And so the positioning begins…and it is a good thing. Prime Minister Harper moved his tone in his victory speech last night using much of Dion’s language to indicate that empathy was not a foreign word in Harper’s vocabulary.
Harper is clever enough to know that with a much weakened Dion and an overly enthusiastic Layton the ploy of making every vote a confidence matter will not work this time. Dion has nothing to lose if he is on his way out anyway, why not call Harper’s bluff and cause another election. Harper is a bully but he is not foolhardy.
Collaboration is going to have to be the governing model. We saw Harper back down when his bluff is called on matters like getting Elizabeth May into the debates and even rushing out a policy platform in the final week of the campaign.
The economy is fragile even with strong fundamentals and everyone knows it. Harper is finally admitting it publicly and moving from “I am in charge and will Do Nothing” to now he is bolstering the banks with a $10B cash injection and a “safety net for money markets mutual funds.”
Canadian Press is reporting a more malleable PM who is saying he is “…ready to meet with opposition leaders to discuss economic issues.” First Ministers will meet without him and he can't have that happne. Last time he insisted opposition leaders meet with him so he could “prove” Parliament was “dysfunctional” so his pretense of an election had “credibility.” Everyone saw through it but he called an election for his personal hubris and naked grab for power anyway. He has never delighted in meeting with his provincial inferiors but maybe times have changed.
The Harper Party is backing off Senate Reform – Duh – in this economic climate we are going to spice it up with the additional fun of Constitutional reform? Sure we are. Harper is backing of his Crime and Punishment legislation so 14 year olds are safe from life sentences – for awhile at least.”A conciliatory tone pervaded his news conference” according to the CP report.
The economy is clearly job 1 – as it should be. Too bad we had to spent $300,000,000.00 and about 5 weeks of wasted time to end up in the same place we started. Pretty expensive way to just target and cripple Stephane Dion don’t you think?
Is anyone really happy with this result? Dion's feeling have to be obvious with the lowest level of support for the Liberal Party - ever! Harper hasn't got it done with three times at bat and has to be wondering how much more he has to give to Quebec to get them on side. Layton has proven he is not Broadbent. Duceppe can't too pleased with being identified as saving English Canada from a Harper majority. May might win one day but no time soon. She can use the time until the next election to raise her support and profile.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Who Would You Choose for President?
If you could vote for the President of the United States - who would you vote for? Well you can - sort of. Here is a link where everyone in the world who is on-line can make their preferences known. The split is interesting but the differences in the various countries who are participating is even more interesting.
Obama and McCain will both likely isolate the States for various reasons and degrees. However based on the results of this site so far, if McCain wins, the world may want to isolate the States too, especially given the mess the Americans have made of the world financial markets.
Obama and McCain will both likely isolate the States for various reasons and degrees. However based on the results of this site so far, if McCain wins, the world may want to isolate the States too, especially given the mess the Americans have made of the world financial markets.
Harper Get Close but Can't Close the Deal with Canadians.
Congratulations to the Harper Party. The results are not what Harper wanted but he can claim a success if not a win. Harper’s goal in this early and unnecessary election was to get a majority and destroy Dion and bankrupt the Liberal Party. So, I wonder, do Canadians feel we did not waste $300,000,000.00 dollars that could have been spent for better purposes?
The Harper majority was close and yet elusive. Harper lost the majority himself due to his lack of deft about understanding the importance of arts and culture to Quebec. It is so weirdly Canadian that the country was saved from a Harper majority, and the consequences of his proven demagoguery, by a separatist political movement. Harper has been to the election well three times and can't finish the job even with the most opportune of times with the Liberals being so unready and unsteady to run effectively.
Dion was the least experienced leader in his first election and he and the Liberal party was not really ready to run when the Writ came down. He was defeated by his own lack of political experience, his platform and his party, especially in Ontario and B.C. The last figures I saw as about a 9% reduction of Liberal support in Ontario. One wonders if the old guard stayed home and did not engage in Dion’s cause.
Then there was the impact of the economic meltdown factor. The Nanos tracking over the Thanksgiving weekend showed a shift in Ontario on Sunday to the Harper party. Speculation is this shift if likely from anxiety over the economy and the normative default but unproven consciousness that Conservatives are better economic managers.
