“We must be really proud that the parties that believe in Canada are stronger* tonight”. – Stephane Dion
38 Replies to “Quote Of The Week”
Dion…..the gift that keeps on giving!!
Well, that is one way of putting it… I don’t think he was expecting these results, and it will be highly interesting to see what effect this has on his leadership. Judging from history, I imagine the knives are out, M. Dion had better watch his back!
Looking at the numbers it is apparent Quebecers sure hate Lieberals….and Greens 😉
With this kind of support for the greens in Quebec…why did Dion make Kyoto a hobby horse issue?
As I say the man is retarded.
I think he means stronger as in odour. he thinks the results stink.
I agree …. every time a Liberal gets the boot Canada is better off.
Cal2: he could also mean “stronger” as in the heat of his poop-on/Dijon mustard…with Borat it’s difficult to decipher the arcane messages he blurts out…like translation Tourettes. 😀
Following Dion’s logic (if there is any) the libs don’t believe in Canada. Finally a bit of honesty from a Liberal leader!!!
Remember, Dion is the best thing to happen to Canada in 30 years. It will be his leadership qualities that produces a majority for Harper.
Dion had some help reaching these depths:
Denis Coderre, Scott Reid, Martha Hall-Findley, and so-on, each spreading vitriol and arrogance at every opportunity. I doubt Jason had much influence outside of his blog readers, most of whom were likely turned off with his silly brand of nonsense. In contrast to Dion and his cronies, Harper projects comprehension, intelligence, and fairness, without Liberal-style malice. What Quebec said last night, will likely be repeated with a louder voice in other parts of Canada.
How about Dion’s comment after the loss that “they (Canadians) respect us. Respect comes first. The support will follow”.
I think that says a great deal – that Dion operates as a Full Professor, who treats everyone as his undergrad students – who must naturally, respect him as The Professor/Leader. He’s not interested in their support; but they must respect him.
I predict – no election this fall. Harper can govern As If he had a majority. Dion won’t want an election because if he has any brains (hmm, maybe I should take that back)…he’ll know that if/when he loses, he’s finished as The Leader. The Bloc won’t want want because separatism is dissolving in Quebec as Harper’s decentralized policies gather strength. (Heck – even Mike Duffy last night said just this same thing).
The only party to want an election soon, maybe, would be the NDP who want to throttle the Liberals. The Liberals, who don’t have policies, but just agendas of bribing and manipulating their way to Power – have been pushed further and further left, by Harper, as Harper moved ‘centre’.
This set up the Liberals and NDP in a bloody battle. The NDP at least have policies, leftist policies. And here came the Liberals, intruding into their turf, pretending to be left – simply for the votes. Now, the NDP fought back, and in Outremont – they won. So, they’ll want to increase their attacks on the Liberals and hope to destroy them. The NDP Mulcair in Outremont will be playing a very big visible role in the House this fall.
Dion is a disaster for the Liberals, but, a boon to the NDP and CPC. I think Harper will wait until 2009 – as long as Dion is leader, he can govern ‘as if’ he had a majority because he’s got both the Liberals and the Bloc – in a stranglehold. Meanwhile, Harper can continue to decentralize, give more power to the provinces etc – and in 2009, come out with a majority.
The key question, however, is: Will the Liberals wait and see themselves reduced to dust, by the CPC and the NDP? Of course, I think there’s a threshold for the NDP; their centrist socialism is the opposite of Harper’s decentralization and I think the era of centrist socialism in Canada is dead.
I agree with most of ET’s analysis. I think Harper will use this opportunity to continue governing as he has been: like honest Liberals. He’s pushing most of the same touchy-feely big government nonsense, but without the outrageous corruption — while doing his real work below the radar.
I would prefer that Harper be a real Conservative and slash some taxes and cut the size of government. But obviously he has calculated that that would alienate fearful eastern Canadians, so he’s opted for Tory Lite. As long as he keeps that crooked bunch of sociopaths out of office, I’ll swallow my pride and support him.
I would like to think Harper can hang on until 2009 before calling an election. But here’s the good news, as I (hopefully) see it: whenever the election is called, it will have been preceded by many months of Conservative appointments to boards, committees, agencies, the Senate, and court benches far and wide — in short, where the real tone of government is set.
I’m just hoping for one bone to be thrown my way in the Throne Speech: lower taxes. Lower EI deductions. Lower anything.
