Dion squeezed from all sides

You think it's easy being leader of the official opposition?

The NDP's Thomas Mulcair is taunting the Liberals for "abandoning all claims to being the official opposition" with their refusal to vote against the Government.

And to add insult to injury, the prospects of a future Liberal spending machine have been seriously hampered by recent fiscal policy changes as I had mentioned a short while ago.

The Calgary Herald's Nigel Hannaford lays it all out in a somewhat nightmarish scenario where the Liberals regain power and how their former 'racket' to "overestimate expenses, low ball revenues, and ... come up with a fatter surplus than had been budgetted", likely won't work anymore.

I was going to highlight the best parts of this article, but it's all so good that you'll just have to sit back and read the whole thing.


Dion is out of his league.

* * * *

Update: More pressure on Dion - TORIES FLIRT WITH MAJORITY SUPPORT, POLL FINDS - Globe.

Why Dion should never be PM

Stephane Dion's knee-jerk assertion that Canada should recognize Kosovo is a perfect example of the kind of chaos we would be subjected to if he were ever Prime Minister.

What Professor Dion has failed to learn from his Pakistan gaffe, is that statements involving international situations must be tempered with discretion and diplomacy. Making a brash off-the-cuff observation to score cheap political points may end up having unintended ramifications.

The Harper Government, on the other hand is still considering its response, which is the appropriate way to handle the situation. There is no rush - no need for rash decisions here.


However, in typical Liberal Lemming fashion, Dion does suggest that Canada should not be the first in line:

...But he added, Canada should not be the first to recognize Kosovo's independence, noting that the European Union is divided on the issue...

This is so pathetic.

Oh, and this has nothing to do with Quebec!

I don't pretend to understand the intricacies of this file, but after reading a few different articles this morning, I was able to see that this is a very complicated situation requiring a great deal of diplomacy.


For example, James Bissett explains why Canada should not recognize Kosovo:

...The recognition of Kosovo outside of the UN framework will set a dangerous precedent. Prime Minister Stephen Harper has said that Canada should make foreign policy decisions that are not only independent but are noticed by other powers around the world. Here is an opportunity for Canada to illustrate both of these objectives and stand firm for the UN Charter - by saying no to the recognition of Kosovo.

In addition there was a local protest against Kosovo's declaration of independence from Serbia:

...Protest organizer Jelena Cokorilo tells 570 news Kosovo is the cradle of the serbian church and serbian civilization and that the move is unsustainable from an economic, social and military perspective. Cokorilo says the current Albanian political elite that declared independence for Kosovo, were killing Canadian soldiers in Bosnia during the Balkan conflict in the early nineties.

Obviously this is not a simple matter of who's right and who's wrong. It is an issue requiring a great deal of careful thought, with an eye to all possible consequences.

Stephane Dion has not proven himself capable of handling such delicate situations. He should resign as Leader of the Opposition.

If not, I fear for Canada if he ever becomes Prime Minister.

* * * *

Update - Wudrig Blog: The Nutty Professor.

Steve Janke - Stephane Dion trades harmful budget for personal job security.

William Watson - Liberals get it wrong. (Gazette).

Thursday Update: Recognizing Kosovo could backfire for Ottawa, expert says. (Globe)

John Manley and the NP Editorial Board

Yoni Goldstein has kindly posted an edited transcript of a Q & A meeting with John Manley.

This item caught my attention:

...JM I don’t think that this issue would be a good one for either Liberals or Conservatives to stake themselves on in an election campaign. I don’t think Canadians want partisan politics to be the focal point of this mission. I think Liberal [Foreign Affairs critic] Bob Rae has left the door open with his comments on Tuesday, and I hope the government will extend an olive branch and that a bipartisan approach to this can be forged...

Tonight on MDL, Tonda MacCharles and Robert Fife were discussing with Duff how Dion blew it after the report was released; that Rae was much more statesmanlike in his comments. I think the point they were trying to make was that the Liberals and Conservatives need to work together on this and both could come out ahead politically as a bonus.

Dion is clearly out of his league. Bob Rae should just quietly take over on this file, and let Dion go back to his green dreams.

