Past their best-by date - a "Dear Jack" letter.
It must bug you Jack, that the Tories are competitive virtually everywhere in the country except in two cities, while you are really competitive only in the poverty pockets. I can see it with my own eyes Jack. I travel through one of those pockets every day. Your representative there is hardly ever there. And he doesn't need to be. A monkey could win that riding representing the NDP. It's dirt poor and safe. If this country was poor as you pretend it is, your vote would be far more efficient. But it's primarily a middle class country and that's why your party is just a rump, a protest movement.
Speaking of Jack... how stupid does an NDP supporter have to be, not to have noticed that their party's modern raison d'être is to grant a handful of career opportunists access to a parliamentary pay-tit?
Most organizations with a 48 year record of uninterrupted failure would have folded by now - unless there was something in it for the losers at the top.
Failure is spelt N-D-P.
Jack was granted a golden opportunity to bury his true opponents, the Liberals, an opportunity handed to him on a silver platter by Harper (the elimination of party subsidies), and he was too stupid to take it.
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kate says... unless there was something in it for the losers at the top."
you mean... like matching, gold-plated, taxpayer-funded "life partner"
pensions?
oops... did i say that out loud?
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You beat me to it, neo. They hit the daily double alright.
I listened to Adler's letter today. I was struck by the suggestion that a big majority of voters in Layton's constituency voted against him. To think Layton's been using that idea to harass the Harper government, and some Canadians actually bought into it. That letter hit the nail on the head.
Failure has never deterred those on the left. They still have one bastion and that is the universities and they need to be routed there too.
The public wouldn't buy into it if the media wasn't doing everything in its power to legitimize NDP. Mansbridge of the CBC referring to the coalition as being "fun for the media" - that's what really grates on me!
"48 year record of uninterrupted failure..."
- neglects to mention in particular 2 dark spots:
> Propping up Pee-air's minority from 1972-1974,
and
> J.S. Woodsworth voting against Canadian involvement in WW2.
- and one "bright spot" > spitting the left-wing in 1988 so Mulroney could bring in the FTA and NAFTA.
I generally like Adler's smackdown of Professor Mustache but does he honestly think comrade Obama is to the right of Jack? O had the most left leaning voting record of any Senator during the last three years and his background and friends are not exactly the types who will be on the next National Review cruise.
For a party calling itself "New" and "Democratic", its policies are in fact decidedly anachronistic and undemocratic. If I'm not mistaken the NDP is still uncomfortable with the the concept of one-member-one-vote.
Back in the 60's when Canada was negotiating the auto-pact with the U.S. then leader of the CCF/NDP David Lewis went on and on ad nauseam about the evils of the deal and how Canada was selling out to the U.S. According to Lewis nothing good could come from a deal that allowed Canada to build U.S. vehicles within it's own borders. Wrapped up in that agreement was some U.S. manifest destiny clause that he couldn't quite point to but he knew it was there. Right. The NDP has produced leader after leader incapable of understanding the country and how it works. Jack Layton is in possession of an immense
lack of economic knowledge. It's really quite startling to think that Canadians would trust him with their vote. He has however secured a sinecure in the House of Commons courtesy of the taxpayers of this country. How undeserved.
Another one hit out of the ballpark by Adler.
I also think Obama is a bit farther to the left than most people think. But still miles to the right of our Jack, who is indeed in a league of his own when it comes to leftiness.
The Democrat's in the U.S. are still way to the right of the Ndp. Not many Dems would take kindly to be called socialist's I think.
"Failure has never deterred those on the left. They still have one bastion and that is the universities and they need to be routed there too.
Posted by: Gord Tulk at February 3, 2009 12:06 AM"
Plus, the public school system for indoctrinating kids. The teachers' unions keep throwing their weight around, trying to expand their mandate.
