An open thread, for those who wish one.
You can watch online here, or follow the snark on Twitter.
Update: Something tells me this wasn’t the takeaway the NDP were looking for.
Update: Lance’s Remarks
PM Harper was strong and factual during the economy segment. He was on defence for the whole thing, but held ground. He wisely let the progressives push their cred against each other during environment. During that segment, I was taken aback at the hypocrisy from the previous segment. During Economy it was all attacks on things like “Canada is in a recession”, “job report is bad”, etc. The sector that’s causing that is the oil and gas sector, everything else is growing. Then immediately go into the environment topic and it’s all “we have to be more responsible”, “are you for Kinder-Morgan”…. Does the left actually think about what they’re saying? No one touched him on the Foreign Policy segment. PM Harper forgot to say thank-you during his close. He did, however, ask for my vote.
May was May with one exception, when she called out Trudeau and Mulcair during their separatism fight. I thought that was golden, but totally naive. Just elect her Speaker of the House and be done with it. Not only will it shut her up, she’ll probably be good at the job.
Trudeau did better than expected, but he was debating Mulcair, not the PM. He was auditioning for the Opposition. His closing statement was…umm…far out.
Mulcair was off-putting to me during the whole time. He was articulate and explained his points well, but his method of speaking was disconcerting. After the Parliament attack last fall, his manner of speaking was bang-on correct. Show calmness, don’t show anger, forceful yet quiet; but tonight it was completely the wrong tone. In my mind he’s run too far away from the ‘Angry Tom’ label. I completely disagree with most of what he said, of course, so I won’t comment on the meat of his statements.
Somebody, rather many body’s lying something fierce.
The major difficulty for the LIV is that he does not know the difference.
Mulcair’s advisors painted a purdy smile on his face.
Harper says “let me be clear” too much.
Trudeau fumbling his lines.
May being kept quiet for the most part…..perhaps I spoke too soon.
Somebody, rather many body’s lying something fierce.
The major difficulty for the LIV is that he does not know the difference.
Just tuned in and this looks more like a playground squabble than a debate. Paul Wells is certainly not impartial and why is Lizzy May allowed on stage?
Somebody, rather many body’s lying something fierce.
The major difficulty for the LIV is that he does not know the difference.
Somebody, rather many body’s lying something fierce.
The major difficulty for the LIV is that he does not know the difference.
Now Wells is attacking… 4 against 1.
Got it Lev, thanks.
Sorry for the multiple posts.
After the first submission it told me that there was an error, it repeated the error message as many times as there are pots
My apology.
Stephen should have brought a copy of that picture of wells with Justin and his wife and asked wells about it.
Lizzy may and mulcair have no clue about the concept of value add.
Got a few words of debate online and then it kept cutting off. Am answering poll questions on macleans Facebook but votes seem to be weighted by lefty macleans readers. Wonder how many other people arevgoing trouble if don’t have t.v.Tried switching languages to French but no go either. Tried smartphone besides computer.
Mulcair said “natural justice” what the heck is that?
Also calls rail car oil transport “extremely dangerous”. Typical reckless lefty.
Apparently it’s on TV as well if you get CPAC and maybe CITY TV IIRC. Maybe you could tune in there.
Well hell we have 5 leaders from the Guild of Parasitic Droolers.
Harper is the least clueless.
Shame the Media Party hacks won’t run directly for office.
If Wells is impartial I am a unicorn.
When we continually chose our leaders from the ranks of these career parasites, why do we wonder that they sell our grandchildren into slavery to fund their greed and short term graft?
Of those 5 posers on the stage, has even one of them ever produced a good of benefit to taxpayers?
I believe all who take from the public treasury, shall not vote.
Those benefiting from extorting the public should not chose who will be robbed, this is kleptocracy.
Also every taxpayer should be paid their gross income, then forced to individually remit all the taxes and fees that are currently the employers problem.
Finally I hear the Hair Apparent saying “We will ask the wealthy to contribute more”
Just like a Libtard, it will be compulsory but we are only asking.
Yup what happens when you say NO?
Screw the Canadian debate. Brett baier just threw a hands grenade in the fox debate.
The hair apparent firmly in turd place
Just notices the men have penis shaped ties while May has a v shaped (think vulva) neckline
Where is Judy Rebbick when we need her
The horror, the horror.
hmmmmmm. Trudeau’s performance will probably track well.
