Ignatieff calls it!

[Dave_ON]

4) You said the Conservatives ran the last election without a platform until the last few days: nonsense. They've had the same platform for 5 years - they just haven't been able to get a lot of it through Parliament - Justice legislation (sentencing, protecting children), Accountability (still work to do e.g. Appointments Commission), Senate Reform, removing trade barriers and others.

That's a cop out. If they've had the same platform since day one why didn't they release it in an official capacity on day one of the election? You know full well that the CPC platform last election was "Dion not a leader". Anti-platform is no platform at all.

[madmax]

It's about Canadians slowly becoming disenchanted with a minority government!

The numbers supporting Minority government have been steadily rising... not the other way around. That doesn't mean the CPC aren't focusing on a Majority, but when didn't they?

http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=1918505

New poll suggests Canadians are warming to minority rule

53.9% Supportive; Election-ready Conservative MPs focused on majority

Emily Senger, National Post

Published: Sunday, August 23, 2009

[Mr.Canada]

This is the beginning of the end for Ignatieff, thank God. Actually I hope he sticks around so we get to beat on him some more, it's very easy to do. He's only marginally better than Dion.

The Liberals will again not win the election if in fact the Liberals and NDP actually do what they say all the time. Time for them to put their money where their mouth is.

He is going to force Canadians to go back to the polls for an election nobody except 416'ers want.

This will prove disasterous for the Liberal party.

Canadians are sick of minority governments.

The next election will see a majority.

I'll be sure to look up posters comments to make sure they stand by their comments after the Liberals bring down the Tory government.

[Keepitsimple]

That's a cop out. If they've had the same platform since day one why didn't they release it in an official capacity on day one of the election? You know full well that the CPC platform last election was "Dion not a leader". Anti-platform is no platform at all.

Their day-one platform was always playing in the background and any voter would know that. How could you not run a campaign that focused on Dion as a weak leader and against a Carbon Tax. The man was a boob.....look at where he is now - in debt and his party couldn't care less about him. I feel sorry for the guy but it was crucial for the country that he never became leader - and that was the focus.

Edited September 2, 2009 by Keepitsimple

[madmax]

Good luck. Maybe it will be the Liberals who vote the next 79 times in non-confidence as the NDP prop up the Tories.

If the CPC cave in to the NDP and make 1 concession, it would be one more concession then the LPC extracted from the CPC in 4 years. Does anyone expect the CPC to cave?

[madmax]

It is possible he will prorogue Parliament again until next spring or fall. Wouldn't that be interesting?

ROTFLOMAO

3 pointer.

[Mr.Canada]

If the CPC cave in to the NDP and make 1 concession, it would be one more concession then the LPC extracted from the CPC in 4 years. Does anyone expect the CPC to cave?

The Tories are the governing party that has lead in the polls the entire time, they don't have to do anything. Ignatieff has never led in the polls yet you people think he will form government.

I want to see if the three amigos will run as a coalition and not as separate parties. This will be a focus of the Tory election machine and the Liberals and NDP will have nowhere to hide.

It's going to be a slaughter.

[Dave_ON]

This is the beginning of the end for Ignatieff, thank God. Actually I hope he sticks around so we get to beat on him some more, it's very easy to do. He's only marginally better than Dion.

The Liberals will again not win the election if in fact the Liberals and NDP actually do what they say all the time. Time for them to put their money where their mouth is.

He is going to force Canadians to go back to the polls for an election nobody except 416'ers want.

This will prove disasterous for the Liberal party.

Canadians are sick of minority governments.

The next election will see a majority.

I'll be sure to look up posters comments to make sure they stand by their comments after the Liberals bring down the Tory government.

So when you're proven wrong about your majority call we have license to remind you and remind you and remind you until you disappear into the ether?

A CPC majority is a wild speculative dream that isn't possible in the current political environment in Canada. The Polarization of the electorate has never been so pronounced. Seriously the CPC couldn't even pull off a majority against Dion and the Green Shift.

[Mr.Canada]

So when you're proven wrong about your majority call we have license to remind you and remind you and remind you until you disappear into the ether?