* * * *

Related: Check out Adam Radwanski via Calgary Grit:

The obvious solution is for the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Official Opposition to sit down like two grown men and plot this thing out. It wouldn't exactly be unique; partisanship is supposed to occasionally take a back seat when your country is at war. But it remains to be seen if either of these two have it in them, let alone both at the same time.

But what about Bob Rae?

* * * *

Thursday Update: Globe - Afghan report offers room to compromise, panel members say.

Things looking grim for Dion

And in another case of shooting the messenger...


A reader at The Maple Three nailed it:

Dion is probably a nice man . . . like John Turner . . . he is just in the wrong job!!!!!

Update - Lemon: Dion with Mansbridge on Afstan.

Mutiny?

Bring it on indeed!

Still catching up on goings-on from the last little while, but I have to agree with Steve Janke - Stephane Dion has no choice but to try to bring down the government.

He must vote against the throne speech. However, the other two parties have to be on board as well. He will need to win over their support. Are they ready to go to the polls?

Both the Globe and the National Post seem to be tired of hearing Dion's whining and threats as well.

The Post says to "Bring it on". I agree.

Show us what you're made of, Stephane!

* * * *

Wednesday Update: Follow the leader by Licia Corbella.

Your Ontario Tax dollars - Hard at work

It seems that the Ontario opposition parties are a tad upset that $500,000 has been spent to help tell Canadians to Flick Off!

Yes, Ontario. You have paid to be told to Go Flick Yourself.

Perhaps you would like to mention that to Dalton in October's election.

* * * *

Thursday Update:

Christina Blizzard calls this a Brilliant flickin' idea. Actually she makes a good point. This is what the Ontario Liberal government thinks about our youth; that we can only reach them by using innuendo and potty talk. It really is an incredible example of Liberal arrogance when you think about it.

Lorrie Goldstein tells us of more idiocy emanating from Queen's Park - Canada's Dumbest Politician. Can you guess who?

ChuckerCanuk has waded into the scary world of Ontario politics with this gem! Anyone from Gov.on.ca really should check it out.


And as much as it pains me to do this, I must direct your attention to Red Tory's recent post on this subject - Flicking Stupid. (What's flicking scary is how much we are agreeing lately!)

From the Western Standard's Shotgun - Check out this pic!

Angry has another angle - The Cost to Flick Off.

Good point here - "Have we lost the ability to be creative without appealing to the absolute lowest levels of communication? If so, let's leave the lights on. Perhaps this culture is not worth saving." Well said.

Is it time to pull the plug on Catholic Education in Ontario?

Lifesite's John-Henry Westen has written a thought-provoking editorial questioning the value and role of publicly-funded Catholic education in Ontario today.

It would seem that thanks to the influence of the powerful Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association, Catholic education today is almost indistinguishable from the public alternative. If the current trend to distort Catholic dogma is maintained, Westen wonders why Ontario taxpayers should continue to fund the apparently redundant Catholic system?:

...However, were the political battle to be fought and won, and the status quo of OECTA-stlye 'Catholic' education to continue, you may find myself and other Canadian Catholics wishing that the so-called 'Catholic' system were abolished.

With an anti-Catholic system masquerading as a Catholic system in place, parents are deceived and the spiritual and moral formation of their children will continue to be severely harmed. At least with a secular-only system parents are not deceived and must make appropriate arrangements for faith formation of their children...

I'd love to hear from parents of children who are attending Ontario Catholic schools, as well as anyone from other provinces who has some interest in the subject of Catholic education.

Personally, I find myself wondering how we can continue to support Catholic education in an increasingly multicultural society?


Meanwhile, Premier McGuinty states that the Ontario government has no plans to scrap publicly-funded Catholic schools, despite recent pressure from some public school board trustees:

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty denied that the government had any plans to scrap the Catholic system whose existence is protected under the Constitution. Section 93 of the 1982 Constitution Act guarantees to Roman Catholics in Ontario the right to have a publicly-funded separate denominational school system.

Not surprising, since the teachers' unions appear to be huge McGuinty fans, and Catholics in general seem to vote Liberal.

Why would Dalton want to rock that lifeboat?

* * * *

Other posts on this subject: Just between us girls - Single School System.

