Good advice for the CPC;
‘The report from Save the Children, based in London, has Canada dropping over the past year to 25th place from fifth on the Children’s Index.’ This story was not picked up by many (Dippers?), because, the data covered 2004-2005, when the Liberals in charge…
Why did Canada drop so dramatically? I don’t ask this as a Liberal bashing cue.
What can Canada’s government do to reverse the downward trend?
Are (we) Conservatives not taking the Save the Childrens report seriously? If not, why not?
If Conservatives don’t get a handle on this, and get front and center, next year we could have another ‘Afghan detainee’ type explosion, when the data isn’t from Liberal times, and will be used as proof that Cons have killed social programs.
No question.
And more unsolicited advice from me.
Never assume the base will remain loyal as you move to the fiscal left because there’s “nowhere else to go”. There is always somewhere else to go, and someone waiting to take them there – even if the “there” turns out to be wilderness.
oh yes, Kate, the political wilderness is not fun…..I remember the early days of Reform, it was very lonely…..but we did eventually get Mike Harris elected(common sense revolution was nearly identical to Reform platform), but it was frustrating early on……PMSH would be wise to remember his history, and not veer too close to the centre….for one, they can drop this ridiculous light bulb ban, and focus on real environmental issues(like dropping any federal subsidy for recycling programs)funding nuclear and incineration
The media reports “approval” surveys as though they signal that the majority of the population is displeased that legislation isn’t going far enough. That’s misleading and dishonest – for I can guarantee that a good percentage are unimpressed that it goes too far. Not releasing that data (or even asking the question) is indicative of the practice of polling to “shape opinion” and one of the primary reasons the media has lost so much respect among so many.
It’s Harper’s job to defeat Liberals and it’s our job as conservatives to defeat liberalism. And we’ve done a lousy job of defeating liberalism. I don’t blame Harper and the CPC, they can’t take the lead. We have to soften the ground for them.
As for the article and what Lemons is hinting at I’ll say it bluntly: we need to remove the massive incentives (financial and otherwise) for women to a) have children out of wedlock, and b) divorce their husbands, because that is what is driving child poverty. And if conservatives are unwilling to say that loudly and clearly then why should Harper?
The minority CPC government is probably more than a little wary of restarting the childcare debate now that it has quieted down a bit, and no measures taken would ever be good enough for the left anyway.
Why are political parties afraid to take on the media? This is the real question.
Name your enemy. Control the language they use. Paint them into a corner. Otherwise THEY will stay in the driver seat.
A good offense is the best defense.
Kate said: “Never assume the base will remain loyal as you move to the fiscal left”
Or adopt left agendas. We can see now why the CPC is polling so poorly…it is not from lack of new support but from long time conservatives dropping support.
We see faction splits with the party from former conservative support groups and there is even a Reform revival afoot.
Treacherous days to be acting like a soft Liberal Mr. Harper.
“A good offense is the best defense.”
That’s right, unfortunately the MSM has given the impression that the Conservatives have been overwhelmingly on defence over the last few weeks.
The offensive moves like the light bulb ban gets them no support from the left and it is truly offensive to their supporters on the right. It was a nice idea for PMSM to remove some of Dr. Did little’s election planks but not if it’s just to reassemble them on the right side of the road.
It is my humble opinion that “child poverty” can be greatly alleviated by restructuring the tax system to better accomodate one parent staying home to raise kids. Possibly by allowing parents of those under age 18 to average income for tax purposes.
Stop empowering people to live off gov’t dole. Simple. Those who won’t work shouldn’t eat. (Barring physical disabilities) (2Thess. 3:10) They’ll find gainful employment when they get hungry enough.
The result will be less taxes and a more prosperous country.
I’ve about had enough of this save the children crap. If people have children they should pay for them. There’s plenty of work in this country in free enterprise friendly places.
This one is real simple. Income splitting and an income tax regime that kicks in at say $40,000.00 Reduce the tax burden and you’ll find more folks having more kids and actually choosing to look after them.
Make it possible to live a mid middle class lifestyle on one income and a whole lot of social issues will evaporate.
