How to call in to talk radio

CP's Alexander Panetta reports that some folks seem a bit incensed by the CPC's offer to coach talk-show callers with party talking points in an effort to counter some of the generally pro-Liberal MSM. Apparently CFRA's Mark Sutcliffe isn't impressed, although he doesn't think they get a 'ton' of callers using the crib sheets.

Actually I had no idea such a service was available, and therefore felt compelled to check it out myself. You go to the main party site, and then click on login to My Campaign, which takes you here.

Then you click on Call Talk Radio, input your postal code and topic you wish to discuss, and Poof! You're taken to a page showing all the talk shows in your immediate area, complete with times and tips on how to call in. The 'talking points' are merely lists of information to highlight Conservative accomplishments and failings of the other parties.

All in all, a fairly innovative and interactive program. It could even be useful to Conservative bloggers.

However, as the site suggests, you need to be prepared to ad-lib it with the show's host if he or she interrupts with some questions. As such, I doubt Joe Blow off the street would be inclined to get much use out of it. I always think it's better to talk from the heart on talk shows.


Liberal party spokesman Daniel Lauzon seems quite outraged:

“This undermines our democracy,” said Liberal party spokesman Daniel Lauzon.

“It's not up for someone in Ottawa to tell someone in Blind River what they should think. . . All we tell our supporters is, 'Speak your mind. Get out there and talk.'

“Never do we dictate messaging.”

My gosh, you'd think Stephen Harper himself arm wrestles every Conservative supporter to the ground and forces a recitation of the party line at gun-point.


More likely Mr. Lauzon is just expressing a sour grapes regret that they didn't think of it first.

* * * *

Update: One of my readers reminded me about that little CBC-gate incident:

Compare it to CBC employees 'telling' MP's what to ask in the HoC:
Which method is more subtle and manipulative? How powerful is a caller to a radio show?
Does it threaten the democratic process in the HoC?

Not to mention that in that case it was the Liberals needing to be fed questions, which doesn't speak well for their integrity, judgment and imagination.

- Especially when the CBC doesn't even know that Bill Casey is an Independent until a reader tells them.

Sheesh!

* * * *

Wednesday Update: Victor Wong says this is old news. Someone should tell Alex Panetta.

Thursday Update: The Chronicle Herald obviously hasn't read Victor's post.

La révolte silencieuse against the emperor with "no instinct"

For Canadian political junkies, these are interesting times.

The Globe's Daniel Leblanc gives us a peek into the inner turmoil of the Liberal party's Quebec ranks, and it ain't a pretty picture (Dion facing revolt in Quebec ranks).

We first heard of this discord several weeks ago when Joël-Denis Bellavance alluded to a révolte silencieuse on Mike Duffy Live. Both Bellevance and Jean LaPierre had heard rumours that Bob Rae had control of the Quebec wing and was wanting to wait until the March 17th by-elections had passed and Rae had time in front of the cameras in Parliament before forcing an election.

However, the Silent Revolt is getting louder - LeBlanc suggests even more serious in-fighting and lack of faith in Stéphane Dion. Lisa Frulla in particular is surprisingly candid with her remarks:

“He has no instinct,” former Liberal minister and political commentator Liza Frulla said in an interview.

“At a certain point, people feel it if there is something wrong, even if they don't know exactly what it is. But he, poor Stéphane, doesn't feel it.”

She also has strong words for Dion's Quebec lieutenant:

Ms. Frulla also said publicly what many Liberals are saying privately about Mr. Dion's lieutenant in Quebec, Senator Céline Hervieux-Payette.

“She is abrasive and she is narcissistic,” Ms. Frulla said.

The former minister of Canadian Heritage argued that Ms. Hervieux-Payette is failing to connect with grassroots organizers.

“The more people know her, the more they run away. She has met a number of riding association presidents, and these people … are leaving,” Ms. Frulla said.

(I sure can agree with her on that one. I can barely stand to watch the woman on MDL.)

In any case, it would appear that Quebec cannot be counted on for Liberal support at this moment in time, which may push the likelihood of an election off until the fall or later - especially after the dismal performance of the LPC in two of the four recent by-elections.

