SpankyMcFarland
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Posts posted by SpankyMcFarland
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I didn't bring up any secret agenda. Harper has definitely moved closer to Canada's centre to keep power. His main agenda is staying in power.
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The emotion you bring here is similar to Harper's and shows your support for a kindred spirit.
Harper has pursued a personal agenda on Khadr for some reason. Again and again, on small issues he distinguishes himself and sends a message to the base. His stance on prisons isn't small and his approach to emissions has ben fairly clear. The Liberals muddled along on that file whereas Harper has been more strident.
I think a Prentice govt. would be less confrontational than Harper - not much different in substance but softer in tone.
On the economy, Canada has had a broad consensus since Michael Wilson's time, so I don't see big changes comng in that area no matter who is in charge.
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Harper rarely talks on religion. He has not done anyhting at all in 9 years on the most inflammatory special issues like same sex marriage and abortion. Nothing . Nada.
Israel. Canada is an ally of Canada. Dep[site what you think, Canada IS NOT and HAS NEVER BEEN a neutral nation.
Hats off to Harper for speaking the truth about Russia and the Ukraine.
Khadr. What is your point?
Supreme Court. What is your point?
And this is Harper Secret Agenda?
Try again.
And try harder, much harder this time.
I don't either has a Christian Issues Agenda.
Harper and Prentice are very similar in this way: both are excellent managers, and neither is big on leadership- which translates to both glib frothings and smooth communication in todays world of charisma and camera friendly chats being considered qualities of leadership.
Harper had been criticizing the blatant, violent aggression long before he met with Putin and told him the same thing to his face.
What would you have Harper do, whine quietly in private while Ukraine gets publicly raped?
Hold on. This is about where Harper is on the spectrum not whether his position is correct or not. Harper created something new in Canada, an Office of Religious Freedom. I can't see any of his predecessors doing that. Actually, they didn't. His speech to the Knesset and his many statements on Israel have changed Canada's perceived position on the ME. Really, I can't see how one can conclude otherwise. He's not Jean Chretien.
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I would put Harper definitely to the right of Prentice on the Christian issues spectrum and I think he would have a less confrontational style with the Supreme Court and would harbour grudges less intensely. I don't see Prentice seeking a photo op confrontation with Putin either.
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And the indications that Harper is a hardcore Reformer are(this is the part where you list The Secret Agenda):
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
You can fill in the blanks. Best of luck, Harper moved the CPC to the center long ago, which is why he is PM. Somehow, so many missed that move then and still do now.
Prentice is nothing new at all in Alberta. Late term Klein, Stelmach and Redford all also moved the party fully to the middle of the political spectrum for a common, simple motive: because that's where all the votes are.....
The novel thing about Prentice so far is that he is a smooth operator, much more so than his predecessors. But on the poltical spectrum? No different really.
He TALKS like a hardcore right winger on religion, Israel, Ukraine, Khadr, the Supreme Court.
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Erin O'Toole has been doing excellent Fantino impersonations on Power and Politics for weeks now. He strikes the right note, not too cocky, and does not depend entirely on annoying talking points.
That's a bit ambiguous. He's a lot better than the original.
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Erin O'Toole has been doing excellent Fantino impersonations on Power and Politics for weeks now. He strikes the right note, not too cocky, and does not depend entirely on annoying talking points.
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A New Year's resolution for Mr. Baird - stop telling us to 'listen' in every second sentence. And if Harper could cut down on 'look', that would be a nice bonus.
Listening to Baird and Kenney back to back today on CBC, I couldn't help noticing that Jason gets through a lot more content per minute.
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And I don't want to think what I'd be prepared to do or say to keep my pension.
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In fairness, every MP must be tempted to do this in the heat of battle. Not the worst of political crimes.
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.The Liberals, despite what is indicated in the media and polls, have only managed two gains (one from the CPC and one from the NDP) in ten by-elections that they could have added to their total....
In Canada, people don't seem to be nearly as focused on the swing in elections as they are in the UK. In the last two by-elections, for example, there was a big swing to the Liberals. That's what matters.
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Western democracy?
William Lyon Mackenzie King won, lost and won again. So also Trudeau Snr. And also Macdonald.
I once thought that Harper/Dion would do a dance but it appears that only Harper is in for the long haul.
Modern federal Liberals are gadflies: they go from gnats to juniors.
King ruled in a more deferential era. His weirdness was well concealed. If he had even been forced to face the occasional TV interview like Harper, he would have struggled.
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Simples. Pay down the debt every chance you get.
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Mr. Vickers was brave but there are some operational and administrative questions for him to answer. This could be awkward.
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If Marc Garneau had won, something tells me he wouldn't be getting any softer treatment from our friends on the Right.
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Drones don't have even close to the capabilities of proper fighter aircraft. Drones are bomb trucks as the F-35 has been wrongly described here. The F-35 is a proper multirole fighter.
Fair enough. That is true right now but in five years time, drones will be dramatically more versatile. I would favour a lower cost plane now to fill in for the next 5 to 10 years.
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The current military purchasing process has not been fit for purpose for at least twenty years. We just get completely bogged down in political point-scoring. Somehow, we need to remove it from the political arena after determining the budget limits and let the military choose what it needs.
With that said, from my man in the street's perspective, the F-35 seems awfully expensive at a time when drones are rapidly expanding their capabilities.
Wild Rose Party falling apart....
in Provincial Politics in Canada
Posted
Back to the main topic for a second...Danielle Smith's behaviour has been extraordinary. Can anybody point to a previous example in Canadian history of a leader of the opposition crossing the floor under similar circumstances? If it has happened before, it must be a very long time ago.