Doggerel Party - Merging school boards. 'Mike' in comments says why not 'Fund the Student'? Has a nice ring to it, don't you think?

I think Sarah should pick up on this one.

Also, thanks to Tomorrow's Trust for posting a link to this blog.

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.

Right (or Left) on the money

This op-ed in today's Sun is incredibly insightful - Tories outfoxing Liberals for Mushy Middle Vote.

Not a lot of time for blogging today, but I do hope to come back to it. Please feel free to comment.


BTW, to paraphrase the ever indignant Stephane Dion, I've never seen a leader of the Official Opposition do so much damage to our country in such a short time.


I shudder to think what might happen if he were Prime Minister.

* * * *

Update: Sheila Copps throws in her two-cents worth here - Being a Bully will end up Costing the PM.

The jokes practically write themselves in this piece. Be my guest.


Evening Update: Well, it's been a busy day, so not much blogging - My apologies.

Great post here though. It was actually picked up by National Newswatch - Seconds Thoughts: Gerard Kennedy calls PM a Racist.

And this is HUGE!!! Kerplonka! - Scandal! The internal email you *have* to read... Backroom deals in Victoria!

Monday Update: Ezra Levant - Grits Chew on Nutty Rhetoric.

Dion Wants to increase your Hydro Bill

John Ivison's column in today's National Post mirrors my thoughts on Stephane Dion's "Green Investment Account" proposal (Dion's naivete on display).

His scheme is intended to make the polluters pay, but guess what? The buck stops at the person staring back at you in the mirror.

The new plan would mean polluting industries could see their top-line expenses grow by $2.5-billion a year if they miss their emission targets.

Canadians who scoff at pleas of poverty from the oil and gas industry may be less smug when they learn the electricity industry is already contemplating passing on the estimated $1-billion in annual extra costs to consumers.

"Sure we would," said Hans Konow, president of the Canadian Electricity Association. "This is added cost that would be passed through."

This will just end up being another behemoth Liberal boondoggle, designed to line the pockets of everyone except you and me. The irony is that it doesn't even necessarily guarantee results in terms of reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Jason Kenney calls this plan a 'lemon'.

The Liberal party sure picked one.

* * * *

More at Political Staples - Because there is only one payer.

Political Correctness Gone Mad

According to the UN, Canada's use of the term 'visible minorities' is racist! (Post)

A few excerpts regarding the report by the UN's Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination:

Canada's use of the term "visible minorities" to identify people it considers susceptible to racial discrimination came under fire at the United Nations yesterday --for being racist.

Members of the Geneva-based Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination also questioned other terms used by the federal government, among them "ethnocultural communities."

It adds that Canada should "reflect further on the implications of the use of the term," but offers no suggestions about what words would be acceptable.

So, if a company needs to increase the number of "visible minorities" (please don't tell the UN) in their workforce, how would they do it? It seems that the "White men need not apply" sign is the only route left. The suggestions are non-binding, but it does demonstrate how far left into 'wacko-world' the UN is heading.


Another highlight includes "a call for Canada to provide welfare to illegal immigrants and failed refugee applicants."

On undocumented immigrants and people who have been declined refugee status, the committee says Canada should pass laws ensuring they are "provided with access to social security, health care and education."

Good grief!!!

Regarding Canada's efforts to combat terrorism, it says it is "concerned about the heightened risks of racial profiling," and adds that Canada should amend its Anti-Terrorism Act "to include an explicit anti-discrimination clause.

Well, there's another crusade for Dion.

Could someone please explain to me again why we belong to the UN?

* * * *

Friday Update: Blog Quebecois (Obviously, I'm not the only UN Denier.)

Dion's "Next Canadian PM" cross-country audition

The National Post's editorial board obviously believes that Stephane Dion's self-promoting cross-country tour is doomed to failure - "Stephane Dion's Sincerity Shtick":

The senior Liberals planning the trip say they want voters to get to know Mr. Dion one-on-one and in small groups, which is supposedly where Mr. Dion is most persuasive. That's the way he unexpectedly captured the top Liberal job, they explain. It is also the best way to demonstrate his "sincerity," which Liberals say is his greatest political asset.