The five stages of political mortality: from irrelevance to obsolescence:
1)SHOCK “Oh my Gawd we actually lost the election”
2)ANGER “we’ll get that dirty Harper rat for this, no cooperation, no positive media, no quarter.”
3)DEFENSE REACTION “our poll numbers are going nowhere because there is nothing on voter’s minds right now”
4)DENIAL “so we lost all 3 Quebec by elections, we will win big in the spring general”
5)ACCEPTANCE ” well we’re back in the Opposition benches for good, voters didn’t like Dion, Iggy, Trudeau Jr or Kyoto…maybe it’s something something we stand for that ticks them off.”
Gee, maybe even the Quebecers don’t like the idea of being governed by a citizen of France.
Anybody Canadian who votes for a dual citizenship politician is seriously out to lunch.
Dion shows up at a plowing match in Ont.this a.m.(just on cbc)…hmm,is this where they bury the Lib.party? Plow her into the ground boys,and all the puffin poo along with it!Delightful.
Well, at least us “knuckledraggers” cannot be accused of hating, or being hated by Quebec. Kind of ironic, eh?
Dion can take some time off now for the trip to Afganistan, nothing holding him back.
the newest road trip movie “Borat Dion and Taliban Jack” in “Road to Kandahar” with “Dizzy Liz May” as the sidekick.
Im thinking CBCpravda has turned on him and will be full out Iggy supporters soon, Iggy replacing the Lie in Liberal with I.
Possible runner-up for quote of the week: Last night Lloyd Robertson, after first noting that whenever there’s been francophone leaders Quebecers have historically supported their native sons, asked Robert Fife what the by election results say about Stephane Dion.
Fife: “Well, they’ve seen a lot of Stephane Dion, and they don’t like him.”
What amazes me is how the MSM was so utterly wrong about Dion for so long. Finally, they are starting to clue in to what most everyone else has known since the last Liberal leadership convention: Dion is just a slow motion train wreck.
Just after Dion’s victory, I recall commentators like Paul Wells saying that Dion was someone to “watch” and others claiming that he would surprise everyone. He sure has, except that he has surprised everyone strongly to the downside.
You would think that a leader whose main goal is to unseat the Tories would articulate policies that might appeal to Tory voters, but Dion “surprised” everyone by going after the NDP and the Greens. Even this bizarre strategy didn’t elicit as much as a hiccup from the perennially clueless MSM. Did anyone seriously believe that Jack Layton would just roll over and watch Dion poach his supporters? Of course not. The byelection results are proof of that.
Judging by last night’s results, I think that the NDP is going to hammer the libs in Montreal, the GTA and central Vancouver next election. What we may be seeing here is the fragmentation of the leftist vote in Canada, the main beneficiary of which will be Harper’s conservatives.
Put the blame for dion’s trouble where it belongs. Paul Martin quit, Lapierre quit.
If a man in the street interview was held today in Outremont, asking, who won the election yesterday, how many would answer the Liberals, because of the name/former party of the person who won.
Didn’t Justin Trudeau want to run there but was stopped by Dion. So much for this guys appointed candidates. Liberal women, beware of being appointed as a candidate.
Judging by last night’s results, I think that the NDP is going to hammer the libs in Montreal, the GTA and central Vancouver next election. What we may be seeing here is the fragmentation of the leftist vote in Canada, the main beneficiary of which will be Harper’s conservatives.
Posted by: Dennis at September 18, 2007 11:24 AM
Imagine IF (and that’s a mighty big IF) the NDP does poach traditionally Liberal seats, and the CPC gets traditionally Bloc seats in the next election…. A Conservative minority/majority government with the NDP as the official opposition…. lol. I think I’m gonna have a Big Mac for lunch today because I’m lovin’ it.
Oh.. OH..! This just came in on the mail lists…great Dion joke:
So Dion was walking down a street in Outremont carrying a brown paper bag. He ran into one of the local LPC campaign people, who asked,
“Hey! What’s in the bag?”
Dion tells his friend that he has some puffin poop in the bag. His friend thinks a second, smiles and says,
“Well, I’ll make you a bet. If I can guess how much puffin poop you have in the bag, you’ll have to give me some.”
Then Dion blurts out, “I’ll tell you what. If you guess right and tell me there’s 2 cups of puffin poop I have in this bag, I’ll give you all of it.”