"I generally like Adler's smackdown of Professor Mustache but does he honestly think comrade Obama is to the right of Jack? O had the most left leaning voting record of any Senator during the last three years and his background and friends are not exactly the types who will be on the next National Review cruise."
I don't agree with that part, either; however, Obama did send missiles into Pakistan's territory and he's FOR the war in Afghanistan.
Reading this editorial/open-letter honestly gave me a feeling of well-up pride in my belly. It put to words, far more eloquently that I ever could, my feelings on the left in this country, and Jack Layton's NDP in particular.
Thank you Chuck, and God bless.
Ahem. Should have read welled-up.
"48 years of uninterrupted failure" is bang on. And just how dismal that failure is was demonstrated by the Reform Party when they were denied Official Opposition status by a decision of the Speaker in 1993. They had begun with one seat in Parliament won in a 1989 by-election by Deb Gray.
I am still laughing at that guy here who called Jack the "video professor". If you've seen the commercial - it's perfect!
Jack's soundbite on tonight's CTV national news: instead of fighting US protectionism, we should jump on the protectionist bandwagon!
Just put the mike down and back away from the economy, Jack. Real slow now....
How stupid does an NDP supporter have to be?
Well, most of them work for the CBC...
Colin, "Reading this editorial/open-letter honestly gave me a feeling of well-up pride in my belly. It put to words, far more eloquently that I ever could, my feelings on the left in this country, and Jack Layton's NDP in particular.
Thank you Chuck, and God bless."
I second that! (I'm from B.C., too)
Lets not forget that POS Layton was on the side of our enemy-the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
You know,just like today,where he's on the side of our enemy the Taliban.
Lets not forget that POS Layton was on the side of our enemy-the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
You know,just like today,where he's on the side of our enemy the Taliban.
Posted by: Mr.g at February 3, 2009 2:13 AM
Lefties are always on the wrong side of the moral calculus, as I see it. Whether it's Iraq, the cold war, the Taliban, Israel, etc.
Honestly, I think it's a classifiable mental disorder.
I'm glad Chuck brought up, with great emphasis, Jack's inability to be proud of his own country, and its accomplishments, both domestic and abroad.
"""""I'm glad Chuck brought up, with great emphasis, Jack's inability to be proud of his own country, and its accomplishments, both domestic and abroad.""""
to be proud of one's country is to be on the side of sucess, jack is a losser who represents lossers
Well said Mr. Adler! I like your pertinent comment Kate!
Kate why don't you tell eljacko how you really feel?lol
"while you are really competitive only in the poverty pockets."
Not true, average home value in NDP ridings is probably higher than CPC ridings. NDP voters tend to be unionized and old; separately, they tend to be lesbian and immigrant, and with "employment equity" even the most unemployable bull dyke or immigrant has a guaranteed high paying union job.
I see what he's doing, substituting the word "poor" for "Indian", conveniently turning a race issue into a safer, more politically correct class struggle, and it stinks.
The quoted passage massively misunderstands several fundamental and measurable aspects of Canadian politics. Not surprising, since my fellow citizens' focus is now exclusively on the USA, nobody really gives a spit about Hotel Canada.
Stupid? NDP supporters are overpaid, unaccountable, and can't get fired; how is this stupid?
How much coin has Adler grossed over the past 25 years? Would he have been able to keep his job had he been an non-ethnic? Why is he misleading his listeners?
Let us not forget that Jack Layton and the NDP are less popular with Canadians than G.W. Bush is with Americans! When you consider that Taliban Jack gets uninterupted positive media coverage from the CBC and that G.W. Bush got-and continues to get-uninterupted negative media coverage from the entire MSM south of the border, well that is quite the accomplishment Jack. I didn't think anyone could be so incredibly unpopular, but you proved me wrong.
GYM.....the loser,Jack,is living quite nicely,for a loser.The real losers are the rest of us Canucks who have to put with Jack,and the commie b%^tards called the NDP.
Can we have a referundum to vote BOTH Frogland,and Morontario out of the ROC?