Layton did well but not up to expectations. His popular vote stays the same and he gained 8 seats. Go figure. He will soon quit bragging about winning a seat in Quebec because Mulcair will be groomed to replace Layton sooner than later. Linda Duncan’s breakthrough in Alberta is a personal victory for her due to a strong campaign and strategic voting - and not anything to do with the NDP.
So we are back to square one with no clarity of a political outcome and no public policy purpose beyond platitudes. We are fragmented regionally and at sea economically as the global financial turmoil washes over us and puts us into recession. We have no comprehensive or comprehensible environmental policy and as for progressive policies on social issues, forget about it.
May's is a story of hope over experience. The strategic impulse of Greens voting for the Liberals did not take off. The popular vote for the Greens doubled and most of that came out of the hide of Stephane Dion.
So now we have a strong right and a strong but crowded left but no progressive middle. Dion identified the progressives in the final days but not with enough time to catch on and coalesce as a consciousness never mind a movement. The social progressive/ fiscal conservative centre is wide open in the Canadian political consciousness.
The Harper Party has to learn how to govern effectively in a world that is extremely complex and in critical shape. Cute tactics like a GST tax cut will not be enough to instill confidence in the Harper Party. Harper will have to change his style and show us some substance. Layton will be caught in the Harper Party everything is Confidence motion trap in this Parliament. Dion has nothing personally to lose now. I expect to see him and his caucus voting against Harper’s trickery and skullduggery more often, especially if he trumps up phony confidence motions on ideologically driven bad legislation.
The future for the Liberals is clear. The Liberals have to return to their roots, put away their egos and get fiercely focused on finances and rebuilding a modern party. That will start with new leadership in the face of new political realities.
We need leadership that can articulate authentically on the real needs and hopes of Canadians.
We need politicians who believe in government and can present a proper role and responsibility for government as a force of good and not the enemy of the people.
I think it is time to reinvent the old federal Progressive Conservative party philosophy even if under the Liberal label. That is where the vote rich and disenchanted progressive middle is in Canada today.
The Harper majority was close and yet elusive. Harper lost the majority himself due to his lack of deft about understanding the importance of arts and culture to Quebec. It is so weirdly Canadian that the country was saved from a Harper majority, and the consequences of his proven demagoguery, by a separatist political movement. Harper has been to the election well three times and can't finish the job even with the most opportune of times with the Liberals being so unready and unsteady to run effectively.
Dion was the least experienced leader in his first election and he and the Liberal party was not really ready to run when the Writ came down. He was defeated by his own lack of political experience, his platform and his party, especially in Ontario and B.C. The last figures I saw as about a 9% reduction of Liberal support in Ontario. One wonders if the old guard stayed home and did not engage in Dion’s cause.
Then there was the impact of the economic meltdown factor. The Nanos tracking over the Thanksgiving weekend showed a shift in Ontario on Sunday to the Harper party. Speculation is this shift if likely from anxiety over the economy and the normative default but unproven consciousness that Conservatives are better economic managers.
Layton did well but not up to expectations. His popular vote stays the same and he gained 8 seats. Go figure. He will soon quit bragging about winning a seat in Quebec because Mulcair will be groomed to replace Layton sooner than later. Linda Duncan’s breakthrough in Alberta is a personal victory for her due to a strong campaign and strategic voting - and not anything to do with the NDP.
So we are back to square one with no clarity of a political outcome and no public policy purpose beyond platitudes. We are fragmented regionally and at sea economically as the global financial turmoil washes over us and puts us into recession. We have no comprehensive or comprehensible environmental policy and as for progressive policies on social issues, forget about it.
May's is a story of hope over experience. The strategic impulse of Greens voting for the Liberals did not take off. The popular vote for the Greens doubled and most of that came out of the hide of Stephane Dion.
So now we have a strong right and a strong but crowded left but no progressive middle. Dion identified the progressives in the final days but not with enough time to catch on and coalesce as a consciousness never mind a movement. The social progressive/ fiscal conservative centre is wide open in the Canadian political consciousness.
The Harper Party has to learn how to govern effectively in a world that is extremely complex and in critical shape. Cute tactics like a GST tax cut will not be enough to instill confidence in the Harper Party. Harper will have to change his style and show us some substance. Layton will be caught in the Harper Party everything is Confidence motion trap in this Parliament. Dion has nothing personally to lose now. I expect to see him and his caucus voting against Harper’s trickery and skullduggery more often, especially if he trumps up phony confidence motions on ideologically driven bad legislation.