RE: Harper
“He’s pushing most of the same touchy-feely big government nonsense, but without the outrageous corruption — while doing his real work below the radar.”
Wholeheartedly agree. PMSH is the best thing that has come along for Canada in decades. What a brilliant man.
Hey, WLMRedux, I’m enjoying it, too.
Although I don’t think Stephanie’s a retard, I did recently get it into my head that he and Rain Man may have a lot in common.
I bet he could be manipulated into saying in English, “Liberals suck”…
Hmm- I’m not sure; I think that there’s a critical threshold for the NDP and it won’t go above that threshold. I think the days of socialism are over; it will always hang around, a kind of nostalgia for gov’t ‘making everything right’. But that’s all. So, I don’t agree with the NDP as the Official Opposition or even taking the seats in Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal.
Quebec has shifted; it’s no longer as isolate and socialist and Big Gov’t Care For Me as it was; the win by the ADQ and the PQ’s dropping of the referendum is evidence of that.
There’s still a lot more ‘tectonic shifts’ to come, I think. As I said, Harper moved the Liberals and NDP into open confrontation with each other, as he shifted to the centre – a move he had to do, because of Canada’s heritage of being only middle of the road and open to big gov’t. But also a tactical move because it meant that rather than the CPC fighting the Liberals, the NDP would do it. Neat.
Now, Harper can continue with his ‘right’ agenda – of decentralization and smaller federal gov’t. I doubt if the Liberals or Bloc will want a federal election any time soon. Dion will, of course, be posturing about his opposition to everything, hoping that the Bloc will prevent an election.
But, the new guy from Outremont, who is a Quebec Liberal now NDP, Mulcair – is apparently extremely ambitious. Will he be Jack Layton’s Ignatieff? That would be interesting to watch.
He’s a socialist – and in Quebec, there’s not much difference between a Liberal and NDP socialist. So, I’m more sceptical that his win was because he was NDP; I think his win was because he was, on his own, extremely population AND, he wasn’t Liberal. The Liberals are dead meat in Quebec. My point is that I don’t think that NDP socialist policies are a treasure chest in Quebec.
But, the Liberals only got 28% in Outremont, and below 10% in the other two ridings. That’s a wipe-out. In St. Hyacinth, the Bloc got 42.1 but the CPC got 37.1. Close.
By the way, Mary T – Jocelyn Coulon in Outremont is a man. Not a woman.
Dion is now saying that the reason the Liberals lost was because voters were angry at the Conservative stance on Afghanistan and preferred the NDP stance of ‘get out right now’.
He is thereby saying that he and the Liberals actually support the Govt – but his constant threat to bring the gov’t down over Afghanistan puts the lie to that. I think, if it can be believed, that Dion is trying to move himself to stick to the CPC – rather than remain in the left with the NDP where Harper pushed him.
But, if the voters were sending a ‘clear signal to the govt’ that they rejected its (and of course, loyal Dion’s ) support for the Afghanistan War – then, why didn’t they against the CPC in the Roberval riding that the CPC won??? And why, in the Bloc won riding (St Hyacinth) – did they vote for the CPC at 37%, the Bloc at 42, and the Liberals – below 10?
So, Dion’s explanation that the vote was because Quebecers prefer the NDP stance on Afghanistan is pure garbage.
Doesn’t he realize that people are, frankly, offeneded by such blatant nonsense? And his statement that he’s pleased that ‘most people voted for parties that believe in Canada’. Wierd – since the party with the least percentage of votes – was the Liberal party.
ET, maybe, just maybe, more of the electorate is circumnavigating the Librano-dominated spin-machine called “The Media” in this country.
If so, that’s a good thing. Gives me some hope. I have maintained for some time that there is a vast political opportunity for the NDP in Quebec, which I see as beneficial.
How wonderful to see the left in Quebec splinter. Dare I hope that it foretells of an era in Canadian politics when the Quebec tail will finally stop wagging the Canadian dog? Gawd, I hope so.
ET, wrt 12:16, you’re absolutely right. If Quebec voters were sending a “clear signal” that they rejected the Conservative position on Afghanistan, why did 48% of voters in the Quebec nationalist heartland ridings — Saint Hyacinthe-Bagot and Roberval-Lac-Saint-Jean — vote for the Conservatives?
And why did the Liberals, whose leader has been harping on about the NESS-iss-ity of pulling out, get only 8.5% of the votes in those two ridings?