Of course the Maria Minna’s and SOW’s of the world will scream blue bloody murder, let them. They will only expose themselves as the social justice pretenders they actually are. Others in the Starbucks set will bemoan the lack of government support for raising their children, which they regard as possesions slightly more important than their Lexus.
That idiot Trudeau set us on this destructive path and the progs have developed an inate ability to hold seemingly contradictory views ever since.
Think about it…”the state has no business in the nations bedrooms” but is responsible for the nurseries.
Oh…I get it…all the rights and none of the responsibilities. How very progressive.
Syncro
“It is my humble opinion that “child poverty” can be greatly alleviated by restructuring the tax system to better accomodate one parent staying home to raise kids”
I agree Len…people below the poverty line should pay NO TAXs…families truggling on the line of “working poor” should pay no income taxes on a single income…that puts what they make back into rearing a family and gives them incentive to keep a parental care giver at home to save us the cost of having the state baby sit kids for a two working parent family.
Take the tax revenue loss by directly trimming the size of redundant federal bureaucracy.
But we won’t hear that from any “Ottawaized” Tory hooked on the tax and spend cycles of reelection.
“Never assume the base will remain loyal as you move to the fiscal left because there’s “nowhere else to go””
Harper pre-election:
-no new tax on income trusts
-Canada is “one nation”
-smaller government
-broad based tax reduction
-Kyoto is a socialist scam
Harper post election:
-new 32% tax on trusts held in RSPs
-Canada is two nations (at least)
-government spending soars
-minuscule targeted tax cuts
-Kyoto-lite is policy
I know where this long time Conservative supporter will go next election, the local pub.
Senator elect said: “it’s our job as conservatives to defeat liberalism. And we’ve done a lousy job of defeating liberalism. I don’t blame Harper and the CPC, they can’t take the lead. We have to soften the ground for them.”
Your preaching to the wrong crowd here Senator…I think Kate has done a wonderful job of taking the conservative message to the people…her blog and those of dozens of other tory bloggers are a deep sore spot to the Liberal establishment and LPC aristocracy…what more can a working person do?
I empathize with Kate in struggling to make a living, have a life and be active in grass roots conservative messaging…I have had a similar experience…where I put my marriage, family and business on hold to get guys like Harper elected only to see them flip on me, time after time, when they get to Ottawa.
Working people who are active in conservative causes sacrifice a lot..the damn party was built and financed on the backs of volunteers….maybe its time for Conservative patriachs/patricians with time on their hands and money to spend, stepped forward to make some personal sacrifies of time and effort in expounding the conservative message…so far all I’ve seen is the Aspers running an alternate view media concern…perhaps you are addressing the wrong people…perhaps you should be talking to the clas of Tory who don’t work 9-5 for a living…where is the Tory patrician class to start some cpaital intensive messaging projects?…or is it that eastern Tory aristocracy is indistinguishable from Liberal aristocracy?
Hmmm income averaging including Children.
Interesting thought. Mind you, this would start to get into definitions of families and households….is grandma living with you someone you should consider someone over whom your income is avergaed?
I am sure this has been looked at?
I believe the children are our future.
Teach them well and let them lead the way.
Show them all the beauty they possess aand theeeen,
give them a chance to shine”
Oh sorry, I can’t get that out of my head now that kyoto is solved.
Now that “Save the Children” from London(TM) has cleared out all it’s transnational progressives, could there be a better project for Canada’s conservatives.
When we’re all done that, we can find an article from some special interest advocacy NGO that explains how the soft furry bunnies need an 8 billion dollar social program and then cook up a spankin new form of revenue for more transnational progressives to bite on.
Surly the liberals and dippers won’t make up some policy to one better the program in the eye’s of the sheeple. Well if they did they ,surly would pay extra close attention to the economical feasability of their program.
That will cement all the albatross’s and lberia’s, jeremy’s and jasons, into one wonderful conservative inclusive party.
I guarantee that this will work.
I mean look how popular the CPC became when Baird tried a step towards the envirowackos.
Here’s what they got stuck with ; “It’s not enough ,John, It’s not enough.”
Suzuki was right, for once.
Advice for Baird re: Suzuki and the lib-left media
Never fall into the trap of trying to please people who are in the business of being displeased.