I think Trudeau was auditioning for the role of PM in his “closing remarks”. Drama teacher experience becomes relevant!
Justine’s closing remarks reminded me of those given by candidates for high school president.
Caught the last 2/3rds of the debate – thought it was much better done than past CBC productions.
Hmmm, as an ex msm viewer I have to give props to the make-up dept. Really, the straps on Paul Wells’ pig-nose mask are totally invisible! Good work!
“We will ask the wealthy to contribute more”
Where “ask” means “compel by force of law” and “contribute” means “not in a voluntary sense”.
Libtards. Class envy and bonehead economics all wrapped up in one air-headed package.
Mulcair not as formidable as per reputation.
JT a tad breathless – did not destroy himself.
Liz May much constrained – to her advantage.
PMSH a very workmanlike performance – had the facts at his fingertips and hardly broke a sweat.
I watched a part of it until Lizzy May started interrupting both Mr. Harper and Mr. Mulcair.
I’ve watched debates since we argued ”should Canada be involved in Vietnam” No one, absolutely no one should be allowed to speak out of turn, and especially not interrupt another speaker. Both Trudeau and May should have had their asses kicked out of the studio and for that specific reason.
As is always the case, it’s easy to debate when you haven’t been a part of the ruling party. I’m with Mr. Harper all the way.
Host – horrible moderation
Mulcair – horrible make-up
Lizzy – Prepared for the first 10 minutes, then being Lizzy
Justin – the prince of platitudes
PMSH – slow, nervous start; unnatural smile; otherwise pretty even
Has dizzy miss lizzy ever kept her mouth shut?
For anyone wondering about the Justin-Paul Wells photo, here it is in this report from BC Blue:
https://bcblue.wordpress.com/2015/03/31/media-party-story-of-shadowy-conservative-fundraising-group-blows-up-in-their-face/
“Justin – the prince of platitudes”
That pretty much sums up his performance. It’s embarrassing to be so tiresome. If only Shiny Pony got that.
I particularly enjoyed his overtures to the very people who want Canada’s wealth but won’t call themselves citizens: the First Nations bandits.
I hope aboriginal oilfield workers watched this debate. They should know who is screwing them over for the thieves on the rez.
The only reason May was in the debate was to interrupt & redirect the focus back onto Harper. If she had shut up Turdo & McLump would have clearly articulated their WAR over Quebec… Missed the last 15″… Harper was the only Adult…CARBON TAX..CARBON TAX
USA Megan Kelly just had to take a cheap shot (A Hillary team planted question) on Trump…Why did you call that woman (the view Rosy)bad names (listed)..do you hate females.
He answered & recognized she was taking a cheap shot….and I hope Fox sends her (Megan Kelly) to keep company with CNN Candy Crowley… Keep her and other Democrat Plants out of the Presidential debates.
Trump, Carly & the DOC move on…first debate over
I’m about halfway through and I gotta say Harper has this in the bag. This is EXACTLY the debate that needs to happen. Any of our voters watching that will vote Con guaranteed. 100% guaranteed. It will even raise doubts among folks who were dabbling with the idea of Trudeau. Mulcair and May’s voters are hopeless.
Picture of Paul Wells and Justin
https://bcblue.wordpress.com/2015/03/31/media-party-story-of-shadowy-conservative-fundraising-group-blows-up-in-their-face/
Baseball analogy.
You are the manager heading into the bottom of the 9th with a one run lead. Your starting pitcher who has had a remarkable season is still in the game and has only allowed 5 hits scattered throughout the first 8 innings. He is still throwing hard and the pitch count is well within his limit. You look in the bullpen and have available an aging lifetime minor leaguer with an unremarkable career and no big league experience. You also have a perennial bench warmer waving at the crowd instead of watching the game. He has never played baseball in his life, preferring more sophisticated pursuits. Your last available pitcher has also never thrown a baseball and why she is there, no one knows.
Who would you choose to finish the game?
