shoop

The NDP actually doesn't hold the balance of power. See it takes 155 seats for a majority in the House of Commons. CPC (125) + NDP (29) = 154. Just one short... The Bloc will do whatever is necessary to look out for the best interests of Quebec. That isn't *always* equivalent to screwing the Feds. The Conservatives will be able to govern issue by issue, pushing the more contentious stuff earlier on. People will not want an election within the next nine months to a year. Any party forcing an election that early will be punished by the electorate. Once the Liberal leadership race gets started in earnest the CPC will have at least six months after the convention to govern. That makes fall of 2007 as the earliest date for the next election...

Yikes, the guy gets hammered for downsizing the cabinet and saving millions? Hmmm, tough crowd.

The Fortier thing is not that big of a deal. Really when it comes down to it you have Myron Thompson and Garth Turner shooting off their mouths. That doesn't really qualify as *internal* troubles. This thing will blow over as soon as the first Canadian strikes gold in Torino. The Emerson mistake is nothing in comparison to uniting the parties, learning from the mistakes of the 2004 campaign and a *generally* successful 2006 campaign.

I have heard that same general type of insult used in the past. (I think it was Blue-drinkers when I heard it.) wtf? People are getting snotty over the type of beer they drink? Generally comes from silver spoon socialists who never *really* had to work hard and wonder why everybody's parent's don't *help* them with their down payments on their *first* homes. Come to think of it these people usually support the NDP ... coincedence?

Hmmm, he is about as well-liked by the Bush administration as Dithers was.

I don't honestly know if I see a *legacy* of majorities. But I could see Harper winning a majority in the fall of 2008 then resigning in the spring of 2012 to clear the way for new blood. Completely agreed that the first few days of Harper's term as PM don't evoke a lot of confidence. But, let's look back to the campaign. In the first two days of the campaign Harper: talked about SSM, (which seemed like a sure loser at the time), he couldn't name any of the Quebec City candidates on the podium with him in his first speech in the city and there was that misunderstanding between him and McKay about the office of public prosecution. Yet he still won! I do not downplay how difficult the road will be for Harper in the coming months. However, from everything he has accomplished since becoming leader of the Alliance I am more and more sure of his abilities as a leader. He has shown that he can learn from his mistakes, surround himself with good people (including changing staffers when necessary - something Dithers never really got) and think ahead strategically. Yes Emerson's appointment was a mistake. Will Harper learn from it? I am confident that he will.

Yeah, I can see how some people wouldn't understand condescension. lost&outofcontrol that means we will use small words that are easy for you to understand.

Nice, first reply you start off with a whine. So let me get this straight, you are actually trying to draw a comparison to King-Byng here? Hmmmm, the only people the NDP could form a coalition with that would actually create a majority government would be the Conservatives. According to you the Liberals are so *disorganized* that if the government falls within the next ten months in the following election they won't even hold onto the Official Opposition. If that were true, why would the Conservatives and Liberals allow the government to wall within the next ten months???? (You do realize that together they control over 2/3rds of the seats in the House of Commons.) I think that proves your basic inability to grasp reality.

Yikes my bad. Terrible would be if Harper buckles to the pressure that will inevitably be put on him by the Liberals come time for the opening of parliament and re-writes the speech from the throne ala Mr. Dithers. Care to give it another try, Shoop?

Correct. That is the difference between supporters of the CPC and Liberals. Liberals do whatever it takes to win. This *uproar* is just a misguided attempt at setting themselves up to win the next elections. CPC supporters called Harper for stepping out of line. Will he do something this egregious again? Probably not. Will the Liberals over-react to the same extent the next time he makes a mistake? Absolutely. It is going to be a long, long time in the opposition benches for them.

Did you really post the same story in two different threads? Hmmm, is there that little to attack the new government with? Sad, sad, sad.

Terrible would be if buckles and re-writes the speech from the thown. That was a horrible start for sure.

That's the deal. If it is only Gretzky's wife who made the bets, and they weren't on hockey, I don't have any issue with it at all. I'm an Oilers fan too!

Arrogance is very rarely directly correlated to actual achievement.

Kinda like the Liberal leadership *race*! Maybe all the contenders are waiting to see if Martin is going to take a "walk in the snow".

Very well said. No reason to go for the politically damaging direct kill of the CBC. Better to just let it wither away slowly.

According to this Jim Travers story Emerson blocked the softwood lumber story in order to help out Liberal election prospects. So much for the conspiracy theorists who say he blocked the deal as part of his move to the CPC.

This story is being driven by Liberals/NDP out to attack the CPC regardless of what they do plus CPC supporters who are a little naive in what it really takes to stay in power. The Olympics start tonight. Story to fade quickly...

Uhhh, there are legal liability issues. Which wouldn't necessarily go against anything that sparhawk has said.

Actually it was just under 65% in 2006 (64.9%). Link. Are we to believe that Canada should be in a state of perpetual elections because you feel voter turnout was too low? What is the gospel according to na85 in terms of what constitutes a *mandate*?

How is an article full of quotes with Stronach and Bill Graham attacking Harper meant to remind anybody of what Harper *actually* said when Stronach crossed the floor? Maybe if Harper had actually attacked the issue of floor crossing directly you might have found the link. Then again maybe not. Lazy, shifty, sad Liberals... tsk, tsk, tsk.

Good way to avoid the issue. So why would a separatist write positively about a decsision that Harper has gotten tons of bad press over?

Go into cabinet as a bloc member? Hmmm, how could a party that only runs candidates in 1/4 of the ridings in any election ever form government?

The Fortier appointment is playing quite well in Quebec. Chantal Hebert said it best Harper sees the path to a majority in 2008 runs straight through Montreal and he is going for it.

Not odd at all. Simply another example of a blatant, unabashed bias on the part of the CBC. If anybody actually watched the CBC's story on Schreiber it would be painfully obvious that there was no *news* there. He has been screaming for years about his *version* of events. Why is it suddenly newsworthy the same week a Conservative government takes power for the first time in over 12 years? It isn't. Strange how only one news outlet in the entire country thought it was.