sir_springer

I have some reservations about all this, but will hold them in my backpocket for now. Thus, I will give this the shot it deserves. Assuming this gets past the PC membership...which is by no means a certainty... The only one qualified to lead the new party is Stephen Harper. Harper addressed this eleoquently today on Politics when asked by Neuman if the new party needed a new face. To paraphrase: "Both Peter and I have never fought an election yet...and frankly, some of the new faces being suggested are actually old faces." Bingo! Harris is just about the worst possible choice. He has no federal political experience, and he brings a ton of baggage with him...a lot of it negative. This is about the future, not the past. And this party has to belong to the new breed of leadership for the 21st century, leadership that only Harper offers. Plus... Harper is the only even remotely qualified to go head to head with Paul Martin. Ya don't take a knife to a gun fight, and ya don't go up against Martin and the Liberals with a rookie. Remember 2000. The Liberals proved that they know no bounds, ethical or otherwise, when it comes to fighting an election. What we do not need is a new leader. What we need is a qualified, intelligent, and capable leader. Harper is that man, of this there is no disputing the facts.

The Ontario PCs, unfortunately for them, had a lot of negative things with which to deal in the last couple of years, including the effects of 9/11, SARS, and Waterton. None of it was really their fault, but nevertheless they became associated with a great deal of negativity. The mood of the electorate becomes one of, "If we change the government, we get a fresh start, free of all this negativity." Eves rode relatively high in polling early on, too...until people realized that the government is more than one man. Martin is desperately...and I mean desperately...trying to sell himself as an agent of change. But he still will be leading the same collection of clowns, won't he? Right now, he has the luxury of picking his crowds, and showing up when he wants to, and addressing only the questions and issues that suit him. Once he assumes the PMO, and his new seat in the House, it will be open season on this SOB. And just because he is there does not mean that all the slime that is constantly oozing out from every crack in his government will suddenly go away. The Auditor General will still be turning out one damning report after another on waste and patronage. The same set of stooges on his benches will still be bungling their roles, and shooting off their mouths. It will not take long for Canadians to realise that damn little is going to change in Ottawa just because Martin is at the helm. People are sick and tired of these guys. They're sick and tired of Liberals. The last several years has been a litany of one fiasco after another, billion dollar boondoggles, scandal, and even corruption. Or, in a word: negativity. Sooner or later, Martin is going to have to face the music. What can he possibly say when Harper nails him in front of the nation on such truths as his own complicity in gutting healthcare and the military? Or his own neglect, as CFO of the entire government, while billions were being wasted on crap and patronage and screwups? He can't deny it. If he does, he looks like...and in fact, is...a liar. He can't say that he was only following orders. What does this say about his own leadership abilities? Or about his own moral character? Plausible denial simply will not cut it with the electorate. Like Eves following in the shadow of Harris, at the end of the day Martin is complicit and implicated in all the crap wrought by his predecessor. There is no way that, try as he might, he can wash his hands of it. Pay attention to what is going on. Canadians are not making a fuss over Martin; Liberals are. Why? Because Liberals are desperate to distance themselves from all the crap brought on by Chretien and his government. Liberals, particularly within caucus and the heirarchy, know that they are in trouble with the electorate. And they know that, given one credible alternative, the electorate will dump them like last weeks leftovers. Liberals also know this: Harper is credible, capable, talented...and damn intelligent. They also know that, unlike Day or Manning, he's not packing any social conservative baggage worth mentioning on his sleeve...the same sort of baggage used to scare voters away from Harper's own predecessors. They know that Harper, unlike Day, knows the ropes in Ottawa. He is no rookie, and seldom slips. IOW, Harper ain't that different from them...other than he's not a Liberal Leftist. And it's pretty tough to stoke voters' fears on merely the idea that someone is a "conservative"...particularly when the Liberals own record stinks to high hell. The only reason Martin seems to be the agent of change right now is because the predominantly Liberal Leftist media in this country is bending over backwards...far enough to kiss their own arses...to convince Canadians that there is no one else. However, in an election campaign the media no longer controls the entire program. The CA is amassing a considerable war-chest for this campaign. And Harper made it clear from the get-go that he will not be nearly as lenient or nice with the Liberals as was Stock Day. Thus, expect...because Harper knows the ropes...a slugfest next time out. This campaign will be professional from the word go. They are going so far as to educate constituency associations on what to do and not do. They are, as much as is possible, leaving very little to chance. Just as crucially, the CA caucus in 110% on side behind Harper. His leadership is virtually unquestionable. The Liberals are going to be dodging bullets, salvos, and broadsides in this election like they can't believe is possible. Remember Harper's own campaign for the CA leadership? Masterful. I read one article, following a leadership debate, in which Harper, with regard to his handling of his opponents in the race, was described as "devistating". The man's acuity is razor sharp. His arguements are excruciatingly tough to defend against. His clarity and delivery are honed to a fine point, and then aimed with marksman precision. In a verbal punch up...which is what election campaigns amount to...this guy is no slouch, make no mistake about it. And the Liberals know it...bigtime do they know it. More to the point... Martin knows it. Which is precisely why he is avoiding Harper like the plague. Well, he can only run and hide for so long. Like a train in the night, his moment in Harper's sights is coming.

