shoop

All day the CBC website (www.cbc.ca) has buried stories on the possible fall of the Liberals. Hmmm, for the first time in OVER 25 years a Federal Government is going to be forced to the polls against it's will. What is more important that that? "Unions want Ottawa to return pension funds!" wtf? Can anybody please explain the editorial decision making at mothercorp?

So the voting is just about finished and we should have a result in a couple of hours. I like the news on the CBC. A dog, Pixelle Daoust, and a house plant, Gilbert Laplante, are among the registered voters. Gilbert Laplante, what a brillaint name.

Here's another quote from the same article. And here's the link to that article while I am at it. Some random globe article...

So it looks like the Liberals are going to have to fight a three-front war without support in their attacks on the Conservatives. From today's Globe and Mail.

Touché. Would putting more money into p.s.e. be enough for the Conservatives to drown out the cries of 'scary, scary, scary' in the ears (minds?) of socially-liberal young people?

Doesn't look like that is gonna happen. Roughly 2/3rds of the respondents *unscientific* poll asking if the "measures in Ralph Goodale's mini-budget make you more inclined to see the Liberals stay in power until a spring election?" responded no. We'll be having a wonderful Xmas election. .

Hmmm, quite the optimistic, and naive, analysis. The Conservatives ran on more than tax cuts last time. They won't just run on Gomery but the history of Liberal corruption over the last decade. Shawingate, HRDC, Gomery, etc..... The Conservatives will also present why they will be better at governing. Don't really know why the mini-budget proves the Liberals are good. So much for "whatever your political leanings".

Stan, Kinda think you are missing the point. The argument was that, because of the number of jobs in Ottawa-Hull, these jobs should be open to all Canadians. That is the change people wanted, and got.

The Feds announced an end to the Ottaw-Hull region postal code discrimination recently. Can't remember when, but it was in the last couple months.

Martin definitely won't run again. The only way he doesn't get forced out by the end of 2006 is IFF he wins a majority. Pretty doubtful, but he would be 71 at the end of that term anyways. I would actually think about voting Liberal with McKenna at the helm. What about Manley?

k, I had pretty intimate knowledge about one of the above named organizations. Waaaaaaay back right at the start of Adscam (three years ago mebbe) I spoke to a national writer for one of the big papers about untendered contracts at the organization. Alas the way these organizations are set up they "conveniently" aren't covered by the access to information act.

If memory serves correctly times are very ripe for a repeat of 1984. This far out of the election the Liberals were trying to paint Mulroney as scary. Hopefully it works as well for them this time around...

So you champion the cause of the 'majority of Canadians' yet you attack an author because he has a fetish for 'big hairy truck drivers'. Why single out this group of Canadians. Truck drivers fill a needed role in our society. Odd how truck drivers find more of a home in the Conservative Party of Canada these days...

I read a piece (in French admittedly so I might not have caught it all) today that showed Boisclair in the low 40s heading into the first vote. It will be tough for him to get over the top. Marois appears to have made much more strides in getting second choice votes. The poll I read was of registered PQ members, which explains why it doesn't agree with what tml12 posted. The big scare mongering going on is that the coke use is only the tip of the iceberg and the provincial Liberals could uncover something a lot more serious. ps. I saw Dumont speak last week. Seemed like an interesting guy. He was addressing university students in Chicoutimi, not his ideal demographic, but he did pretty well, I think...

Ahhh err, so typical of the silver spoon socialists who have taken over the New Democrats. Your sneering condescion to "big hairy truck drivers" is sad. Such valuable members of our society deserve just as much respect as anybody else. Alas, the far left agenda of the party has left the big hairy truck driver out in the cold. That is ok. The Conservative Party of Canada understands that and is working to provide the backbone of the transportation system of our country a place under its big tent.

I don't agree. If Harper can pull off a minority he definitely will remain the leader for a while. For the following reasons. 1. No heir apparent. 2. The past 12+ years on the sidelines have given the Conservatives a touch of realism. 3. He deserves the chance to try and govern. 4. The Liberal leadership will give the Conservative government a little time to get their feet wet governing.

So Duceppe, Harper and Layton have met and this is the result. If the Liberals don't agree to Layton's motion asking for an election in early January they will force the government's hand on the Conservative's opposition day the week of November 21st. A very astute move by the three. If the Liberals ignore Layton's motion we will have a Xmas election. Only happened three times in history, most recently 79-80. The Xmas election thing wasn't an issue that election, although the papers of the day were making it sound like it would be. It especially won't be an issue now as the only way we have a Xmas election is if the Liberals don't agree to Layton's proposal for an election early in January.

Translation, I Miss Trudeau is a sad, sad, sad ideologue who cannot engage in actual conversation or actual think of a reason to keep his pathetic, corrupt Liberals in government. I know they stole $1.14 Million, but they aren't scary.

Man, how much power does Olivia have?

So Duceppe, Harper and Layton are meeting tomorrow to plan strategy. Some Random Link A successful non-confidence vote on January 4th would make February 2nd - the day after Gomery's final report is due - the earliest possible date for Martin to call an election. He could delay a few more days than that, but that is about it. Great stuff for all the opposition parties, having Gomery's final report come in during the election. Very, very interesting stuff.

Hmmm, the difference err is reading what you see in the papers at face value and providing your own analysis. The two or three points the CPC has gained in the GTA and the 905 belt, as stated in the link you provided, would be enough to push them over the top. A Thomas Walkom piece fronting for the Liberals? Wow, you are right. I am definitely changing my mind now. So a couple of red Tories don't feel comfortable in the new CPC. Big surprise. If you want me to "curb the inflation in my optimism" you will have to provide a little better than that. btw, where do you come up with such unique phrases in English?

How can the ND numbers swing so wildly between two polls conducted at the same time? Seven points is a big difference. Basically it looks as if the Conservatives are where they were in 2004, the Liberals are down three to five points and the NDs are up one to seven depending on which poll you believe. Given the resurgence of the Bloc these numbers translate to a Conservative minority if they hold....

For Japan at least, there aren't as many tariff/trade roadblocks as people think. Things have changed a lot since Lee Iacocca went on his anti-Japan rampage 15 years ago. There are problems with supply chains, etc. But they can be overcome. For example, it is incredible to see how many Starbucks sprouted up in Japan in the last 7 to 8 years. A big part of the issue is what the Japanese will buy. The only really successful foreign cars in that market are the big luxury/status type vehicles. Why on earth would a Japanese consumer want a Chevy Cavalier. They aren't anywhere near as fuel efficient as what you can buy domestically and they cost much more due to shipping costs. GM tried to push it's Saturn brand on Japan. That failed miserably. In large part due to terrible marketing. "A polite kind of company, a polite kind of car." Was the tag line they tried to use in Japan. Needless to say it failed miserably....

What a bunch of jokers these guys are. Don't they work for Paul Martin? Was Martin called Mr. Dithers by the Economist because of ability to make decisions quickly and to stick with them? Duceppe, Harper and Layton are playing this one right. Take the weekend, make a joint decision and present a united front.

The Liberals definitely need a time out. I voted Liberal in 1993 because the PCs needed a time out at that point. I personally think a Conservative minority would be the best thing for the country. Give them a chance to govern without the incumbent power of a majority. AND it would cause a much needed battle within the Liberal Party of Canada. The Conservatives hands would not really be tied very much on the budget. It would be their perogative to change the fiscal course of the country if they chose to do so.