Week in Review
I've been outside the country for the past week (prepare the attack ads). While they say a week is a long time in politics, it doesn't look like I missed much. After all...
1. The Liberals are still searching for an interim leader. Perhaps we should just name an interim interim leader, while the search goes on.
Liberals appear convinced Bob Rae would make a fantastic interim leader...they just don't want him anywhere near the permanent job. After all, the Liberal Party must look to the future, which explains why the sons of Pierre Trudeau and Romeo LeBlanc are the front runners to replace Ignatieff.
2. On that topic, the leadership vote has been called for October. Only it hasn't. There will be an "extraordinary" telephone convention to change the rules in June, which would mean a leadership vote in...I dunno...I guess sometime before the 2015 election. But that's just a guess at this point.
3. Cabinet shuffle speculation is still at a feverish pitch. As usual, everyone's speculation will be wrong.
4. Ruth Ellen Brousseau is still in the news. While she may not be known by the voters who elected her, but she is probably one of the most recognizable MPs in Canada right now. The Globe seems to run her picture on every story - even those talking about Liberal leadership, Barack Obama, and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Every REB sighting or non-sighting has become front page news. Which is a nice break for the other 20 equally unqualified MPs in Jack's caucus.
5. Two weeks after Canadians voted, and Jack Layton is still winning seats. This man is simply unstopable.
6. What has changed in the past week is the projected date we'll get out of deficit. That campaign promise didn't last very long, now did it?
1. The Liberals are still searching for an interim leader. Perhaps we should just name an interim interim leader, while the search goes on.
Liberals appear convinced Bob Rae would make a fantastic interim leader...they just don't want him anywhere near the permanent job. After all, the Liberal Party must look to the future, which explains why the sons of Pierre Trudeau and Romeo LeBlanc are the front runners to replace Ignatieff.
2. On that topic, the leadership vote has been called for October. Only it hasn't. There will be an "extraordinary" telephone convention to change the rules in June, which would mean a leadership vote in...I dunno...I guess sometime before the 2015 election. But that's just a guess at this point.
3. Cabinet shuffle speculation is still at a feverish pitch. As usual, everyone's speculation will be wrong.
4. Ruth Ellen Brousseau is still in the news. While she may not be known by the voters who elected her, but she is probably one of the most recognizable MPs in Canada right now. The Globe seems to run her picture on every story - even those talking about Liberal leadership, Barack Obama, and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Every REB sighting or non-sighting has become front page news. Which is a nice break for the other 20 equally unqualified MPs in Jack's caucus.
5. Two weeks after Canadians voted, and Jack Layton is still winning seats. This man is simply unstopable.
6. What has changed in the past week is the projected date we'll get out of deficit. That campaign promise didn't last very long, now did it?
posted by calgarygrit at
7:20 p.m.
13 Comments:
Care to define "qualified?" I didn't realise there was a job description
By
piker, at 7:48 p.m.
It's time to reform the Liberal Party from the ground up!
www.liberalreform.blogspot.com
By
Liberal Reform, at 8:53 p.m.
Marc Garneau put his name in for interim leader..hope he gets it.
I wish Apps would go.He says too much for his own good and the Party's good.
By
Annie, at 10:29 p.m.
piker - I'd say the base definition of qualified would be:
A. Have visited the riding you represent
B. Can communicate with the majority of your constituents
C. Have a basic understanding of the fews and political system
I'd also be concerned about the NDP's dozen or so quasi-separatists in their caucus, but I'm sure we'll hear plenty from them over the next four years.
By
calgarygrit, at 10:31 p.m.
If that's your definition of qualified then about 98% of the Quebec NDP caucus are very qualified. REB seems to be the only NDP MP from Quebec who is not either francophone or fluently bilingual. There was a long article in the Toronto Star about the so-called "McGill 5" who were all students who were on the executive of NDP McGill and were all elected to parliament. They are all total political junkies who worked full-time on election campaigns in Montreal, attend NDP conventions etc... and probably know more about the political system that some of the deadwood that were re-elected as Liberal MPs last week.
