shoop

Thanks for that. My TA didn't know the word, but that just might be because she isn't too involved in politics. Maybe my prof will know it....

hmmm, about 1/3 of the Liberal caucus was opposed to SSM, the CPC have repeatedly said they will let abortion stand where it is and unions for the most part are a provincial jurisdiction. Yaaaaaaawn, same old arguments, same bull-headed close-minded leftist err. Do you honestly think Jack Layton would make a good PM? Paul Martin clearly hasn't been and Harper is too 'Republican' for you, who else is left?

ha ha... good one.... but I think you might have to explain it to them... <{POST_SNAPBACK}> ahhh, yes err you are so right. and so symbolic of the ignorance and condescension of the left. dumbass conservatives are too stupid to 'get' a joke about prostitution. ha ha ha oh I get it, y'all don't understand the concept of working professionally because you have never had jobs that pay more than minimum wage plus tips

Helps to show your complete lack of understanding of the U.S.-Israeli relationship and of conservative Christianity in the U.S. Chrisitians in the U.S. are far, far, far from united in their support of Israel. Falwell and his kooky ilk are some of the many, many examples of opposition to Israel. http://www.jewishaz.com/jewishnews/990122/falwell.shtml The Jewish community is very active in U.S. politics and understand the way the system works. AIPAC is the biggest, and most well-organized, example of Jewish Americans working the political system effectively. www.theisrelproject.org is another.

Hmmm, to give credibility to your fanatical rantings?

That is great news for the CPC. Totally typical of the complete lack of new ideas from Dithers et. al. Fear Harper, yaaaaawn. Why oh why should the CPC move off the corruption, corruption, corruption theme if the Liberals are going to resort to the same old 'scary' Conservatives theme? Given that taking the moral high ground will lose them more votes than it will when them, they will be shrewd to get back on that horse. Disagree? Prove me wrong. Dukakis-Bush is a classic example of a candidate getting hammered for taking the moral high ground. The voters have bought the scary, scary, scary cries for long enough. That strategy will force the CPC to go corruption, corruption, corruption. The Liberals won't win more votes from the soft CPC and soft NDP voters this time around. But maybe just maybe enough will come out about Gomery to turn a few soft Liberal voters in either direction. The Liberals fought hard for those soft NDP voters last time around. The voters they did convince are the voters that kept the CPC out of office. I don't think many of the remaining voters will swing Liberal. (The 2004 results are still about a half a million shy of the number of votes the ND received in 1993 - their high water mark.) A CPC government will work with the United States professionally. That doesn't mean being sychophantic, but it does mean that we have to manage this very important relationship much more professionally. This means no press directors calling representatives of the white house a**hole, this means no crazy party MPs stomping on GW Bush dolls. I really hope that the strategy you outlined is the best the Martinites can come up with. It WILL NOT win them a majority, and just might put the Conservatives in power. OMG, would that be sweet irony. Martin fights his entire lifetime to avenge his father only to be relegated to historical debates about whether or not he was the worst Liberal leader ever. ba ha ha ha ha ha ha

Isn't this strategy, as outlined by Jane Taber in yesterday's Globe, bound to get ugly and nasty quickly? Shouldn't the Prime Minister try and represent ALL Canadians? Sure it might play well in 'some circles' but hey - screw the west, right?

At this point there would be no advantage for the Liberals to go before gomery. They call now and gomery's interim report comes out in the middle of the campaign. They wait till the interim report comes out and it is a christmas election which NOBODY wants.

Hmmm, missing the point on a couple things here. The political centres in Canada and the U.S. are not the same. Not even close. Personally I favour lower taxes, less government, a sensible gun program, am pro-choice and against capital punishment. I am perfectly comfortable within the Democratic party in the U.S. and the Conservative Party of Canada and don't see any contradiction in those affiliations. Politics is about winning. John Kerrey has a voting record far to the left of what Hillary Clinton has created as a U.S. Senator. His defeat was due more to an inability to articulate a coherent message, and a poor choice as a running mate. Can't answer your question on the fly because of Kerrey's aforementioned inability to articulate his message - and I can't be assed to look up the answer online. Democrats didn't lose because they lost their base. They lost because they connected with very few moderate voters. PS - "Moron" isn't playing very nice. tsk tsk

Kinda like Ezra Levant is funny. In the 'unintentional' sense of funny.