Gugsy, set aside the desperation thing and come back down to earth. Perhaps unity would be nice...but it's not the panacea that you're making it out to be. I believe that in this coming election people will be looking for a change, come hell or high water. There is only one option, this much has become patently clear. MacKay is a rookie and a piker, so out of his league he deserves pity, not votes. Something new may happen in this election. The west and Ontario may form the next government, albeit a minority one. I'm thinking that what we just saw provincially in Ontario is an omen for the next election. Change is the order of the day. The CA can cut a swath through the Liberals and Martin, if not win outright. There is a major upset in the making right now, I can smell it from a million miles away. Not wishful thinking, but realism. Martin is going to crash and burn, big time. Don't panic, partner. This ain't over yet, not by a long shot.

If and when the CA membership is polled on accepting the PCs delegated leadership convention, I, for one, will be voting: NOPE! As will, I'm sure, most CA members. MacKay can take that one and stick it unowhere...sideways. IMHO, we've reached the point where Harper should tell MacKay to go pound salt. Enough of this crap. On election day, the PCs will be wiped out. Which will be perfect and deserved justice.

These are the kind of asses the CA with which the CA has to deal. :angry: This is supposed to be a "negotiation"??? Negotiation involves "compromise". The CA has compromised. The PCs have their heads stuck so far up their own arses, if we wait a little while longer, they'll all suphocate to death and then we can get on with the job. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Merger talks cool over 'philosophical differences' Canadian Press Ottawa — Merger talks between the Canadian Alliance and Progressive Conservatives have been stalled for at least two weeks over what one negotiator said Wednesday were “philosophical differences.” Casual observers might think that sounds like an insurmountable roadblock to uniting Canada's two right-of-centre federal political parties. Not so, said the respective party leaders as the on-again, off-again negotiations hit their latest impasse. “We have a very small gap on paper in terms of what we haven't agreed on,” Alliance Leader Stephen Harper said after meeting with his caucus Wednesday. “There's a gap on resolving the leadership issue. I think it's fairly clear... Will they sit down and come to a middle-ground position or will they simply refuse to compromise?” Moments later, Tory Leader Peter MacKay addressed that same leadership procedure. “This is something that we can't compromise,” he said. So that's the end of it? “I'm prepared to meet with Mr. Harper,” Mr. MacKay said, noting he'd never slam the door on such an important political initiative. Mr. Harper flew to Toronto later Wednesday to talk with the “facilitator” of the negotiations between three Conservative and three Alliance emissaries. It was the first time such an individual had been mentioned and his role is unclear. Mr. MacKay was also in the Toronto area Wednesday for a fundraiser but his staff said there were no plans for a similar debriefing, nor did he plan to meet with Mr. Harper. What's it all mean? Suffice it to say: exit strategy. Alliance MPs emerged from Wednesday's caucus meeting carrying glossy, Alliance-brand election readiness books. Conservative MPs have been saying for a week that the talks are dead. A seven-hour meeting Tuesday between the party emissaries was their last-ditch effort to agree on a means of selecting the leader for a new merged entity called the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada. For all the public posturing over the last three weeks, it's the same issue that has killed the negotiations repeatedly. In a nutshell, the deal breaker pits Tory brokerage politics against the Alliance philosophy of grassroots populism. The Tories want a leader chosen using a system that would give absolute equality to every riding association in the country, big or tiny. The Alliance wants the leader chosen in a direct vote by every registered party member. The latest talks revolved around a nominal compromise that would have used the riding system but would have given far more weight to ridings with large party memberships. Why should a riding in Gaspé with 15 party card-holders have the same weight in choosing a leader as a riding in Calgary with 2,500 members, the Alliance asks. How can a truly national party allow its leader to be chosen without equal input from all provinces and regions, counter the Tories. “It's a philosophical difference at this stage,” said Loyola Hearn, the Tory House leader and a member of the negotiating team. “We cannot entrench a regional process at the federal level...That's undeniable,” said MacKay.