The BQ — who also oppose the mission — and the Liberals combined received fewer votes than the Conservatives in those uber-Quebec ridings.
BTW, I agree with the several commenters on other threads who’ve noticed that the MSM is grossly underplaying the significance of the fact that the Conservatives received 48% of the vote in the two Quebec-nationalist heartland ridings. It seems to me that that is the big story, one far more significant than the ongoing gossip about Liberal backstabbing. Seems like the Liberals are always the story, whether they’re up or down.
I for one support Dion 100%.
I mean, if they chose another leader, the twits here in Ontario might elect them.
As it stands, Dion is Harper’s #1 asset. I’d hate to lose it.
Now if you were a leftard liberal supporter you may not be so happy with the nutty professor.
Another good one from Dion last night:
“Liberal values are Canadian’s values from coast to coast to coast”
How moronic can you get?
And the MSM backs these guys?….How does that make them look?
ET, I know he was a man, my message is for all the women dion plans to appoint for the next election. If these women want to win, fight for the nomination.
Dion needs to be proclaimed Liberal leader for life so the Tories can win the next 7-10 elections with super majorities.
I’m just hoping for one bone to be thrown my way in the Throne Speech: lower taxes. Lower EI deductions. Lower anything.
I’ll add income splitting for married couples?
In England, the Labour party, along with a breakaway party, decimated the Liberal brand, where it no longer exists. By moving Grits just to right of NDP, Dion is making LPC irrelevant, and risks its elimination (which would be incredible given its string of power).
The only thing that kept Libs looking like they had a chance was Jack Layton (no, not Stephen Harper), who didn’t seem to understand, though he may now, that he had to win over Liberal voters, rather than going after Tories.
If Layton could convince Cdns he could keep Harper in line, he has a chance to be Opposition Leader.
Though I’m no Grit, I will offer some unsolicited advice. Get rid of Dion now, right now. Bring in a caretaker to rebuild the party and move it back towards the centre, while reinventing the communications framework of the party. Accept that LPC in wilderness for at least five years, and plan your comeback.
If they fail to do that by retaining Dion or, worse still, his leftie/moonbat policies around Afghan and Kyoto, LPC risks irrelevance and destruction next election. Chretien would never have announced either, he would just scare Cdns into voting for him, and then do whatever he wanted. The situation is something like Kim Campbell’s, where she failed to realize the shortcomings of the PC, why they had lost favour with the electorate, and got them decimated in 1993.
I see no evidence right now that Dion or the Liberals recognize that they have to change their entire political culture, or Canadians will not trust them. They aren’t in love with Harper either, but obviously consider him and his party electable.
Something tells me they won’t take my advice (not just because I vote Conservative), and continue their arrogant belief that only they are a true Canadian party (just look at Dion’s ridiculous claims that he lost stronghold because people unhappy with Tory Afghan policy), we might be witnessing the beginning of their demise.
A week is a long time in politics, so we should be in for a interesting five or six days. Remember, more byelections coming.
Hopefully the Liberals will keep Stephane as leader for a long time to come.
I welcome more of Stephane as Lib leader. It’s like if Mr. Bean was the Lib leader, pretty much, and we know how that’d work out.
On the other hand, if they try to push him out fast, they’re not going to do any better electorally.
Add these facts to all the other ones not to ever vote LIberal again, and the Libs are royally screwed for a long time to come.
And I understand that Warren Kinsella has some harsh criticism for the Party itself that cannot help at all, unless the Party smartens the hell up and stops believing that there’s nothing wrong with it at all.
Then again, it’s also possible that OJ Simpson is innocent of armed robbery.
This fall presents a beautiful opportunity for the Conservatives to do some real cool conservative stuff which Canadians want and which the Liberals can’t fight an election on if they refuse to support these to-be-decided-and-announced highly-desired-by-Canadians conservative things, regardless of who’s the Liberal leader.
Today is a great day to be a Conservative.
By the way, I belive that yesterdays results are symptomatic of the death of “global warming” as a major issue in Canadian politics. I hope in the next general election someone asks Taliban Jack how much gas will be /liter under his gov’t.
if only those loosers in ontario would have the balls to do to the Libs that the people of
quebec have done, SEND THE LOUSY BUMS PACKING.