A CPC majority is a wild speculative dream that isn't possible in the current political environment in Canada. The Polarization of the electorate has never been so pronounced. Seriously the CPC couldn't even pull off a majority against Dion and the Green Shift.

Time will tell.

[madmax]

Right now my one prediction is that the NDP are going to do very poorly.

That's hardly a prediction... or a bold prediction.

I am of the belief that many traditional Liberals voted NDP as a means of expressing their dismay and disbelief that Stephane Dion was somehow their party's leader.

The data in a vast majority of Liberal Held ridings was that many people who voted Liberal did not switch to the NDP, but simply stayed home. The NDP shrunk, but not by much, whereas the Liberal vote collapsed. If the same number of people who voted Liberal in 2006 showed up, and the NDP vote held at its 2008/2006 level, the Liberals should regain some lost seats. This is true in some battles with the CPC although in many contest CPC/LPC ridings, the CPC vote grew significantly to overthrow the Liberal MPs.

Possibly the biggest loser in vote percentage for the CPC was Diane Finley. No worries, if she gets tossed out of office, I sure there is a seat waiting beside her hubby.

This is known as CPC Senate Reform.

[madmax]

My best guess is that Iggy will become the next Prime Minister.

Where's Waldo...

[Mr.Canada]

That's hardly a prediction... or a bold prediction.

The data in a vast majority of Liberal Held ridings was that many people who voted Liberal did not switch to the NDP, but simply stayed home. The NDP shrunk, but not by much, whereas the Liberal vote collapsed. If the same number of people who voted Liberal in 2006 showed up, and the NDP vote held at its 2008/2006 level, the Liberals should regain some lost seats. This is true in some battles with the CPC although in many contest CPC/LPC ridings, the CPC vote grew significantly to overthrow the Liberal MPs.

Possibly the biggest loser in vote percentage for the CPC was Diane Finley. No worries, if she gets tossed out of office, I sure there is a seat waiting beside her hubby.

This is known as CPC Senate Reform.

I love how the Liberals see things. So in your own mind all the voters who stayed home were Liberal voters some 30% of eligible Canadian voters, wow.

[Argus]

That's not the job of the opposition.

Oh of course it is. How can you stand in the house and yell at the government for doing X with no idea of your own about what it OUGHT to be doing?

The last time the Liberals made a grab for power the excuse they made was that the government needed to bring in a big fat, expensive incentive program to save the country. In other words, that is what they said needed to be done.

Well what needs to be done now? I haven't heard anything coming from them.

[Argus]

Voters didn't want an election last time. Did yo make Harper face your wrath last time or were you so proud of him?

We just HAD an election. Do we need one every single year?

[Dave_ON]

Their day-one platform was always playing in the background and any voter would know that. How could you not run a campaign that focused on Dion as a weak leader and against a Carbon Tax. The man was a boob.....look at where he is now - in debt and his party couldn't care less about him. I feel sorry for the guy but it was crucial for the country that he never became leader - and that was the focus.

Sure it was. Sure Dion was a dud, through no fault of his own really. It's a shame really, he was quite a smart, honest and well intentioned man, just not particularly articulate, in English at least nor the least bit inspiring.

Be that as it may we both know the CPC didn't run on a platform that "was playing in the background" they ran on a campaign that was "Harper isn't Dion" and nothing more. They were the only party with no plan for the tanking economy that their apparent background platform was not addressing. What I found to be truly ironic is that Harper's multi-point plan on the economy, when he got around to acknowledging there was in fact an issue that is, was so similar to Dion's multi-point strategy it was almost uncanny.

Regardless this is the best possible time for an election for the LPC; it antecedes the Olympics and the economic recovery that will come following them. I'll be interested to see what kind of a campaign tack the CPC takes this time around. They have a huge deficit to defend and explain how they plan to pay it down; they’ll have to do better than a “background platform” this time round.

[waldo]

My best guess is that Iggy will become the next Prime Minister.

Where's Waldo...

uhhh... clearly, poster Fortin is a master prognosticator!

[Mr.Canada]

Oh of course it is. How can you stand in the house and yell at the government for doing X with no idea of your own about what it OUGHT to be doing?