If that happens, it will be hard to imagine Bob Rae ranting about the government on one hand, but then actually joining the Party of Hand Warmers on the other, as the LPC continues to run away from votes in the Commons. Will Bob Rae declare mutiny?

Which leads me to the slugfest between Jim Flaherty and Dalton McGuinty. Why would Flaherty continually poke McGuinty in the eye regarding tax policy and its alleged affect on the economy?

The answer may lie in John Ivison's observations in today's Post:

...But Mr. Flaherty's unprecedented interference in Ontario's budgetary process was not designed to persuade his Ontario counterpart, Dwight Duncan, to shred the already printed budget and present a cobbled-together alternative more to his liking.

It was designed to send the message that, even though many Ontarians often think of the federal Conservatives as villains, they are really the "goodies" -- the guardians of fiscal probity. By contrast, Liberals, both federal and provincial, are spendthrifts who will lead us all into a new era of deficits, unemployment, homelessness and rickets...

So all this may well be a carefully honed-plan to set up the CPC as looking like the party to rely on in times of economic difficulties which would, if it all goes according to Hoyle, allow a rich harvest of discontented Ontario voters assuming a worsening of the economic downturn - especially if provinces that follow Flaherty's advice end up faring better than Ontario.

And with the Quebec wing in tatters and Ontario voters looking for responsible, effective fiscal policy, the scene becomes fertile for either an election with positive results for the Conservatives, or else the Liberals continue to enable the present government to enjoy a tacit majority.


Your move, mon petit empereur.

* * * *

Update: Via Jack's Newswatch - This is an absolute must read by Luc Schulz: Ontario's Economy Run by Monkeys.

Another interesting theory here: Ottawa Citizen - Bash Ontario, Win Voters Elsewhere.

CTV - Dion urges restive Quebec wing to pull itself together.

Also worth reading - Fuschi's Canadian Forum - The great (taxcuts vs. bribes) debate.

Terence Corcoran - In Ontario, it's spend and be damned.

Liberals denied sweep - Pity

As Molarmauler stated yesterday, winning all four by-elections would have likely spurred an election, since Her Majesty's Loyal Party of Abstainers might have finally amassed enough intestinal fortitude to vote for their own non-confidence motion.


Unfortunately now as the Globe suggests, "...the loss in Saskatchewan may have tempered any Liberal desire to take down the Conservative minority in the very near future..."


On the other hand, I can't imagine Bob Rae sitting on his hands very long. On the other other hand, as Stephen Taylor points out in this excellent analysis, it may well be in the best interests of all the current leaders to allow this government survive a while longer:

...Luckily for Harper and Layton, Dion's strategy is also to survive and the only way this can happen is for the government to survive. Liberals will be chomping a the bit in order to "get back to power as soon as possible" and most realize that this is impossible under Dion and much easier when they hold a leadership race and select a more capable leader...

So it may all boil down to the internal power struggle between all the Alpha males on the Liberal Dream Team as each one gauges his own best chances for leadership coup based on election strategies.

My money's on Bob Rae.

* * * *

Update - Pithy analysis from Molarmauler in comments:

The only way Harper will get an election before 2009 will be if they initiate an 'Adopt-A-Liberal' program... sort of a voting-buddy system.
He can assign a Con to each Lib and match abstention for abstention. If a Lib leaves the House on a vote, his Con buddy follows him out waving a chicken feather and clucking.

Force them to vote.

Hey, if SDA can do it...

* * * *

Bob Rae talked about a 'progressive coalition' on Canada A.M. this morning:

"...I think we need to build a progressive coalition of people in the country who believe in dealing with climate change, who believe that the search for jobs and justice need to go together, and who want Canada to have a stronger voice in the world," he said.

"We certainly pulled that coalition together in Toronto-Centre."

Update from National Post editorial board on election results here:

...The correct short summary of Monday night’s results is that the party may have gone three-for-four, but the leader batted .000.

No poison pill in budget

CTV is reporting that Flaherty's budget does not appear to contain a 'poison pill' for the Liberals, so it is likely that the budget will pass. If the Liberals don't support it, the Bloc likely will due to recent poor polling numbers.