Newsworld has reported that 8 hours of talks broke without an agreement. Big sticking point is the leadership process. If MacKay had ounce of gonads, he'd do the right thing and throw himself on his sword by ceding the leadership of the new party to Harper and foregoing a leadership vote. He could then become Deputy Leader, and the party could save scads of valuable time and money in getting on with the task at hand: Kicking Martin's ass. Why are PCs such incessantly pigheaded idiots? MacKay could be a hero...and instead he's going to wind up roadkill in Canadian political history. Stupid ass! :angry:

So much for hold the fantasies, eh? Prentice: The only reason he came second in the PC leadership race was because no one credible was involved. Handing over the leadership of the new party to a complete rookie would just about as stupid as it could possibly get. Day was a 14 year veteran of provincial politics with a winning record...and look what happened to him. Making Prentice leader would be a wet dream come true for the Liberals. Prentice is a non-starter. Harris: He's not going to run on such short notice, and he has to know that he's not a shoo-in to beat Harper, not by any stretch. For the life of me, I cannot fathom why he's considered a contender. He quit provincial politics because he was tired of it all...now he's the man for leader federally??? The idea that westerners will accept him as a compromise is hogwash, voiced mosty by Ontario conservatives. It won't wash out here. MacKay: Couldn't win this one if his life depended upon it. Blew it with Orchard, and hasn't said or done anything since...besides look totally amateurish throughout this process on merger. Clements: Not leadership material, placed poorly against Eves. However, I will bet he runs federally and wins. Good cabinet material for Harper's new government. Fleherty: Most likely would rather takes Eves job than lose yet another leadership bid in a federal contest. He probably has the best shot at leader of the Ontario PCs. Why would he throw that away? Brison: Not even remotely a contender...nor worth any more comment. Lord: Probably the only one who could beat Harper...but he's not running. Manning: I doubt he wants to go there again. Manning would back Harper. But it would be interesting, eh? Day: I'd be very surprized to see him try this again...although he has gained a lot of respect. Won't happen. End of the day... Harper is the man, there are no others either worthy or willing. And Harper is the right man. As we will all come to see, I have no doubt whatsoever.

I think Martin will rip Harris to pieces. Harris simply is not up to Paul Martin intellectually. By the end of it all, many people will decide that Martin is the more credible of the two. Both have a ton of negative baggage with which to deal...thus leveling the playing field between the two. That being done, Martin will emerge. On the other hand... Harper has virtually no negative baggage relative to Martin. Harper is, in the minimum, Martin's match intellectually...in fact, he's far superior. Watch Martin under pressure, and then watch Harper. Martin starts stumbling and stuttering, staring over heads, avoiding eye contact. Harper only gets better, more passionate and intense, rarely missing a beat, and never taking his eyes off his audience. This is where Harper will kill Martin. Harper is not boring. He's just not worried about entertaining the pundits. When you listen to people who have gone to meetings and listened to him, you hear constantly that they are very impressed, and that their ideas of him have greatly changed. His ability to relate concepts and ideas in understandable terms, with acuity and clarity is rather impressive. He does not dodge issues and tough questions, but rather cuts to the heart of them and responds with well reasoned thoughts and commentary. Martin is all over the page, dodging, dancing, desperately trying to avoid controversy, and attempting always to say just the right thing. IOW, he's as phony as a $3 bill. And he's gutless. He's a total fraud, perpetrating an illusion upon Canadians...aided by the Liberal's mutts in the media. Harper will tear him to pieces. Much to the shock of everyone, I assure you. Aside from that... Harper is shrewd, patient, and...as Manning put it...a "brilliant political strategist". He knows that, while this Liberal leadership crap is going on, he's wasting his time trying to compete for media attention. He also knows that eventually Martin will have to come out of his closet and face him, man to man. Something I suspect Martin is not looking forward to...for he knows Stephen Harper well enough.

Assuming we end up with a new "Conservative Party"...and the potential looks greater than ever now... Who's actually going to run for its leadership? Harper will run...and he is the man to beat right from the get-go. Westerners will line up by the tens of thousands to make sure of it, I have no doubt. However... Will MacKay run? Can he afford to? Knowing he hasn't got a snowball's chance in hell? Especially after the Orchard sellout fiasco? Will Harris run? On such short notice? Why? Especially following the shellacking Eve's just took in Ontario...of which at least half of is being blamed on Harris? Lord is out of the picture, he made that patently clear today on Politics. Fleherty? Maybe...but he's got to know that Harper would be real tough to beat. Would he not do better to back Harper and then run for the new party? Who else, realistically, is there? Mulroney? That's absolutely silly. Please don't go there. Prentice? Turn over a brand new party, on the verge of an election, to a complete rookie? A la Stock Day? And run against Harper? Who is a relative veteran of federal politics? When one gets serious about this topic, one finds that the list of contenders on such short notice is remarkably short. So short, in fact, that the obvious solution is to declare Harper leader by acclimation and get on with the bigger job at hand...which, of course, makes too much sence for a Tory to accept. But... Who could possibly defeat him? He has almost total support from his own caucus...if not absolute. And he's very popular within the CA membership, and with Reformers since day one. Not to mention that no one knows "conservatism" better than this man...not even close. Hmmmm.... Maybe Harper has already figured all this out. Indeed, I can't imagine that he hasn't.