And pleasing your enemies does not make them into friends.
There is no such thing as child poverty.
Children don’t work for a living, they are required to go to school until the age of 16. It sounds like some 19 century sweat shop, with 8 year olds shoveling coal into a furnace.
The “child poverty” cry is just a cover to push leftist wealth redistribution in a way that pulls at the heartstrings.
Children are not poor, their parents are.
Which begs the question, why are these people poor? Did the evil government/corporations conspire to make them so, or are they poorly educated, lazy or just having kids they cannot afford?
All points made here about CPC sqishiness are well taken, but remember, this is a MINORITY government. The only way that any real conservative changes will be done in Ottawa is if SH gets a majority. By devouring our own, conservatives are just making it easier for the Libs and the MSM (but I repeat myself) to deny us that majority. Don’t forget about bedrock conservative principals, but don’t let the best become the enemy of the good either.
If you really want to hang out at the pub on election day, then don’t be surprised when you are living under a Dijonne-Bin Layton coalition government.
Headline on page A4 of the Globe & Mail:
“Disgruntled Tories consider rebuilding Reform Party”
Love it. Maybe Harper’s lame gong show is coming to an end.
How many of you who are complaining about the environmental policy remeber the INADEQUATE policies put forward By Rona Ambrose?
She had it exactly right, didnt she?
How many of you indicated to the government your support for what Ambrose was trying to do?
I thought so.
How many of you wrote to Prime Minister Harper and expessed gratitude that he was smart enough to convince David Emerson to serve his Country one more time?
I thought so.
I could go on, but you get the picture.
Just an aside:
I have written to many MPs over the last year, and the only answer i ever got was from David Emerson. He is a class act.
Thank you, MB, you saved me a lot of typing. Can we solve child poverty before solving adult poverty? Are we going to give eight and ten year olds a cheque every month? What about their parents? Wouldn’t they seize the cheques to buy beer and popcorn?
Once you poke a few holes in the rhetoric, the entire lefturd argument falls apart. The truth is that the cradle-to-grave welfare state forged by the left is the real root cause of child AND adult poverty.
“Don’t worry, the government will look after you.”
If there was genuine fear that having a baby out of wedlock would not be grounds for a government cheque every month, then the number of illegitimate children would drop immediately.
The future of child poverty would be bleak, but the screaming from the left would be deafening.
The conservative disease begins to take hold once again.
Mark Steyn once noted that Conservatives do well when they implement Conservative ideas.
Bang-on, really; if you’re not differentiating yourself from the left-wing liberals, then who is going to take notice of you? If you want left-wing environmental platitudes, then Dion’s your man.
The poster above was right: stupid banning of incandescent lights is a non-initiative, really. It’s something to crow about in a 30-sec soundbyte, but it’s really little more than what you’d expect from a Dion (or McGuinty).
Harper & the CPC better think back on why they were elected: eliminating the gun registry, lowering taxes, government reform (and reduction), and forget the squeamish pandering to the Left. They’ll never get the vote of diehard liberals, and even those on the fence may just conclude “if I want a liberal government, why not just vote for it, rather than a CPC liberal-lite version”. And this is to say nothing of losing his base support (those who might stay home on election night rather than vote liberal).
Having the longest-sitting minority government provides no bragging rights if Harper can’t parlay it to a majority. It’s time to get back to conservatism and leave the major socialistic changes to those from whom you’d expect it. People need to see a CPC majority as a force for positive change, not just “same play, different actors”. But change is the operative word, and we’re not seeing much of that, these days.
mhb23re
at gmail d0t calm
no Don, the gong show is not coming to an end…..it is just that we conservatives actually have the balls to critique when we feel it is required…unlike librano idiots, who blindly play along, no matter how distasteful…..I cannot believe, for example, that all libranos are jew hating hezbo lovers, but yet so many fall silent when your idiot MP’s march with terrorists(who, by the way, support the taliban with cash and arms)
“Why did Canada drop so dramatically?”
Because Save the Children completely changed the way it measures child welfare, and its Canadian chapter totally misrepresented the results.
I wonder if kingstonlad knows the difference between a “critique” and a “mutiny?”
Perhaps one of the lamest atempts at spin I have ever read.
