We Canadians are a fortunate bunch. As if the excitement surrounding the American Presidential race wasn't enough, we get our own election running at the same time.

Early on, Stephane Dion looks like the weakling Stephen Harper has been portraying him as. He's running, as many Liberal's before him have, on a strictly anti-Conservative platform.

An interesting poll that was up on canoe.ca yesterday asked the question "If you could vote for anybody in the following election...", with Canada's current party leaders listed with Barack Obama, John McCain, and Sarah Palin. Not good results for Stephan Dion. He was in last place with 5% of the vote, behind even the evil-Republican-Bushite John McCain (who had 6%). Also bad news for Dion, Harper was significantly ahead of everybody else, even media-darling Barack Obama.

Harper is also playing his economic credentials correctly. While Dion is proposing a massive tax "shift" and announcing all kinds of new spending, Stephen Harper is set to roll out a cut in the diesel-fuel tax. One option will make life more affordable for Canadians, the other a confusing shell-game that ultimately will end up with Canadians paying more in taxes.

On the American front John McCain seems to have stolen all of the momentum from Barack Obama by selecting the fiery Sarah Palin as his running mate. Seeing as momentum was all that Obama ever had going for him, it could be rough times ahead for the Democratic nominee. Not that he's out of the race by any stretch, but he will have to start getting into policy in detail if he's going to win this thing come November.

The next couple of months will be interesting times. As for predictions, I'm calling an ultra-slim Harper majority, and McCain will take it in a walk south of the border.

Labels: Barack Obama, John McCain, politics, Stephane Dion, Stephen Harper

Via Susan Delacourt:

It happened when Liberal leader Stephane Dion got up to ask a second round of questions, abandoning the Cadman controversy and turning to the Canada-Obama affair, which the NDP has been hammering away at all week.

Harper said: "I would point out to the Leader of the Opposition that when he was throwing around wild accusations of scandal, the leader of the NDP was already on top of this issue." [...]

Dion, to his credit, however, had a pretty decent comeback. "We do not know how to choose among all the scandals he has," the Liberal leader said.

Which brings us back to the last Liberal leadership race:
It would appear that Stephane Dion is still having a tough time "making priorities"

Labels: politics, Stephane Dion, Stephen Harper, YouTube

Today Jason Cherniak is trying to convince us that Stephane Dion and the Liberal party care about Israel. Jason says it's a Liberal party priority. He cites the fact that Stephane Dion, Gerrard Kennedy, Michael Ignatieff amongst other prominent Liberals attended the United Jewish Appeal's Walk with Israel. Thats interesting.

Sure they support Israel when it comes to a nice walk in the park. But when it comes down to brass tacks, the Liberals would sell Israel down the river in a heart beat.

At the Liberal leadership convention, which Dion won, Bob Rae was attacked "because his wife is Jewish". It is alleged that the attack came from Gerrard Kennedy supporters. Gerrard Kennedy ended up supporting Stephane Dion, a move which ultimately ended Bob Rae's leadership bid.

Of course there's also Michael Ignatieff's infamous accusation of Israeli war crimes being committed in Lebanon during last summer's war. Iggy never did retract those comments, he simply revised his comments to accuse Israel AND Hezbollah of committing war crimes. Clever.

Thirdly, during last summer's conflict between Lebanon and Israel, the Liberal party under Bill Graham denounced Prime Minister Stephen Harper because of his strong support for Israel. The Liberals thought that Canada should remain neutral in a conflict between the sovereign state of Israel and the terrorist organization Hezbollah.

Then there's dear Stephie. When Stephen Harper took the initiative to cut off funding to Hamas, another terrorist organization that stages almost daily rocket attacks on Israeli civilians, Stephane Dion was the Liberal foreign affairs critic. His response was to slam Harper, saying "The social problems [in the territories] are awful and, in fact, Canada should do more not less. So to cut $7-million would be a mistake."

