Iggy's Feckless Battalions

[Keepitsimple]

We all know that the Toronto Star loves their Liberals but I must admit, every now and then, Thomas Walkom injects a bit of balance into their columns. Here's an excerpt from todays Star:

Iggy's feckless battalions

June 17, 2009

Thomas Walkom

It's hard to take the federal Liberals seriously. They claim they want to hold Prime Minister Stephen Harper to account. But they don't. They criticize the Conservative government endlessly. But when the crunch comes, they support it.

They say they'd handle the recession differently. But they rarely say how. And when points of difference do emerge – such as the handling of employment insurance – they invariably backtrack.

For the Liberals, the time is never right. They come up with endless excuses for never forcing an election on the minority Harper government: They don't have enough money; they don't have enough candidates; their leader is too new; the polls are inauspicious; the weather is too warm; the weather is too cold

In the spring, they say wait until fall. In the fall, they say wait until spring.

When Stéphane Dion was their leader, they blamed him for everything. But at least Dion, with his plan to replace income with carbon taxes, gave some hint as to what he might do if elected.

By contrast, current Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff is terminally vague. On the big economic questions, he attacks the government without saying what he'd do differently.

Ignatieff presents this as an asset, arguing that the point of being in opposition is to oppose. But in the context of the worst recession since the 1930s, his failure to articulate a clear alternative simply leaves the rest of us confused.

Link: http://www.thestar.com/printArticle/651773

[Jerry J. Fortin]

We all know that the Toronto Star loves their Liberals but I must admit, every now and then, Thomas Walkom injects a bit of balance into their columns. Here's an excerpt from todays Star:

Link: http://www.thestar.com/printArticle/651773

Nice article, good points. I think that Iggy is still setting the table. His dinner plans have not yet been advertised, and he is still gathering the ingredients. The meeting with Harper has already yielded a dessert of another meeting. This guy is acting in a very calculating manner. His motives and plans are not yet evident, but I don't mistake that for a lack of plan.

[Dave_ON]

Nice article, good points. I think that Iggy is still setting the table. His dinner plans have not yet been advertised, and he is still gathering the ingredients. The meeting with Harper has already yielded a dessert of another meeting. This guy is acting in a very calculating manner. His motives and plans are not yet evident, but I don't mistake that for a lack of plan.

I agree with some points in the article but I have to disagree with the assertion that because the Liberals haven't revealed their platform yet that they don't have one. I think given past history this is a very smart move on Ignatieff's part. When was it that Mr. Harper and the Conservatives launched a platform again during last election? Oh yes less than a week before Election Day. What did they do the whole election? The CPC attacked Dion's character and his platform. Given this it's very smart to keep your cards out of view.

I do have to admit that Mr. Ignatieff's hesitation to call an election given the time has never been riper, and incidentally may not be this ripe in the fall, puzzling. Perhaps he feels the recession will only deepen over the summer and will have time to do as much damage to Conservative popularity as possible. That may be so and it's a rather risky move IMV. Then again it's easy to say that as an armchair politician. It's difficult to say what I would actually do if I were in Mr. Ignatieff's shoes.

[Keepitsimple]

If there was ever a time for accusations of a hidden agenda - it is with Mr. Ignatieff. This is a guy who has been away from Canada and is comfortable with US politics. He brings a US mindset and he has learned to see the world through more of a US prism than a Canadian one. Many Canadians still do not understand that both Democrats and Republicans are to the RIGHT of Stephen Harper in the political spectrum. The Republicans are far right by Canadian standards, the Democrats are less so but still to the right of Harper - who by comparison are Center or Center-right and the Liberals are Center or Center-left, depending on your political allegiances. That's why it's so troubling to see Iggy bend and twist in the wind on policy and why it should be uncomfortable for Canadians to trust what the eventual Liberal platform might be - but more importantly, what someone like Iggy would do if he was given access to the levers of power. Liberals are famous for campaign promises. Iggy may not have a formal "hidden agenda" but who knows what this guy will do.....and that is truly scary.