Stephane Dion may indeed be sincere or "authentic" as my Liberal MP Karen Redman often describes him. He may actually believe that his pie-in-the-sky academic dreams can transform Canada into his vision of Progressive Utopia, and that we intellectually-inferior Canadians will eventually embrace this plan with unqualified support once we finally come to our senses.

But is 'sincerity' the sole qualification necessary for a great leader?

If an international crisis of some kind were suddenly to occur, who would you rather have defending our national interests, making split-second decisions and communicating with world leaders on complex issues that require both diplomacy and tenacity?


I'll take the 'bully' over Flipper anyday, thanks.

* * * *

Update: Is the mole back? Cherniak and Wells have some concerns (H/T Bourque)

And our own ChuckerCanuk is mentioned on Bourque as well tonight! Congrats Chucker!!!

Wednesday Update: Well poor Flipper has one friend, anyway. (Star)

But this Liberal MP is definitely not a Dion fan!

Dry Run in Ontario

Licia Corbella nails it in this morning's Calgary Sun (A Storm Warning)- The current gas shortage in Ontario is a dress rehearsal for a terrorist attack on oil refineries and national transportation systems.

Corbella brilliantly weaves various themes of Liberal hypocrisy, wilful blindness, environmentalism and terror threat, to create a chilling picture emphasizing just how vulnerable we really are.



I also wonder if the fallout from the gas shortage had anything to do with Stephane Dion's recent epiphany regarding the anti-scab bill.

Changing the Channel

I have been negligent about environmental posting lately.

Lorrie Goldstein has been following this topic with a very balanced approach, and quite often with a great deal of humour.

Today's column, "Dion's Top Ten Kyoto Excuses", playfully suggests what might happen if Dion should become the next Prime Minister (gasp!), and have to follow Liberal MP Pablo Rodriguez's private member's bill on fulfilling Kyoto obligations. Lorrie brilliantly explains how Dion would weasel out of the edit.

As mentioned in an earlier post, the Kyoto bill was probably one of Dion's dumber moves.

And he will regret his Pyrrhic victory sooner or later.

* * * *

Friday Update: Excellent column by Colby Cosh in the Post - Two Kinds of Revolutionaries.

Self-interest trumps integrity

Today's Hill Times reminds us that the measures that were brought in as part of the Anti-Terrorism Act by the Liberals are set to expire on March 1. A vote is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon. (You can access the HT article via National Newswatch - "Dion's Whipped Anti-Terror Law Divisive...")

For some reason, Stephane Dion as chosen to frame this issue as a pivotal test of his leadership and caucus loyalty, even though Liberal opposition to his three-line whip and subsequent threats is well known and even extends into the Liberal-dominated Senate:

Ontario Liberal Senator David Smith denied that the Liberal caucus is divided or that this issue is affecting the morale of the caucus members.

"I haven't sensed that. These things aren't totally black and white. There's a range of opinions on it but our caucus is very supportive of our leader. I support him 150 per cent and he'll get through this complicated, tricky issue in a way that's reasonable and responsible," Sen. Smith told The Hill Times.

Sen. Smith, who chaired the special Senate Committee on the Anti-terrorism Act last week, recommended that the two controversial measures be extended for three years.

Excuse me, but I detect a disconnect somewhere there. I suppose though, in the world of Liberal-think it makes some kind of sense.


In any case, as the Hill Times has apparently talked to a top Liberal source who supports a renewal of the anti-terrorism clauses:

..."It's a mistake, it's divisive and has affected the morale of the caucus. If this was brand new legislation and the Liberals didn't have their fingerprints all over it from before, then it would be different but it's not. The majority of the people who are in the House now on the Liberal side were there when this legislation was passed by the Liberals"...

Since Dion has threatened to refuse to sign nomination papers for anyone who opposes him, his caucus now has no option. They either follow the leader or they cross the floor.

And in the case of Senator Smith, he must feel that party solidarity trumps all else, and thus his 150% support.

Why this issue Stephane? Why??? What are you not telling us?

* * * *

Update: Courtesy of National Newswatch - Charles Adler - "Stephane Who?"

Check out Olaf's latest post - Dion and the ATA...