I would say the the chance of an election in the near future is very remote. Don Martin declares the "True Blue budget leaves Dion in the lurch".

Cool headline!

* * * *

4:45 Update: Duceppe says they can't vote for the budget and the NDP won't, so it's up to the Liberals. Dion was already interviewed and said there wasn't enough in there to force an election. So will they actually vote for it? Or will they just walk out again?

4:50 pm: Dion say no election over budget - Globe

7:30 pm: - Budget Report Card - Post.

You can't please all the people all of the time.


8:10 pm: Don't miss the Rick Mercer skit - We're Liberals: We're adaptable.

Oh good grief!

Will someone please just wake me up when this is over?

* * * *

And is this Mercer just trying to be funny and not succeeding at all, or is it actually a not-so-thinly veiled attempt at Liberal propaganda? (Mercer, Star, CP - bad combination)

* * * *

Tuesday Update: Greg Weston may have some insight on the inner machinations of the Liberal Party - Dion signals retreat:

...there is the army of Grits who would back Bob Rae as the party's next leader in the likely event the Liberals lose the election, and Dion walks the plank.

Rae is running for a seat in the March 17 byelections, contests that would be nixed if the Harper government were brought down before then.

Rae is a skilled parliamentarian, and there is no doubt his future leadership prospects would be enhanced by even a few months in the Commons.

This also helps to explain why some of the Grits who would support Michael Ignatieff for the leadership would not be distraught if the plug were pulled on the current Parliament, preferably yesterday.

From his early afflictions of foot-in-mouth, Ignatieff has evolved into a capable, popular politician, and is arguably his party's strongest performer in the Commons.

If an April election spawned a leadership race anytime soon, Iggy would be tough to beat.

When the Liberals who most want an election are those who most want to heave the leader and take over the party, it's little wonder Dion is taking his finger off the button.

So the Rae side wants to wait, while the Iggy side wants to go. The Dion side ('immediate family and delusional friends') seems to be in a constant state of flux.

No wonder, with so many barely-concealed knives.

Blogolitics - Then and now: Liberal Strategist Scott Reid.

Tidy summary of today's events on the Hill

The previous post was getting a bit messy, but thankfully the Post has come to the rescue with a preview of John Ivison's column for tomorrow - Canada dodges election bullet as Dion backs down.

He summarizes the political highpoints of today's Drama on the Hill, and gives his own conclusions on where that leaves us regarding an impending spring election.

According to Ivison, there is a good chance that today's events may have deflated two out of three possible election triggers. The one which remains is the budget, but he suggests that the Bloc may support the government if there is room to negotiate. However that depends on badly Duceppe wants an election.

Interesting times indeed.


Of course ChuckerCanuk has his own take on things.

* * * *

In other news, the Ottawa Gong Show carries on. Losing its audience, I would say.

Friday Update: The Liberals' many Afghan policies - Post

Do you smell an election?

David Akin was just on CTV commenting after the opening of today's Question Period about the likelihood of an imminent election.

His thoughts were that if Duceppe makes a deal with Harper regarding aid for the forestry industry, then perhaps the Bloc will support the budget, which is a confidence motion.

And if the Government and Dion can find some common ground on Afghanistan, perhaps that confidence motion could be passed.

Which leaves the Senate-Crime confidence motion. My hope is that the plodding Liberal Senators finally become aware of the growing level of animosity and frustration among the population and even among certain provincial leaders, and do the right thing for the safety of Canadians.


So perhaps there may not be an election this spring after all; especially in view of the fact that there would be very little benefit to anyone.

* * * *

Update: O.K. I could be wrong - Harper ready to ask GG to pull plug: Post.

Federal budget will be tabled Feb. 26 - CTV.

Don Martin - Liberals a party of unhappy families.

Chantel Hebert - Rookie Dion still looks like he's not ready for prime time

...While Harper, Layton and Duceppe are already electioneering, Dion is looking like he is auditioning for the part of Hamlet...

Ouch!!!

