Liberal Party Attacks No Longer Make Sense

[nittanylionstorm07]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canadavotes2011/story/2011/04/25/cv-election-cap-trade-ad.html

Wow. I guess they want to see how much further they can possibly fall? Maybe trying to beat Kim Campbell's record for destruction of a political party?

[punked]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canadavotes2011/story/2011/04/25/cv-election-cap-trade-ad.html

Wow. I guess they want to see how much further they can possibly fall? Maybe trying to beat Kim Campbell's record for destruction of a political party?

Seriously they are trying now to stop the fall in Toronto only now. It is pretty sad they are playing to one base, the Toronto one. After this election we are going to have a Toronto Bloc party called the Liberals that have maybe 10 seats outside the city.

[nittanylionstorm07]

Seriously they are trying now to stop the fall in Toronto only now. It is pretty sad they are playing to one base, the Toronto one. After this election we are going to have a Toronto Bloc party called the Liberals that have maybe 10 seats outside the city.

Layton needs to make one last push in Toronto. If he does that, he will have quite a solid representation in the 41st Parliament.

[punked]

Layton needs to make one last push in Toronto. If he does that, he will have quite a solid representation in the 41st Parliament.

If someone could break into the firewall that is Toronto it would end of the road for the Liberals. As of right now it seems like they have 40 seats there even if they ran the Zombie Ghost of Hitler.

[kimmy]

Do they *really* want to be reminding people of why the opposition parties took down the last Liberal government? It *wasn't* to kill national childcare programs.

-k

[nittanylionstorm07]

Do they *really* want to be reminding people of why the opposition parties took down the last Liberal government? It *wasn't* to kill national childcare programs.

-k

If there is one thing right wing Cons and left wing NDPers can agree on, it's that the Liberals are making about as much sense right now as moving a hockey team to a desert.

[punked]

If there is one thing right wing Cons and left wing NDPers can agree on, it's that the Liberals are making about as much sense right now as moving a hockey team to a desert.

It is what is called spaghetti strategy, you throw everything at the wall and see what sticks. It is a last resort of a campaign going down in flames, same thing happened to the Republicans in the last 2 weeks of the 2008 US campaign and the Dems in 2010.

[nittanylionstorm07]

It is what is called spaghetti strategy, you throw everything at the wall and see what sticks. It is a last resort of a campaign going down in flames, same thing happened to the Republicans in the last 2 weeks of the 2008 US campaign and the Dems in 2010.

I would say that about the Reps in 2008, but not the Dems in 2010. I still don't think they campaigned at all last year.

I am a Democrat, but I wish I had an NDP party I could support.

[Evening Star]

Do they *really* want to be reminding people of why the opposition parties took down the last Liberal government? It *wasn't* to kill national childcare programs.

-k

Ha, yeah, by all rights, I'm the exact sort of person who should be a Liberal but that party has just turned into an embarrassment.

[RNG]

If there is one thing right wing Cons and left wing NDPers can agree on, it's that the Liberals are making about as much sense right now as moving a hockey team to a desert.

With that post I would have bet you were from Winnepeg.

[Sir Bandelot]

Destruction of the liberal party is long overdue. Socrates has been a long time sick. Somebody do the right thing and euthanize it, for the betterment of all Candians (sic)

[betsy]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canadavotes2011/story/2011/04/25/cv-election-cap-trade-ad.html

Wow. I guess they want to see how much further they can possibly fall? Maybe trying to beat Kim Campbell's record for destruction of a political party?

Harris Decima guy was asked on CBC how effective is that ad that showed Layton and Harper on each side of the coin. He considers it quite poor.

[Bryan]

It *wasn't* to kill national childcare programs.

That was a huge factor for my wife and I. We were voting against that as much as we were voting for anything the CPC was selling.

[Roger Steele]

I don't think it matters how bad the Liberals currently are, there are still too many died in the wool, Liberal party supporters in Ontario for us to get a Majority Gov't in the upcoming election. Having grown up in the West we used to be very frustrated come election time as none of the votes west of Winnipeg ever meant anything, as it was all over but the crying once the polls closed in Quebec and Ontario. With strategic spending over the previous four years the Liberals knew they had Quebec, Ontario, and most of the Maritimes in their back pocket and could waltz to the ballet box knowing that they had no worries because all the tax dollars they had spent guaranteed them a majority every time an election came around. It got so bad for us Westerners in the Trudeau era that Pierre could give us the finger on his way through Alberta on the campaign train and still laugh all the way to 24 Sussex Drive.

I never thought I would live long enough to hear serious conversations about the questionable future of the Canadian Liberal Party. Allow an Old Canadian to ramble for a few minutes.

