In the news
No, I haven't joined Gordon Campbell, Jim Prentice, Danny Williams, and Carole James in retirement. Rather, I've been off on vacation for the past week, so here's a few quick hits on what I've missed:
1) On my by election numbers post, I said there's no evidence of a long term decline in by election turnout. Turns out that's not really true.
2) Welcome to the circus otherwise known as Rob Ford's mayoralty.
Newly elected politicians will often try to expand their tent, moderate their message, and reach out to those who voted against them. Not Rob Ford.
But hey, Ford was elected with 50% of the vote. Those who dislike him, dislike him a lot. So why change? Expect Ford to be Ford for the next four years - and if he keeps his base happy, he should be able to pick up a second term.
3) Julian Fantino's muzzle has been removed...and the first thing out of his mouth is comparing the Liberal Party to Hitler.
On their first day in Ottawa, all new MPs should be given an instruction booklet that tells them where the bathrooms are, reminds them not to lose their briefing books when sleeping over at residences frequented by the Hells Angels, and implores them to not compare their opponents to Hitler.
4) Speaking of Fantino, Ottawa is abuzz over Cabinet shuffle speculation. My sense is Fantino will get a spot - he's a star candidate in a riding the Tories want desperately to hold, after all. But given his raw and untested political skills (see above), I predict he'll get eased into a junior portfolio.
5) With a flury of polls out, I'll be sure to update my Poll Soup and Seat Projections sometime over the next week. For now, I'll say that the "shocking" Star headline of "Liberals need a new leader, poll suggests" is rather un-shocking when you get down to it. These sort of polls come out all the time - there was a Decima survey last month that showed half of Canadians want Stephen Harper replaced as Conservative leader.
If Liberal members want Ignatieff gone, that's a problem. If his MPs do, that's a problem. But when people who won't vote for him or his replacement want something new...that's just politics.
1) On my by election numbers post, I said there's no evidence of a long term decline in by election turnout. Turns out that's not really true.
2) Welcome to the circus otherwise known as Rob Ford's mayoralty.
Newly elected politicians will often try to expand their tent, moderate their message, and reach out to those who voted against them. Not Rob Ford.
But hey, Ford was elected with 50% of the vote. Those who dislike him, dislike him a lot. So why change? Expect Ford to be Ford for the next four years - and if he keeps his base happy, he should be able to pick up a second term.
3) Julian Fantino's muzzle has been removed...and the first thing out of his mouth is comparing the Liberal Party to Hitler.
On their first day in Ottawa, all new MPs should be given an instruction booklet that tells them where the bathrooms are, reminds them not to lose their briefing books when sleeping over at residences frequented by the Hells Angels, and implores them to not compare their opponents to Hitler.
4) Speaking of Fantino, Ottawa is abuzz over Cabinet shuffle speculation. My sense is Fantino will get a spot - he's a star candidate in a riding the Tories want desperately to hold, after all. But given his raw and untested political skills (see above), I predict he'll get eased into a junior portfolio.
5) With a flury of polls out, I'll be sure to update my Poll Soup and Seat Projections sometime over the next week. For now, I'll say that the "shocking" Star headline of "Liberals need a new leader, poll suggests" is rather un-shocking when you get down to it. These sort of polls come out all the time - there was a Decima survey last month that showed half of Canadians want Stephen Harper replaced as Conservative leader.
If Liberal members want Ignatieff gone, that's a problem. If his MPs do, that's a problem. But when people who won't vote for him or his replacement want something new...that's just politics.
Labels: by elections, Don Cherry, Julian Fantino, Rob Ford, voter turnout
posted by calgarygrit at
6:18 p.m.
6 Comments:
Don't forget this ...
"The G20 summit regulation that expanded police search powers entrapped legitimate protesters and "likely" violated the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Ontario's ombudsman said Tuesday.
"I'm convinced the regulation was unnecessary and probably illegal," Andre Marin told a news conference.
"Here in 2010 is the province of Ontario conferring wartime powers on police officers in peacetime."
He said the provincial government has indicated it will act on his main recommendation: revising or repealing the Public Works Protection Act, which dates back to the late 1930s."
By
JimTan, at 8:51 p.m.
Newly elected politicians will often try to expand their tent, moderate their message, and reach out to those who voted against them. Not Rob Ford.
But hey, Ford was elected with 50% of the vote. Those who dislike him, dislike him a lot. So why change? Expect Ford to be Ford for the next four years - and if he keeps his base happy, he should be able to pick up a second term.
Actually he was elected with 47% of the vote, same as Larry O'Brien in Ottawa not so long ago. Where's he now? Give Ford another few weeks and he'll become Lastman the 2nd, except that Lastman understood the importance of not shutting out opponents on council.
And last I checked, Ford was not elected to wreck existing and future transit planning for another decade.
By
JG, at 9:08 p.m.
And last I checked, Ford was not elected to wreck existing and future transit planning for another decade.
Did you not read the man's platform?
By
WJM, at 9:47 p.m.
Newly elected politicians will often try to expand their tent, moderate their message, and reach out to those who voted against them
Since when?!?
Name one!
By
Robert Vollman, at 10:26 a.m.
@Robert: Obama would be one example. He keeps try to do bipartisan compromises with the Republicans despite it not working very well.
By
leonsp, at 11:39 a.m.
Obama expanding his net, moderating his message, reaching out to those who voted against him?
If you mean reaching out to Hillary Clinton supporters, fine. But Republicans? Haven't seen it.
By
Robert Vollman, at 10:53 a.m.
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