"Not Conservative"

It amazes me how many people are willing to jump onto the ABC bandwagon or buy into the 'Stop Harper' campaigns. With little thought to what the 'Anybody' in ABC might be putting forward in their own campaign, it seems many people are ready to define themselves as 'not Conservative'.

Congratulations. That's so clever. Well, if being 'not Conservative' is your main reason for voting for 'Anybody' else, then there are a few things you might want to think about before marking that ballot.

Stephen Harper is the only leader not panicking over the economy.

Who do you want at the helm-- a harried, worried scaremonger who sees icebergs and storms in every direction and who will run us aground or scurry for the nearest port? Or a calm, rational leader whose nerves are steady enough that he can steer through the crisis, not into it?

Personally, I'd go for the level-headed guy. Fear is self-fulfilling and panic-begets-panic-begets-crisis. Harper has been navigating choppy waters without getting into a tizzy like Dion, Layton and May. If he doesn't seem empathetic enough, thank God. There's someone who's keeping his head while those around him are losing theirs. If it seems cold or unkind -- I'll take it. It means he's not being governed by fear or emotion and guess what -- that's a good thing.

If you're simply anti-Conservative because you're stuck in the 'don't scare me' frame of mind -- then you are scary because the Conservatives are the only ones looking forward on the economy instead of trying to reach back.

Call me crazy, but I'm not surprised that Canada is losing jobs in the manufacturing sector -- are you?

In global economy, first world manufacturers with their nifty benefit packages, pension plans and high hourly wages are not competitive. Thanks Buzz, Sid, Jack and your ilk for years of amazing labour negotiations that have brought us to this point. The truth hurts -- you had it great when the economy was good and now that things are going down -- you're being hit hard. It's sad and I feel for all the people who are victims of it -- but the Conservatives aren't lamenting manufacturing job losses as much as they're committed to creating jobs in other sectors. Doesn't that make sense -- to open ourselves up to fields where we can be leaders and competitive?

We're never going to go back to the days where GM and Ford and their feeder companies make up a huge portion of the labour force of Ontario -- we need innovation. We don't need leaders who are looking wistfully to yesterday -- we need people who can focus on the future. Yes, manufacturing jobs have been lost -- but more and different jobs are being created and there are new strategies for job retraining. Maybe you won't have all the union perqs but it's a far brighter future than trying to reach back for something that's long gone to another country that can do it much, much cheaper.

The Liberals and NDP have to start living in today's world. The corporate 'tax cuts' or the NDP derides? What about all the corporate welfare that's been happening in the auto sector and for Bombardier -- that's okay? Yes, yes it is. Just like it's okay to get abortions in private clinics but not MRIs -- because one is politically correct and the other not. One pleases a particular interest group, the other not -- but corporate tax cuts are not gifts to the devil as Jack would have you believe.

What Jack fails to grasp -- or grasps but hopes the ABCers don't, is that it's the corporations who create and maintain jobs. If they don't like the tax laws, they ain't staying. It's a buyers market. They can shop around for the best tax deals and if those deals happen to be in Mexico or China or Wisconsin -- those corporations aren't going to give a damn about your family, your mortgage, your car payments. Business is business -- a favourable tax climate for business is a good thing -- which is why Jim Flaherty said that Ontario is the last place companies would want to invest -- the tax burden on the business doesn't make it profitable -- WHY SHOULD THEY COME and WHY SHOULD THEY STAY?
If we want companies to invest here, we have to make it worth their while. Dalton, Dion and Layton don't get that.

If you're voting 'not Conservative' because you think that's going to help the arts -- then think again. Did any of you read the National Post editorial that detailed some of the benefactors of 'arts funding'? According to the Post, advertising companies receive the largest portion of 'arts funding'. So, you get to give money to the government, who hands it to the ad company, who creates and ad to get you to buy their product with what little money you have left after you've given so generously to the taxman. And this is what you believe in?

I never used to believe that very many people defined themselves as 'not American' rather than putting any real thought into what it meant to be a Canadian. Why would anyone define themselves as 'not something'. Most of us know that to be Canadian holds special significance -- it means respect for authority, listening politely to the other guy but thinking independently. It means being ready to stand up for what's right and having the muscle to back it. Being Canadian means quiet strength, it means honesty and integrity, it means seeing the whole picture -- not just the few pixels we ourselves inhabit. In my opinion, the Conservatives -- even with their decidedly unconservative tilt since forming government -- best represent Canadian values and they are prepared to define themselves, rather than rant that at least they're not the other guy.

