Friday, May 18, 2007

Holy Month From Hell Batman!

WHAMM! POW! BAM! KAPOW! WHACK! THUNK! KLONK!

After what was, truth be told, a fairly strong first year in power, things have sure been falling apart quickly for Harper over the past month. The summer break can't come soon enough for these guys...

posted by calgarygrit at 7:29 p.m.

39 Comments:

  • His first year in power involved a leaderless opposition, and a media that was at least as interested in the liberal leadership race as it was in the conservatives.

    Harper was permitted to do what he wanted - he governed like he was in a majority. Now he has been forced to govern like a minority. He cannot adapt.

    Funny what a little media scrutiny can reveal...

    By Blogger Gayle, at 8:02 p.m.  

  • Shows what happens to a one-man show. Tony Blair was a far better leader and intellect than harper. Yet, see what happened to him.

    By Blogger JimTan, at 8:21 p.m.  

  • Gayle, I disagree. First, no election was ever gonna happen during the first year. That means that the opposition could have ran rough-shod over the CPC.

    It only takes one party per debate to side with the CPC to pass anything and given x debate. The opposition parties could have worked it out who was going to side with the gov't and who wasn't. And that only counts on confidence votes.

    There are other parties in the House, eh.

    None of that happened.

    The only issue that went bad for the Tories _in parliament_ was the environment. Income Trusts are nothing, Afghanistan is already fading into the wood-work.

    I agree with CG, bad spring, good session.

    What's coming home to roost is the difference between saying what you'll do when in opposition and being able to do it when in gov't.

    CDN's (the blue flavour) are a little miffed at the difference.

    As far as the other flavours . . . there's nothing that wasn't there a year ago.

    Cheers,
    lance

    By Blogger lance, at 10:28 p.m.  

  • "CDN's (the blue flavour) are a little miffed at the difference."

    Of course, there being no viable blue alternative, being miffed means quoting "green" to pollsters and voting "blue" at the polls, or at worst, spoiling a ballot.

    See Harper. See Harper sleep well. See Dion, Jack & Gilles require sleeping aids.

    By Blogger Candace, at 12:00 a.m.  

  • "First, no election was ever gonna happen during the first year. That means that the opposition could have ran rough-shod over the CPC."

    Why is it the opposition is NOW running rough-shod over the CPC - now, when an election is feasible, according to you. Are you of the belief the opposition wants an election - because if you are I think you are in the minority.

    I do not know how you can honestly say Afghanistan is not an issue that went bad for the conservatives in Parliament. It was that issue that finally exposed the cracks. It united the opposition and the media have been all over them.

    I am not disagreeing he had a strong first year in power - I am just giving my theory on why this was so.

    By Blogger Gayle, at 1:47 a.m.  

  • And by "them" I mean the CPC.

    By Blogger Gayle, at 1:48 a.m.  

  • I don't really know if it is the opposition running roughshod over the Tories per se - at least it isn't the Liberals who are gaining from a decline in Tory fortunes (according to the polls I have seen).

    What interests me is how bad news tends to happen in clusters for the Harper Tories - which would reflect their tight control over the media. I think it works in their favour, because each story takes attention away from each other story.

    By Blogger french wedding cat, at 7:19 a.m.  

  • While things are bad for the Conservatives (as their numbers in the polls have slipped) things are equally bad for the Liberals, who, under normal circumstances, should be sitting around 36-29% - gains that should be coming at the expense of the Tories. While the last month hasn't been stellar for Harper, that the Liberals failed to shoot upward in the polls during this time tells me that Canadians aren't warm on Harper or Dion.

    My two cents.

    By Blogger Sean Cummings, at 7:27 a.m.  

  • That should be 36-39% ... oopsie. :)

    By Blogger Sean Cummings, at 7:27 a.m.  

  • candace said

    "See Harper sleep well."

    Hmmm! You're a confidante of harper? Is this the same guy that comes into Parliament thru the back door?

    By Blogger JimTan, at 8:50 a.m.  

  • Won't it be fun when we look back and say, "that was our only chance to topple him?"

    Should have done it when you had the chance, I say.

    When the shoe was on the other foot, we put our money where our mouth was.