“All points made here about CPC sqishiness are well taken, but remember, this is a MINORITY government.” – holdfast
History is instructive. Joe Clark won a minority in 1979 campaigning on mortgage interest deductibility and no new taxes. He promptly reneged on his mortgage interest pledge and attempted to introduce a new gasoline tax. Joe Who became Joe We-never-knew-ya. Successful conservative leaders are those who bring the public to their way of thinking (Regan, Thatcher). Those who veer left in some vain notion that liberals will vote for them are condemned to footnote status (Clark, Ernie Eaves).
I don’t think I’ve heard introspection out of you, Kate. This is a first.
Poverty is all relative. The poorest Canadian kid I know is healthy, well fed, has clothing, gets an education, has a bike, playstation, his own computer etc. His father died young of heart problems and his mother has never been able to cope with life in any meaningful way but she still has enough left over from welfare and a little charity to afford cable TV, high speed internet, cell phone, cigarettes, marijuana, and an addiction to Tim Horton’s.
Perhaps the Conservatives just realize that they have more important battles to fight.
Even if the CPC never accomplish anything it is entertaining to watch the lefties blood pressure top out just knowing Harper is in power.
chris selley – thanks for the link. Very interesting.
The 2006 criteria for measuring child poverty were: infant mortality, primary school enrollment, access to safe water, malnutrition under the age of 5.
The 2007 criteria are completely different. They are pre-primary enrollment, secondary school enrollment and mortality rate of children under the age of 5.
Why the difference? And why, why, is pre-primary school enrollment a measure of child poverty? After all, pre-primary is a measure of the upper middle class. Is that the measurement of poverty, being below this level? Is putting your child in day care a measure of NOT being impoverished?
Very strange criteria.
mutiny????? are you a friggin retard????who is jumping ship?????I would rather migrate to the US than vote for any other party other than the CPC….and since my wife(RN) has had about 20 job offers in the last few months, if bombardion wins the next election…..ciao baby
Critique yes, suicide no. You can bet MSM and Libs will call this indecisive leadership. Meanwhile lbeia calls them fascists. Ah, the joys of having it both ways.
Trouble is, Libs don’t have policies for Canadians to comment on. They have Lib criticisms of Tory policies. That is why this poll is meaningless on govt enviro record.
Maybe Canadians want to bring back Power Corp regifted. I don’t think they do. We are, however, headed for an ugly political time, if we don’t have election until 2009.
Eventually Canadians will see Libs in light of day, in an election, and will come to their senses again. Notwithstanding some kind of recovery strategy from Tories too.
I would never put it past Cdns to elect someone who lied to them; I hope they aren’t willing to elect someone who stole from them. That would be a scary scenario.
don rhymes with moron.
keep posting loser, we’re not laughing with you, but at you.
“I don’t think I’ve heard introspection out of you, Kate. This is a first.”
It’s actually not a first, but as I don’t promote myself as a pundit, I don’t often comment on the day to day policy decisions.
So, when I do, it means that I sense an undercurrent that’s more than the usual grumbling. I may be wrong, of course, and the steady rate of party donations even contradicts me to some extent, but on the other hand, Ronald Reagan was vilified by the left when he was in office – but he did not build a legacy by appeasing people whose belief systems he had long since rejected.
I don’t think the writer was advising the Conservatives start some big fat meaningless initiative to “end child poverty” – but that they get out ahead of the figures while they still can. Two different things.
“Even if the CPC never accomplish anything it is entertaining to watch the lefties blood pressure top out just knowing Harper is in power.”
Even better is watching Harper choke on bile the longer he pretends to be a centrist while dropping in teh polls. Those childish tirades during QP are a direct manifetation of how angry, sore, frustrated and sick Harper is of his pathetically weak minority government and teh dawning realisastion that this is as good as it’s ever going to be for POS like him.
Enjoy the farce suckers, the Liberals (and their allies) will pull the plug when our cash and leader are ready and since Harper was dumb enough to pass the fixed election dates into, the timing is ours to choose.
Speaking of bile……….
“Even if the CPC never accomplish anything it is entertaining to watch the lefties blood pressure top out just knowing Harper is in power.”