Poor Karen Winsella. It must be so sad to be her today. Good thing it doesn’t matter who she knows — its who she —-s!
Dion…..the gift that keeps on giving!!
Well, that is one way of putting it… I don’t think he was expecting these results, and it will be highly interesting to see what effect this has on his leadership. Judging from history, I imagine the knives are out, M. Dion had better watch his back!
Looking at the numbers it is apparent Quebecers sure hate Lieberals….and Greens 😉
With this kind of support for the greens in Quebec…why did Dion make Kyoto a hobby horse issue?
As I say the man is retarded.
I think he means stronger as in odour. he thinks the results stink.
I agree …. every time a Liberal gets the boot Canada is better off.
Cal2: he could also mean “stronger” as in the heat of his poop-on/Dijon mustard…with Borat it’s difficult to decipher the arcane messages he blurts out…like translation Tourettes. 😀
Following Dion’s logic (if there is any) the libs don’t believe in Canada. Finally a bit of honesty from a Liberal leader!!!
Remember, Dion is the best thing to happen to Canada in 30 years. It will be his leadership qualities that produces a majority for Harper.
Dion had some help reaching these depths:
Denis Coderre, Scott Reid, Martha Hall-Findley, and so-on, each spreading vitriol and arrogance at every opportunity. I doubt Jason had much influence outside of his blog readers, most of whom were likely turned off with his silly brand of nonsense. In contrast to Dion and his cronies, Harper projects comprehension, intelligence, and fairness, without Liberal-style malice. What Quebec said last night, will likely be repeated with a louder voice in other parts of Canada.
How about Dion’s comment after the loss that “they (Canadians) respect us. Respect comes first. The support will follow”.
I think that says a great deal – that Dion operates as a Full Professor, who treats everyone as his undergrad students – who must naturally, respect him as The Professor/Leader. He’s not interested in their support; but they must respect him.
I predict – no election this fall. Harper can govern As If he had a majority. Dion won’t want an election because if he has any brains (hmm, maybe I should take that back)…he’ll know that if/when he loses, he’s finished as The Leader. The Bloc won’t want want because separatism is dissolving in Quebec as Harper’s decentralized policies gather strength. (Heck – even Mike Duffy last night said just this same thing).
The only party to want an election soon, maybe, would be the NDP who want to throttle the Liberals. The Liberals, who don’t have policies, but just agendas of bribing and manipulating their way to Power – have been pushed further and further left, by Harper, as Harper moved ‘centre’.
This set up the Liberals and NDP in a bloody battle. The NDP at least have policies, leftist policies. And here came the Liberals, intruding into their turf, pretending to be left – simply for the votes. Now, the NDP fought back, and in Outremont – they won. So, they’ll want to increase their attacks on the Liberals and hope to destroy them. The NDP Mulcair in Outremont will be playing a very big visible role in the House this fall.
Dion is a disaster for the Liberals, but, a boon to the NDP and CPC. I think Harper will wait until 2009 – as long as Dion is leader, he can govern ‘as if’ he had a majority because he’s got both the Liberals and the Bloc – in a stranglehold. Meanwhile, Harper can continue to decentralize, give more power to the provinces etc – and in 2009, come out with a majority.
The key question, however, is: Will the Liberals wait and see themselves reduced to dust, by the CPC and the NDP? Of course, I think there’s a threshold for the NDP; their centrist socialism is the opposite of Harper’s decentralization and I think the era of centrist socialism in Canada is dead.
I agree with most of ET’s analysis. I think Harper will use this opportunity to continue governing as he has been: like honest Liberals. He’s pushing most of the same touchy-feely big government nonsense, but without the outrageous corruption — while doing his real work below the radar.
I would prefer that Harper be a real Conservative and slash some taxes and cut the size of government. But obviously he has calculated that that would alienate fearful eastern Canadians, so he’s opted for Tory Lite. As long as he keeps that crooked bunch of sociopaths out of office, I’ll swallow my pride and support him.
I would like to think Harper can hang on until 2009 before calling an election. But here’s the good news, as I (hopefully) see it: whenever the election is called, it will have been preceded by many months of Conservative appointments to boards, committees, agencies, the Senate, and court benches far and wide — in short, where the real tone of government is set.
I’m just hoping for one bone to be thrown my way in the Throne Speech: lower taxes. Lower EI deductions. Lower anything.