    By Blogger Tarkwell Robotico, at 10:08 a.m.  

  • "While the last month hasn't been stellar for Harper, that the Liberals failed to shoot upward in the polls during this time tells me that Canadians aren't warm on Harper or Dion."

    I am pretty sure the liberals know that.

    Harper has taken away one of his biggest advantages - the moral high ground.

    He has shown that he is just as corrupt and dishonest as he believes the liberals to be.

    By Blogger Gayle, at 3:10 p.m.  

  • gayle said

    "He has shown that he is just as corrupt and dishonest as he believes the liberals to be."

    What is worst is that people are laughing at harper. No one who carves power can afford to be laughed at.

    By Blogger JimTan, at 5:57 p.m.  

  • What many liberal sympathizer forget is that the media doesn't vote. Too often they (meaning the media, which definetly does have a liberal bias) makes much out of nothing.

    Now, from my perspective, the most embarrassing that has happened to the Conservative government is the leak of the "stall strategy" for committees.

    I don't think it is anything that is new, and I am sure the Liberals have done the same or are doing the same, but it is embarrassing to have such a play book leaked to the press. It emphasizes the perception of Harper and the PMO using controls on all areas (gee... did not Chretien do the same?)

    I would like to see the Harper government get back to an agenda of priorities, and quit trying to be all things to all people. Get back to basics, including some conservative values, and quit pissing off the base. I have no problem of trying to govern from the center, but certain things like fiscal responsibility are key. This was actually one of Martin's strong points as finance minister, and it is time the Conservatives got back to that principle.

    By Blogger Andy, at 6:39 p.m.  

  • gayle said:

    "He (Harper) has shown that he is just as corrupt and dishonest as he believes the liberals to be" This statement is a load of crap! Harper is not corrupt and dishonest....however the Liberal Party have proven they are corrupt and dishonest....as a matter of fact there is still $40 million dollars of STOLEN taxpayers dollars that the RCMP are still looking for! Just wait,there will be more charges laid as there is still many ongoing investigations.

    And what do you know, we have another Liberal criminal trial just starting in Vancouver, seems there were some bribes paid out, looks like some more Liberals will be going to jail! What else is new!

    By Blogger islandconservative, at 12:47 a.m.  

  • Ah, yes, the bliss of ignorance.

    The more the Liberal leader hides in a deep hole, the more popular he becomes. Odd, that.

    Yes, Mr. Ignatieff is doing well as interim Liberal Leader. But he has never been tested as leader, either.

    Anyone has to grant that the Media have decided to stop reporting on the Government and start making up things on the fly.

    After all, as has been found on other blogs, even Conservative supporters are unaware that Bill C16 is now law, despite the ignorant harping in the media of the likes of Dion that Harper could pull the plug on this Parliament at any second.

    And nobody in the media have accurately reported Dion's (and the Liberal Party's) requirements that Canada reduce its GHG emissions by about 35% by the end of December of this year. Instead, they chose to mock the Minister of the Environment for pointing out this simple fact.

    Let's face it. If the media had bothered to do their job, MPs wouldn't be so embittered today.

    Today, the Ottawa Senators won their Conference Championship. CBC cut away as soon from coverage as they possibly could. Can you imagine them doing that if another certain team had accomplished the same.

    Why do we pay these people?

    By Blogger Paul, at 12:49 a.m.  

  • "Today, the Ottawa Senators won their Conference Championship. CBC cut away as soon from coverage as they possibly could. Can you imagine them doing that if another certain team had accomplished the same."

    While reading your post I thought maybe you were simply paranoid and delusional, and then you ended with this statement which just proved it.

    Yes, that is it - the CBC is so against Ottawa (?) that they do not cover the fact that the last Canadian team in the playoffs just got into the Stanly Cup final. Never mind the fact that a Canadian team in the final automatically raises the ratings. No - the media are completely biased against the conservatives - so much so that they will not even give a hockey team the coverage they deserve lest it have the very slight - dare I say nearly impossible - side effect of actually reflecting well on the conservative government.

    What exactly has the media been "making up" anyway?

    By Blogger Gayle, at 3:10 a.m.  