Dippers need to change their moniker to something more meaningful. "New" Democratic Party is far off the mark.
Mature New Democrats - That's an oxymoron if I ever heard one...
If brains were water, Taliban Jack would be a desert.
Speaking of water, Whacko Jacko would be out of his depth in a small puddle.
A few years ago, my husband was having his shoes shined at the Toronto airport when Jack sat in the chair next to him to have his shoes shined too. My husband proceeded to say hello, but was ignored. My husband was wearing a suit so I guess Jack knew he was not a NDPer and would probably get an earful of logic. Best to ignore those who may not agree with you, rather than TRYING to defend your views. Maybe if there had been a kitchen table close by....
"Jack's soundbite on tonight's CTV national news: instead of fighting US protectionism, we should jump on the protectionist bandwagon!"
He's just parroting what union bosses on both sides of the border are saying. And Jacko does wut da bosses tell him ta do.
He is so out of his league.
Did somebody just invent a new name for Jack Layton .....
"POVERTY POCKETS"
I love it , must remember it ......
What an interesting idea. Is it possible to get data on what the average income is in the various ridings? Thanks for an intriguing thread.
"unless there was something in it for the losers at the top." Irony?
It's the socialist pyramid. The system is stable as the form of government is a pyramid. The congregation is unconscious; their spirits deadened; competition is outlawed, etc.
Think 85-year old Mugabe of Zimbabwe, Castro the Zombie in Cuba, etc.
In Canada, PMartinJr lasted 2 years at the top. The POTUS can only serve 2 consecutive 4-year terms. Thank goodness for that. Imagine 20 years of Jimmah Carter; 25 years of Jeancula Chretien.
Even though Taliban Jack is a bumbling jackassed failure, he survives as leader.
"I was struck by the suggestion that a big majority of voters in Layton's constituency voted against him."
It's not a suggestion, it's a fact. Layton lost 45-55% in his own riding, but it gets worse.
NDP - 37 seats, 7 (19%) by majority
LPC - 77 seats, 17 (22%) by majority
BQ - 49 seats, 13 (27%) by majority
By contrast, the CPC won 143 seats, 79 (55%) by majority.
Only in Canada could a collection of politicians, of whom a majority did not win a majority, complain that the winning party did not win a majority and still be taken seriously. Pity.
What a load of inane bluster. You call unduly benefitting from a deeply flawed electoral system that disproportionately rewards big parties or parties with large concentrations of like minded idiots (Alberta the obvious example) as being "efficient" and "competitive".
The Conservatives received about 5 times the number of votes cast for the Green Party. Roughly 1 million votes for Greens translates into 0 seats. 5 million votes for Cons translates into 143 seats. In Alberta less than a million votes translates into 27 Conservative seats. Single member plurality is outdated and a very poor reflection of the will of the electorate. It's days are numbered. It's simply a matter of time before some form of PR comes in, and anyone with a shred of intelligence and a respect for democracy would only help expedite that. Andrew Coyne, one of the few Conservatives whose cerebral synapses fire from time to time, hasn't any difficulty seeing how flawed our existing electoral system is. (under PR all the real conservatives and libertarians currently disenfranchised by Harper's Conliberalism would actually have a voice in the House of Commons representing their interests)
BTW: There was nothing undemocratic about the coalition; however, prorogation of parliament to avoid a vote of non-confidence from a man who once believed that government should function only if it has the confidence of the house, that's another story. Members were duly elected and would be judged by the Canadian electorate on the wisdom of their choices while representing their respective ridings. The coalition failed because it was replaced by a more familiar coalition: the Conservative Liberal coalition in which the Liberals effectively prop up an illegitimate Harper majority (incidentally the Official Opposition possibly being "the" cornerstone of democracy, simply abdicated by Liberals).
Adler's a disingenuous buffoon. Although I see that plays well around here.
Settled in to read 36 comments and we're down to 9.
