OLP Website DOWN

LOL... EPIC FAIL guys...

(Ontario Liberal Party's website @ 2:35pm, Sept. 8, 2011)

Ibbitson: A Primary system for Liberal Leadership?

John Ibbitson put forward a radical idea today for renewing the Liberal Party in his Globe & Mail article... how about opening up the Liberal Leadership process to an open and national primary system? And you know what? I honestly think that's a GREAT idea!

Most of my readers will know, of course, that I'm a card-carrying Tory, and that I'm committed to the DESTRUCTION of the Liberal Party of Canada... IN IT'S PRESENT INCARNATION, that is. Fundamentally, on a vast majority of the issues, I actually fall more to the left side of the Conservative Party... other than key SoCon issues of course, but I'm actually a lot more "Red Tory" than most people realize. (for example, most long-time readers will recall that I'm not a big fan of "small government"... I'm more a fan of "SMALLER Government", but do think that the Government should indeed be in charge of more sectors than my Libertarian friends do...)

All that being said, I do believe that Canada needs a true "centrist" option, but one that's NOT powerful enough to be able to form a Government on it's own. I think having a smaller rump of a party, say 20-40 seats, that could be a governing partner on either side of the political spectrum, would be a healthy thing for Canada. The problem is that the current LPC doesn't really care about the issues, they care only about POWER... and as such, spends more time trying to score political points with issues, instead of articulating an actual VISION that keeps the Party consistent. (one of the reasons I hate the current LPC so much is that they have the political consistency of JELLO... wobbly, slippery, and impossible to nail to a wall) So an idea that will force the LPC to actually define a more consistent VISION, even one that changes with the changing of it's leadership, (instead of changing on an issue by issue, week to week basis) could be beneficial to Canadians. (And it might help to end the trend of mindless peons who simply vote Liberal because their families have ALWAYS voted Liberal, because people would actually have to start THINKING before they vote for their "default" family option...)

This idea might actually lead to a true "centrist" Canadian party, instead of a leftist/statist conglomerate of special interest groups that Canadian voters soundly rejected in the last election. Imagine... average voters, who want to have a say but don't want to pay a membership or join a Party, being able to pick the "vision" from a field of candidates that most closely aligns to their own. It would result in LESS power for the special interest groups that currently hold the Liberal Party hostage, and create a more "Canadian" centrist party than currently exists. Because you see, right now the Libs think that only what they deem as "Canadian values" are the only values that are legitimate... this would end that notion, because real CANADIANS, and not special interest groups, would be telling the LPC what "Canadian" values really are.

As a result of that, their platform would be RADICALLY different than their most recent offerings. It would be a more realistic reflection on what Canadians are actually thinking, and not what the various LPC Grand Poobahs try to LECTURE Canadians on how they should think. (by the way... how's that strategy working for you guys these days?) Hey, if the regular Joe Canadian was able to have a say like that, they may even come up with a vision that I'd be willing to vote for! (Of course, I'm talking about when Harper retires after his FOURTH CONSECUTIVE MAJORITY MANDATE!

Of course, you all know why I like Harper so much... clearly RIGHT, but pragmatically so, and as such able to make decisions for the good of the WHOLE COUNRTY, not being held captive to the influence of one or two special interest groups. He lines up with my vision of the country perfectly... someone who's clearly "conservative", but can govern a nation filled with people of ALL political stripes. Yea, I'm hoping he sticks around for a few terms.

But back to the Liberal Party... I actually voted for them in 1997. NOT for the LPC of course, but for my LOCAL candidate. I'd met him a number of times, and he more closely aligned with my vision and values than the "used car salesman" that the Reform had put forward, or the "dead man walking" that the PC's had put forward. (plus there was that whole "get your act together before I vote for you guys" attitiue that I had for both parties on the right back in those days...)