The last time the Liberals made a grab for power the excuse they made was that the government needed to bring in a big fat, expensive incentive program to save the country. In other words, that is what they said needed to be done.

Well what needs to be done now? I haven't heard anything coming from them.

It's the same crap as last time. The new Ignatieff is yelling for all to hear "We can do better!" .

Problem is that he hasn't said what this better is and what his plan is to get there.

No policy, no plan. He's basically saying trust us.

No thanks. Last time Canadians trusted the Liberals they gave money to their friends and were involved in one of the biggest frauds in Canadian history.

[Argus]

That's not the way that the responsible government system is designed.

Yes, it actually is. You can't criticize someone for doing something about a problem without offering up what YOU think ought to be done. That's basic human nature. I saw Dominic Leblanc on CBC this morning trying to stick to the script about why the Liberals would force an election, and he had nothing but bluster. He was asked repeatedly what the Liberals think should be done differently and he had nothing. He was also asked what has changed since April when Ignatieff said the country didn't want an election and didn't need an election, and he again had nothing.

[Argus]

The Liberals are an extremely flexible party. It's why they've governed the country for most of its existence.

If by "flexible" you mean "No actual vision, values or policies" and "just in it for the money" then yes, I agree.

[Argus]

Strangely enough it's also why they did so poorly in the last two elections

People don't seem to realize that the system has changed from the days when Liberals ran up majority after majority. They did that by taking almost every seat in Quebec every election. That's no longer happening. The fracture of the conservatives hid the importance of that for some years, but no longer. They will get a minority of seats in Quebec, and they've lost the west. They are as unlikely to get a majority again as the Conservatives are. And that won't change until the Liberals get a French Quebec leader who can draw more French votes away from the BQ.

As I've said many times, Quebecers will simply not vote in numbers for an Anglophone, let alone an Anglophone who is from outside Quebec, if they have a Quebecois alternative.

This has long been the weakness of English Canada. Because we are not nearly as bigoted as Quebecers, and don't really care much whether the party leader is English or French, it's allowed Quebec to control the federal government for most of the last half century.

[Argus]

I can't imagine that another minority would be accepted as a reason let him run again. He's gone for sure if he is defeated even if it is a squeaker.

You guys despised Manning, and called him a dangerous fanatic.

You guys despised Day and called him a dangerous fanatic

You guys despised Harper and called him a dangerous fanatic.

The plain and simple fact is that no matter who leads the Tories you people will hate him and call him a dangerous fanatic.

[Dave_ON]

We just HAD an election. Do we need one every single year?

That's the nature of minority governments. They generally don't last too much longer than a year, the exception being Harper's term from 2006-2008, to date in our history that's the longest surviving minority government.

[punked]

That's the nature of minority governments. They generally don't last too much longer than a year, the exception being Harper's term from 2006-2008, to date in our history that's the longest surviving minority government.

It was like 3 months ago you Liberals were Screaming "DO YOU WANT AN ELECTION EVERY YEAR!!!!! THE NDP DOES" now that point is moot? Crazy how the things go eh?

[Jerry J. Fortin]

If the CPC cave in to the NDP and make 1 concession, it would be one more concession then the LPC extracted from the CPC in 4 years. Does anyone expect the CPC to cave?

Not I .........

[Argus]

I'm sure there are some people who are hoping for a poll that has the party at 40%. However, it isn't going to get there if the party is weakened by propping up the Tories

How do you imagine it IS going to get there? There has always been a split in beliefs in this country, more than sufficient, without Quebec tipping the balance every election, to prevent any party from having a majority. That hasn't changed, and it isn't going to change.

Absent the Tories doing a meltdown, you guys need to give people a reason to vote for you, and you have yet to come up with anything. You keep trying stupid political ploys like the EI thing, but it's clear to most that you don't even believe in them, that they're just political games.

No, your only hope is when you kick Ignatieff out and bring in a Francophone leader. Then you'll get more seats in Quebec, and can hope that some kind of policy can pick up more seats in English Canada as well, enough to scrape (barely) into majority territory.

Maybe if you scaled back the blatant self-interest and phony policies and actually came up with something ot help the country instead of yourselves... but that ain't happening any time soon.