CTV Newsworld has stated that McGuinty has made it clear that he has no intentions of altering the rules to accomodate the NDP. Frankly, good. I have absolutely no use for socialism, period.

We are seeing provincially what is the reality for the NDP federally. Even though their vote is up about 3%... They're nowhere in actual seats. Vote spread too thin. All this crap about Layton making big gains, even becoming Leader of the Opposition is just that: crap. The NDP are finished federally, won't make party status.

Harper is far and away the single most qualified man for Prime Minister in Canada, bar none. Why the hell should a damn good man...intelligent, honest, principled, young, articulate, shrewd, and capable as hell...step down for some old has been like Harris? To hell with that notion! On his best day, Harris couldn't match Harper with one hand behind his back. This country needs Harper desperately, we have not a chance for real Prime Minister like this since I can't remember when. For him to step aside now for the likes of Harris would be a travesty and a tragedy for Canada.

Anyone notice yet... There has not been one negative word out of the CA caucus toward the PCs. Certainly nothing on the scale of the vitriol being spouted like this bozo. And Wayne is still spouting her tripe about the CA coming home to the PC Party...of all the unmitigated gall. It is clearly obvious who is leading his party... And who doesn't have a clue in hell on how to lead a party.

"The sky is falling! The sky is falling!" "Shut up, Chicken Little!" Boy, has the media ever got some of you people by your short hairs or what!!! Anyone listen to Fraser today as she released he latest report on the Radwansky fiasco? Said she's never seen anything like it. Calling in the RCMP for yet another investigation. And her report on government advertising is due out shortly, which I don't doubt promises to be every bit as much of a bombshell as the last one...if not worse. Hardly 60,000 out of 531,000 members bothered to vote in their leadership contest. Martin's complicity in all of this waste and bastardising of our healthcare and military is uncontestable. Martin's complicity in writing the cheques for the gun registry is uncontestable. Martin's total lack of fiscal control over hundreds of billions in government spending is uncontestable. The guy is a walking, talking political target just looking for a place to get plugged...over and over and over. And he will get plugged...like he can't believe. C'mon, people! Grab a hold of reality for just a moment and settle down! It's an illusion, all of it...and a damn crappy one at that. Martin is a fraud! And almost any idiot can prove it. Unfortunately for Martin, the one thing Harper ain't is an idiot. Political fortunes spin on a dime in this country... And usually right in the middle of an election. I'll put my money on Harper over Martin any day of the week.

MacKay has been so outclassed by Harper through all of this, it's a wonder he even wants to show his face in public. Harper is demonstrating what "leadership" is all about. And MacKay is giving a classic demonstration of the antithesis of leadership. Just watched Politics, and a ten minute interview with both Scott Reid and Loyola Hearn. Reid was confident, clear and to the point, specific on his answers. And Hearn was edgy, cautious, and quite unspecific about anything. Makes me wonder if Harper looked at this for two possible scenarios: a) they get a coalition...and only because Harper pushed the issue. Or... failing that, he's provided the PCs, and MacKay, with as much rope as they need to hang themselves once and for all. At the end of the show there was his "leadership panel" discussion with Specter, Gossage, and Anderson. Anderson made a good point. He said that there's all this talk about the CA taking over the PCs... When in fact, since the original UA convention with its huge influx of PCers into the new CA, a great many Reformers are deeply concerned that in fact it is the PCs who are taking over the Reform, and thus watering down its initial raison d'etre. Very true. I don't think Harper's about to let that process get carried away. Harper wants a "conservative" coalition...but not at any price, that much is clear. And so it should be. We didn't come all this way just to give it all away in the end game and become Liberals. Hearn kept piss-whining about how Harper was interfering in the process. Harper is leader of the party, for Gawd's sake. It is the job for which he has been mandated by the membership to take care of the best interests of what the CA is all about. I think the reason we're not seeing anything from MacKay in this is so at the end of the day he can claim plausible denial of everything. If this is the Tories idea of leadership...and given the totally uninspiring leaders of their last 5 decades, save perhaps for Mulroney...it is no wonder they've never managed to do better than play second fiddle to the Liberals. They're hopeless. Thoroughly hopeless. These people wouldn't know leadership if it were hanging off their chins. And to listen to the media in this pathetic country, you'd think "leadership" equates to "kiss ass". Basically, their biggest problem with Harper is that he simply won't kiss ass...therefore, he is not qualified to be Prime Minister of Canada. For every knows that to be PM of this country, one must have the inate ability to kiss ass until the cows come home, or else suffer the consequences. Canada is a disparate nation, and kissing ass apparently is the only means of holding it together. I have to admit... No one can kiss ass like a Liberal...while twisting the knife in one's back at the same time.