Stephen Harper isn't perfect and the Conservative Party platform falls far short of what most conservatives would prefer. Far from being ultra-right wing, the Conservatives have pulled the party left because they are seeing the whole picture, and are calmly leading into future. Harper showed quiet strength at the debates and he's showing it each day throughout this campaign. I'm surprised at his patience in the face of some of the vile comments and insults that have been hurled at him.

What does Anybody else have to offer? Oh yeah. 'Vote for me because I'm not him and I'm also not American or George Bush.' They are defining themselves by what they are not -- 'not Conservative'. All that really means is they are not prepared to move forward -- they are still looking back to a global economy that no longer exists and to three elections ago when Canadians didn't know who Stephen Harper was. They think we'll be swayed by dark, shadowy images flashing across our television screens. The Liberal team is banking on us not figuring it out -- if the Liberals are the fall-back guy, then they really don't have anything to offer and they hope that if they scare us enough, we won't notice.

The Liberals think we're stupid. I hope we don't prove them right on election day.

canadianna

Stop picking on Stephane Dion!

Or he'll stamp his feet and cry!!!

Poor, poor, Stephane Dion. Stephen Harper is picking on him.

The Prime Minister suggested that Dion's attitude about the economy is tantamount to cheering for a recession. Here are a few quotes from Dion after the stock market crisis and some follow up from experts, sometimes in the same article:

But Dion said as badly as the U.S. has performed economically, Canada has done worse and lays the blame for that at the feet of the Prime Minister.

Dion, while in St. John's, Nfld., said that Harper's economic formula is one that will land Canada in a deep recession.

"Their (the U.S.) first six months have been better than ours in terms of economic growth," Dion said.

"(Harper) made bad choices in the way he spends. He spent more than any other government before him," he said. "We've got to stop going in the direction that Mr. Harper is sending us and that is deficit and recession."

Harper urged "a more sober analysis" of the global economic woes.

People should not "turn to complete doom and gloom" scenarios, Harper said at a Monday news conference.

The Toronto Star, September 15

Seems to me that Dion is happy to interprets Harper's policies as 'sending us into a recession.'

And then:

"The Canadian market fundamentals are still solid . . . ," (Industry association president Calvin Lindberg) said, echoing the reassurance about the health of the overall economy issued earlier in the day by Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

"The Canadian economy's fundamentals are solid," Harper said, stressing that Canada is in better shape that the U.S. to withstand the current financial turmoil and suggesting that the worst of the crisis has already passed. "Our household sector, our government sector, and our financial institutions have solid economic fundamentals."

However, Liberal opposition leader Stephane Dion charged that were it not for the policies of the minority Conservative government, the economy would have been in better shape to withstand the U.S. slump.

"The difficulties in the United States are something we worry about," Dion said, adding "bad choices" by the government have resulted in economic growth being weaker in Canada this year than in the United States.

While most indicators - especially job growth and housing market sales, prices and construction - have been much stronger in Canada than in the U.S., overall levels of economic growth have been stronger there than here - with Canada's economy barely skirting a technical recession of back-to-back quarterly contractions in total output of goods and services and an actual decline in the first half of the year.

The Vancouver Sun, September 15

Note that two men who know a little bit about economics say that our economy is holding steady. The voice of dissent comes from Stephane Dion. It could even be argued that the man is almost hopeful of a recession, just to prove his point.

As the U.S. economy slipped deeper into financial turmoil Monday, Dion cast the Conservative economic plan as an anchor that has dragged Canadians to the brink of recession.

Dion blamed Harper for doing little to protect Canada from the looming economic downturn.

"Stephen Harper has allowed what was a booming economy to hit a brick wall," Dion said.

"Stephen Harper governs for the next day, the next poll. He wants to buy your vote with gimmicks for the next election."

The Liberals have also targeted the Conservative government's economic record in a new TV ad they dubbed "Harpernomics."

The Toronto Star, September 16

There's Dion, suggesting that Canada's headed for recession and it sounds like it would suit him fine. After all, it fits right into the clever and witty "Harpernomics" line. Is Harper really wrong for suggesting that he's practically drooling, hoping for a downturn on Harper's watch?

"He spent a lot, he has no direction and we are close to a deficit and close to
a recession," Dion said.
(...)

"The federal government has entered the 2008-2009 fiscal year with pretty solid momentum at least in the early stages of the year that momentum has continued," said Derek Burelton, an economist with TD Bank Financial Group.

"I think the numbers coming in so far this year suggest that the surplus is declining but we're not looking into an immediate return into deficit."