The man-child held his own, but I’m sure in his mind he thought he triumphed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60pE3j6HoNk
I only caught a couple clips but thought Mulcair was creepy to the point of being disturbing and frightening to small children. I went to Twitter and typed in ‘Mulcair’ and ‘Mulcair creepy’ was the top search so obviously everyone saw him the same as I did. The creepy candidate never wins. That was Michael Ignatieff’s problem, he was creepy. It was often said that Ignatieff “looks like a vampire, but not in a good way.” I’ve been reading dozens of descriptions of Mulcair and most people call him “the creepy grade 9 teacher.” Hard to turn that around.
May and Trudeau both did well and will probably take a lot of NDP support. Tonight was the beginning of the end for Thomas Mulcair’s NDP. (I hope)
My thoughts:
Elizabeth May. Heard it all before, her waxing by Tim Ball is still fresh in my mind; she’s not gonna be PM anyway, but she did manage not to ruin the debate, so that was a plus this time.
Honestly, when she talked I switched between the GOP debate and the Blue Jays dismantling of the Minnesota Twins, They were way more fun, especially the mercurial Trump performance that flummoxed even Charles Krauthhammer. (It seems Fox is pushing the GOP to the centre & they don’t want to go there. It was nice to hear from candidates unafraid to talk about their faith, unlike here).
Justin Trudeau. For him a good performance, exceeding low expectations, but kind of wooden. He had his best moment with Mulcair on the separation threshold, with Mulcair protesting his federalist credentials then pressing both he and Harper on what their “number” is. Trudeau replied “9” referring to the SCOC justices. Though it will be futile, his effort may gain him a few seats from the NDP.
And now for the adults in the debate.
Paul Wells. Overall good job, though allowed too many interruptions imho. Excellent questions I thought. His supporting team was worse than bad with their ridiculous analysis. Right 2/3 of their Facebook poll “support” carbon taxes. How about new carbon taxes? Real amateur hour there. I missed Wells’ synopsis because their sycophantic drivel was too mind numbing to watch.
Tom Mulcair. He gave a creditable performance, very measured, possibly on the lukewarm side, but it’s early days. He did lack precision on how his program will benefit Canadians or why change at this time is so important. Like May nothing new, but I would love to see his evidence of 40,000 Cdn jobs lost if Keystone is approved. He will have difficulty attracting new votes with this performance, but he held his own. He did score a direct hit on Trudeau, correctly noting his tax plan would mean a 58% combined marginal tax rate in NB. This will be a fleeting win as Mulcair is inevitably forced to explain his tax on tax corporate and carbon tax increases. His comments about looking forward to jetting to Paris to commit to eroding Canadian sovereignty with climate change IPCC commitments, no doubt involving “a little more” taxation could come back to bite him.
His daycare for the rich, and the NDP’s union buddies, will see much more unwelcome scrutiny soon.
Stephen Harper. Also a good performance which contrasted the imprecision of his progressive antagonists. He appeared very relaxed and looked in fighting form. Around mid-debate, when Trudeau petulantly insisted on interrupting Harper, the PM spoke over him and finished his point. No doubt the mediocracy will interpret that as predictable bullying & meanness by Harper. He really had his facts straight, but that will have little sway with the emotive progressive low information voter, who will no doubt pronounce him the debate loser. So what – he’s after the Manley blue Liberals anyway, especially in the 905 belt.
While his performance was very prime ministerial and dignified, he still has work to do to woo more BC NDP leaning voters, whose support would no doubt bolster his majority hopes. He strengthened his support elsewhere, and still stands to gain from a defection of Manley (aka their next leader?) Blue Liberals – I doubt Trudeau changed that dynamic much, except possibly delayed it.
A slight injection of passion will do the trick, along with lots of reinforcement of our excellent relative performance & international credentials, solidified with a clear vision of future prosperity. His words of support for Israel were quite inspiring and show he gets it, how free nations prosper with limited government, not in spite of it.
This was only a warm up in his mind, I think. Will Mr Mulcair duck him now, as now rumoured? Probably and hopefully not.
Overall this was a much better debate than the previous consortium offerings.
I think our man should take solace from this evening.
What’s clear is that the others are afraid of him: they all “shadowed” him; dressing like him, doing their hair like him (even Ms. May looked professional this evening), etc. And the attacks against him I felt were quite muted, actually.
