The Liberal Party of Canada in a nutshelll...

[NDP Newbie]

This joke has been circulating the net...

Pass it along to whomever may find it interesting.

It will likely amuse Conservatives, New Democrats, Blocheads, Greens, and people who dislike everything about Canadian politics yet know things about it...

***

The steps at the Parliament Hill building needed some repairs so bids are taken from contractors from across the country.

First a contractor from Toronto looks it over. After a session of measuring and figuring he presents his bid. I can do it for $19,000, he says. I'd need $9,000 for materials, $9,000 for my crew, and $1,000 profit for me.

Next a redneck from Calgary does his measuring and calculating then says, I'll do it for $17,000. $8,000 for materials, $8,000 for my crew, and $1,000 profit for me.

Last a Liberal-friendly advertising firm from Montreal steps up. Without even looking at the job site he says, I'll do it for $57,000. Surprised at how high it is, the man taking the bids asks him to explain it. It's simple, he says. $20,000 for me, $20,000 for you, and we hire the guy from Calgary.

[August1991]

I can laugh with the best of them but I suspect a Liberal started that joke.

It perpetuates the classic stereotype that the anti-Liberal vote is basically anti-central Canada. Harper and his gang are western simpletons who think the East rips them off.

[NDP Newbie]

I can laugh with the best of them but I suspect a Liberal started that joke.

It perpetuates the classic stereotype that the anti-Liberal vote is basically anti-central Canada. Harper and his gang are western simpletons who think the East rips them off.

I'm a federalist and a social democrat from Central Canada and would vote BQ or CPC before voting Liberal.

Ironically though, Harper is the only party leader born in Toronto.

That being said, I really don't think having all 4 relevant parties led by people originally from Ontario and Quebec is very fair to Canadians in general.

[playfullfellow]

Well August, it cetainly looks like you have a severe dislike for people who live West of the Ontario border. Not all peope who live out West are simpletons. A lot of people make a living using their backs and muscles but that does not mean they are simpletons just because they do not sit behind a desk judging others. If it wasn't for the hard work and persistance of people in provinces like BC and Alberta, the whole standard of living in Canada would drop. We may be a bunch of rednecks who still go to church and believe in God but we still have a very strong belief in right and wrong. Most westerners believe that each province should be able to look after its own priorities and not have Ottawa tell us how to live our lives. What is wrong with that logic? The joke seems to make it rather clear that the guys out east make big bucks while screwing over the guy out west. But the again, that is just my simpleton way of seeing things.

[August1991]

Please, don't be so sensitive.

The joke seems to make it rather clear that the guys out east make big bucks while screwing over the guy out west.

That's my point. The Liberal Party is going to present Harper and the Reform/Alliance/Conservatives as outraged Westerners who are tired of getting screwed around by those slick Easterners.

The end result? Harper will get the Alberta vote and Martin will get the Ontario vote.

Campaign co-chair David Herle said Liberals will paint their election platform as a positive one, compared with what he described as the Conservative party's anti-Canadian agenda.

"They actually don't like Canada the way it is," Herle said. "They do think it's some socialist backwater that's in decline and they think it needs to be fundamentally changed ... . Well, that scares Canadians. That's not what they're looking for."

Canada's soldiers would be fighting in Iraq today -- against the will of the Canadian public -- if it were up to Harper, Herle said. And the country's social programs and medicare would be gutted by the major tax cuts Harper has proposed.

"I think the fundamental Achilles heel of the Reform party, of the Alliance party, of this new Conservative party has always been that they are fundamentally out of sync with Canadians about that," Herle said.

Replace the word "Canadians" with "Ontarians" and the quote makes a lot more sense.

CanWest interview with Liberal Campaign manager

[maplesyrup]

  The Liberal Party is going to present Harper and the Reform/Alliance/Conservatives as outraged Westerners who are tired of getting screwed around by those slick Easterners.

The end result?  Harper will get the Alberta vote and Martin will get the Ontario vote.

Maybe, but more probably, maybe not.