So to sum it up Stephane Dion, the leader of the Liberal party has suggested Canada should fund an anti-Israeli terror group. His second in command, Michael Ignatieff, accused Israel of war crimes, when in fact they were defending themselves against a terrorist organization. The man who's support won the leadership for Dion helped him along the way by slandering his political opponent for marrying a Jew. Former Liberal leader Bill Graham, from whom Dion took the reigns of the party, explicitly said that Canada should not support Israel.

But Jason Chernaik says the Liberals support Israel, because they showed up for a walk in the park. It seems the Liberals can walk the pro-Israeli walk, but they won't talk the talk. I think Stephen Harper was correct when he accused the Liberals of being "anti-Israel".

Update: Rene reminded me about Denis Coderre's story. Denis Coderre, is the Liberal National Defense critic, and another person I'd call a "higher-up" in the Liberal party. Coderre marched in support of Hezbollah last summer. Thats the same Hezbollah that started the conflict by kidnapping an Israeli soldier and firing rockets at civilian targets in Israel. But seriously, Liberals support Israel. Seriously.

Labels: Bill Graham, Gerrard Kennedy, Hezbollah, Israel, Liberal Party, Michael Ignatieff, Stephane Dion, Stephen Harper

When the federal budget came out in March, Newfoundland Premier Danny Williams called it a "betrayal" of the province. It was a great example of a fine Conservative Premier turned panhandling socialist. He is now waging a personal War on Harper, much to the glee of the media.

If Newfoundland is strapped for cash, they've got an interesting way of showing it (h/t Bound By Gravity).

Premier Danny Williams, in a bid to build on his already commanding majority government, is offering Newfoundlanders the largest personal income tax cut in the province's history in the run-up to a provincial election.

Drawing from a $261-million budget surplus, Williams also slashed user fees Thursday while increasing spending on schools, the health-care system and infrastructure.

The value of the income tax cut was pegged at $155 million.

Danny Williams has some explaining to do. Why does he think that the rest of Canada should fund tax cuts to keep him in power? Here in Manitoba we live in one of the highest taxed provinces in the country, and this Newfie is pandering for more of our money. Shameless.

Labels: Conservative Party, Danny Williams, politics, Stephen Harper, Trough Feeders

You know Anita Neville is worried about her chances in the next election. When a Liberal MP starts making accusations of racism to members of the opposition, you know they're worried about something.

From Sunday's Free Press:

When it comes to prime ministerial visits, Stephen Harper appears to be giving Manitoba the cold shoulder. [...]

Winnipeg South Centre Liberal MP Anita Neville said she believes Harper isn't spending more time in Manitoba because he is focused on potential electoral gains elsewhere in the country.

Neville also wonders if the fact Manitoba has a high aboriginal population may be playing a role in his travels.

This is why Anita Neville has lost all credibility in Winnipeg South Centre. She takes a legitimate issue, such as the PMs travel schedule and turns it into a joke. Instead of using the opportunity to raise issues of local importance, she takes cheap shots at the Prime Minister, and accuses him of being racist.

As the Blonde Conservative points out, there really just isn't much for the Prime Minister to do in Manitoba these days.

If Neville wants to accuse the PM of not caring about Manitoba, fine. But she'd have to ignore the hundreds of millions of dollars that the feds are contributing to the floodway expansion, the human rights museum, and the increased transfers from the Conservatives' last budget.

Labels: Anita Neville, Dirty Liberals, Manitoba, Stephen Harper

Shockingly, Stephane Dion is demanding an apology from Stephen Harper (h/t Dust My Broom). What was the comment that was so offensive to Stephie Dion? Well, apparently the truth:

I can understand the passion that the Leader of the Opposition and members of his party feel for Taliban prisoners. I just wish occasionally they would show the same passion for Canadian soldiers.

A heavy accusation, but Dion's comments clearly lead to that response:

Mr. Speaker, there are few things that are more important for the honour of a country than its duty to protect human lives, including war detainees. It is clear that the Minister of National Defence failed in his duty, even though he has often been briefed on this.

I have no other choice than to ask the Prime Minister to ask his Minister of National Defence to do the honourable thing and resign. [....]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has to see that his minister was negligent and incompetent with respect to a very serious issue for a country like Canada: the protection of the human lives we are responsible for.