Breaking News re: Afghanistan mission

Newstalk 570 reports that the Government is set to table a motion tomorrow for a confidence vote in March regarding Afghanistan.

Get ready for another election!

Update: Now 570 is backtracking and saying that it could lead to a vote of confidence. Hopefully we'll get this all clarified soon. CTV has a updated statement here. (Dion will seek 'amendments' to Afghan motion.) Check out the comments.

Globe - Dion won't give on combat ban.

Star - Afghan debate set to begin.

CBC - Confidence vote on Afghan mission expected for March.

Post - Afghan mission to be put to a vote.

* * * *

Update #2: A new wrinkle has emerged - Graham Richardson was just on CTV newsnet reporting that Rob Nicholson is planning to go to the Senate to strongly urge them to get the crime bills through, or there could be some interesting consequences that could also trigger an election. So lots going on. Stay tuned.

Something just doesn't add up here

Duceppe sets sights on Tories...

"Our main interest is to make everything so that the government doesn't have a majority," said Barbot, who will square off against Liberal star candidate Justin Trudeau in the Montreal riding of Papineau.

"The population never wants to go into an election, that's for sure, but it's something we have to do and no doubt they are recognizing there is a need for that now."

So, if your main interest is to make sure the government doesn't have a majority, why bring down a minority government?

Just askin'.

Scott Reid at it again?

Scott Reid of Popcorn and Beer fame, was just on a special edition of MDL as we await the vote on the speech from the throne.

He was trying desperately to defend the Liberal's position to support the government on this vote (by sitting out or whatever they chose to do) - to the absolute scorn and derision of the NDP.

His logic went somewhat along this line - Stephen Harper is in too solid a position right now. We don't want to have an election and hand him a majority government.

Putting aside for a moment that this gives Harper a virtual majority government, if there were indeed an election and the CPC achieved a majority, wouldn't that be the result of the will of the people?

Is Scott Reid trying to save Canadians from themselves? Do we not know what we are doing?

Thank heavens we have the LPC and Scott Reid to look out for us.

* * * *

Update: Throne speech passes, Liberals abstain from voting. Of course, it might have been a different story if the Liberals' numbers were higher...



Thursday Update:

Casey votes for throne speech.

Tories rebuked on GST - Globe.

And yet, GST cut won't trigger an election, Dion says.

Wow. What will it take, Stephane? Personally, I'm not that crazy about a further GST cut, because Dalton is likely going to use it to raise the PST, as Linda Leatherdale has already explained.

Liberals' 'whipped abstention' preserves minority by the Globe's Jane Taber:

Liberal MPs were ordered to show up in the House of Commons yesterday but remain in their seats to allow the passage of the Harper government's Throne Speech and to ensure the survival of the minority government.

It was believed to be the first "whipped abstention" in parliamentary history. It is common for party officials to "whip," or tell their caucus how to vote on an issue, but Liberal caucus whip Karen Redman went a step further yesterday by telling Liberal MPs to be present for the vote but not participate.

MPs were not told whether there would be repercussions for disobeying the order, although in the past, MPs of various parties have been denied parliamentary trips or have even been kicked out of their caucus for ignoring a whipped vote.

"I have never heard of it before," said C.E.S. Franks, a professor emeritus of political science at Queen's University, about a whipped abstention. "I think that it sets a precedent and it actually reflects the current state of the Liberal Party. They'll attend, but they'll sit on their hands."

( . . . )

In the Liberal caucus yesterday, Ms. Redman told her colleagues: "We've got to stick together. This is a decision that we have made."

Some good comments here at ASTTR.

McGuinty loses one of the good ones

Looks like Marie Bountrogianni is jumping ship.

Opposition parties salivate in the wings.

* * * *

Update: Wow! Adam obviously has a totally different view on this. - Good riddance.

More Liberal news - Money jumping ship too. With alleged cover-up. H/T Steve Janke.

Saturday Update: As Zac mentions in comments, two female Liberal MPP's are leaving 'for family reasons'.

Liberal Senate could be Harper's Best Ally

The inimitable Chantal Hébert warns Liberals Senators that they may be walking right into a Tory trap; with their sabre-rattling about opposing the budget ("Beware, Liberal Senators").