  • No, Harper did not have a free ride for his first year - this is horseshit.

    Dan is right - he had a very strong year, and now the gears are seizing.

    He's looking more like "the CPC" and a bit less like "Harper". I'm surprised in the last weeks - I'd come in the previous 14 months to think of him as pretty efficient and canny. These cheap and childish Parliamentary behaviour is unbecoming.

    By Blogger Jacques Beau Vert, at 8:57 a.m.  

  • "I'd come in the previous 14 months to think of him as pretty efficient and canny. These cheap and childish Parliamentary behaviour is unbecoming."

    Which is what happens when a party that governed relatively unopposed starts facing an opposition.

    Not only were the liberals leaderless for most of the past 16 months, but the opposition parties were also divided - divisions cleverly exploited by Harper. After they cooperated on the CAA, they began cooperating in other ways too.

    The cracks in Harper's "well-oiled" machine are now being exposed.

    By Blogger Gayle, at 12:19 p.m.  

  • A question - if the Liberals are so effective in opposition, how come they cannot muster - at their absolute best - Martin 2004 results (and this is the absolute high watermark).

    They are "effective" apparently, now, have a new leader, and adscam is gone. What do the Liberals need to fix to start winning again. In spite of Harper's problems he remains ahead - why aren't the Liberals the default choice of Canadians any more?

    By Blogger french wedding cat, at 2:12 p.m.  

  • "In spite of Harper's problems he remains ahead - why aren't the Liberals the default choice of Canadians any more?"

    Whether or not he is actually "ahead" depends on which poll result you listen to - and accept. I do not put a lot of weight into polls, though I think it is fair to say the conservative fortunes are falling, and the liberals are not benefitting from that fall.

    Your question is about why the liberals are not doing better. Personally, I think many people simply are not willing to trust them again. As disenchanted as they are with Harper (and many people are certainly disenchanted with him), they cannot bring themselves to support the liberals. I do not blame them - the liberals have a lot to answer for.

    Personally, if the Progressive Conservative Party was in government right now, rather than the Reform Party, then I would not be supporting the liberals either. The liberals deserved to lose support. For me, however, Harper is a threat to this country, and therefore I support the liberals as the only party that can defeat him.

    Canada is in this sorry state right now because the PC's were decimated in 1993. That lead to several years of liberal governments where they were basically unopposed, which lead to corruption, and, well, you know the rest.

    I believe exposing Adscam and losing the election was the best thing that could have happened to the liberal party. I believe that the "dissention in the ranks" that we hear about is a sign that the party is changing. While this may upset some disgruntled old boys, in the long run it is healthy for the party.

    This country needs at least two strong, viable political parties. We also need the so-called "fringe" parties. I am confident that in time the liberal party will be back and will regain their supporters. Since Dion won the leadership most of the public focus has been on internal divisions. With the summer break, a new fundraising strategy and the creation of strong policies (which we are starting to hear about), I think they can do it.

    What I also hope is that the current incarnation of the conservatives also undergoes some fundamental changes. There is a reason they cannot break the majority ceiling, and it is not just Harper. It is just too hard for people to swallow this so-called swing to the centre.

    We need the progressive conservatives back.

    That is my uneducated stab at an answer.

    By Blogger Gayle, at 2:34 p.m.  

  • why aren't the Liberals the default choice of Canadians any more?

    This is a good question, which I can't begin to answer. But, I think it's best to not have any "default choice", as you put it.

    By Blogger Jacques Beau Vert, at 2:52 p.m.  

  • What Harper has proven is that, no matter what government is in power, the corruption is unavoidable. That's why kicking out a government for being corrupt is a bit like boycotting Esso and buying only at Shell.

    Let's remember some of the Harper Hits:
    -John Reynolds joins a law firm known for lobbying after chairing a campaign partially based on reducing the power of lobbyists in Ottawa.
    -David Emerson. David Emerson.
    -Convention expenses / political contributions
    -Less than full disclosure on ministerial expense reports
    -Taxpayers bankrolling a psychic / make-up artist

    I'm not a member of any federal party, but from on the top of the fence is the grass is greener on neither side.

    By Blogger Sam, at 3:24 p.m.  