The Prime Minister cannot keep his Minister of National Defence, not unless the Prime Minister is telling us that it is not important for Canada to protect the human lives we are responsible for.

Stephane Dion doesn't seem to understand the fact that the Government of Canada is responsible for Canadians and Canadian soldiers first and foremost, not murderous Taliban thugs. But Dion shows his spine in his response to the Prime Minister. Instead of denying the accusation and throwing it right back in Harpers face, Dion whimpered and whined.

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister made two shocking statements. First, he said that the government does not care about human rights and, second, that the official opposition does not care about Canadian soldiers.

The Prime Minister must understand that he has insulted the entire Parliament with his statement and he should apologize.

Stephie, say these four words after me: "WE SUPPORT THE TROOPS". He should have screamed those four words back at Harper as loud as possible. But he can't say it, or he won't say it, because it would be a lie. The Liberal Party under Stephanie Dion does not support the troops. By concentrating all of their efforts to ensure the safety of Taliban fighters, they undermine the safety of Canadian soldiers.

There's also the fact that - as the US has demonstrated with Gitmo, and again pointed out at Jack's Newswatch - insurgent fighters do not qualify for treatment under the Geneva Conventions because they are not soldiers.

Dion's spinelessness brings back memories of a Charles Adler rant, put to video by Officially Screwed.

Labels: Afghanistan, Liberal Party, politics, Stephane Dion, Stephen Harper

I basically agree with Tom Brodbeck and Greg Weston in that this budget is a disaster. The Conservative budget has exploded program spending by $14 billion. Many people voted Conservative to get away from exactly this kind of fiscal irresponsibility.

Evidence of the Conservative's 180 degree turn is clear in the Status of Women department. In fall Stephen Harper took grief from all sides when the decision was made to cut $5 million in funding for the Status of Women. That $5 million has been re-instated, and just to make sure there are no hurt feelings, the new budget also includes an additional $20 million over the next two years for the Status of Women.

It's not just us libertarian small-government types that disapprove either. The provinces don't seem to be overly appreciative of the new equalization formula. Newfoundland's Premier Danny Williams claims that "What they've done today is basically and completely shafted us." Other people who are speaking unkindly about the budget are Saskatchewan Premier Lorne Calvert, BC Premier Gordon Campbell, and Calgary Mayor Dave Bronconnier.

But this may all be according to Harper's plan, as the Bloc Quebcois is the only party who will vote to pass this budget, and thus prop up the Harper government. This is essentially what what has the Premiers seething, since they view the budget as taking from the West and doling out to Quebec. Having it passed by the Bloc only suggests that the argument has merit.

Labels: Conservative Party, Danny Williams, politics, Stephen Harper

Al Gore is being nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. So much for credibility.

Two Norwegian parliamentarians have nominated former U.S. Vice President Al Gore for the Nobel Peace Prize for raising awareness of climate change.

[...]

"I think climate change is this century's most important and most threatening environmental issue, and I think Al Gore has made a difference in putting climate change on the global agenda," Conservative MP Boerge Brende told Reuters.

[...]

"Al Gore with his movie and his dedication and his active diplomacy among world leaders has really moved the issue forward," said Brende, environment minister in 2001-2004.

[...]

Brende teamed up with a political opponent from the Socialist Left party, Heidi Soerensen, to nominate Gore for the peace prize by the February 1 deadline for nominations.

They also nominated Inuit campaigner Sheila Watt-Cloutier of Canada for her work to show how climate change is affecting the lives of the Arctic indigenous people, Brende said.

Now that the eco-freaks have tied "climate change", Kyoto, and world peace together, anybody who would claim that Al Gore is a quack, must be a threat to world peace... right?

Which would explain why the media and Liberals are trying to make Stephen Harper look poor by rehashing his past opposition to the Kyoto accord.

The problem with that argument is that Harper was right, Kyoto was and is economically unachievable in Canada, and it's been demonstrated for the last ten years. And Al Gore is a quack. His movie is nothing more than promotion for himself and his personal ideological agenda. He loves everybody asking him "are you running for President?" And a Nobel Peace Prize would do wonders for that!