I think a combination of several factors has brought the Liberals to the situation they are in at this time. The first has to be the Bloc which took away their lock on Quebec. I think the population of Quebec had been unhappy with the Federal Government for many decades, but with Trudeau and then Chretien patronizing them they were happy to keep the Liberals in power. But as Chretien came closer to retirement I think they too saw the writing on the wall and now as a new generation comes to the polls in Quebec even that province is voting much different than just a decade ago. Then I think the Liberals have serious problems with leadership. The party failed to bring up a new leader within their ranks. The squabbling between Chretien and Martin seems to have kept them from looking into the future. For many generations the Liberals brought their future leaders up through the ranks but they were caught wanting when the party started circling the drain with the Sponsorship scandal and Paul Martin retiring. Perhaps they thought Martin would be around longer but either way they were left short handed. They must have thought they had another Trudeau when they parachuted Ignatieff in to lead the party, but times and the Canadian population had been changing. The majority of Canadians are better educated than they were in the Trudeau or Chretien days. The Internet brings news to our fingertips almost as it happens and before the traditional News outlets can put their spin on it or the powers that be can filter out the items that can cause them damage. With a few key words typed into a search engine most Canadians can quickly educate themselves about current affairs and with social networking Canadians have never been better informed about a Party, it's policies, it's leader and it's dirt. Lastly I think the Liberals have not changed with the times. They are still the best friend Big Business ever had and they think they can buy their way into the hearts of the Canadian populace. But we aren't as gullible as we used to be and a lot of Canadians can no longer be bought with our own tax dollars.

If this election goes the way of a majority it's likely the last election I will see, but I fear we will be going to the ballot boxes again within the next 18 months and then the crap is really going to hit the fan.

[Topaz]

It may not take 18 months, because Harper has said he will bring back the same budget that the opposition parties didn't agree with. Harper likes playing his games, he's like a spoiled brat trying to get this way and that is why Ottawa is messed up. I think, until Harper is gone and the next leader of the Tory, is the opposite of Harper, Canadians will continue with these problems and elections. Harper wanted this election because he needs a majority for his own reasons and he'll use the budget to get that majority even if it means another election, this is the action of a dictator and when is his supporters are going to say enough is enough?

[Roger Steele]

It may not take 18 months, because Harper has said he will bring back the same budget that the opposition parties didn't agree with. Harper likes playing his games, he's like a spoiled brat trying to get this way and that is why Ottawa is messed up. I think, until Harper is gone and the next leader of the Tory, is the opposite of Harper, Canadians will continue with these problems and elections. Harper wanted this election because he needs a majority for his own reasons and he'll use the budget to get that majority even if it means another election, this is the action of a dictator and when is his supporters are going to say enough is enough?

I don't think Harper is that bad as a Leader. He has led the coalition government through one of the roughest economic times since the 30s. Some say it was worse than the 30s and yet Canada is leading the way in the developed world. Showing what actions a country requires to dig out of the huge hole the planetary economy fell into. He may not have done as well with a Majority Govt. but we will never know. You also must consider that as the leader of the party it is not "his" policies that he brings forward but those of his advisors.

I think it is funny that you made the Dictator comment as I have always said that in Canada we have an Elected Dictatorship. We elect in a Party. They appoint the leader and in theory it could change a few weeks after the election if the party feels it is required. The elected party, if they have a majority, can pretty much do what they want until the next election. In most of the parties the members are required to vote "yea" for all party policies put forth. They are not allowed to vote the way their constituents would want. Even if we hold a country wide referendum, the government does not have to vote the way the Canadian people voted. They may pay for it in the next election if the people still remember the issue. We do not have any true checks and balances in our Government. In the US Policies can be vetoed by their "Elected" Senate or their elected House of Representatives or it can be vetoed by their "Elected" President. Our Senate is little more than a place for the current Prime Minister to reward his friends and supporters with a hefty paycheck until they turn 75 at which time they receive a pension. I believe they have the power to veto a bill but I don't know if it has happened often. So our political system runs more like an Elected Dictatorship than a Democratic Government.

[trooper]

Glad to have you here Roger!

Great post. I believe the liberal party is paving the way clearly for Justin Trudeau.

I think the party knows full well that if they put him on the pedestal right away, they will

lose a major future leader. So I think the party really doesn't mind much right now.

I think just like how the Republican establishment gave John McCain one of the "good ol' boys" in 2008

a shot similar to Bob Dole, the Liberals are giving their ol' boys a shot.

Ultimately, I think going forward, seeing how the conservative support among immigrants is going

up as we speak, maybe in the next 10 years we might see some massive gains in Toronto among

Cons which will create a position where NDP will merge with the Libs.

Until then, Layton will ensure he milks as much of the Quebec and left's support as he can.

[capricorn]

You also must consider that as the leader of the party it is not "his" policies that he brings forward but those of his advisors.

Good post Roger and welcome.

As a party member, I get surveyed regularly on party policy. I do believe this consultation, in addition to the policy conference, leads to policy platform development that represents most of the wishes of party members. The Conservatives, like other parties, use focus groups to test their ideas. I may be wrong, but I think advisors have a role rather separate from policy development, such as packaging the messaging and strategy.