[Smallc]

Keep trying...it will stick some time....BTW, the guy spent most of his time in a country that many consider socialist....maybe he's to the left of Jack Layton...

[YEGmann]

When was it that Mr. Harper and the Conservatives launched a platform again during last election? Oh yes less than a week before Election Day.

You do not understand how the stuff works. The Conservatives is a ruling party. They told "our platform is our policy". They did not need to release any platform. A platform is required when you want to change something. The Conservative's slogan was "Stability".

[Smallc]

You don't seem to get how this stuff works. Since we're not in an election campaign, no one needs to release anything. And the government usually does have a platform during a campaign...sorry.

[Keepitsimple]

You don't seem to get how this stuff works. Since we're not in an election campaign, no one needs to release anything. And the government usually does have a platform during a campaign...sorry.

You're right SmallC.....no one needs to release anything....but until the Liberals start to stand for something - other than criticizing the government, you'll get more columns like the Charles Adler and the Thomas Walkom one in this thread. Like Walkom says, the way Ignatieff is handling things, it's very difficult to take the Liberals seriously. Similar comments were being made on Don Newman's Politics and CTV's Powerplay today.

[Smallc]

If I were advising Ignatieff, I would tell him not to release anything until the election....because there's no reason to. We're not in a campaign, and right now Ignatieff isn't running for anything.

[jdobbin]

You're right SmallC.....no one needs to release anything....but until the Liberals start to stand for something - other than criticizing the government, you'll get more columns like the Charles Adler and the Thomas Walkom one in this thread. Like Walkom says, the way Ignatieff is handling things, it's very difficult to take the Liberals seriously. Similar comments were being made on Don Newman's Politics and CTV's Powerplay today.

Did Harper release his party platform before the election in 2006?

[Keepitsimple]

If I were advising Ignatieff, I would tell him not to release anything until the election....because there's no reason to. We're not in a campaign, and right now Ignatieff isn't running for anything.

You should hope that he doesn't take your advice. Opposition leaders should always be running for Prime Minister....and slowly, but surely, they should/have to reveal the basic fundamentals of what they stand for - other than the usual soppy platitudes. An election - conducted in a compressed timeframe - is not the time to start from scratch - after standing for nothing for months/years on end.

[Smallc]

I'm sure he will release bits and pieces...but now isn't the time. He has already made EI a priority and I'm sure there will be more to come. he doesn't need to give out ideas that the Conservatives can steal and claim as their own.

[YEGmann]

You don't seem to get how this stuff works. Since we're not in an election campaign, no one needs to release anything. And the government usually does have a platform during a campaign...sorry.

You definitely cannot read. Please, read what Dave On wrote about (and I responded to) and detract your irrelevant comment.

[Smallc]

You definitely cannot read. Please, read what Dave On wrote about (and I responded to) and detract your irrelevant comment.

[Keepitsimple]

I'm sure he will release bits and pieces...but now isn't the time. He has already made EI a priority and I'm sure there will be more to come. he doesn't need to give out ideas that the Conservatives can steal and claim as their own.

EI is a good example of how Ignatieff is damaging his emerging political reputation. First of all, he stole the issue from the NDP....then "his" position was a national 360 hour qualification period. Week after week, it was 360 hours. Then he said the 360 hours were negotiable. Now he says maybe Harper's position of helping the self-employed might do the trick. From drawing a line in the sand, he seems to have retreated off of the beach. As more than one commentator has said today, Ignatieff showed his inexperience in political negotiations by not knowing where he really wanted to go on the EI issue and for that matter, on the entire "negotiation" process. I know you're hopeful that Ignatieff will eventually define himself and the Liberal Party but he'd better start soon.

[Smallc]

Ignatieff is defining himself. He's defining himself as someone who is willing to make things work for Canada. He was willing to sit down and make things work and that is what many Canadians will remember...try as you might to make it seem like a bad move.

[Smallc]

What happened this week...gave everyone something...and everyone nothing. No one really gained anything this week.