So personally, I'm a fan of Ibbitson's idea. Just imagine with me for a few moments... various candidates with truly differing visions, travelling around the country from province to province, with different provinces voting on different days, weeks apart like in the US primaries. Have two "divisions" of provinces, with the smaller ones slated to go first, and the three most populous ones later in the process, to ensure that the Big Three don't get to decide who the leading candidates are before the rest of the country has had their say. Instead of having set dates within each division, have a randomly assigned order every cycle, so that you don't get a PEI or New Brunswick always going first, and thus avoiding a perpetually and overly important New Hampshire or Iowa primary. This would also ensure that no one of the Big Three gets to set the agenda for the other two, which would certainly NOT be helpful to national unity.

By having such a process in place, and allowing ANY Canadian to have their say, it would not only renew the Liberal Party, but it would have a profound impact on the other parties as well... the Conservative Party would thereby define themselves with a truly "RIGHT" vision, and the NDP would more likely define themselves with a truly "LEFT" vision. Once the votes are cast in the General Election, Canadians will have more clearly indicated where they want the country to go, and opening up the potential for true coalition governments that would likely more accurately reflect the political will of the people.

For the record, it would actually be NICE to have a real CHOICE when it comes to voting... because right now, I don't have much choice at all. If I don't want to vote Conservative, I don't have an option... there's no way I'd give the NDP the keys to 24 Sussex (though I do think you're a nice guy and all Jack...) and I know the current Liberal Party would simply continue their pattern of social destruction that started way back in 1968. (fortunately, I've got it easy these days, with Harper in charge... cause I actually WANT him to be leading the country. As for the next leader? Who knows... a Mike Harris or Bernard Lord sure, but a Kim Campbell, a Jean Charest, or maybe a Libertarian? Not a chance!)

And I'm being serious here guys... this isn't some nefarious post, secretly wishing that they take my advice and completely destroy themselves... this is an honest evaluation of the idea. It's an idea that I'd very likely partake in... and if I don't like the result of the Leadership contest, I've still got the Conservatives as an option! But I think such an idea would offer real CHOICE to Canadian voters, and would allow for an open, honest, and regularly renewed Liberal Party of Canada. Which is, if I'm correct, what they're aiming for this time around. Well, at least that's what many Liberal voters are hoping for... but as for the current crop of Party insiders, I'm not holding my breath.

Are Liberals behind Layton smear? My Two Cent Theory

Okay, before my "fans" start finger pointing and saying that the Layton smear-story was from us, I thought I'd insert some logic into the discussion, and list some of the MANY logical reasons why this story DIDN'T come from us.

1) It came via SunTVNews. That in and of itself should tip people off that it's NOT from us, because it's too close to home, as it were. Think about it... with many folks accusing SunTV of being nothing more than a Tory puppet, any "scandalous" story from them will AUTOMATICALLY be assumed to be from us. Therefore, we'd give something like this to ANYONE but SunTV, to mitigate any potential fallout.

2) It came via SunTVNews... why on earth would we give a "scoop" like this to SunTV, right after they bit us over the fake Ignatieff photos? Yea... once bitten, twice shy. We'd take it somewhere else.

3) I'd love for ANYONE to show me ANY kind of electoral math where this story even POTENTIALLY helps us... cause it doesn't. There is NO WAY WHATSOEVER where the Tories are helped by this story... NONE. The "values voters" are already ours, so we don't gain there. The story smacks of a smear job, and we're suspect because it came from SunTV... we get HURT, not helped.

4) There's ONLY ONE PARTY that could in any possible way be helped by this story... and that's the Liberal Party of Canada. The story smacks of a "Hail Mary Pass" to save the furniture... NOT something the guy in the lead pulls out of his hat. One of my friends had suggested that it helps the Bloc more, but I disagree, because I don't think they have the sources and contacts on the ground in Toronto to be able to dig something like this up.

5) Further to #4, if this does cause some folks to reconsider their new found support for the NDP, where will they go? That's right... BACK to the Liberals. Again, this story helps the Liberals, NOT the Tories... hence, it's not from us.