NDP = No Damn Principles
Bill Stewart ; can't tell if you are Jack Layton himself or just an acolyte. BTW how did that job as democracy consultant for Robert Mugabe pan out? Where might you reside, reason for asking is the hatred displayed for Alberta, is it in Canada anywhere or Never-Neverland with your husband, Peter Pan?
I heard the broadcast when Mr. Adler read this letter. It reads well but he reads it better. When you hear his voice and know his story it is much more powerful.
a must read . . . a couple of socialists see the light.
Laydown is gonna be pissed.
3w.nationalpost.com/opinion/story.html?id=1246092
Jack and Mulcair thought they had another way into power, which is why they avoided the obvious path that Harper laid bare.
Jack and Mulcair thought the GG had no choice, that Dion could either be a marionette or be replaced by Jack down the road. One suspects they were smoking some heavy stuff while they came up with that plan.
Jack's play should have been to find a way to support the cutting of subsidies and forced the Liberal Party to fall to him.
The Layton resignation clock has started. So Harper will have bested yet another opponent. Who says the last election didnt change anything.
Enough with the pile-on-Jack people. The NDP is a key component of the left wing vote split.
Jack, as Lenin would say, is a "useful idiot". But not in the way Lenin meant.
The degree to which Jack holds the citizenry in contempt is evidenced by his willingness to form a coalition with a party dedicated to taking PQ out of the federation. He must have honestly believed that Canadians would not resist.
Splitting the left: putting smug, hypocritical, power-hungry, lying thieves to one side, and hypocritical, self-serving, opportunistic sleezebags to the other.
Funny, a lot of inane ramblings nothing substantial.
uuess:I don't hate Alberta (Jasper, Lake Louise, Edmonton all fine places). I hate Conservative ideology (I hold no grudge against conservative voters who just don't know any better, although I enjoy seeing them all riled up with their knickers in a twist). Anyways, relax, it was just a jab. You could make the same argument with Quebec regarding our first past the post system (just that I'd be a lot more hesitant to use the word idiot).
Bart: You could argue that there's not much to split, but as far as the Left wing vote, there's only one party occupying that wing of the political spectrum. Maybe I could explain in a way many of the commenters around here could actually understand:
Stevie and Mikey sitting in a tree:
K-I-S-S-I-N-G
First comes love,
then comes marriage,
then comes the baby in the golden carriage!
BTW, anyone care to defend our electoral system or Harper's prorogation of a parliament that didn't have confidence in the government who called for the suspension of parliament. Without the confidence of the house the government acts illegitimately and undemocratically. That he ran from a vote that would have confirmed that, doesn't alter that fact.
Bill - Big difference from any other non confidence vote is that we JUST had an election, and the motives for non confidence were extremely suspect.
Let us not forget (from Wikipedia):
Layton and Chow were also the subject of some dispute when a June 14, 1990 Toronto Star article by Tom Kerr accused them of unfairly living in a housing cooperative subsidized by the federal government, despite their high income. Layton and Chow had both lived in the Hazelburn Co-op since 1985, and lived together in an $800 per month three-bedroom apartment after their marriage in 1988. By 1990, their combined annual income was $120,000, and in March of that year they began voluntarily paying an additional $325 per month to offset their share of the co-op's Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation subsidy.
Bill Stewwart ; Why are you a-feared to call Quebecois idiots? Are you scared of the ensuing poutine fiasco? That this political system is slanted in favor of all "have not" jurisdictions is not in dispute and is not a failing of the first past the post system. eg; one MP in Alberta per 125 thousand population, one MP in Quebec per less than 100 thousand population, one MP in PEI per 40 thousand population and one MP in Manitoba per 70 thousand population that is the failing of this electoral system, not first past the post. That is all we need is to have proportional representation by the otherworldly socialists of Toronto to represent real Canadians, yes the ones that shovel after a blizzard instead of calling in the army.