So far, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan, as the aggrieved provinces in the equalization dispute, have had the centre stage to themselves.

That could change in a rearguard Senate battle against the budget.

Seven provinces – accounting for more than 90 per cent of the population – are relatively satisfied with the new way the federal government proposes to redistribute its revenues among them.

Some have already factored the changes into their plans.

Moreover, she suggests that Dion may have less control over his non-elected counterparts than he cares to admit, and that he is obviously worried about the potential fall-out:

By virtue of the government's minority status, Harper's budget has already had to secure sufficient opposition support to have it adopted in the House. So, it's at the will of the Commons rather than just at a soft Conservative target that Liberals senators are currently rattling their wooden sabres. They court a boomerang effect.

With his differences with his senators already public, a blockade in the Upper House could do more damage to Dion's credibility than to the battered budget itself.

So we have a Liberal-dominated Senate angry with Harper for attempting to democratize and control their very existence vs. a Liberal opposition leader who is worried about his own political future.

We also have MSM pundits who are very anxious to start their summer vacations, and would be in a foul mood to have to scuttle those plans because of a snap election.


So, what do I think about it?

Go, Senators, go!!!

* * * *

Update: Alberta Ardvark links to an article where McGuinty backs the Federal budget.

This is actually quite interesting when you think about it. Those Ontario Federal MP's who voted against the budget (i.e. everyone of them except the now Independent Joe Comuzzi) actually voted against Ontario's best interests!


That is certainly good fodder for the next election - It works both ways, Rodney.

Update #2: Chuckle of the Day QP - John Baird got up to ask the Liberals to lobby the Senate to pass the budget, on behalf of his Premier!

Summer election?

The Atlantic 'Discord' is proving to be a wedge issue even in the Cabinet!

CTV has an exclusive report stating that Peter MacKay was asked to sign the infamous letter stating no side-deals, but that he refused and so Jim Flaherty did so instead.

The Liberals must be smelling blood now:

Liberal senators, who hold a majority, say they might even take up MacDonald's call to defeat the budget.

"If Mr. Harper wants this budget, Mr. Harper is going to have to change this budget," said Liberal Sen. Terry Mercer of Nova Scotia.

Having the Senate vote down the budget would be a vote of non-confidence in the government and an election could result.

"It would be totally irresponsible and it would be unprecedented for the unelected Senate to defeat a budget bill," said Conservative Sen. Marjory LeBreton, the party's house leader.

So, if the unelected, lottery-for-life Liberal and Atlantic Senators vote down this budget, we could be facing a summer election. Mike Duffy was discussing that option last night, and he sure didn't look enthused. I can't see Harper backing down in this game of chicken though.

Should be interesting to see how it all plays out.

* * * *

Update: Well if this doesn't entice the Liberals to try to force an election, nothing will!

Evening Update: Budget passes! Now it's in the gritty hands of the Senate.

Ontario Report Card

Christina Blizzard has graciously provided us with a copy of her MPP Report Card, in this morning's Toronto Sun.

Curiously missing though, is a grade for PC Deputy Leader Elizabeth Witmer. I would have given her an A with only a tiny suggestion for improvement - More fire in the belly! But she's too much of a classy lady for that.

What do you think of Blizzard's ratings?

Will Afghan mission vote force an election?

The Star reports that the Liberals are putting forward a motion demanding Canada's withdrawal of troops by February 2009 (H/T National Newswatch).

If this motion is passed next week, Canada will have to serve notice to Nato immediately. If the government makes this a confidence vote, we may be into an election, depending on how the other two opposition parties vote.

It would seem that the latest poll has emboldened the Liberals.

* * * *

Thursday Update: The Ottawa Citizen reports that the government has decided not to consider the Liberal motion a vote of confidence.

Testing the wind

I am still absorbing the full impact of yesterday's horror at Virginia Tech, so I won't even attempt a comment at this point, other than to say that I can't imagine what family and friends of the victims must be feeling.


So for now, I decided to check out the Nova Scotia dailies and see what local folks are saying about the new Red Green show. It would appear that the editors at the Halifax Daily News are scratching their heads just like the ROC.