Other thoughts? You'll note I'm not posting a link to the story itself, as I'm not in favour of pushing it whatsoever... but I AM interested in finding out the motivations of whoever passed the story on to SunTVNews.


NOTE: Due to the nature of this story, comments will be moderated... so play nice.

The landscape is shifting

And I'm not just talking about the political EARTHQUAKE in Quebec, where now THREE pollsters, CROP, EKOS, and Nanos all show the NDP in either first or second place... AHEAD of even the Bloc!

No, I'm talking about the reality on the ground in local ridings. An interesting and almost unheard of phenomenon is going on... there are Liberals in our campaign offices.

No, not spies... long-time Liberals, who are showing up one after another, taking signs, putting up signs, stuffing envelopes... WORKING for the local Tory candidate.

I was briefly in the Guelph campaign office of Marty Burke, another place where this is occurring. There seems to be two major factors driving it... dislike of Michael Ignatieff, and an extreme dislike of Frank Valeriote, the local MP. (even amongst his own extended family... the Italian vote isn't rock solid Liberal anymore!!!)

I've been hearing the same story from contacts in other ridings too... where traditional Liberal voters are "crossing the floor" to support us. And you know what the number TWO comment from them is? (with Michael Ignatieff being number ONE)

They quote Mr. Harper... "It's time for a MAJORITY."

LINE OF THE DEBATE goes to... LAYTON!!!

No question about it, Jack Layton had the line of the night with this barb he threw at Michael Ignatieff, over his lack of attendance in the House of Commons.

Frank Valeriote makes ANOTHER website mistake

First, the website address on his signs was busted... this time, it's an ethical issue on his MP website... check below. Can you see the mistake? Can you see the violation of the rules for MP's websites?

Did you spot it? No? Here's a hint... what Party does Frank belong to? NOW YOU GOT IT!!!

MP's websites are NOT permitted to display the partisan political logos of the Member's party... that's a no-no. Frank got caught doing the same thing a few years ago on his 10%ers too, as seen here...

Sorry Frank, better luck next time... in the meantime, make sure you get your web guys to pull the logo ASAP. We'll be watching.

"The Last Liberal" - Inside the Liberal War Room

Almost forgot about all these videos... but this last one is SOOOOO appropriate right about now!!! If you remember the final scene from "The Last Starfighter", here's a more modern interpretation... in the context of Ignatieff and the Liberal election campaign...

Another Liberal talking point gets TRASHED

Oh, so Ignatieff is claiming that Harper tried to form a "coalition" back in 2004, is he? Let's hear the truth from their own mouths instead, shall we?



Let's turn our attention back to those heady days back in September of 2004, shall we? Then Prime Minister Paul Martin had struck the Gomery Commission, who's mandate was to look into allegations of corruption relating to the Liberal Party of Canada in Quebec. By September of 2004, explosive testimony had already been heard, and there was fear that Martin may seek to force an election before Justice John Gomery had a chance to complete and issue his first report. The Opposition Leaders discussed the situation, and decided together not to form a coalition, but to ensure that Prime Minister Paul Martin could not engage in any underhanded manoeuvres to force a new election prior to Gomery's Phase I report being tabled. The Opposition leaders, then being Harper, Layton and Duccepe, were simply ensuring that the Liberals could not sweep the AdScam scandal under the rug, and that the Canadian public would be able to see the full report before any election.

That's right... there was no coalition. Just an insurance policy to prevent Martin and the Liberals from sweeping their corruption under the rug.

But I guess we ought to thank Mr. Ignatieff for reminding us of about what was going down in the Liberal Party back in 2004... scandal, corruption, kick-backs, money in brown paper bags, and if I recall correctly, the Liberal Party of Canada handing the Canadian taxpayer a cheque for $1.14 MILLION DOLLARS... a fraction of the missing money that AdScam stole from us. Where did the rest of it go? We still don't know.