Thanks, QL, for confirming that post. Your party has no money, no ideas and a non-electable leader.
Thanks for also confirming your power only mentality with your “Enjoy the farce suckers, the Liberals (and their allies) will pull the plug when our cash and leader are ready and since Harper was dumb enough to pass the fixed election dates into, the timing is ours to choose” remark.
Maybe when Canadians are asked to comment on Liberal policies rather than Liberal criticism of Tory policies, your claim will have credibility.
Can’t wait for your looney left leader and his Dream on team to present their vision to Canadians. Maybe you should go to the polls now, before you get outflanked, again by Harper.
BTW, when are Dion, Layton et al going to apologize to the Cdn soldiers, now that documentation that detainees NOT MISTREATED has been presented?
Not anytime soon? I guess not; not many Lib votes in that move. It’s a better move to take a cheap shot at our soldiers while going after Hillier, the best shit shield the Canadian military has had in a long, long time.
So, QL you can drop the election BS anytime. We all know it is a bluff. Let’s have an election now or later, it’s all the same to Tories.
Holdfast – you are absolutly correct. PMSH has the GG willing and able to put a Deyawneski -Talilayto coalition Commie outfit in government – sell your house now, it will be worthless in a few short months if such a situation arises out of the filth and scum slithering around in the bowels of the HOC. Think about it citizens – we are on thin ice and the Canadian people are blithly unaware – why don’t people read Russian history? Russia freed itself for about 7 months during WWI but they walked right back into chains – arms out, heads down, when Kerenski could not give them all everything they had been promised – the enemy of Russia (Entente) saw an opening and the enemy sent in the ‘destroyer – Lenin. Mo and his control freaks are waiting in the wings…be afraid, be very afraid because I am not making this up.
“Even if the CPC never accomplish anything it is entertaining to watch the lefties blood pressure top out just knowing Harper is in power.”
I love it. Quantum just confirmed it.
“our cash and leader are ready”
Kate Lunau, Macleans.ca | May 2, 2007
“Two veteran Liberals pointed to political financing reforms that severely curtailed how much corporations could donate as a reason for their party’s fundraising woes – but butted heads on who’s to blame.
“What it says is that the Liberal Party of Canada had become too dependent on corporate money for too many years and I think that was one of the concerns that [former Prime Minister Jean] Chrétien had,” Warren Kinsella, a former staffer for Chrétien, told Macleans.ca.”
…The Conservative party raised almost 10 times more money – from 10 times more donors – as the Liberals in the first three months of 2007.
Even the NDP, traditionally the least funded of the three main parties, raised twice as much as the Stéphane Dion’s party.
The Liberals managed to raise only $531,141 from 4,365 donors, quarterly fundraising results posted Tuesday by Elections Canada show. The Conservatives raised almost $5.2-million from over 45,000 contributors, while the NDP attracted $1.2-million from nearly 15,000 donors.
Out of power and cut off from brown bags of cash passed under the table, Dion a leader? In your dreams. Still I wonder where the stolen forty million is.
“Enjoy the farce suckers, the Liberals (and their allies) will pull the plug when our cash and leader are ready and since Harper was dumb enough to pass the fixed election dates into, the timing is ours to choose.” – A Quantum Liberal
“…our cash and leader…”
Whose cash? And what leader?
Idiot.
Oh, and another Diongalism in the Post today:
“Michael (Ignatieff) is the best writer we have – after me.”
This guy is just one blown up, slithering ego. But forget about the pin. I’m waiting for the knives to come out.
Clearly it is assinine to state that the quality of life for Canada’s children dropped so significantly over one year. The source lacks complete and total credibility.
“….the Liberals (and their allies) will pull the plug when our cash and leader are ready…”
You’re planning -that- long of a wait. Wow, that’s patience for ya.
Did anybody see when they brought this story out on Global Toronto morning news the other day? They matter of factly stated that the reason, according to “experts”, for the numbers dropping was “due to recent govt. cuts on social spending”
What social spending would that be exactly? I just about smashed my tv when I heard that. Global used to be the least biased news but now they seem to be just as bad as cbc and ctv.
Mulrooney thought I had no where else to go.
I went Reform in 88,