Jerry J. Fortin

I think his world view is that Conservative type governing bodies are dropping like flies around the world and more centred parties are taking democratic power everywhere.

Target practice? Range finder testing?

Now there is a perceptional issue! The "hot iron" being carried by Harper! I think not, Steve the Wonder PM ran scared and screaming from the Commons all the way to the GG's office.

Well folks, the Charter isn't going to be revoked anytime soon. I don't expect the second coming anytime soon either. My guess is that the Charter will be more enforced in the future than it is now, and that to a certain degree our freedoms with respect to speech will be somewhat more curtailed than we currently enjoy. You have the holocaust deniers and hate mongers out there to contend with, so the anti-hate laws currently on the books can be understood to be wholly related to the not soon to be revoked Charter.

Recessions are bad news for governments, the public believes them to be responsible for fixing the problems of the nation, and in the case of economics nothing happens fast enough to please the public. So the government gets to look bad during hard times. This is one of those times, and the only thing that will kill the coalition is an end to the recession. Things are going to go downhill from here, the bottom has not yet been found so the slide will continue. The most optimistic of economists predicts the bottom being found as soon as summer, the most pessimistic says that won't happen until sometime next year. My bet is that the coalition has pkans to take them to the bottom of the curve, so they can campaign based on an improving economy and take credit for it. The timing is the thing.

Do not underestimate the ability of the Conservative Party to collect massive donations to fill a war chest. Donations are strange things, dinners and the like, speaking tours, there are lots of ways to raise money. Corporate Canada has a vested interest in promoting the Conservative agenda.

I must agree.

MA makes a lot of sense, especially if his background is what he says it is. I respect that. That said, the issue with Gaza is such that a ground assault is the only reasonable way to proceed. Air attacks are not as accurate and collateral damage is commonplace. Issues on the ground need to be resolved on the ground. With all due respect people, the civilian inhabitants of Gaza need to be removed from harms way. At least they should be given the opportunity to preserve their lives and leave. After a suitable time period has transpired the city and entire nation of the Gaza stripe should be razed to the ground. It needs to be pounded into rubble like and artillery practice range and then leveled with bulldozers to fill in the holes. Whatever remains should be pushed into the sea so that no trace of habitation would remain.

Nonsense, the coalition was formed because Stevie the Wonder Prime Minister wanted to kill the political financing that gave life to the opposition parties in Canada. That was the only thing that brought them onto the same page to start with. After the initial discussions, they found other areas of agreement, but that is where it started.

It appears that the right wing is already a bit nervous. I will suggest that it is not unfounded paranoia on their part. It has been a while since the Liberals have had a real opportunity to make a difference. Iggy is beginning to wrinkle the skin of conservatives.

Much of the military budget has been planned for a long time. We are in very poor shape in this regard and need mega spending just to properly equip a few more soldiers.

I must agree, he must show he is Canadian.

They are not all terrorists, that point I will give you. But I did not say that they were, I said they were a nation of terrorists. That is like saying that we are a nation of capitalists, it is true. The fact that a small percentage are actually socialists and even a smaller number of communists does not detract from the statement or its foundation in truth. The majority rules.

So overall the party is making gains. There is still the other side of the equation and that is leadership. This latest poll still gives moral support for Harper. I expect Iggy to be planning a little public relations exercise. Whenever Harper speaks I think that the Iggy staff folks will have a response delivered to the press.

No immediate threat? What of the rocket attacks?

That only makes it clear to the rest of Canadians the cost of appeasing Quebec. Expect Iggy to make the suggestion that Harper is playing with tax dollars in a foolish attempt to buy the votes of the French. That is a fiscal blunder of immense dimensions considering the economic climate.

Iggy is starting to make himself heard. He will continue to seek and stake out middle ground. Israel is not a good place to start, but international affairs dictate the need.

The coalition is the big stick, a threat hanging over Harper's head. He cannot prevail in this regard, he has only two options and neither of them appeal to his own party. Cave in to the whims of the opposition by compromising his own values or stand against them and lose his government. He has been cornered. On the other hand Iggy should not wave the stick in Harper's face, it is not to the advantage of the Liberal Party to take power now. What is more important in strategic terms is using Harper to do what the party believes needs to be done and waiting to see what actually happens. If something bad happens they can point at Harper and say that the government did it. If something good happens they can say they made him do it. The party needs to stay clean and be perceived as a viable alternative come the next election. Perhaps even more important is to be able to say they were able to manipulate Harper by letting him prove to Canadians the extent to which he will go just to retain power.

I believe that you have hit the nail on the head.

I would like to see Harper weather this political storm for a while, I think it would be good for the nation to have a budget that served as some form of economic stimulus sooner rather than later. Later is what we will get if the government falls. Having said that I think Harper would be wise to convene a First Ministers conference with reckless abandon. This should be a meeting for all Canadians to see. Harper needs to bang an economic war drum with the Premiers. He needs to advocate huge spending between both the federal and provincial governments. He needs to transfer power and authority to the provinces along with the money to manage some of the programs. In short he needs to transfer the program expenses (debt) to the provinces quickly or face the reality of eating it himself. Of course he could be advocating the crown corporation plan we have been discussing, but that would not happen quickly enough to make a difference for him. He is supposed to be an economist! This stuff should be up his alley, so I think he should use that handle to talk to the Provinces and get them on board with a carrot and stick plan. The carrot being control, the stick being reduced services if they don't tow the line. The fed simply can't afford to play games with this. The provinces will scream blue murder, but that is the price of leadership, making tough calls. This call is to save his political skin. If he does not do this, then he is not showing proactive leadership to the people and only playing politics in the Commons. Harper cannot afford that considering Iggy in his face. A move like this would take a lot of wind out of Iggy sails.

The government either already knew or was incompetent?

That would be the RCAF. The Liberal government bought into the project at the request of the air force. The Conservative government canceled the project with the objection of the air force. The customer got screwed.

The public is getting a free education at the University of Hard Knocks this year. What the politicians say and what the banks do have lead many to conclude that the entire system is screwed up. The fed lowered the prime but the banks did not follow. The spread widens and the industry benefits, so why is it that the banks will not loan GM any money?

I would suggest that Iggy sit in the weeds until about summer time before he makes much noise. I would suggest that the wise move is to let Harper govern as best as he can while he picks him apart at every opportunity.

Whether or not Harper gets a majority doesn't seem like a valid question anymore. Whether or not he can retain control of the government does seem like a valid question.