Imagine, a Nobel Peace laureates running for President. Surely he'd be just the man to solve the "quagmire" in Iraq. Hell, his foreign policy could be exactlty the same as his domestic policy. It's the economy, stupid.

Iraq's sectarian bloodshed could be easily solved if all Iraqi's realized that their national economic dependence on oil is evil - just like all good green Americans. Once this was accomplished there would be little wealth left for any factions to fight over. Problem solved!

Not to mention that pesky Katrina, it was all George W. Bush's fault (because he's the cause of climate change). If Gore had been President the whole deal would have been averted, and the Saints would be playing in Miami this weekend!

But probably not, so I digress.

Labels: Environment, Stephen Harper, Y2Kyoto

So the CBC's Conservative-Smear-Machine is making a big deal about Stephen Harper calling the Kyoto Accord "a socialist scheme to suck money out of wealth-producing nations." Now mind you, the letter was written over five years ago.

But the fact of the matter is, he was right! Kyoto is a socialist mechanism to redistribute wealth, it's clear. Developed industrial nations are put under much tighter limitations than developing nations. That in turn, gives developing nations a competitive advantage in the global market. That is wealth distribution from the rich to the poor.

Point in case is Russia. They're not tied to the same timeline as other industrialized developed nations, because they're an "economy in transition", which is a nice way of saying they have a weak economy. It's not due to a lack of technology, or resources, it's due only to decades of a mismanaged economy. And Kyoto will help them catch-up to other developed nations by giving Russia a competitive advantage over the USA, Canada, Britian, etc.

But the slant that the Liberals and CBC are taking, is that because Stephen Harper doesn't want to subsidize Russia's growth at the expense of the Canadian economy, he doesn't care about the environment.

Liberal MP Mark Holland told the Canadian Press on Tuesday that the leaked letter shows that Harper isn't actually committed to climate change.

Actually, if anything it shows that Harper is committed to responsible climate change. He is not willing to throw away billions of dollars for programs that are unproven, and benifit other nations at our expense.

The Liberals for years have been happy to sign any green-friendly document that comes their way, but did nothing to try to achieve the goals they set out for themselves. Stephen Harper has, in a year of government, done more to achieve the Liberals' environmental targets than the Liberals themselves did.

Just because he has a nasty adjective for the protocal whos targets nobody can meet, doesn't mean "he doesn't care about the environment". If he didn't care about the environment he wouldn't be plunging the billions of dollars into it that he is. Liberals complain that Harper's Green initiatives are all Liberal initiatives re-written.

Liberals seem to think that just because they had the idea, they should get the credit for putting the initiatives in place. Nope, sorry, doesn't work that way. They had twelve years in government to pass their priorities, and they did. The environment was not one of those priorities, and they failed to get the job done. Now the environment belongs to Stephen Harper.

Update [Feb 1, 10:06]: Rod Martin at The Vanguard blog hits the same subject:

It’s no accident that, after stepping down as the mass-murdering dictator of the Evil Empire, Mikhail Gorbachev’s first "job" was as head of an environmental group. The eco gang is a bunch of watermelons: green on the outside and red all the way through. This doesn’t mean they’re never right, just as Communists were sometimes right about this or that as well. It just means that all their solutions boil down to taking from you and giving to the state.

Labels: Conservative Party, Liberal Party, politics, Stephen Harper, Y2Kyoto

Protecting Stephen Harper:

A young man waving a penis-shaped squirt gun was warned yesterday not to enter a building where Prime Minister Stephen Harper was about to speak.

A plainclothes member of Harper's security detail was overheard telling the youth it would not be advisable for him to enter the building with the squirt gun.

The red-faced youth walked away from the building followed by several friends.

But compare this to Cameron Ward's story:

A B.C. Supreme Court judge awarded more than $10,000 to a Vancouver lawyer suspected in 2002 of conspiring to throw a pie at then-Prime Minister Jean Chretien.

After a four-year legal battle, Justice David Tysoe on Wednesday found Cameron Ward was wrongfully imprisoned and strip-searched, after the lawyer was arrested during a ceremony to open the Millennium Gate in Vancouver's Chinatown.