The five stages of political mortality: from irrelevance to obsolescence:
1)SHOCK “Oh my Gawd we actually lost the election”
2)ANGER “we’ll get that dirty Harper rat for this, no cooperation, no positive media, no quarter.”
3)DEFENSE REACTION “our poll numbers are going nowhere because there is nothing on voter’s minds right now”
4)DENIAL “so we lost all 3 Quebec by elections, we will win big in the spring general”
5)ACCEPTANCE ” well we’re back in the Opposition benches for good, voters didn’t like Dion, Iggy, Trudeau Jr or Kyoto…maybe it’s something something we stand for that ticks them off.”
Gee, maybe even the Quebecers don’t like the idea of being governed by a citizen of France.
Anybody Canadian who votes for a dual citizenship politician is seriously out to lunch.
Dion shows up at a plowing match in Ont.this a.m.(just on cbc)…hmm,is this where they bury the Lib.party? Plow her into the ground boys,and all the puffin poo along with it!Delightful.
Well, at least us “knuckledraggers” cannot be accused of hating, or being hated by Quebec. Kind of ironic, eh?
Dion can take some time off now for the trip to Afganistan, nothing holding him back.
the newest road trip movie “Borat Dion and Taliban Jack” in “Road to Kandahar” with “Dizzy Liz May” as the sidekick.
Im thinking CBCpravda has turned on him and will be full out Iggy supporters soon, Iggy replacing the Lie in Liberal with I.
Possible runner-up for quote of the week: Last night Lloyd Robertson, after first noting that whenever there’s been francophone leaders Quebecers have historically supported their native sons, asked Robert Fife what the by election results say about Stephane Dion.
Fife: “Well, they’ve seen a lot of Stephane Dion, and they don’t like him.”
What amazes me is how the MSM was so utterly wrong about Dion for so long. Finally, they are starting to clue in to what most everyone else has known since the last Liberal leadership convention: Dion is just a slow motion train wreck.
Just after Dion’s victory, I recall commentators like Paul Wells saying that Dion was someone to “watch” and others claiming that he would surprise everyone. He sure has, except that he has surprised everyone strongly to the downside.
You would think that a leader whose main goal is to unseat the Tories would articulate policies that might appeal to Tory voters, but Dion “surprised” everyone by going after the NDP and the Greens. Even this bizarre strategy didn’t elicit as much as a hiccup from the perennially clueless MSM. Did anyone seriously believe that Jack Layton would just roll over and watch Dion poach his supporters? Of course not. The byelection results are proof of that.
Judging by last night’s results, I think that the NDP is going to hammer the libs in Montreal, the GTA and central Vancouver next election. What we may be seeing here is the fragmentation of the leftist vote in Canada, the main beneficiary of which will be Harper’s conservatives.
Put the blame for dion’s trouble where it belongs. Paul Martin quit, Lapierre quit.
If a man in the street interview was held today in Outremont, asking, who won the election yesterday, how many would answer the Liberals, because of the name/former party of the person who won.
Didn’t Justin Trudeau want to run there but was stopped by Dion. So much for this guys appointed candidates. Liberal women, beware of being appointed as a candidate.
Judging by last night’s results, I think that the NDP is going to hammer the libs in Montreal, the GTA and central Vancouver next election. What we may be seeing here is the fragmentation of the leftist vote in Canada, the main beneficiary of which will be Harper’s conservatives.
Posted by: Dennis at September 18, 2007 11:24 AM
Imagine IF (and that’s a mighty big IF) the NDP does poach traditionally Liberal seats, and the CPC gets traditionally Bloc seats in the next election…. A Conservative minority/majority government with the NDP as the official opposition…. lol. I think I’m gonna have a Big Mac for lunch today because I’m lovin’ it.
Oh.. OH..! This just came in on the mail lists…great Dion joke:
So Dion was walking down a street in Outremont carrying a brown paper bag. He ran into one of the local LPC campaign people, who asked,
“Hey! What’s in the bag?”
Dion tells his friend that he has some puffin poop in the bag. His friend thinks a second, smiles and says,
“Well, I’ll make you a bet. If I can guess how much puffin poop you have in the bag, you’ll have to give me some.”
Then Dion blurts out, “I’ll tell you what. If you guess right and tell me there’s 2 cups of puffin poop I have in this bag, I’ll give you all of it.”