The future for the Liberals is clear. The Liberals have to return to their roots, put away their egos and get fiercely focused on finances and rebuilding a modern party. That will start with new leadership in the face of new political realities.
We need leadership that can articulate authentically on the real needs and hopes of Canadians.
We need politicians who believe in government and can present a proper role and responsibility for government as a force of good and not the enemy of the people.
I think it is time to reinvent the old federal Progressive Conservative party philosophy even if under the Liberal label. That is where the vote rich and disenchanted progressive middle is in Canada today.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Vote Your Values and Please Take Your Democratic Responsibilities Seriously.
I am on my way to an important meeting and then off to vote. This will be a very short post. I know what some of you are thinking - miracles do happen.
The election outcome is in the hands of Canadians who will show up who have decided to make a difference. It is not in the hands of the democracy drop-outs.
The wisdom of the crowd was shown in the last election when the Chretien/Martin Liberals needed a spanking and voters decided to give the Harper Conservatives a "test drive" with a minority government.
That test drive is over and Harper is obviously not the vehicle to take us forward on the next stage of the journey that is Canada in the ecological age. Dion is ready because he has a character, integrity and a strong team that will support him. May has proven her mettle, breadth and depth and, with Dion, both have found their footing as capable politicians and not just policy wonks. Duceppe has proven to be the true Quebec father figure - not the fraud of "I feel your pain as a nation" Harper who read Quebec so wrong. Layton has done well and deserves praise but not more support because his policy approach is still rooted in the industrial world that is long gone in Canada.
Individual races are still in play all over the country and can make all the difference in the final outcome. So gentle reader today is the the day. The future is in your hands. Vote your values and take democracy seriously again.
The election outcome is in the hands of Canadians who will show up who have decided to make a difference. It is not in the hands of the democracy drop-outs.
The wisdom of the crowd was shown in the last election when the Chretien/Martin Liberals needed a spanking and voters decided to give the Harper Conservatives a "test drive" with a minority government.
That test drive is over and Harper is obviously not the vehicle to take us forward on the next stage of the journey that is Canada in the ecological age. Dion is ready because he has a character, integrity and a strong team that will support him. May has proven her mettle, breadth and depth and, with Dion, both have found their footing as capable politicians and not just policy wonks. Duceppe has proven to be the true Quebec father figure - not the fraud of "I feel your pain as a nation" Harper who read Quebec so wrong. Layton has done well and deserves praise but not more support because his policy approach is still rooted in the industrial world that is long gone in Canada.
Individual races are still in play all over the country and can make all the difference in the final outcome. So gentle reader today is the the day. The future is in your hands. Vote your values and take democracy seriously again.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Don't Get Diverted by the Spin Doctors - Delve into the Real Issues
You have seen a day's worth of spin and parsing of words and examples of journalistic ethical lapses on the Dion Halifax CTV interview.
Here is an excerpt of the interview that will find it place in journalism schools as a mistake and an example of poor questioning:
Steve Murphy: M. Dion, you’ve said today that Mr. Harper has offered nothing to put Canadians minds at ease during this financial crisis, and you go on to say that he has no vision for the country. You say we have to act now; doing nothing is not an option. So I’d like to begin by asking you: If you were Prime Minister now, what would you have already done in this crisis that Mr. Harper hasn’t done?
Stephane Dion: I can’t, I don’t understand the question. Because are you asking me to explain sir, at which moment, today, or since a week, or 60 weeks or s…
Steve Murphy: No, if you were the Prime Minister during this time already.
Stephane Dion: We need to start again. I’m sorry, I, if I was the Prime Minister starting when? Today? If I was the Prime Minister today?
Dion Aid: If you were the Prime Minister when, since Harper’s been Prime Minister.
Stephane Dion: Ya, two years and a half, ago.
Dion Aid: At any give time.
Soooo this looks to me like a legitimate request for clarification as to the time frame referenced in the question. Dion is asking Murphy if the time frame in is question is what would he do differently from Harper IF Dion had been in power since the last election, or since the election was called in early September, or if Dion should win on Tuesday.
