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Politics : Canadian Political Free-for-All -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Tommy Moore who wrote (12864)	11/29/2008 1:56:13 PM
From: frankl	Respond to of 37250

Joe Clark must be chuckling away to himself. Finally the legacy of "Joe Who?" could be swept away, to be surpassed by one of a greater fool. Jim Prentice to the rescue? I think he's the only guy who even has a hope of pulling it out of the tailspin they are in. That is, if the Harper team could listen to him (doubtful).

To: Tommy Moore who wrote (12864)	11/30/2008 12:01:26 AM
From: Tommy Moore	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 37250

Is it any wonder the electorate is cynical of government. I'm a political cynic of the first order and this flip flop has even me shaking my head. Harper had everything going for him, why must he point the derringer at his own temple. Am I the only one who thinks politics should be put aside in times of crisis. google.com Government reverses itself on political funding decision 4 hours ago OTTAWA — After 24 hours of peering into a yawning political abyss, the Harper government stepped back from the brink Saturday, dropping a plan to kill public subsidies for political parties. "When it comes to the funding and subsidies that political parties get, we just don't think it's worth getting into an election on that issue," Transport Minister John Baird said in an interview. "We won't be proceeding." There were hints there could be further retreats in store to placate incensed opposition parties who've been plotting to replace the minority Tories with a coalition government since Finance Minister Jim Flaherty released his fall fiscal update Thursday. A Conservative official said "the government will put more water into their wine" when Flaherty makes an announcement in Toronto on Sunday. But the official said the announcement will not include any new economic stimulus - without which the opposition parties said they would not back off their threat to topple the government. In a brief interview late Saturday, Flaherty said: "I'm not going to announce a budget." On additional stimulus, he said: "We're going to do the homework that needs to be done but tomorrow I'll be able to say more on that." The Tories' climb down came only a day after Prime Minister Stephen Harper's office sent an e-mail to Tory MPs calling for an all-out media blitz to sway public opinion in favour of the government's economic agenda and asserting "we are nonetheless prepared to return to the polls over this issue." Opposition parties were enraged by Flaherty's failure to include any measures to stimulate the faltering economy in his update and apoplectic about a surprise move to end public subsidies for parties, which would financially cripple every party except the Tories. A game of political chicken ensued, with Harper adamantly refusing to back down from the fiscal update and angrily denouncing opposition machinations to install a coalition government as illegitimate and undemocratic. His opponents were equally determined to scuttle the Tory regime just six weeks after the Oct. 14 federal election. Despite Saturday's politically embarrassing climb down on the subsidy issue, the three opposition parties continued negotiating the details of a possible coalition and dismissed the reversal as meaningless. "The prime minister is only focused on politics and political parties and he's not listening to Canadians who are saying loud and clear: 'It's the economy, stupid."' said Liberal finance critic Scott Brison. "Until we see a real economic plan to help Canadians protect their savings and jobs during these tough times, we can't support a prime minister we don't trust." New Democrat spokesman Brad Lavigne said: "This changes nothing because for the New Democrats, it was never about public financing." Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe echoed those sentiments. "(Harper's) mistaken if he thinks we'll adopt his (economic) plan as is," Duceppe said. "There's no question he's attacking the rights of women, the rights of unions, there's nothing for the manufacturing and forestry sectors. We no longer have confidence in Stephen Harper." Indeed, there were signals from the opposition that the matter may have passed a point of no return and it could be too late for the government to avert defeat, no matter what it offers. "I wouldn't say the train has left the station but it's gathering speed," said John McCallum, chair of a Liberal economic advisory committee. "At this point, it's difficult to believe anything this government says. I mean, it's clear that they are desperate so no matter what they say, how can we believe it, given their past record?" Before the government reversal, Brison said Harper had poisoned the atmosphere in Parliament beyond repair. "I see virtually no possibility of Stephen Harper being able to earn back the trust of this Parliament." Harper staved off an immediate showdown Friday by pushing back two critical votes on the fiscal update until Dec. 8. Baird said the government included the subsidy-slashing measure in the update because it believes in "leadership by example" during the global economic crisis. He said the government is "disappointed that opposition parties don't share that view" but won't risk defeat over it. Only a day earlier, Harper chief of staff Guy Giorno sent out an e-mail that included talking points, scripts for Tory partisans to use on radio phone-in shows and a template for letters to newspaper editors. Party faithful were encouraged to "use every single tool and medium at our disposal" to spread the word that opposition parties are trying to usurp the government in a crass bid to protect their political "entitlements." "Now there's a reason to try and overturn an election - because the Conservatives had the audacity to say, 'Hey, it's a recession, maybe you should take your nose out of the trough,' " read one suggested line for radio shows. Saturday's sudden willingness to drop the issue suggests the Tory spin campaign was not going over well with the public. Liberals and New Democrats claimed they've been inundated with calls and e-mails supporting their stand against the government. But Baird insisted there was no public backlash. "I see no measurable public support for subsidies to political parties," he said. Baird said he agrees there needs to be more economic stimulus but he argued the government has already done much on that score and will do more in the next budget, which may be presented in January, a month earlier than usual.

To: Tommy Moore who wrote (12864)	11/30/2008 5:41:21 PM
From: DeplorableIrredeemableRedneck	3 Recommendations Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 37250

This fall, Canadians gave the Conservative government a clear mandate to continue taking action on the economy. During a global downturn, the last thing our country needs for Opposition politicians to claim entitlements for your tax dollars and ultimately, to take power without a mandate from the people. Under Stephen Harper’s leadership, our government was ahead of the curve in anticipating the global economic slowdown. We are injecting billions in stimulus through tax cuts, investments in roads and bridges, and we are protecting the banking system. Our focus is the economy, but Opposition parties have their own priorities. While all Canadians are tightening our belts, they feel entitled to make taxpayers pay for political party staff, polls and advertising. They want to replace the elected government, just to preserve $17 million worth of entitlements. This is clearly unacceptable for a modern democracy.