Liberals Still Haven't grown a Backbone

[train]

The Liberal party must think the general public is dumb. Faced with the dilema of not wanting to force an election and not wanting to support the budget they came up with something new. The last time the abstained from voting and were roundly critisized for being wimps. So instead of doing that again they just didn't show up. Only 7 Liberals present when the motion was made. lol

Rumour has it (it's been reported but not confirmed by the principals) that Dion and Iggt wanted an election but the senior Liberal Senators to whom I guess they report vetoed the idea. I guess they want to play out this Cadman thing since it's the only ammo they have.

 

[newguy27]

agreed. What's really sad is that they remain close to tied in the polls...by not doing ANYTHING and skipping votes! That's Canada for ya!

 

[jwmorrice]

TQM must be dead if this thread doesn't smoke him out!

jwm

 

[LancsLad]

TQM must be dead if this thread doesn't smoke him out!

jwm

I think that His Eminence will sit back and let us "little ones" maul ourselves for awhile longer then he will step in and smite the survivors with his awesome intelligence. At least thats how he sees it.



.

 

[peteeey]

Maybe Canadians are wary of someone who will bribe a man on his death bed and meddle in American politics. Anything to keep in power.

agreed. What's really sad is that they remain close to tied in the polls...by not doing ANYTHING and skipping votes! That's Canada for ya!

 

[train]

I think that His Eminence will sit back and let us "little ones" maul ourselves for awhile longer then he will step in and smite the survivors with his awesome intelligence. At least thats how he sees it.



.

I know; slowpoke is just way too polite compared to TQM. Perhaps the mantle will get passed to BB.

I think TQM is just on spring break from his post as vice -principal at the boys school.

 

[LancsLad]

I know; slowpoke is just way too polite compared to TQM. Perhaps the mantle will get passed to BB.

I think TQM is just on spring break from his post as vice -principal at the boys school.

You are likely right as regards his vocation. He may have taken some of his "gifted" students to his isolated lodge for the week. Probe their mind, so to speak!!!!!!!!

 

[someone]

I wonder what their strategy is going to be in the next election. Normally, opposition parties try to claim that everything the government has done has been horrible. However, if they do that this time, the conservatives, NDP and BQ are going to be all over them asking why they did not vote against the government if everything they did was so bad. I’m not sure which of the other parties this will benefit the most, but the liberals are going to be in a tough position if this keeps up.

What about Harper and his 'every vote is a confidence vote ' strategy. Now that's real leadership!!

True. It is an interesting example of democratic leadership. He is saying that he has an agenda he wants to get through and if the opposition is strongly opposed to it, they can let the voters decide. You can’t get more democratic than that. However, I suspect that if the liberals were not lead by Dion, he would not feel so safe risking elections.

 

[Never Compromised]

The Liberals can't run an election at the moment. No organization, no leadership, bitter infighting and no real policy. It is not in their interest to force an election. And it is not in Harper's interest to force an election, or he would simply pull the plug and go to the polls.


Like it or not, politics is the art of compromise. Which means no one is 100% happy, which basically describes the current federal situation. Everyone is "living with it", and will continue to do so for a while.

 

[train]

I wonder what their strategy is going to be in the next election. Normally, opposition parties try to claim that everything the government has done has been horrible. However, if they do that this time, the conservatives, NDP and BQ are going to be all over them asking why they did not vote against the government if everything they did was so bad. I’m not sure which of the other parties this will benefit the most, but the liberals are going to be in a tough position if this keeps up.

True. It is an interesting example of democratic leadership. He is saying that he has an agenda he wants to get through and if the opposition is strongly opposed to it, they can let the voters decide. You can’t get more democratic than that. However, I suspect that if the liberals were not lead by Dion, he would not feel so safe risking elections.

Probably why they are trying to make such a meal out of the Cadman affair.

I wonder if Iggy is hoping for an election now in the hopes that the Liberals will lose so that the Party will dump Dion in favour of him. Or is that too slimey even for politicians.

If I were Dion I'd wait a little bit to see if the US economy can pull ours into the toilet enough in Ontario and Quebec so that some of the blame can't help but stick to Harper.

 

[someone]

I wonder if Iggy is hoping for an election now in the hopes that the Liberals will lose so that the Party will dump Dion in favour of him. Or is that too slimey even for politicians.

I would not be surprised. Indeed, in the long run it might even be good for the party. However, my understanding is that liberal party finances are not good. Thus, I don’t know if they could really afford to first fight an election and then have a leadership convention. Even if Iggy won it, there might not be enough money left for Iggy to then fight another election. That being said, as long as Dion is in charge, I can’t see the party going anywhere anyway, but who knows. Perhaps in the long run, it is the only way for the party to have a serious shot at a majority government.

 

[TDL2003]

... And it is not in Harper's interest to force an election, or he would simply pull the plug and go to the polls.

We have fixed election dates now so Harper is no longer able to go that route. Force an election via a confidence motion and lose is Harper's way around that. Of course the NDP and LIBERAL's could always try and form their own government but I don't think it would last very long.

 

[train]

We have fixed election dates now so Harper is no longer able to go that route. Force an election via a confidence motion and lose is Harper's way around that. Of course the NDP and LIBERAL's could always try and form their own government but I don't think it would last very long.

Are you sure about that ? Didn't Harper threaten to throw in the towel if the Senate didn't pass the crime bill?

 

[train]

Boy this is a very silly post ... no Senators will give advice but no elected politician lets say when an election will be called.

I think if you went to the Liberal web site, you might catch why they don't want to go now.


bbk

There have been several stories in the media (Globe & Mail for one) where members of the Liberal caucas have told reporters that both Dion and Iggy wanted to effectively call an election by voted against the budget. The stories all said that the debate within the caucas was more than spirited and that Iggy and Dion lost the battle. Hence the absentism.

What you are basically saying is that they are not interested in doing what's right for the country by voting against something they don't believe in unless they can win an election. I agree with that thought. What they have to understand is that at some point they will become unelectable if they aren't willing to do what they think is right.

While I appreciate you accepting the new mantle I wouldn't be too quick to call people stupid in the same manner as your mentor

 

[TDL2003]

Are you sure about that ? Didn't Harper threaten to throw in the towel if the Senate didn't pass the crime bill?

Yes. Harper tabled a motion asking Parliament to demand the Senate pass the crime bill by March 1st and made it a confidence vote. Had Parliament not voted in favor the government would have fallen.

As well if the Senate had not passed the bill (it passed on the 27th) by March 1st, Harper could have gone to the Governor General and made the argument he cannot govern with the Senate in the current state that it is in. The GG could either agree with that and dissolve Parliament or tell Harper to get back to work. Onus is on the GG though not Harper.

 

[train]

...

Too many partisan Conservatives like yourself mistake the strength of a dictator as true leadership and poo-paw a leader who actually listens to his colleagues and then makes a decision as not. Democracy is an exercise in compromise ... the Conservatives show no skill here and to his credit Dion does.


bbk

There was no greater dictator as a leader than Jean Chretien. Trudeau was no slouch either his first time around.