Any ideas on that Iggy? Oh, right, never mind... you weren't around back then.

(Side Note: Mr. Duccepe called Mr. Harper a liar this week... suppose he's going to apologize, now that his own statement has come to light? Yea, I don't think so either...)

HOW THE COALITION WILL MAKE MICHAEL IGNATIEFF PRIME MINISTER

According to Liberal MP David McGuinty

Here's the scenario... on Election Day, Mr. Harper wins with the most seats, but falls just shy of a Majority. The Governor General asks him to form a Government, to see if he can maintain "the Confidence of the House".

Considering that the Opposition Parties just voted non-Confidence, the likelihood is VERY HIGH that they will NOT grant Mr. Harper the "Confidence of the House".

So what happens in that result? The Governor General will then, according to Constitutional tradition, approach the Leader of the SECOND PLACE party, and ask him to seek the "Confidence of the House" by forming a Government.

That's right folks... THAT'S how the Opposition parties are planning to make Michael Ignatieff the Prime Minister, even if Stephen Harper wins the election without an outright Majority.

Don't believe me? Then listen to Liberal MP David McGuinty, as he lays out that very scenario for CBC's Evan Solomon...



There you have it folks... if Stephen Harper does not win an outright Majority on May 2, the Opposition Parties will ensure that they wrest power, and anoint their anointed Leader, Michael Igantieff, as Prime Minister.

Because don't forget... THE COALITION DEAL IS STILL IN FORCE!!! This was their plan all along... wait until the Budget came down, drop the Government, fight an election campaign, and then take power by ANY MEANS NECESSARY, since they already had the framework in place.

There's only one way they can disprove my theory... for Michael Igantieff to publicly withdraw his signature on the Coalition Accord.

OOPS - Anyone checked out FrankValeriote.ca?

If you're going to put your website address on your election signs... YOU THINK YOU'D MAKE SURE IT WORKS FIRST!!!

Guelph Liberal Candidate Frank Valeriote's team have been proudly putting up their election signs in Guelph for the last two days, with their website address, FrankValeriote.ca (UPDATE: link severed, see below) proudly displayed, as seen in the picture here posted by the UoG's Young Liberal Association...

However, has anyone bothered to look and see what's posted on that site? I'll bet you at least a few dozen people have... and what, you ask, might they find there? Some words of encouragement on why they should pick Frank to be Guelph's MP? Maybe some policy positions of the Liberal Party? Maybe a photo of Frank posing with his leader, Michael Igantieff? (on second thought, scratch that last one... why would he hang that millstone around his neck...)

How about NONE OF THE ABOVE? I present to you, Frank's website as of this very moment!

And just in case, I also checked out Valeriote.ca, which some voters may mistakenly assume is the website, based on his signs...

Nope, not that one either! Sigh, poor old Frank... right out of the gate, and falling flat on his face. There's a real sense of irony in his slogan too... "Doing the right thing". #FAIL

UPDATE: Took them a few days, but they FINALLY got things working... therefore, to ensure that I'm not driving any traffic his way, the above links have been severed. ;-)

Liberal MP Ruby Dhalla seeking to "gag" nanny

Yea, I'll bet they they do... Ruby Dhalla and her family are trying to legally "gag" their former nanny, right on the eve of yet another Federal election.

You know, I'm not in the least bit surprised... when your re-election hopes are fading as fast as Dhalla's, I'm sure you'd be willing to try just about every trick in the book.

Which makes me wonder what antics are we going to see the Liberals pull in their other "at risk" ridings... Mississauga South, Ajax-Pickering, Guelph, Brampton West, Kingston and the Islands, etc., etc...

Ontario's "Working Families Coalition" explained

Everything you need to know about how the "Working Families Coalition" actually works...
More money for unions means more donations to the McGuinty Liberals, and more attack ads from WFC. Which results in getting the McGuinty Liberals re-elected, which means even more money for the unions. Which means more donations to the McGuinty Liberals and more attack ads from WFC... you get the picture.