If the Liberal Party elected new MPs in Quebec who had supported the Yes side in the referendum 15 years ago - you'd be hailing it as a great step towards national reconciliation and you would be showing those people off like trophies - like you did with BQ CO-FOUNDER and ardent YES supporter Jean Lapierre - who was eagerly trotted out as Paul Martin's right hand man. We already saw this crap from the Liberals in Quebec during the election. They tried to smear Nycole Turmel in Hull for having once supported the PQ - then it was revealed that just a year ago the Liberals tried to get her to run for them! In the end she won over 60% of the vote in her riding. If the Liberals are wondering why they are totally dead in francophone Quebec - maybe its partly because of negative reaction to these 1970s style witch-hunts against the 60% of francophone Quebecers who might have voted Yes in 1995.
By
DL, at 11:54 p.m.
I'd also be concerned about the NDP's dozen or so quasi-separatists in their caucus, but I'm sure we'll hear plenty from them over the next four years.
Especially the one who's not a Quebec separatist.
By
WJM, at 11:54 p.m.
Re the budget: it's not really that difficult for Canadians to grasp, although the media are doing their best to obfuscate: there are savings which are planned, which could not be "booked" in the budget in March.
During the course of an election campaign, those savings can be promised and accounted for. The savings were still not promised against specific budgets, though - a fact that the Liberal leader used to some effect during the campaign, complaining of an 11 Billion Dollar "gap" in the Conservative platform.
That $11B gap was cumulative over four years - about $1B in savings in the first year (amounting to $4B net over the four years), another $1B in the second year (another $3B over the remaining 3 years), and so on.
But as the new, post-election budget still has not completed the program review which was intended to identify these savings, there is still no opportunity to "book" these savings - so the budget cannot include them in the timeline to balance the budget.
The media has been very disingenuous in portraying this as a "broken promise" - in fact, it is very much in line with what would be expected at the present time.
We would know more if there were to be an economic update late this year, after the program review is complete, which still had no savings identified.
By
Anonymous, at 5:30 a.m.
Of course, the truth never stops Liberal spinning. Enjoy Purgatory. It will be a long time until Canadians ever trust Liberals to run things again. Probably about the time Abscam money is repaid. Or Liberal leadership debts,whichever happens first. Meaning never...lol
By
Anonymous, at 10:07 a.m.
What will happen first:
1. Liberals elect a new leader.
2. Federal government eliminates the deficit.
3. All NDP MPs can rent a car.
By
Robert Vollman, at 1:32 p.m.
If the Liberal Party elected new MPs in Quebec who had supported the Yes side in the referendum 15 years ago - you'd be hailing it as a great step towards national reconciliation and you would be showing those people off like trophies - like you did with BQ CO-FOUNDER and ardent YES supporter Jean Lapierre
Believe me, Jean Lapierre has drawn more flack from me on this blog than any other politician in Canada...
By
calgarygrit, at 3:09 p.m.
In addition to Lapierre, let's not forget confessed 1980 'Yes' voter, separatist appeaser and architect of the disastrous 1995 'No' referendum campaign, Martin cabinet minister Liza Frulla. Boy, those Liberals are really tough on former Quebec separatists - everywhere except within their own caucus.
By
Anonymous, at 7:03 p.m.
"If the Liberal Party elected new MPs in Quebec who had supported the Yes side in the referendum 15 years ago - you'd be hailing it as a great step towards national reconciliation and you would be showing those people off like trophies"
I don't think that's fair. As far as partisan bloggers go, Calgary Grit is pretty good about dishing it out to his own side when he knows they're in the wrong - which adds to his credibility, IMHO.
By
Michael Fox, at 8:40 p.m.
I agree and that's why I was surprised that he of all people would join in the ridiculous cheap shots about the NDP having a couple of MPs who might have supported sovereignty in 1995.
By
DL, at 4:19 p.m.
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