Which begs the obvious question: if he’s so bad and needs to go, why do you try to emulate him? Why not strike off in a different direction? I guess your “internal polls” are not so convincing to you…
As to content, the digression into Quebec separatism was ridiculous: if Quebec wants to go, so be it. Nobody ’round here really much cares for trash talk, except for the financial arrangements. Please get over yourselves, if you can.
And the PM’s hand-on-chest criticism of ISIS, with appropriate segmentation/delineation re: domestic populations, and of Putin were very good: the other guys still seem to believe that “Canadian values” (including the Charter) are things to be traded-off against obvious thuggery. Please get over yourselves, if you can, and quit being ridiculous in these areas, as well.
Looking forward to the rest of the campaign, upon which I will be working, but I sincerely hope that the opposition can do better than they did tonight. I happen to like a bit of challenge, actually
Justine’s closing “statement” was both bizarre and hilarious, what an actor… Looks like he forgot his lines… I like the way Turdo says “mithter Harper” over and over again, and the way he pretends to be serious, funny stuff, very “dramatic”.
First let’s not delude ourselves about what this freakshow really was – it was not a “debate”, it was a accusal session and an attempt to distort the record and facts of the past 10 yrs by the leading members of the Canadian parasite class (that includes Wells who was as partisan as those on stage).
We had: Wells the LPC hack in press drag
May the eternal fringe lobbyist
Truedough, the trust fund twit gaming his daddy’s legend and making his uncle Castro proud that he is now potty trained in mouthing collectivist platitudes.
Mulcair – the political opportunist who has triple mortgaged his house shooting for the most lucrative sinecure of his mediocrat career.
-And Harper the EX-Austrian school economist and EX-Reformer who has sold his ethics and principle out to a soul-grinding political system which defies reform.
-I had to laugh as these failed people tried to make us believe they had the power to control the climate and economy when all they are is the head of a mob type confidence game which shakes down the productive people of this nation and uses the money to create more debt slavery.
I deply wish we had outgrown this type of social control system and become more personally autonomous but judging by the “polling” there is still a sucker born every minute who will feed this vast Ponzi scheme.
Wells is a Liberal
Occam;
You cut to the chase! An embarrassment that this is the best Canada can produce.
“…May … Just elect her Speaker of the House and be done with it. Not only will it shut her up, …”
I can’t imagine anything but the grave that will shut Lizzie May up nor any job that she will be good at. Especially a job called “Speaker.”
“…When we continually chose our leaders from the ranks of these career parasites, why do we wonder that they sell our grandchildren into slavery to fund their greed and short term graft? …”
They sell our grandchildren into slavery to fund our greed and short term graft.
Blue Jays sweep the Twins as the AL collectively shudders. The next 3 game set with the Yankees will prove to be more exciting than the GOP and Canadian leadership debates combined.
I don’t care if Harper didn’t sweep the creep, the hairhead or her dizziness; I’m voting for him.
I actually prefer not to distort Trudeau’s name. It is almost an insult in Quebec.
I think Justin should be the subject of a drinking game. Next debate, every time he stammers “uuhhh”, take a shot. You and your friends are guaranteed to get hammered, just have plenty of booze handy.
Seriously, I didn’t get that much more out of it than that. Mercifully, my neighbor called me over for a beer in the sunshine so I missed the middle 45 mins or so.
From what I did see, Harper was strong, as he usually is under pressure. Unfortunately, he tried to force a big smile during his intro and it came across as uncomfortable as he looked. Uphill from there for him, though. I thought Justin looked quite uncomfortable throughout and not at all Prime ministerial. I understand the pony did shine a wee bit when he was able to talk of his favorite pet province, Qweebek.
One more point, is Justin actually running for PM or is the Liberal Party itself? He often deferred from using “I” or “me” to say the Liberals would do such and such in power. Seemed like an obvious defence to the inexperience charges against him, to me.
Make Ms. May Speaker and shut hr up?
What an idiotic comment.
Why? So she can attack the CPC from the front of the room?
Let her and her constituents revel in thir irrelevance.
Only twits tweet.
Don’t worry, Salsa Anglaise. If the Jays are making a push that can only mean one thing.
Season ending BASEBALL STRIKE!
LOLOLOLOL
Canadian debates, at least lately, are all gang ups on the PM. The PM should debate each opponent in a separate forum. However, a party that can caucus in a phone booth is not a party and should not be automatically included.