What Dion would do differently would differ in each case. Here is some more transcript that will show you how this is the only reasonable interpretation of Dion's request to have the question clarified.
Dion Aid: What would you have done differently between, between the time that Harper’s been there, to change the country.
Stephane Dion: Ya, but if I had been Prime Minister two years and a half ago, we’d have had an agenda. Let’s start again.
Steve Murphy: OK.
Stephane Dion: We’ll go there.
Technician: I’m rolling. Still recording.
Steve Murphy: M. Dion, thank you for coming.
Stephane Dion: Thank you Steve. Let’s start again, I’m …
[Laughter]
Steve Murphy: It’s a good job that tape is cheap.
Stephane Dion: But give me, give me a first date where I am Prime Minister that I can figure out, but, what your question is about.
Soooo...ignore the demeaning spin and take this exchange for wht it is...a failure to communicate by a professional communicator...nothing more nothing less.
We are seeing some Canadian MSM and the Conservative War Room who trying to turn this into Harper's version of the American media silliness that swirled around "Lipstick on a Pig."
There are serious issues like the economic turmoil, Afghanistan and Climate Change and health care that are not being discussed seriously enough in this election. Harper did not even respect the electorate enough to put our his campaign platform until the very last week of a 6 week campaign.
Lets move on and into the comparison of the characters of the tow front runners. Here is Dion's speech to he Canadian Club and Empire Club luncheon the day after Harper released his "platform brochure" to the exact same audience. Dion drew a much larger crowd and got 6 standing ovations. Harper had a very small audience and got a single and cursory standing "o."
Here is an excerpt of the interview that will find it place in journalism schools as a mistake and an example of poor questioning:
Steve Murphy: M. Dion, you’ve said today that Mr. Harper has offered nothing to put Canadians minds at ease during this financial crisis, and you go on to say that he has no vision for the country. You say we have to act now; doing nothing is not an option. So I’d like to begin by asking you: If you were Prime Minister now, what would you have already done in this crisis that Mr. Harper hasn’t done?
Stephane Dion: I can’t, I don’t understand the question. Because are you asking me to explain sir, at which moment, today, or since a week, or 60 weeks or s…
Steve Murphy: No, if you were the Prime Minister during this time already.
Stephane Dion: We need to start again. I’m sorry, I, if I was the Prime Minister starting when? Today? If I was the Prime Minister today?
Dion Aid: If you were the Prime Minister when, since Harper’s been Prime Minister.
Stephane Dion: Ya, two years and a half, ago.
Dion Aid: At any give time.
Soooo this looks to me like a legitimate request for clarification as to the time frame referenced in the question. Dion is asking Murphy if the time frame in is question is what would he do differently from Harper IF Dion had been in power since the last election, or since the election was called in early September, or if Dion should win on Tuesday.
What Dion would do differently would differ in each case. Here is some more transcript that will show you how this is the only reasonable interpretation of Dion's request to have the question clarified.
Dion Aid: What would you have done differently between, between the time that Harper’s been there, to change the country.
Stephane Dion: Ya, but if I had been Prime Minister two years and a half ago, we’d have had an agenda. Let’s start again.
Steve Murphy: OK.
Stephane Dion: We’ll go there.
Technician: I’m rolling. Still recording.
Steve Murphy: M. Dion, thank you for coming.
Stephane Dion: Thank you Steve. Let’s start again, I’m …
[Laughter]
Steve Murphy: It’s a good job that tape is cheap.
Stephane Dion: But give me, give me a first date where I am Prime Minister that I can figure out, but, what your question is about.
Soooo...ignore the demeaning spin and take this exchange for wht it is...a failure to communicate by a professional communicator...nothing more nothing less.
We are seeing some Canadian MSM and the Conservative War Room who trying to turn this into Harper's version of the American media silliness that swirled around "Lipstick on a Pig."
There are serious issues like the economic turmoil, Afghanistan and Climate Change and health care that are not being discussed seriously enough in this election. Harper did not even respect the electorate enough to put our his campaign platform until the very last week of a 6 week campaign.
Lets move on and into the comparison of the characters of the tow front runners. Here is Dion's speech to he Canadian Club and Empire Club luncheon the day after Harper released his "platform brochure" to the exact same audience. Dion drew a much larger crowd and got 6 standing ovations. Harper had a very small audience and got a single and cursory standing "o."
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