You know what they say... FOLLOW THE MONEY.
Your money, their friends.

You can break the cycle at October's ballot box.

Editorial Cartoon: Absent Liberal MP's

Gotta love it...

Another Tory ad blitz underway

Is there any doubt that we're ready to go to the polls if the Opposition forces an election?

And once again, leading off with a GREAT positive ad...


...followed up by a hard hitting ad on the insane tax policy positions of Michael Ignatieff.

I do take issue with the Bev Oda CIDA decision

Please insert a "NOT" between "do" and "take" in the above title, and then read this well thought out post from a former Liberal staffer.

Any Liberals still hankering for an election?

Here's a couple buckets of cold water on that idea... First, there was EKOS, with the CPC at 37% vs. the LPC at 24%, a 12 point spread. And now we have IPSOS, with the CPC at 39% vs. the LPC at 25%... a freaking 14 point, Valeriote de-electing, cusp of majority spread.

You may now return to your regularly scheduled lives.

Unauthorized use of an MP's e-mail account?

Humm... did Justin Trudeau violate any rules with this "prank"? ;-)

(FULL DISCLOSURE: As the IT admin, I do this to people ALL THE TIME to remind them to keep their workstations locked down... nice one Justin! Though your subject matter was in VERY poor taste...)

The "IFFY ELECTION SCREAM"

Oh my... remember how the "Dean Scream" scuttled Howard Dean's 2004 bid for the Democratic nomination?

Now we have Michael Ignatieff... and the IFFY SCREAM.



My newest prediction... NO ELECTION. Thanks Iffy!!!

Liberals GOOF with response attack ads, will only HELP Harper and the CPC

I'd like to take a moment to thank the Liberal Party of Canada for putting together their latest ads... ads which will HELP the Conservative Party of Canada!

I'm so tickled by them, I'm even posting one of them here... take a look and see if you can see what I see...



Do you see it? Thought you might... but just in case you didn't, I'd like to once again thank the Liberal Party of Canada FOR CLEARLY REMINDING CANADIANS THAT HARPER IS INDEED IN CHARGE, AND REINFORCING HIS "STRONG LEADER" CREDENTIALS TO THE CANADIAN PUBLIC!!!

Did you guys SERIOUSLY think that this would actually HURT the Prime Minister? You've reminded Canadians that he's a strong leader... and unintentionally reminded Canadians that you've got a big DOOFUS running your Party!!!

Canadians are NOT stupid... they'll make the connection. And by simply running our ads again, or with a couple new ones, that point will be CLEARLY drilled home. Yes, your ads will appeal to the Harper haters, but WON'T have the desired effect on the fence sitters... ones who've been warming to Harper over the last five years.

Perhaps "warming to Harper" isn't quite it... I'd say they're more likely RUNNING AWAY IN DISGUST from the guys you keep putting in the "Leaders" chair.

Plus one final detail... fighter jets ARE COOL. And I LOVE the sound effects you've put to the ad... the sound of roaring fighter jets is only going to lock up for us the votes of every military related family from coast to coast!

Ignatieff Rally: Liberal supporter shouts "KILL HIM!" when Iggy mentions John Baird?!?!?

Are you kidding me? At Iggy's first rally of the year, not even a week after the reprehensible shooting of a US Congresswoman, a Liberal supporter shouts "KILL HIM!" when Ignatieff mentions The Hon. John Baird, Member of Parliament for Ottawa West-Nepean.

Don't believe me? SEE IT FOR YOURSELF... start at the 0:30 second mark, and listen for the disgusting comment at 0:46 seconds.



Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff MUST be called on to distance himself from that reprehensible comment IMMEDIATELY, especially after the shootings in Arizona. While the common barbs and thrusts of politics are to be expected, calls for the death of an opponent ARE BEYOND THE PALE.

UPDATE: Video clip has been downloaded, just in case the Liberals pull the clip down.