Labels: Canadian Justice, Funny, Real Life, Stephen Harper

Since Wajid Khan crossed the floor recently, many Liberals have been begging to see the report he wrote after his Middle East fact finding mission, even though Paul Martin routinely did NOT make such reports public. The speculation amongst Liberal blogs is that "either the report that Khan wrote does not exist, or it does exist and is of such poor quality that it could not be released."

Today, CTV is reporting that in fact, the report does exist. Further more, Harper will be implementing some of the recommendations from said report in government policy.

And, Harper will kick sand in their Liberal faces to boot:

Wajid Khan, the embattled former Liberal MP who recently crossed the floor to the Conservatives, will be heading out on another fact-finding mission in his role as special advisor on the Middle East.

Government sources told The Globe and Mail that Prime Minister Stephen Harper will be sending Khan to Afghanistan and Pakistan, though there were no details on when he will be leaving.

But what about the money that Khan's dealership loaned to his riding association? Apparently there's nothing there either:

Elections Canada says there's nothing illegal in MP Wajid Khan using loans from his Toronto car dealership to finance his riding association and his election campaigns.

And even if those loans are never repaid -- effectively turning them into huge personal or corporate donations that are supposed to be prohibited -- there is likely nothing that the independent watchdog can do about it.

So it seems the only law that was broken was that the Liberal riding association didn't pay back the money it was loaned. I'd say that Stephane Dion owes Wajid Kahn a couple hundred grand!

Labels: Afghanistan, Dirty Liberals, politics, Stephane Dion, Stephen Harper

One of the main reasons why I like Stephen Harper, is his ability to clearly explain and articulate his thoughts. An example follows, from CanWest (h/t Halls of Macadamia).

"The Liberals and the Bloc tell me: rebalance the mission. What does that mean? I mean, what the hell does that mean?"

"We've got guys there, they're in the most dangerous province in the country. Yes, we're trying to do development and humanitarian assistance and we're doing that. But the fact of the matter is that they've got guys shooting at them. And they've got the most concentrated group of enemy combatants right there. It isn't an option to cut down the military side of the operation. They have to do what is necessary to protect the local people and protect themselves. And nothing less."
(snip)
"If other parties want to go to the people and take that position - 'We'd leave them there but we'd tell them not to defend themselves' - let them explain that to the Canadian people."

In three short paragraphs, he can completely explain his position, and totally undermine the oppositions. I like him more and more every day.

Labels: Afghanistan, politics, Stephen Harper

The numbers speak volumes.

Those who think Afghan President Hamid Karzai is a lost cause should think again. So says the evidence from a recent poll of what Afghans think, five years after the fall of the Taliban. "The current Afghan government retains broad support," concludes the survey by Charney Research, with 68 per cent of Afghans approving Karzai’s work.
(snip)
While the Taliban are active throughout south and west Afghanistan, their suicide bombings and attacks on schools and government buildings are not winning them any supporters. Nearly 90 per cent of Afghans have unfavourable views of the Taliban, with 76 per cent saying they have "very unfavourable" views. The only thing with a worse rating: Osama bin Laden.
(snip)
Another indication of the trauma of Taliban rule is that 85 per cent or more Afghans are thankful for the US invasion, grateful for the presence of North Atlantic Treaty Organisation troops in the country and prefer the Karzai government – despite its inability to provide law and security or stamp out corruption – to the Taliban.

All the while Jack Bin Layton, Gilles Duceppe and Stephane Dion talk about how the mission is a failure. They want to quit now that we're on the verge of victory. The Taliban are hated in Afghanistan, and they need to be exterminated.

Oh, and is this what it looks like to "force our lifestyle" on another culture? Because I think they like it.

Labels: Afghanistan, Bloc Quebecois, Dead Dictators, democracy, Fun With Polls, NDP, politics, Stephane Dion, Stephen Harper, Treason

Finally, the promise I've been waiting for!

"Imagine that, after a century and a half, democracy will finally come to the Senate of Canada."

That sound you hear is the boiling blood of Liberals everywhere.

Labels: Canadian Senate, democracy, politics, Stephen Harper