Things are getting a mite strange in Liberalville

If we judge someone by the friends and enemies they make, then this list from Canoe about the special interest wacko groups who are martialling forces to make a last stand against the Tory wave is telling. By my humble estimation Stephen Harper must be a truly oustanding person to have this axis aligned against him.

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Politics/CanadaVotes/TopPhoto/2006/01/17/1399919-cp.html

-The Canadian Climate Coalition complained that the Tories were the only party that refused to respond to a questionnaire on the Kyoto Protocol, and accused Harper of moving Canada "into the same camp as U.S. President George W. Bush."
-The Council of Canadians expressed concern about recent comments by Conservative MP James Lunney favouring bulk exports of Canadian water, and called on Harper to clarify his position on the issue.
-Sixty-six economists signed a joint statement warning that the tax breaks being offered by the major parties would leave a huge deficit in social services and hurt the poor. They took special aim at the Conservative proposal to eliminate taxes on reinvested capital gains, saying it would "deliver very large tax savings to a tiny group of high-income Canadians."
-Phil Fontaine, national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, said he's not satisfied by recent comments by Harper that the party supports the principles of the Kelowna native deal, but not the final agreement and dollar amount. "Any suggestion that one supports the objectives and the targets but not the approximately $5 billion allocated to these targets is of great concern to us because we won't be able to meet the targets without money," he said.
-The gay-rights group Egale warned: "Stephen Harper goes ahead with his plan to reopen the divisive equal marriage debate, it will lead Canada into a legal swamp." On Monday, 104 law professors wrote an open letter to Harper saying that his plan to reopen the equal marriage debate would lead to "legal confusion, a lack of uniformity, and unnecessary, protracted and costly litigation."

With enemies like this who needs friends?

But............................


It gets me to thinking.............................................(picture a fade to daydream effect here)


Welcome to the Twilight Zone suckers…….errrr, my fellow Canadians. No interest is too special, no demographic is too elusive as we enter the alpenglow of the Liberal sunset. As PMPM goes into full conniption mode and searches for an audience, any audience, that is fundamentally concerned about the deep difference in values about the values which only the Liberals value on a level with Canadian’s values……….at a fundamental level of values.

The big Liberal tent show has been upstaged by Stephen Harper’s Cirque du Soleil and is desperately trying to cow call in those warped and willing enough to pay to see the freak show inside.

“Step right up Ladies and Gentlemen! See the bloated carcass of the fattest man in the world as he gorges at the public trough. You won’t want to miss the Landslide Annie as she burrows out from underneath 20 tons of disgusting excrement and emerges unscathed. Be amazed at the billionairess chameleon as she shifts shape and colour to dazzle all who behold her."

While the crowds at the Harper extravaganza ooh and ahh at the slickly produced feats of grace and daring, the yokel patrons of the tattered red tent poke the attractions with sticks and laugh at their misery.

The Inmates Are Democratically Ruling The Asylum

This from Angry in the Great White North regarding a CTV story interviewing inmates on their voting preferences. To recycle that now shopworn parody of the Fiberal attack ad:

Inmates voting for those who would make there time easier and incarceration shorter......from prisons.......in Canada.......we wish we were making this up

Canoe Poll Interesting

Here are the results from Canoe.ca's online survey regarding negative advertising in political campaigns. Yes, it is a bit of preachinf to the choir to poll Sun readers, but the results are still very encouraging. The Liberals seem to have only accomplished further alienation of the electorate with the negative ad blitz. Maybe, just maybe........It's all over!!!!

Here are the current reults from Canoe Canada Votes Attack Ad Survey,

1. How do you feel about this kind of political advertisement?

I find it very offensive. 38.2%

I find it mildly offensive. 24.5%

I think it shows the aggressive nature of our political system. 25.3%

I feel it is stretches the truth but is generally accurate. 10.2%

I believe it portrays the subject accurately and honestly. 1.8%

2. Do you believe this type of advertising is effective?

Yes, it is very effective. 7.5%

Yes, it has a moderate effect on voters.43.9%

No, it doesn't have an impact on voters.10.3%

No, it only has a negative impact on the party that sponsors the advertisements. 38.3%

3. Will this type of advertisement influence you?

Yes, it will make me change my vote. 1.7%

Yes, it will make me reconsider how I vote. 5.3%

No, it will not make me change my vote. 42.3%

No, but I have a more negative opinion of the party that sponsored that advertisement. 50.8%

4. Do you feel this type of advertisement is necessary?

Yes, it is a legitimate part of living in a democracy where there is freedom of expression. 20.1%

No, the advertisements denigrate Canada's political system. 79.9%

5. How does the advertisement make you feel about the Liberal party and the Conservative party?

I have a higher opinion of the Liberal Party. 2.6%

I have a lower opinion of the Liberal Party. 35.4%

I have a higher opinion of the Conservative Party. 7.2%

I have a lower opinion of the Conservative Party. 5.5%

I have a higher opinion of the New Democratic Party. 2.0%

I have a lower opinion of the New Democratic Party. 0.5%

I have a lower opinion about Canadian politics in general. 46.7%%

The End of The Beginning

So the opening salvo in the Martinista's "12 Days of Hell" advertising barrage appears to have impacted to little effect. While admittedly it's still early days, polls would indicate that the Liberal's last gasp offensive (you can read this word two ways) is not gaining traction. The Conservative lead seems stable at 8 to 12 points, and most importantly (and surprising) is that Harper is now winning the best PM popularity stakes. The Martinista aparatchicks must be shaking in their bunker as they realize they may not be able to stem the Tory momentum, and how their lot generally fares after losing a war.

To misquote Winston Churchill: "This may not be the beginning of the end, but is rather the end of the beginning". 10 days until VC (Victory Canada) Day!

The Times They Are A Changin'

Greetings one and all (given my traffic one is probably the most correct)! Three and one-half months of inactivity and my-oh-my how the world has changed. Had you asked me back in September about the Tories chances of forming the next government I could have at best mustered the typical half-hearted platitudes of hope. Things apparently do change and these are heady days for we of the right leaning persuasion. The Conservatives lead the polls from coast to coast and the Liberals are self-immolating in desperate attempts to turn the tide.

Ill conceived and outrageous attack ads have today flooded the airways as the Fiberals take the nuclear option. As with the real thing there can be no winners in a global thermo-nuclear exchange (nods to “Wargames”), so this can only be a political version of MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction) as the Liberals enact a scorched earth policy. Painting Stephen Harper as the anti-christ personified they care little that the only positive outcome from their perspective can be to disillusion Canadians about politics and politicians in general. They want to leave behind a jaded and cynical political landscape that offers the Tories no chance to establish a base in the hopes of overturning a short lived minority once they get their house back in order. First up against the wall is Paul Martin as the Cretinites secure their revenge for the Martinite coup.

Still 12 days to go and I never underestimate Ontarians willingness to swallow anti-Tory scaremongering hook, line, and sinker. Cautious optimism is the rule of the day and I await E-day with fear and loathing.