  • no matter what government is in power, the corruption is unavoidable

    I for one certainly agree. On certain, cynical days you start to weigh the options thinking, "Who's going to give me the best government for the least amount of cheating and graft?".

    By Blogger Jacques Beau Vert, at 5:51 p.m.  

  • "Who's going to give me the best government for the least amount of cheating and graft?"

    That is just it, isn't it?

    When certain conservative supporters cannot fathom why anyone would support the liberals after Adscam, my answer is that I believe the liberals will govern better than Harper.

    To put it another way, to vote for any party solely because of Adscam is wrong. If you vote conservative because you like what they stand for then I can respect that, even if I do not agree. If you vote for them simply because they are not liberal, that is another story.

    Perhaps I am naive, but I believe strong opposition parties minimize the corruption because the ruling party knows there is another party ready to take over if they screw up.

    By Blogger Gayle, at 6:11 p.m.  

  • Gayle's comment fraction has fallen below one in three on this thread; perhaps I should give Gayle the opportunity to raise it again.

    "I thought maybe you were simply paranoid and delusional"

    No more than the average Canadian: your comment serves to prove that. My comment was about the media not covering (or giving short shrift) significant events in Canada whether in politics or even Canada's favourite sport, and you turned around and claimed that it had something to do with the Conservative government. How paranoid and delusional is that?

    "What exactly has the media been "making up" anyway?"

    As I mentioned in my comment, the media made up a fantasy that Canada could reduce its GHG emissions by about 35% by December of this year and keep them at that level for five years, without any significant impact to the economy.

    (On the other hand, Canadians pay a few cents more for gasoline and about every media outlet reports how outraged the average Canadian is!)

    By Blogger Paul, at 7:13 p.m.  

  • island said

    "And what do you know, we have another Liberal criminal trial just starting in Vancouver, seems there were some bribes paid out, looks like some more Liberals will be going to jail! What else is new!"

    That's interesting! What criminal trial is this? I wasn't aware that the LPC was involved in a BC scandal.

    Is this another hoax?

    By Blogger JimTan, at 11:42 p.m.  

  • Gayle you've got it right.

    There were a lot of reasons to dump the Paul Martin administration: It had no vision, no consistency, no leadership, it let problems fester, it was burning money to buy votes to save its own hide rather than make good policy, it was full of careerists looking out for themselves not for Canada, etc.

    Adscam was never one of those reasons.

    Besides, all governments come to power with a promise of ethical government. Mulroney came to power fighting Turner's patronage. Chrétien came to power pledging for "honest government". Harper's big theme was accountability. Yet by the end of the exercise, the power has absolutely corrupted - as it is wont to do.

    Stop you'll forgive me if I say I've seen this refrain before.

    By Blogger Sam, at 11:49 p.m.  

  • I'm curious to know if the cuts to the summer jobs program has affected the rest of the country as much as it has out this way.

    1000 jobs down to less than 100... pretty awful.

    Cape Breton Summer Jobs

    Anyone want to let me if its a big deal out your way?

    By Blogger Robert_S, at 9:51 a.m.  

  • jimtan

    No hoax....the Liberal/MSM media are trying to keep this trial under the radar however the Vanc Sun is giving it a little bit of coverage...as little as possible. After all a few bribes here and there is no big deal is it?

    By Blogger islandconservative, at 12:05 p.m.  

  • islandconservative, are you referring to this trial? That is for the B.C. Liberals, not the federal Liberals.

    If so, I'm a little perplexed by how B.C. conservative could fail to make this distinction: wouldn't the B.C. Liberals be the natural choice for a small-c conservative?

    There is, after all, a reason why their signs are red and blue.

    By Blogger saphorr, at 2:12 p.m.  

  • I wonder if there is a troll HQ, where the trolls and idiots go to get the best misinformation and lies?

    By Blogger JimTan, at 3:45 p.m.  

  • In the dance hall there is always a number of studs lining the wall and making a show of no interest at all in the proceedings. Sometimes it gets so bad that some of the girls will come over and literally grab one of them to get things moving on the dance floor.
    And you will hear, sometimes, the obvious comments: what are you here for if you won't dance? every one we know is dancing. You will get the hang of it real quick. Move it you ape. And so on.