However, Halifax's Chronicle Herald provided an interesting sampling of letters.

My favourite was the one by Marcel Falkenham of Halifax, who refers to the Green-Liberal discussion as the Watermelon Talks. Brilliant! It really was a seedy situation when you think about it.

I read the last letter (by Robert MacDonald) about 10 times and still can't figure out what he was trying to say. Translations are welcome.

In any case, if all those letters are indicative of the general population in Central Nova, it would seem that Peter MacKay can breathe easy. NDP candidate Louise Lorefice may have a good shot at second place.

Meanwhile, the Star reports that the outcome of the Watermelon Talks has disenchanted some of the green rind as well as the seedy red pulp. Perhaps it's time for Central Nova to send the whole stinking mess to the compost heap.

* * * *

Update: Liberal Outsider - An Actual Argument Against the Liberal Lapdogs...

Great post by ChuckerCanuk - Breaking News!! (Cherniak learns life lessons from the Gulf War.)

Dump Dion - Now or later?

With Stephane Dion apparently auditioning for a lead role in a remake of "Dumb and Dumber", the Liberal party appears to be on the brink of some kind of schism.

Pierre Bourque was on the Jeff Allan show this morning, discussing the Liberal feud that has erupted like an oozing pimple. Among some higher-up party strategists, it's not a matter of if, but rather when to dump Dion.

(Humorous side note: Jeff mentioned something to the effect that when Stephane Dion announced he was going to ensure that a third of his candidates were female, we didn't anticipate that some of those women would be from other parties!)

With election chatter continually increasing, one wonders if disenchanted Grit MP's and strategists will somehow conspire to engineer their own defeat - i.e. initiate some kind of situation that plummets the country into an election and thereby hasten the inevitable leadership confrontation and resolution.

Never a boring moment on the Hill.

* * * *

Update: Jason Cherniak talks about Liberal "nincompoops" and "senior wimps" and crybabies.

Ya just gotta sit back and smile.


Also please check out the Star's Linwood Barclay - Dion inspires others to acts of boneheadedness. (H/T Christian Conservative).

Interesting angle here at Angry in the Great White North - Steve asks if Gerard Kennedy knew about the Red Green deal when he was collecting donations from Central Nova on March 22.

Will crime be a wedge issue in Toronto?

If the Government falls over tough-on-crime legislation, the opposition may very well find that they've lost Toronto's support.

First-hand account here by Jeff.

* * * *

Note: Comment moderation has been enabled for the weekend because I am taking a few days off. Please feel free to continue to leave comments, and I'll check them when I can.

McGuinty tries to pass the environmental buck

O.K. Now I'm starting to understand this, because I just read this.

Back from the nomination meeting

The Kitchener Centre Conservative Riding Association held its nomination meeting tonight. I won't go into details because then I'd have to kill you, but it was a bittersweet experience.

Bitter, because my guy didn't win. Sweet though, because it was my first nomination meeting and quite a thrill to see democracy in action.

Also, I met a fellow blogger (Back off Government), so that makes three Blogging Tories that I have met in person. It's always fun to put a face to the blog, so to speak.


Ran into a few other great people and got the scoop on some inside stuff that again I can't share with you because, well, you know the drill.

Oh, and thanks to Luke from Queen's for the ride and interesting discussions. It was a pleasure to meet you.

We are a different breed, we political junkies. When we are finally cloistered with our own kind, we unleash our pent-up pontifications and revel in the number of kindred spirits all around us that actually understand and share our excitement.


But tonight I'm feeling a little sad, and thinking that if I'm feeling this way about a local nomination meeting, I can't imagine how hard it would be to see your candidate lose a leadership race. We were on either side of a big divide. Now we have to come together.

It might be harder than I thought.

* * * *

Thursday Update: I forgot to mention that another huge highlight for me last night was talking to Matt Austin, who recently returned from a stint in Afghanistan. Matt and I did some canvassing together in the last election, and I ran into him several times during the campaign.

What an honour to know such a brave young man! Matt, I salute you.