The GST cut has robbed the government coffers of around $12 billion a year, a move that has subtracted significantly from excess surpluses, Burelton said.

"We're still in surplus territory. No doubt the GST cut has eaten into that," Burelton said.

However, he said, the federal government is benefiting greatly from greater revenue from taxes in the resource sector despite the fact that commodity prices have fallen.

The Tories are projecting a $2.3-billion surplus this fiscal year and $1.3 billion for the next, down from the $10.2-billion surplus for the 2007-08 fiscal year.

Dale Orr, managing director of Global Insight Canada, believes those are conservative estimates and has predicted a $4 billion to $5 billion surplus for this fiscal year.

"There's not much chance of a deficit this year," Orr said.

Orr said the tax base continues to grow more rapidly than was forecast in the budget, offsetting the softening economy. Also, interest rates are lower than predicted, which provides some relief on debt charges.

As well, the government has not included in its forecast the $44 billion collected in Ottawa's auction of wireless airwaves. Orr said many believe the Conservatives will budget 10 per cent of that revenue to be used for over the next 10 years, meaning an extra $400 million of revenue will be coming for the current fiscal year.

Mark Gollom, CBC Reality Check, September 15

Again, Dion says recession, deficit and two experts say not. Is Harper wrong to think Dion almost seems hopeful that the economy will plunge in order to prove his own hypothesis?

One could almost forgive M. Dion for his fallacious belief that all one had to do to become Prime Minister of Canada was to don the red banner, point at the people in blue and scoff, but his reaction to criticism is to whine. Not very becoming of a man who hopes to lead the nation.

It seems inconceivable to Stephane Dion that anyone would question his policies, his demeanour, his strategy of predicting economic decline in order to boost his own fortunes. Instead of trying to justify any of those things, he becomes shrill and childish and blames those who would challenge his narrow world vision.

"Never has a government spent so much to destroy a person and his policies as Harper has towards me," Dion said during a campaign event in Stoney Creek, Ont., just outside Hamilton.

The man has a persecution complex. Politics is a blood sport and Dion seems to bruise easily. Maybe he should stick to what he's good at -- maybe fishing or saving the universe.

canadianna

Dion prefers the status quo

It's always bothered me that Quebec didn't ratify the Constitution. It feels like the whole family is gathering for a special dinner, and one member had a major issue about what was being served and his place at the table. Instead of putting off the dinner and working out the details to suit everyone -- it was prepared and served -- rushed into, despite that person's refusal to attend.

In a family, it might be necessary to proceed without all parties, time and outside obligations playing a part -- but in a nation, regardless of how rigid a demand or how unyielding the response, the dinner shouldn't have proceeded without all parties present. What was the rush to get the constitution through right then? It was a time of social and political upheaval in Quebec, and yet those at the helm were so impatient, that they adopted a nationally defining document that left out one of the elders of Confederation.

Maybe the framers relied on the idea that the ROC would see Quebec as a whiner and dissenter. They could actually grant Quebec special status within Canada, by adopting a constitution that Quebec wouldn't endorse. Those representing Quebec must have realized that so long as they remained outside the constitution, they would always have the 'distinct' status they sought, but without the constraints of working within the same boundaries that applied to the other provinces. Whatever, but the fallout from those decisions have carried through and will continue to haunt this country until something is done to heal this festering sore.

Stéphane Dion said Sunday that the Constitution should not be re-opened because:

“My view is that we have terrible challenges in Canada regarding competitiveness. The world is tough. If we want to keep our standard of living and pass on to our children a better quality of life, we need to tackle this issue. Climate change and the environment is [also] a huge issue and none of these issues that are facing us, including social justice ... request a constitutional change to deal with.”

There are plenty of things to think about besides some stupid piece of paper that we really didn't need in the first place, but were I a politician, I would think that having all of the provinces under the constitutional umbrella would be at least as important as climate change -- given that climate change is or isn't going to happen, regardless of Kyoto and carbon credits. Shouldn't we do as St. Francis prayed -- change the things we can rather than fixating on what we can't?

The constitution is an abstract to most of us. It doesn't really come into our every day lives, but doesn't it stand to reason that if our provinces were expending less energy competing with each other for federal attention, the might actually be more competitive globally?

The national unity issue comes and goes from our minds, but it is always there, simmering. It bubbles just under the surface and it affects everything the federal government does from transfer payments to awarding contracts. It causes suspicion and jealousy amongst the provinces and throughout the populace. Who amongst us hasn't felt at some point that Ottawa was pandering to Quebec or ignoring one or more of the 'lesser' provinces?