RE: Harper
“He’s pushing most of the same touchy-feely big government nonsense, but without the outrageous corruption — while doing his real work below the radar.”
Wholeheartedly agree. PMSH is the best thing that has come along for Canada in decades. What a brilliant man.
Hey, WLMRedux, I’m enjoying it, too.
Although I don’t think Stephanie’s a retard, I did recently get it into my head that he and Rain Man may have a lot in common.
I bet he could be manipulated into saying in English, “Liberals suck”…
Hmm- I’m not sure; I think that there’s a critical threshold for the NDP and it won’t go above that threshold. I think the days of socialism are over; it will always hang around, a kind of nostalgia for gov’t ‘making everything right’. But that’s all. So, I don’t agree with the NDP as the Official Opposition or even taking the seats in Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal.
Quebec has shifted; it’s no longer as isolate and socialist and Big Gov’t Care For Me as it was; the win by the ADQ and the PQ’s dropping of the referendum is evidence of that.
There’s still a lot more ‘tectonic shifts’ to come, I think. As I said, Harper moved the Liberals and NDP into open confrontation with each other, as he shifted to the centre – a move he had to do, because of Canada’s heritage of being only middle of the road and open to big gov’t. But also a tactical move because it meant that rather than the CPC fighting the Liberals, the NDP would do it. Neat.
Now, Harper can continue with his ‘right’ agenda – of decentralization and smaller federal gov’t. I doubt if the Liberals or Bloc will want a federal election any time soon. Dion will, of course, be posturing about his opposition to everything, hoping that the Bloc will prevent an election.
But, the new guy from Outremont, who is a Quebec Liberal now NDP, Mulcair – is apparently extremely ambitious. Will he be Jack Layton’s Ignatieff? That would be interesting to watch.
He’s a socialist – and in Quebec, there’s not much difference between a Liberal and NDP socialist. So, I’m more sceptical that his win was because he was NDP; I think his win was because he was, on his own, extremely population AND, he wasn’t Liberal. The Liberals are dead meat in Quebec. My point is that I don’t think that NDP socialist policies are a treasure chest in Quebec.
But, the Liberals only got 28% in Outremont, and below 10% in the other two ridings. That’s a wipe-out. In St. Hyacinth, the Bloc got 42.1 but the CPC got 37.1. Close.
By the way, Mary T – Jocelyn Coulon in Outremont is a man. Not a woman.
Dion is now saying that the reason the Liberals lost was because voters were angry at the Conservative stance on Afghanistan and preferred the NDP stance of ‘get out right now’.
He is thereby saying that he and the Liberals actually support the Govt – but his constant threat to bring the gov’t down over Afghanistan puts the lie to that. I think, if it can be believed, that Dion is trying to move himself to stick to the CPC – rather than remain in the left with the NDP where Harper pushed him.
But, if the voters were sending a ‘clear signal to the govt’ that they rejected its (and of course, loyal Dion’s ) support for the Afghanistan War – then, why didn’t they against the CPC in the Roberval riding that the CPC won??? And why, in the Bloc won riding (St Hyacinth) – did they vote for the CPC at 37%, the Bloc at 42, and the Liberals – below 10?
So, Dion’s explanation that the vote was because Quebecers prefer the NDP stance on Afghanistan is pure garbage.
Doesn’t he realize that people are, frankly, offeneded by such blatant nonsense? And his statement that he’s pleased that ‘most people voted for parties that believe in Canada’. Wierd – since the party with the least percentage of votes – was the Liberal party.
ET, maybe, just maybe, more of the electorate is circumnavigating the Librano-dominated spin-machine called “The Media” in this country.
If so, that’s a good thing. Gives me some hope. I have maintained for some time that there is a vast political opportunity for the NDP in Quebec, which I see as beneficial.
How wonderful to see the left in Quebec splinter. Dare I hope that it foretells of an era in Canadian politics when the Quebec tail will finally stop wagging the Canadian dog? Gawd, I hope so.
ET, wrt 12:16, you’re absolutely right. If Quebec voters were sending a “clear signal” that they rejected the Conservative position on Afghanistan, why did 48% of voters in the Quebec nationalist heartland ridings — Saint Hyacinthe-Bagot and Roberval-Lac-Saint-Jean — vote for the Conservatives?
And why did the Liberals, whose leader has been harping on about the NESS-iss-ity of pulling out, get only 8.5% of the votes in those two ridings?