I would counter that ultimately people get the government they deserve. What we now have in Canada is one huge region of the country perpetually stuck with a government they don't deserve...but are forced to endure regardless. Why? Because the "system" is specifically and craftly designed to keep it this way, power at the center. It is now all but impossible to amend the so-called "constitution" to change this system, for before it can be changed those with the power have to concede. And power is rarely, if ever, conceded away, is it? (Except, historically speaking, when staring into the business ends of a bunch of rifles or the like, eh?) There is nothing to be gained by merely chanting that old mantra about how all politicians are corrupt and self-centered. Now and again, great politicians rise up to alter the course of history for the better...all too rare, I might agree. If I suspected as much of the Reform/CA, I would not be a supporter. On the other hand, if one is looking for "perfection", one will find it in the dictionary somewhere between "pedantic" and "petty". Perfection does not exist, for politics by its very definition is about people, with all their weaknesses and imperfections. If you want change, then go to work for that political entity that truly is offering change. And if you want the status quo, then work for those who promise to maintain it...or do nothing, same difference. People continue to vote Liberal because they fear change...or in this case, because they listen to those who will move mountains to maintain the status quo, which favors them. And they will use whatever means at their disposal, most effective of all, fear. So they call Stock Day a "scary social conservative", who is bound to inflict his personal views based upon his religion on the entire country. Or they cause people to wonder about Manning's religious views. Apparently Catholics don't have religious views, or so it is inferred. Or they dig up nine second sound bites about "firewalls" and paint murals of speculation and doubt about Harper...even though he was suggesting for Alberta not one iota more than Quebec already enjoys. And so it goes on and on... And easterners say, "That Reform/CA/Stock Day/Manning/Harper" is too scary for me...even though they have not one fricking clue about what they speak, other than what the Liberal's mutts in the media have told them to believe. The enemy, my friend, is apathy. And from where I sit, the apathy amongst eastern Canadians is by all appearances, staggering and thoroughly incomprehensible. I am not exagerating one bit when I tell you that people out here wonder endlessly as to just exactly what...if anything at all...is going on in the heads of easterners. Just how bad does it have to get before the rest of this country finally wakes up to the reality of it all? It is truly remarkable, I kid you not.

Only one political party in this country has dedicated itself to the cause of reformation of our federal government from the ground up. And to put an end to the dispicable arrogance and disregard with which the public purse has been decimated by both the Liberals and the PCs for the last 4 decades. The hurdle that blocks this from happening? Easterners would rather vote for proven corrupt liars, time and again... Then vote for a political party with western roots that would bring this neverending regime of crap and garbage to an end. Apparently crap and garbage ain't so bad so long as power is the reward, eh? And Ontarians, and to a slightly lesser degree Quebeccers, have the power. Over the colonies from whom they reap their wealth. Colonialism is alive and well...but only in Canada. The rest of the world is trying to get past it. And I'm not kidding, either.

As a westerner that has been waging war against the intransigence, complascency, indifference, arrogance, apathy, and downright corruption that has become the norm of our federal government for decades... By supporting, both in time and money, a political party whose entire raison d'etre from the very beginning was to reform the political system almost entirely that has bred such destructiveness and brought this country to the very brink of ruin, both financially and politically... I can tell you that it is not for lack of effort, political and otherwise, on the part of westerners that this country nevertheless has sunk to these depths for which one can only hang his head in shame, dispair, and disgust. There will come a day of reckoning in which eastern Canadians will have to decide that this country has to change, to embrace equality of peoples, regions, and provinces... Or Canada, as we know it, will exist no longer. Nor should it.