CNews - Grits say no to changes. Dion has his heels dug in.

CP picks up Bolan Story - THERE WAS NO LEAK, Ralph!

Liberal Catnip breaks the news that Kim Bolan has contacted CP and stated openly that "that there was no leak from anyone and that the story was done on her own initiative." (H/T to Ross at the Gazetteer, who played a major role in uncovering the truth).



From Canada.com:

"The story was not a plant by anybody," Bolan said. "All this talk of plants by the government or the RCMP is ludicrous.

"Nobody has disputed a single element of the story because it's true," said Bolan, who has covered the Air India case since the tragedy in 1985.

Bolan said it's ridiculous that politicians are reacting as if the information is some kind of security breach. She said anyone who has covered the Air India case in any detail has the information.

L.C. says that, "Whether or not this will satisfy the Liberals remains to be seen and it certainly, in my mind, does not excuse Stephen Harper's part in this affair".

I have to ask, 'excuse him' from what?


In today's Toronto Sun, Sheila Copps states the following:

Most political observers were shaking their heads when Prime Minister Stephen Harper attacked newly minted Liberal Member of Parliament Navdeep Bains.

How did PMSH attack Bains? He simply began reading from the Vancouver Sun, and wasn't even allowed to finish what he was trying to say!

If there was an implication of any kind, it was a question about whether or not Stephane Dion's steadfast refusal to support the extension of the anti-terror laws was in any way influenced by some sort of political debt. But Harper never got to finish his thoughts. You can't condemn a man without evidence. So much for the Liberal values of civil rights.

I now have two remaining questions:

#1. Why isn't this plastered all over MSM?

#2. When will the Honourable Member from Wascana retract his nasty allegations and apologize to the Prime Minister of Canada?

* * * *

More at Political Staples - Today's news tomorrow.

CTV Question Period - Bains 'Baffled'...
Good links to interviews. The one between Jay Hill and Ralph Goodale is especially interesting. Ralph blames the government for not bringing forth changes, but Jay makes the point that the Liberals under Dion flip-flopped at the last minute. Time has now run out. Jay says the changes could be made after the vote to extend the provisions.

But Ralph likes to bluster and obfuscate to protect the leader. Thank you Stephane Dion for putting Canadian security second.

* * * *

And for a little chuckle, check out Chucker - "If I were Don Newman on next Friday's Politics". Chucker, you sure do have some strange fantasies...

Congrats Dalton, on Lifetime Achievement Award!

Just couldn't miss this one from the 9th Annual Teddies Waste Awards courtesy of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation:

Mr. McGuinty made two significant statements that ensure he will be long remembered by taxpayers. First, as Liberal Opposition leader on the election trail in 2003 he repeatedly told voters: "I won't raise your taxes, but I won't cut them either.

But he didn’t stop there. He showed up at a downtown Toronto hotel and signed a pledge drafted by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation that committed a Liberal government to abide by the Taxpayer Protection and Balanced Budget Act. Above his signature, read: "I, Dalton McGuinty, promise that if my party is elected as the next government, I will not raise taxes or implement any new taxes without the explicit consent of Ontario voters."

The Liberals won that election and Dalton McGuinty became Premier of Ontario. Yet, six months later, he broke that promise, ushering in the largest tax hike in Ontario’s history in the form of a so-called “health premium.” Voters called it a tax and the Big Lie.

Since then, Premier McGuinty has continuously blamed his predecessors for all his troubles, delivered 3 deficit budgets, ramped up spending, and continuously whined to the federal government for more handouts. Handouts for what taxpayers ask? In December, 2006, the McGuinty Liberals ushered in a 25 per cent pay increase for MPP’s. Does this sound like someone to be trusted with tax dollars?

I am so proud to be an Ontario taxpayer. Of course we Ontario voters will always vote Liberal, because after all, that's what our parents did - and we always do what we're told.

* * * *

Update: Dalton makes more promises - maybe trying to snag next year's Teddy too?

Dreamy Dion - Updated Title: Dictator Dion

Despite being labelled "arse-lickers of Satan", things are looking up for the CPC these days.