The only chance for the Democrats to succeed is if they pick a good centrist candidate. Hillary has spent her entire time in the Senate positioning herself as a centrist. If the left-wing of the party abandons her they deserve to spend a long time longing for the White House.

That the Republicans are falling apart seems to be evident. The question is can the Dems get themselves organized or will they waste the chance with infighting. There isn't a lot of love between the Clinton centrist wing of the party and the Howard Dean left wing of the party. Can Hillary court enough left-leaning Democrats? Can Dean et. al find a candidate who would have a remote chance of winning the general?

Your assistance is appreciated...

That's the tradeoff. Before elections people say they want positive campaigns, BUT the negative stuff is more effective at swaying public opinion. Whadda ya do - stay on the moral high ground and get slaughtered? Moral victories are for chumps!

OK, but consider this the true test. What if Harper doesn't/can't cut any deals for "tax cuts or similar policies" but still doesn't force the election? Will he still get your vote?

So the CPC has decided to wait until after Gomery reports for the next election. www.hilltimes.ca Inspite of being within six points of the Liberals according to the last Pollara poll. Is this a wise strategy? Will the CPC support by not forcing an election? How about the anti-CPC fringe? Anything good to say after badmouthing the party for considering forcing an election this year?

That ain't much in the way of proof. There are penalties to paying off debt early. As ridiculous as it seems you can be better off financially by just putting the money aside at paying off the debt as it matures.

Since you called it interesting I assume you believe the veracity of that poll. That poll represents a 2.7 % drop for Liberal support and a half point gain for the Conservatives. Given how tight many races were in 2004 that easily represents a five seat gain in Ontario alone for the Conservatives. Hmm, how many more seats will they gain after Gomery?

If you want to draw the family analogy let's look at it this way. Poor little brother Alberta (circa 1920-1930) "Rich, kind friendly big brother Central Canada can you help me out. I have no money and my family is starving." Rich, mean big brother central Canada "Stand on your own two feet. If you can't support yourself you will starve." Alberta gets no help from big brother and declares bankruptcy. Giving rise to independent Alberta spirit and deep seated resentment to mean Central Canada. Fast-forward to the early 80s. Alberta now has money. Still rich, but not as rich, central Canada "Alberta-think of the greater good and help us out, we are a family..." Newly rich and still bitter Alberta "Hmmm, you did tell us to go away when we needed money. But we aren't bitter. Just don't kill our oil industry when we help you." Central Canada "We will do what is best for the family, damn you and your best interests." Six months later. Indignant Alberta "You have ruined our oil industry for at least 20 years and didn't really help anybody very much." Central Canada "Oops. But if any of your citizens dare protest a train with the Prime Minister on it he will let you know what he thinks of all Albertans." Fast forward to 2005. Central Canada "Uhhh Alberta whassup?"

If we are turning the likes of you the party has a heck of a chance of winning the next election. Seriously, the Liberals are in more trouble than they have been for a decade. If Harper runs well he will be the next Prime Minister.

CTV, when I do watch the news. I prefer to get my news from newspapers and online....

Why quote something if you aren't going to refer to it at all? Who 'denounced' the ignorant Ontario voters? There are a lot of Ontarians who will vote Conservative this time around because they are sick of Liberal corruption and want a government that isn't morally bankrupt.

Two reasons. Social conservatism and the nationalist/separatist divide. Nationalists vote Liberal, Separatists vote BQ that's the way it is. Quebeckers are different than the rest of Canada. You will never get to them by appealing to logic. A solid third choice, like Mario Dumont's ADQ (?) on the national scene in Quebec would be great. I believe he endorsed Harper last election...

Man, I support the CPC but would not watch Fox News Canada if it ever came into existence. Power to them as long as my tax dollars aren't paying for it to exist.

Far from true dog. There are a lot of social conservative Liberals - although the term fiscal conservative gets used quite a bit. How many Liberals voted against SSM for example?