Just heard Mike Duffy on this... Harper got a commitment from MacKay back on June 26 to get on with this, after which he went back and told all his MPs and whoever else is involved that this was priority one for the summer because he wanted it done by Labour Day. Here it is Sept. 29, and the PCs haven't even put a proposal of any kind on the table yet. No wonder Harper is pissed off! One thing about Harper, he don't screw around. Or, as it was said about him early on in the CA leadership race, he does not suffer fools lightly. He's dealing with fricking idiots that couldn't make up their minds if their pants were on fire. Liberal, Tory, same old story. What a waste of space and skin those people are! And MacKay wants to be Prime Minister??? He couldn't lead a duck to water, much less make it swim. :angry: Get on with it Stephen, and let these bozos stew in their own demise. Who needs 'em!

Believe it. You think Stock Day was vulnerable and a target? Harris would offer so many opportunities to the Liberals and their mutts in the media, I can easily imagine that they're just giggling over the prospect. That's the problem with Harper for the media. He's relatively untouchable...which is why they instead are ignoring him as much as possible. The fact is that Martin is incredibly vulnerable on his record...and his moment in Harper's sights is coming soon enough. Why put someone up against him in Harris who is every bit as vulnerable and open to attack? Makes no sense whatsoever. Harris is yesterday's news...and perhaps he deserves to be, too. We have a brilliant man in Harper, as capable as anyone you can name. There is absolutely no need to swap lanes now.

This is a sample of how the media will handle Harris, you can bet on it. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The crypt door squeaks open Charles Gordon The Ottawa Citizen Saturday, September 27, 2003 The complete unpredicta-bility and total wackiness of the Canadian political mind is one of the reasons it's so much fun to live here and why you'd never want to move to, say, Albania. Or Alabama. If we understand the situation correctly, voters in Ontario are about to throw out the Progressive Conservatives they've enjoyed for the past eight years. And why? Because of the legacy of Mike Harris, who was premier from 1995 to 2002. Sure, some people will blame Ernie Eves when the Tories go down (if they go down), just as they blamed Kim Campbell when the federal Tories nearly disappeared under a Liberal avalanche in 1993. But everybody knew who lost the 1993 election. It was Brian Mulroney. And everybody should know who's losing the 2003 Ontario election. It's Mike Harris. Neoconservative true-believers have another answer, as they always do, pesky devils that they are. They will argue, when and if Eves loses, that Eves was not enough like Mike Harris, that he was too moderate, too much of a Bill Davis. But the true believers can't get off so lightly. They convinced Eves at the beginning of the campaign that he had to stop being moderate, had to go hard-right, particularly on social issues, that he had to reinvoke the Harris scare tactics on crime and welfare and immigration. Look where it got him (assuming that's where it got him). If Eves leads the Tories to defeat, it will be Mike Harris's defeat. All the things that have really angered Ontario voters, most notably the decline in education and health care, are the result of the Harris government, the Harris attitudes. Ontario voters could put up with that for awhile, when they thought deficit slashing was the top priority, when they thought the system was being administered competently. But they've had enough now. For the new millennium, the Harris attitude was too mean-spirited and it wasn't working all that well anyway. If they awaken on Oct. 3 to read newspaper headlines about the end of Tory rule in Ontario, most Ontarians will breathe a sigh of relief. It's over, they will think. Our horrible nightmare is over. We have seen the last of Mike Harris. But not so fast. Our national wackiness, the same cultural trait that has given us ice-fishing, poutine and the single point on the missed field goal, is producing a new Mike Harris, a federal Mike Harris. This all has to do with uniting the right, one of our country's smaller continuing obsessions, something that gnaws at us like whatever happened to Paul Henderson. Uniting the right is a kind of cult thing indulged in by people who, in a better world, would have a good set of electric trains in their basements. It has given us the Canadian Alliance, Stockwell Day, a never-ending supply of headlines in certain newspapers and the dedicated inattention of the majority of Canadians. People lose track of it for large chunks of time. As far as they are concerned, the right is either united, or it decided not to unite, or it forgot about the whole thing -- it's hard to remember which until the issue suddenly re-emerges in headlines in the same newspapers. That's happened this week, with high-powered secret meetings in Toronto, confused scrums in Ottawa, lots of dark muttering by young men in suits, and out of it all has emerged one name, the man who will lead the united right. Mike Harris. Not to be confused with the Mike Harris whose memory is currently leading his former party to defeat in Ontario. Suddenly there are sightings of this new Mike Harris across our great land. He's all over the paper. In one day's edition there's a picture of him speaking in Banff on Thursday, a note that he was spotted in Ottawa on Wednesday, lurking on Parliament Hill, and a picture of him in Toronto on Tuesday. If the most ridiculous series of unimaginable events takes place -- and who would bet against it? -- Mike Harris will lead a federal party that is sort of like the Canadian Alliance and a little like the Conservatives in an April election against Paul Martin's Liberals. If Canada is as wacky as we suspect, Harris might win -- against Sheila Copps. Imagine that. It takes eight years to get rid of the guy at Queen's Park, and then he shows up on Parliament Hill. Of course, it won't happen. Too many people still hate the Harris policies. And the people who don't hate the Harris policies can probably vote for the federal Liberals, who have been implementing them for the past 10 years. Still, in this unpredictable and wacky country, federal voters might like a prime minister who can work well with the re-elected Ernie Eves. The Citizen's Charles Gordon writes here on Tuesdays and Saturdays and on the City Editorial Page on Thursdays. © Copyright 2003 The Ottawa Citizen