The lead story in today's Globe (Tories Surge on Harper's Leadership) shows Harper polling way ahead of Dion. Allan Gregg, chairman of The Strategic Counsel, which produced the poll for the usually liberal-loving Globe and CTV News says:

“The thing I'd be very distressed about if I were Dion, is that, not only has he not established any prime-ministerial-in-waiting attributes, he's also got none of the attractive leader attributes.”

More poll info here (CTV).

Obviously, Dion is proving to be a leadership dud, and I would suspect that has much to do with his uncompromising, unrealistic, Halls-of-Academia worldview.


An influential senior Liberal feels Dion should be downplayed. In a front-page Post story ("Party Needs More Image, Less Dion"), Tom Axworthy, a Queen's University professor and aide to former prime minister Pierre Trudeau, agreed to an interview "after CanWest News Service obtained letters he wrote to Mr. Dion and to Liberal party president Senator Marie Poulin insisting the party follow through on a renewal process Mr. Axworthy led during the Liberal leadership campaign."

Mr. Axworthy noted in the letter to the Liberal leader that a study of the 2006 federal election results showed "the party image as a whole" was far more influential than party leader or local candidate in vote choice by Canadians.

I keep hearing warnings from some pundits and Liberals that it would be a grave mistake to underestimate Stephane Dion. In fact just yesterday, the Record featured a glowing tribute (Dion Dilemma Confounding Tory Strategists) to Dion by University of Regina political sociologist and author, J.F. Conway (under subscriber lock):

One thing is clear about Dion. It's dangerous to underestimate him. When he arrived in Ottawa in 1996 he was dismissed as a lightweight. Yet he prevailed over Bouchard. When Paul Martin sidelined him (as a Chrétien loyalist) to the environment portfolio, Dion emerged stronger and more credible than ever. The Liberal establishment, and the Ignatieff and Rae forces, wrote him off as a non-starter. Now Dion is one election away from becoming prime minister.

O.K. Stephane. If that is true, I think the time to start dazzling us would be right about now.

* * * *

Update: Some very disturbing stories showing up on National Newswatch this morning. We may be starting to get an idea why Dion is fighting the extension of the anti-terror measures.

Please read Ex-PM Sought Support of Terrorist Group - Then check out Dust My Broom, who has a very interesting link to a blog entry by Tarek Fatah - "Race and Religion at the Liberal Party Convention".

Now consider this from the Globe! - Dion to Punish MP's Who Back Anti-Terrorism Measures Vote.

At this point, I really wish that Bob Rae was leader of the LPC; even if it meant more problems for the Conservatives. At least we would be safer as a country.


Further Update: Air India victims' families speak out. Dion sure has painted himself in a corner now!

Huge Update!!! - This is unbelievable. From C-News:

...But MPs privately complain that the decision was taken by the caucus social justice committee, which is dominated by left-wing Liberals. Most MPs, including those with expertise in national security and human rights matters, were never consulted and were surprised when the decision was presented to them two weeks ago as a fait accompli.

Some privately grouse that Dion has been influenced by militant Sikh and Muslim groups, members of which helped secure his leadership victory last December.

Those complaints were echoed Tuesday by the chairman of the Air India Victims' Families Association.

"It looks like the sympathizers of terrorism have more influence on (Liberals)," Gupta said.

He said Dion may have become "victim of vote bank politics," referring to ethnic bloc voting...

Blowing in the wind

Ezra Levant comments on the tendency of Stephane Dion to switch positions according to political expediency.

He also suggests another reason why Steffi may be siding with the Bloc and NDP to kill the Liberal's own security laws - pay back time for Muslim support during the leadership race.

Oh, well. At least Dion is "authentic", according to Karen Redman. Whatever that means.

* * * *

Update: Check out tonight's Mike Duffy - Iggy tells Mike that even though the polls are favouring the Conservatives (especially the new Strategic Counsel poll), that voters need to compare Dion and Harper.

He says Dion is "a man of courage; conviction; this man really believes this stuff on the environment". "Mr. Harper makes it up".

What utter arrogance! Harper makes it up!

And BTW, Iggy, if Stephane Dion is believing all the hot air that Suzuki and company are dishing out, I wouldn't be bragging about it.

That's not being courageous. It's called being gullible.