So long as Quebec remains outside the Constitution, a separate and disctinct entity within the nation, the need for Ottawa to take a special interest will remain. Dumont has opened up the possibility of Quebec ratifying the constitution. Given that under the Liberals we acknowledged Quebec's 'distinct' status, and now under the Conservatives, we have acknowledged their 'nationhood' -- why would Dion object to putting Quebec on the same footing as the rest of Canada constitutionally?

Maybe Dion likes the idea of a Quebec that stays outside the fray, a Quebec Ottawa will have to buy, a Quebec that is slightly more important than say, Alberta or Newfoundland because of it's perpetual promise to jump ship. Maybe Dion recognizes that without the Quebec card to play somewhere down the line, the Liberal hand is a loser.

Dion's brilliant -- May? Not so much

Most of the criticism of the Grit-Green deal in Central Nova is aimed at Stephane Dion, but that guy is one shrewd operator. In one fell swoop he eliminates the competition, while giving the appearance of having only altruistic motivations.

Clever.

The same can't be said of Elizabeth May.

The Green Party sees itself as centrist. It stands left on most environmental and social issues, and mostly right fiscally. It also sees itself as a fresh alternative to the 'big three' mainstream parties.

That's all gone now.

Elizabeth May has done a lot of damage to her party. Her message to Greens and prospective Greens is that the vision of the Party, the long-term aims that were just starting to be taken seriously -- those goals, those ideals -- are secondary to beating/humiliating Stephen Harper and the Conservatives. She's giving up on Green.

At a time when the Greens have seen their best showing in an election and have been the beneficiary of the election laws that augment their coffers for each vote, the Greens should have been prepared for the next election as being their break-through chance. The environment is their issue, and it's hot. They could be setting the agenda. Instead, it will likely be their demise.

Stephane Dion supported Elizabeth May in her bid to participate in the Leadership Debate. Although without a seat in Parliament it is unlikely she would have been allowed, she has just blown the opportunity of receiving scads of free publicity come election time. Her fight to join the leadership debate would have been the chance to get her message out during an election. It would have been a free vehicle to headlines. And she traded it in for a chance to lose, while being endorsed by a Liberal. What an idiot.

Dion is laughing. He's just neutralized his enemy. So what if there's no Liberal in Central Nova -- there's no Green in the Leadership Debate.

canadianna

Throwing good money . . .

Prior to the vote on Kyoto, the Liberals issued a call to action to thwart Stephen Harper and the nefarious Global Warming Deniers (GWD):

Our goal with this vote is to force the Conservative party − a group of long-standing global warming deniers in the face of overwhelming scientific evidence − to recognize that this is a global crisis that requires a global response – with Canada taking the lead. This is the vision Stéphane Dion has worked hard to promote.

It would seem that Dion has worked harder at promoting the vision than he ever did taking action.

I don't deny global warming. It might be happening; I just don't know -- but I do know that even if the world is heating up, that Kyoto is not the answer.

The left has managed to link Kyoto with a cure for global warming. Rather than debate the science, critics are more and more apt to point out that if mankind is contributing to the problem through industry, then with or without this bizarre treaty, the world's temperature will continue to rise because the treaty doesn't address global warming, but rather the global economy.

But of course, that inconvenient truth is lost on those who use buzzwords and sound-bites to advance a flawed agenda. Rather than taking a step back and ascertaining realistic fixes for the environment, they bleat on about conservatives not 'caring' about the environment. They pretend that if we would obey the unrealistic and ruinous targets imposed by this piece of paper, that countries like China, India and Pakistan would suddenly jump on the CO2 reduction bandwagon.

What incentive does Kyoto provide for any of the developing nations to curb their CO2 emissions? None. In fact, there is a financial incentive to ignore any growth in their own CO2 production. Should we fail to reach our targets, we must pay them -- and yet there are no guarantees that the money we use to buy these credits will be spent on a developing nation's environmental action plan. There are no enforceable strings on this bonus cash -- so, not only can developed nations continue to pollute so long as they buy credits, no environmental demands are made on developing nations. Exactly how does this equate to a reduction in CO2?

Of course, the environment isn't really the issue:

The Conservatives have amassed a multi-million dollar war chest which they intend to use to twist and distort the truth. Please consider a donation of $100 today and help our Liberal Team speak up for all Canadians on issues like the environment, and also ensure we are able to take our positive message door-to-door in the next election campaign.

So while twisting and distorting the truth to suit their own ends, the Liberals beg their faithful to reward their party's long-standing inertia on this file. Good stewards don't throw money at a failing endeavour. Maybe that's why the Liberals are broke.

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