Good GAWD!!! What the hell is it with all the end of the world, doom and gloom crap anyway??? How bloody defeatist can you people possibly get!!! Martin is a fricking illusion and a bust. He's a total fraud! Something between 55,000 and 61,000 Liberals were interested enough in the leadership race to actually vote. That's out of a supposed 531,000 of them. This whole thing with the Libs and Martin is a farce! The NDP are going to make a come back in BC??????? That's about the stupidist thing I've heard this year. Hell, in ten years! The couple of twits the NDP have for MPs in this province will be damn lucky to hold on to their ridings, forget about anyone else joinging them. Jack Layton is a doofus. No one cares about Jack Layton. He's a joke, a wannabe with nowhere to go but down. Harper has been brilliant throughout this entire process. He's got MacKay pushed back into a corner so tight, he can hardly find room to fart. Last night MacKay looked like he was ready to puke on command...and Harper looked he was just getting started. The CA in trouble??? I hardly think so. You people gotta quit believing everything you read in the Liberal Leftist press in this country, and start using your own heads for a change. I cannot remember when I've seen such a concerted effort to brainwash Canadians into accepting the inevitability of a particular government, regardless of who it happens to be. COME ON!!! WAKE UP!!! Martin is a sitting duck extraordinaire! He and his party is guilty of more crap and corruption than any other in living memory...and we still ain't seen everything yet to be seen, either. You think Harper...of all people...is going to have a tough time blasting holes through this fraud's butt with the truckload of ammo he's got to direct at this SOB??? Quit believing what you're being told to believe and start using your own GD heads for a change!!! SSSSSHHHHHEEEEEEEEEESSSSSHHHHHH!!!!!

Pell, I could not disagree more. The "party" is its membership...or more precisely, its people. I have been listening to the pathetic leadership of the PCs, and the likes of Wayne and Crosby, for years preaching to anyone who would listen that the Progressive Conservatives are truly the only "national" party...to which anyone with more than three functioning braincells would immediately call bullsh*t. If they're so bloody "national", and so damn sure that they're the only "alternative with support across Canada to the Liberals", then they can GD well put it on the line and we'll see just how damn "national" they really are, won't we? While I don't often agree with Paul Wells, he hit this one right square on the head. If Peter MacKay wants to be leader of a national Conservative Party, then he can GD well get out there and earn the bloody right just like everyone else, including Harper. BUT NOOOOOO.... Instead we get more of the usual convoluted PC sniveling and whimpering about how suddenly they're obviously not so bloody national that they could go head to head with the CA, eh? If nothing else comes out of this, the one thing that's for sure is that Harper has exposed MacKay and his party for the narrowminded, pathetic, self-centered, petty little frauds that they are...in spades. These people have an opportunity to put aside all this crap and do something for the betterment of the entire country. And all we get from the PC MPs and their leader, for the most part, is more of the same old sniveling and stalling and excuse making, yada yada yada yada yada yada until hell won't have any more of it. These people couldn't make a decision if their GD pants were on fire. I hate to even imagine them running our country! Again! Harper's "let's get to it and get the job done, we've got other more important things to handle" attitude is so totally refreshing...and thus completely foreign to Ottawa and the old line party hacks...one can only savor the spectre of him running this country. You hear Paul Martin today? "We're going to do this...no matter how long it takes!" He can't get through a promise on anything without a disclaimer tacked on, can he? How typically Liberal. How typically old-line party in thinking and action...or the lack thereof. Like I've always said... The only difference between the PCs and the Liberals is in the spelling of the names. Whether the PCs get sucked up into the much greater CA, or blown off the political map by Martin, makes no difference to me. The good news at the end of the day, as far as I'm concerned, is that the PCs will be history. Whatever it takes, it's worth it.

