Ontario Votes 2007: How to Stop a Liberal back-to-back-to-back Victory

The knives are out and the writ hasn’t even been dropped. As John Tory heads to, in the words of a rare example of insight from the shameless self promoter not named “Warren”, “destroy his second PC Party”, the last two posts made on the Blogging Tories site as of 6:15 pm are from Sandy, who wonders how after 11 years of infighting on the federal level, conservatives are about to do it all over again provincially, and ALW, who gives the knife a twist by calling out Tory as the only thing he could be considered to a conservative planning to vote PC this October: the “not McGuinty”.

In fairness to Sandy, I have to point out one difference and one similarity: First, there is no natural alternative to the PC Party right now in Ontario for principled conservative voters to turn to. We’re not going to see the Liberals sweep 99% of the seat in Ontario and the PC Party will be back to fight in 208, or 2012 or whenever the following election will come up. Note one major similarity though as well: in 2007, the Ontario PC Party is running a disastrous campaign under John Tory. In 1993, the federal PC Party ran a disastrous campaign under Kim Campbell, no, John Tory! That’s right, Tory was the campaign manager for Campbell’s campaign in 1993. He approved this mozzaball (remember this when he tells you how nice of a guy/campaigner he is!). In short, Tory literally can’t even promise the polite, cleanish Liberal-clone government that red tories are so proud to promote.

So where does this leave PCs, socons, libertarians, objectionalists and other blue conservatives? Well, they could hold their noses and vote PC again just to get McGuinty out of office. After all, that’s what many of us did in 2003 as Ernie Eves trashed Mike Harris’ legacy for just over a year. Of course, even Eves realized that he needed to shore up his base and so the platform he released had at least some moderately conservative measures. The only one out there so far is the private school funding mess Tory is promising and is greatly mishandled, as well as being far more statist than conservative!

There is another line of thinking though. What if traditional PC voters allowed McGuinty to win again. Now, before you all string me up for the gallows hear me out! Where will we be in four years under another Liberal government? Eight years into a pit of big government spending and mismanaged policies…much like 1995. Where would we be if Tory wins in four years? Eight years into a pit of big government spending and mismanaged policies. The only difference is that at least if Tory has to resign as leader after an election defeat, the PC Party can correct its brutal error of 2004 and elect a decent leader who’ll put this province back on track. If Tory does win, the next election will just put us back to the here and now: two Liberal leaders — one with a red tie, one with a blue. We’d have three consecutive Liberal governments instead of two!

The Future: Maxime Bernier

This man will be a great Conservative leader one day.

My favourite Bernier story:

Maxime Bernier reclines his lean, six-foot plus frame in his constituency office and recounts with relish how he lost hundreds of new jobs for his riding.

After his election as the new Conservative MP for the Beauce, the “distinct society within a distinct society” nestled between Quebec City and the Maine border, he was visited by the owner of a local bicycle factory. Mr. Bernier had just been named Stephen Harper’s Industry Minister and the factory owner wanted his local MP to lobby for the imposition of quotas on cheap Chinese bicycles that were undercutting his product.

He said he had to make an investment decision — invest $1-million in low-end bicycles, creating 300 new jobs in Saint- Georges, or a similar amount in high-end bikes that would bring considerably fewer jobs.

“With that answer he killed himself. I said to him that it would be difficult for me to impose quotas that would add $72 to the cost of a bicycle for all Canadians for only 200 jobs in the Beauce,” he says.

When it emerged that the Industry Minister was not fighting for jobs in his riding, the Bloc Quebecois launched a broadside in the House of Commons, claiming that he was ignoring the needs of Quebecers. At Cabinet, other ministers offered to defend the file publicly, fearing the electoral consequences for the rookie MP.

But they underestimated him and the reaction in the Beauce, where public sympathy was solidly behind their MP. Mr. Bernier insisted that he take the question in the House and hit back at the Bloc for defending corporate interests against those of Quebec consumers. The incident earned Bernier the nickname “Blocbuster” in the Prime Minister’s Office.

– (John Ivison, National Post, A6, 20 Jan 2007. Not available online).

Ray Nagin: What’s up with that?

*

Yet despite the fact that Nagin is to competence what Paris Hilton is to chastity, the citizens of New Orleans saw fit to re-elect him as mayor.

h/t

More Bizarreness from the Liberal party

First I read that Michael Ignatieff thinks a bird that covers up its shit should be the symbol of the Liberal party.