The BQ — who also oppose the mission — and the Liberals combined received fewer votes than the Conservatives in those uber-Quebec ridings.
BTW, I agree with the several commenters on other threads who’ve noticed that the MSM is grossly underplaying the significance of the fact that the Conservatives received 48% of the vote in the two Quebec-nationalist heartland ridings. It seems to me that that is the big story, one far more significant than the ongoing gossip about Liberal backstabbing. Seems like the Liberals are always the story, whether they’re up or down.
I for one support Dion 100%.
I mean, if they chose another leader, the twits here in Ontario might elect them.
As it stands, Dion is Harper’s #1 asset. I’d hate to lose it.
Now if you were a leftard liberal supporter you may not be so happy with the nutty professor.
Another good one from Dion last night:
“Liberal values are Canadian’s values from coast to coast to coast”
How moronic can you get?
And the MSM backs these guys?….How does that make them look?
ET, I know he was a man, my message is for all the women dion plans to appoint for the next election. If these women want to win, fight for the nomination.
Dion needs to be proclaimed Liberal leader for life so the Tories can win the next 7-10 elections with super majorities.
I’m just hoping for one bone to be thrown my way in the Throne Speech: lower taxes. Lower EI deductions. Lower anything.
I’ll add income splitting for married couples?
In England, the Labour party, along with a breakaway party, decimated the Liberal brand, where it no longer exists. By moving Grits just to right of NDP, Dion is making LPC irrelevant, and risks its elimination (which would be incredible given its string of power).
The only thing that kept Libs looking like they had a chance was Jack Layton (no, not Stephen Harper), who didn’t seem to understand, though he may now, that he had to win over Liberal voters, rather than going after Tories.
If Layton could convince Cdns he could keep Harper in line, he has a chance to be Opposition Leader.
Though I’m no Grit, I will offer some unsolicited advice. Get rid of Dion now, right now. Bring in a caretaker to rebuild the party and move it back towards the centre, while reinventing the communications framework of the party. Accept that LPC in wilderness for at least five years, and plan your comeback.
If they fail to do that by retaining Dion or, worse still, his leftie/moonbat policies around Afghan and Kyoto, LPC risks irrelevance and destruction next election. Chretien would never have announced either, he would just scare Cdns into voting for him, and then do whatever he wanted. The situation is something like Kim Campbell’s, where she failed to realize the shortcomings of the PC, why they had lost favour with the electorate, and got them decimated in 1993.
I see no evidence right now that Dion or the Liberals recognize that they have to change their entire political culture, or Canadians will not trust them. They aren’t in love with Harper either, but obviously consider him and his party electable.
Something tells me they won’t take my advice (not just because I vote Conservative), and continue their arrogant belief that only they are a true Canadian party (just look at Dion’s ridiculous claims that he lost stronghold because people unhappy with Tory Afghan policy), we might be witnessing the beginning of their demise.
A week is a long time in politics, so we should be in for a interesting five or six days. Remember, more byelections coming.
Hopefully the Liberals will keep Stephane as leader for a long time to come.
I welcome more of Stephane as Lib leader. It’s like if Mr. Bean was the Lib leader, pretty much, and we know how that’d work out.
On the other hand, if they try to push him out fast, they’re not going to do any better electorally.
Add these facts to all the other ones not to ever vote LIberal again, and the Libs are royally screwed for a long time to come.
And I understand that Warren Kinsella has some harsh criticism for the Party itself that cannot help at all, unless the Party smartens the hell up and stops believing that there’s nothing wrong with it at all.
Then again, it’s also possible that OJ Simpson is innocent of armed robbery.
This fall presents a beautiful opportunity for the Conservatives to do some real cool conservative stuff which Canadians want and which the Liberals can’t fight an election on if they refuse to support these to-be-decided-and-announced highly-desired-by-Canadians conservative things, regardless of who’s the Liberal leader.
Today is a great day to be a Conservative.
By the way, I belive that yesterdays results are symptomatic of the death of “global warming” as a major issue in Canadian politics. I hope in the next general election someone asks Taliban Jack how much gas will be /liter under his gov’t.
if only those loosers in ontario would have the balls to do to the Libs that the people of
quebec have done, SEND THE LOUSY BUMS PACKING.
Poor Karen Winsella. It must be so sad to be her today. Good thing it doesn’t matter who she knows — its who she —-s!