Ryan... Been there, done that. The only "conservative" party in Canada is the Canadian Alliance. Visit their website, read through their policy statement. And you tell me what is "right wing" about any of it. More importantly, do some research on both MacKay and Harper, starting with reading some of the speeches put forward by both. Also, if you go back a few pages on this forum, you should be able to find a post titled something like "Harper on Conservatism", in which I copied in an essay authored by him. It's an incredible piece of work, and highlights the amazing brilliance and intellect of this man. Frankly, MacKay isn't even remotely in the same league as Harper...nor, for that matter, is Martin. Do your own due dilligence, partner. Don't let the Liberal's media mutts make up your mind for you, nor anyone else. I have been following federal politics for over 35 years now... And I can tell you with certainty that, at the end of the day, the only difference between the Liberals and the PCs is in the spelling. For forty years now, when the Liberals weren't hell bent on ruining this country through asinine spending and absolute bungling of everything they touched, the PCs were there doing it instead. For the first time in living memory, this country finally has a choice between "liberals" and "conservatives", not just merely the pretence of a choice.

I don't generally agree with Wells on much... But I sure do on this one. From this weeks MacLeans magazine... I've highlighted the good parts. --------------------------------------------------------- September 24, 2003 PAUL WELLS The struggle to unite the Progressive Conservatives and the Canadian Alliance is moving fast, and it has come down to two crunch issues, both of them potential deal-breakers: political theory and stupid pride. The issue of political theory is (only slightly!) less fun, so we'll start with it. It's the eternal problem of the decision rule for highly-asymmetrical binary confederations. Let me translate that into English. Every time in history that two populations of very different size have tried to get along, their leaders have faced a fundamental question: how do we make our decisions? There are only two possible answers: equality or representation by population. There was never any chance of the Tories and Alliance avoiding this question. The likelihood they'll resolve it is close to zero. The Tory caucus is one-quarter the size of the Alliance's. The grass-roots Tory membership is certainly even smaller by comparison with the Alliance hordes. So how do they pick their policies and their leader? Peter MacKay came storming out of this morning's Tory caucus meeting to insist it's got to be "equality." By this he means, naturally, equality of parties: The Progressive Conservative party must have equal weight with the Alliance. This is, self-evidently, a direct violation of an equally valid idea of equality: equality of each individual Canadian, be she a Tory or an Alliance member. By insisting that the tiny Tory party not be "swamped," MacKay is effectively demanding that each Tory's vote be worth four or more times as much as the vote of each Alliance member. I'm not saying this to blame MacKay, although I plan to get to that soon enough. His position is the inevitable position of the smaller partner, just as Stephen Harper's is the inevitable position of the larger. (The decision-rule problem of highly-asymmetrical confederations, incidentally, explains why an equal partnership between a separate Quebec and the rest of Canada was always a fantasy. All this and much more is explained in Robert Young's classic book, The Secession of Quebec and the Future of Canada. So much for theory. On to stupid pride. You -- would -- not -- believe how whiny Peter MacKay is about the news leaks surrounding the Tory-Alliance negotiations. He is, not to put too fine a point on it, being a sucky sucky baby about it all. "The key issue is trust," he said, his quivering little chin sticking out as he faced the scribes. Mommy, make the bad Alliance man stop talking to reporters. Three things about this. First, none of the reporters I know who's covering this story is getting all his information from the Alliance side. MacKay's glass house has sprung its share of leaks. Second, it is simply not true that "trust" in Ottawa translates as an absence of leaks. Since Tories leak about their internal affairs all the time; and Alliance members leak about their internal affairs all the time; and that doesn't mean they don't love each other; then it's just barely possible that Tories and Alliance members might leaka bout this, too. Finally, grow up. MacKay's party has, in the past, led by a couple of fellows named John Macdonald and Brian Mulroney. Macdonald's Ottawa and Mulroney's Ottawa leaked like frickin' sieves. And no force on earth could stop either man from winning elections. Joe Clark used to lead the Tories too. He is famously obsessed with propriety and process. He has believed all his life that doing everything right is the same as doing the right thing. He ran a demonstrably tighter ship than those sloppy blowhards, Macdonald and Mulroney. And in the 2000 election, Clark won the smallest share of the popular vote in the history of his party. Now here's the thing. Peter MacKay is the son of a Mulroney-era cabinet minister, but he makes a virtue of the fact that he paid little attention to politics until the mid-1990s. Good for him. But he needs to wonder now whether he learned all the wrong lessons at the feet of his de facto mentor, Joe Clark. Let me put it more bluntly. I have long believed unite-the-right talks were a waste of time. I have long believed there was no point speculating on the two parties' chances of reconciling, because the Tories' sucky-sucky-baby routine would guarantee failure. Peter MacKay is free to prove me wrong.