Then I see that they’re planning a campaign on jobs and the economy.

When unemployment is at its lowest rate in thirty-three years.

With a leader who, according to one former Cabinet colleague, “couldn’t balance a cheque book.”

And they’re laying the groundwork for this campaign by saying things like “I think we are going to be facing a recession situation” and “the economic outlook for Ontario, for Canada, for Toronto, is a whole lot more risky and less positive than it was 15 months ago.”

Two problems with this approach. First, the politics of pessimism is not popular, particularly at the polls (say that five times fast). As Kim Campbell and Jimmy Carter, among others, will attest, Morning in America beats malaise every time.

Second, the Star reporter Susan Delacourt points out, “the Liberals built a strong economic track record in their years in power, and Dion would no doubt lean on that past to assure voters that the economy was safe in Liberal hands.”

This is, in fact, true. As a fiscal conservative, I’d have to say the first years of Chretien were more appealing than have been the first years of Harper. But Chretien’s economic record was based on pruning government. The current group wants to do the opposite:

Ignatieff and Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion said Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Conservatives – with their free-market approach – are ill-placed to play any constructive role in insulating Canadians from economic damage.

“We think the government has a role to play. It’s clear the manufacturing sector is struggling in this country,” Dion said. “We don’t see an inch of a strategy from this government.”

“I see nothing in these free-market guys,” Ignatieff said. “For them, the government is always the problem. And Canadians have always thought that government can be the solution.”

So any credibility gained by Chretien’s economic record will surely be burned by prescribing the opposite approach.

Liberals Hide Their Excrement

I’m sorry, but these sorts of bizarre comments make me like Ignatieff even more:

…a senior Liberal wants to make the puffin the symbol of the country’s self-proclaimed natural governing party…”They lay one egg (each year). They put their excrement in one place. They hide their excrement. … They flap their wings very hard and they work like hell.”

I’m assuming that drinks were served on that whale watching tour?

Local Nobody Saying Something Stupid – Globe Thinks it’s National News

An excellent example of shoddy journalism – an unelected nobody comments on conservatism in Alberta (on his blog no less), and the Globe and Mail thinks it’s national news.

CALGARY — A man who wants to run for the Alberta Progressive Conservatives says newcomers to the province must “adapt to our rules and voting patterns” or go back to where they came from.

[...]

“This is our home and if you wish to live here, you must adapt to our rules and our voting patterns or leave. Conservatism is our culture. Do not destroy what we have created.”

Newfoundland Liberals, Dion and Tasteless Attack Ads

Steve Jankee goes back and lists the many promises by Dion not to engage in personal attacks.

CTV writes up a friendly little report quoting nearly any Liberal in sight…

Coo-ool

Via my wife.

Democracy is being subverted!…oh, never mind

Oopsies!

IT KEEPS GOING AND GOING AND GOING … From an earlier post, commenter Phyl writes:

CC, I had no idea this was a trend. Now I wish I had kept the letter I got two weeks ago from the Cons.

I’m in Toronto Centre, and the letter said that since Bill Graham had retired, our liaison would now be a Con MP. I don’t remember the name (her name?), but I believe it was the Con party Whip.

I remember being extremely irritated, thinking, “Even if I don’t have a sitting MP at the moment, do you think for a second I’ll be going to a CON for help if I need it??” I’d be getting in touch with Stephane Dion or, more likely since I’m in Toronto, Jack Layton.

Anyone else from Toronto Centre have something to add to this?

Or, more likely, the letter was just the same one that everyone gets when they live in a vacated riding: That the House of Commons will maintain the Ottawa and constituency offices in order to service constituents until a by-election is held and that the party whip will oversee both offices. Oh yeah, and it turns out that the Liberal whip, not the Conservative whip, will be overseeing those offices.

I guess that when “research” means “quote comments on my blog without fact-checking,” dumb mistakes like these are bound to happen, eh?

Screwupandretractitude Update: CC has retracted his dumb, unfounded accusation. That is usually what people do with dumb, unfounded accusations after they’ve been caught out, isn’t it? Really. Perhaps if someone would learn to do a little research, he wouldn’t have to print out retractions.

Calvert and the Desperate Sask NDP – Quick Attack Alberta!

I can think of a lot worst things to be like than evil Alberta.

Kate has the sheep themed pamphlets that accompany the above attack ads…

Go here for the full campaign video…

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