    It has turned out with Harper there is far less here than meets the eye. He does not dare go much beyond what the Libs did or planned. The two moves of his own,the pure Straussian move slightly expanding a small war in Afgan land, and the hopelessly fake climate non-plan have both been stillborn. The biggest problem in Afgan to have transport to get out and the climate thing is closing over the heads of the Cons. Since Harper is not going anywhere, as even his own humble backbenchers seem to realize, time to have the election. Somebody grab those Lib and NDP stand alones and haul them onto the floor.

    By Blogger Unknown, at 3:48 p.m.  

  • saphorr & jimtan

    According to a Vanc Sun article on May 4, Virk,Basi, and Bornmann all worked on Paul Martin`s leadership campaign...do you still think they are Conservatives?

    By Blogger islandconservative, at 4:41 p.m.  

  • island said

    "According to a Vanc Sun article on May 4, Virk,Basi, and Bornmann all worked on Paul Martin`s leadership campaign...do you still think they are Conservatives?"

    Yawn! A very many people worked on martin's campaign. Fact is that the crimes were committed in the BC Liberals government.

    Under gordo campbell, the BC government makes harper look like a socialists. Wat you said about 'another' is false.

    By Blogger JimTan, at 7:16 p.m.  

  • WHAMM: So his province is under-represented in Parliament, and McGuinty's response is... to complain about a plan that reduces that under-representation? This is just standard provincial "whatever you're offering, it's not enough!" posturing.

    POW: A couple of the complaints are valid (although the tactics are hardly an unreasonable respond to opposition tactics), but most are just silly. Oh, they want the local MP to be there when one of his constituents is testifying! How horrible!

    BAM: This CP editorial tries to make it sound like the Conservative committee members voted in favour of denouncing Doan, when all they did was ask for Hockey Canada officials to testify. And in the "POW" link, it's revealed that Conservative MPs were explicitly told to strongly oppose any attempt to smear Doan.

    KAPOW: But the government then cut several programs without examining their effect on minority-language communities, and has failed to signal what it will do when a five-year, $787-million "action plan" adopted by the previous Liberal government expires next year. Oh, the horror.

    THUNK: This one reads like an Onion parody of trash journalism. They take the cost of buying something, then add the cost of servicing it (which everyone knew was coming, we just didn't know how much it would be) and claim that the total cost has "doubled". Pathetic.

    KLONK: complaints from community groups that recent cuts to the summer jobs program mean they can't hire students. Not so sound insensitive or anything, but should the gov't really be spending money on phony make-work projects like this?

    By Blogger The Invisible Hand, at 9:53 p.m.  

  • jimtan

    So what your saying is that a Liberal is not a Liberal when he is hauled into criminal court...try again!

    By Blogger islandconservative, at 11:59 p.m.  

  • Governments become corrupt and ineffective. The other political party takes over and the process is repeated. It took 9 years to unseat Mulroney and 10 years to get rid of Chretien. It doesn't look like harper will have the same longevity.

    harper's regime has been a non-starter. Not surprising since harper began with Fortier and emerson. Then, it got better and better.

    The amazing thing is that harper was unable to get a majority against paul martin. And, he has no chance of a majority after 16 months in power, and against the LPC in disarray.

    What has he done well? Very little besides shovelling out the money. He's had to do that (like a lame duck government) because he has not united the country. He is a leader with too few followers, particularly of late among the conservatives.

    When all is said and done, harper is a poor leader. Crippled by his worldview and lack of moral fibre, harper chose an amazing cabinet.

    There was harper himself, an economist who couldn't count. There was Mckay as the non-entity. Stockwell Day was just being himself. The general named conner who couldn't keep track of the details. Bev Oda as the champion of women and girls. And, baird the facilitator who became baird the disseminator.

    All of harper's fanatical supporters (angry, hate-filled, delusional) cannot keep him in power. Whither harper?

    Here's some sincere advice for harper. He has to become a sincere person. He has to respect the facts all the time, and respect people most of the time. Only then, will he be able to lead the country into the future.

    By Blogger JimTan, at 1:16 a.m.  

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