harper just lingered around, picking his nose and telling us there's no problem, they prepared for this and took all the measures....... only for them to completely change their position months down the road after everybody else told them the economy is fokked. If he actually gave a damn, he and his party would have looked into the matter a little further, came up with some decent plan, and presented it during the last election.
Instead he gave us squat except the old "Stay the Course" response during the election and everybody sucked it in like gold..... then he screwed around with his political games in the government, rather then presenting any reasonable solution to the problem, delayed government, PR'd the other parties as being the bad guys for wanting to actually do their jobs for once, and then months down the road, he then destroys every single one of his election promises and claims and tosses us a deficit with a budget that won't do a damn thing..... and he designed it so that it wouldn't do a damn thing.
So then when it fails, rather then the Liberals pointing the finger at the Cons for being dumbasses, the Cons can point the finger back and say this was what they wanted and they voted for it at that..... then we're back in another stupid, predictable election between the two asshat parties.... Liberals / Conservatives.
It's so predictable it's pathetic. And what's more pathetic is that there will still be those who suck it all up and vote for them anyways, like the same old routine....
I suppose staying the course falls into other categories of politics too.... oh well.... I guess that's their choice.
I'm still not sold on the shear volume of the Canadian budget as being really necessary in the current proportions. The current budget is set up in such a way that (with so many strings attached) that much of the $$$ supposedly flowing out of it, just will not flow out of it. ALL THE PARTIES DO KNOW THIS, and yet the Budget gets a pass.
Exactly... they all know this, much of the public knows this and those who are currently laid off from their jobs know this very well.... which is why neither the Bloc or the NDP are voting on it..... they may have pre-determined if they would vote on it or not, but it matters not.... their reasons match the proper response.
Jumping back to their reasons, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that Harper would just continue to play his little games and provide nothing useful for a budget..... and he did exactly that.
That's some pretty good foresight if you ask me.
And yet...... The Liberals did their Wrestling act on TV of trying to look tough on the Conservatives, yet they still side with the Conservatives and plan to support this joke..... which makes them just as bad as the Conservatives, if not, worse.
Which is why I understand Layton's frustrations and agree with his position, regardless if he had personal intentions of trying to gain some power or not..... he's right..... I agree with him, and as you wrote above, you agree to some degree with him in regards to this budget. And they have every right to turn their backs on the Liberals after this, because all they are doing is dragging us through more of the very same that's causing more and more people in Canada to just not vote anymore.
Layton wasn't talking about dramatic change like the US and Obama.... he was talking about change in that the government might actually start doing its damn job the right way for once.
The $85 Billion dollar predicted deficit is a huge (and ugly) number, and when it settles out at only (I want to puke when I say "only") $50 Billion-ish...it'll be claimed that it's ONLY that much due to Conservative foresight.
After the election, the whole power-play by the three (two with the third having veto power so their loyalty was purchased with all of our tax dollars)
Doesn't matter... they are a Canadian political party (Even if they only represent one part of the nation) voted in by other Canadians.... they are just as ligitamate as any other party in our government, and should have every right to have a say in what occurs in this country.
Not to mention the Conservatives attempted to pull the same stunt as well.... regardless if they actually carried it through or not, they didn't see it as a problem until other parties tried to do the same.... then it was an illegal power grab through the back door with an evil dealing with "Seperatists" OOooooooo Booga booga!
And yet.... This coalition only made it as far as a brain fart, very much like the Conservatives' plans..... but the Libs/NDP/Bloc get more flack over it?
Where's the sense in that? That's hypocracy if I ever saw it.
non-winning Parties was orchestrated by two (OK....one with the other having veto power so their loyalty was purchased with all of our tax dollars) knowing the third party Leader was a very malleable puppet. Ignatius isn't the puppet that Dion was.
The thing is, in the way minority governments work in our democracy, is that the leading party has to reach out to other parties in order to form their own coalitions in order to make the minority last long enough to do something productive..... if the leading party doesn't want to do this, the other parties have the legal right to form their own coalition to make the government work......
.... and yet, Harper either didn't know this, or refused to accept this..... therefore, he should be fired for his great level of incompetence.
People may be knocking Jack Layton here, but I really have to give him his due. Through the month of November, whenever Dion spoke, I could barely see Jacks lips move at all! I swear Jack could probably drink a glass of water and still have somewhat coherent words come from what appeared to be Stephane Dions direction. That takes skill.
Actually I see it more like Jack holding a fragile bottle of
Nitro-Glycerin-Dion..... just waiting for him to screw up and blow everything up around him..... which basically happened.
He blew up, destroyed everybody around him..... and suddenly, nobody sees him around anymore..... hmmmm.... odd. :-?