It was only 15-years ago. The Tories were led by Kim Campbell and she called an election she looked likely to win. When it was over there were but two Tories standing. They're certainly back, after a decade in the desert and a humiliating capitulation to the Reform/Alliance movement of Stephen "Uncle Joe" Harper.
So the Libs need to take heart in that the Dion loss, bad as it was, is still about 35 times better than the drubbing the Tories took way back when. We don't have nearly as much to do to rebuild. The core support of Canadians hasn't been lost, just temporarily displaced. Find the right chord that resonates with the electorate, start making Harper own his gaffes and excesses, and the Liberals will be back.
We have to face hard facts. We need a significantly different leadership than what we had during the first Harper administration, one that doesn't back down from him (or flee the Commons on tough votes), one that pins him to his own record. We need someone who connects with the Canadian public, a communicator and a fighter.
I can't entirely blame the Tories for smirking. They got cleanly away with so very much. Imagine Harper, who sat mute during the campaign, announcing less than one day after the polls had closed, plans to stack the Senate in order to force his notion of reform through the upper house. The guy was too cowardly, too craven, to seek a mandate from the voters on that one. He just pulled the wool over their eyes and he couldn't wait to make that plain, not even for 24-hours. Breathtaking.
No it's time to find a leader who'll put the boots to this scoundrel at every turn, time to form another rat pack to hound Harper relentlessly until everyone sees this character for what he is. It's time.
Canadians won't be so quick to forget the backroom dealing, "stuff your pants as quick as you can and pay off your friends" years of Da Boss from Shawinigan, and, until they do, I forsee a long trip in the wilderness for the Liberal Party of Toronto and Montreal.
ReplyDeleteCanadians, perhaps excepting you and a handful of others, are long past that now. Nice try, no banana.
ReplyDeleteThe Liberals need a total make over, until they do this adscam and shawingate will always be there. You notice Harper hasn't touched adscam and shawinigate, and these 2 things will always be in his arsenal. Clean house and start anew, there's to much back stabbing in the liberal party to do it any good. Dion was a deadman walking as soon as he won the leadership race, he was the wrong man for the job and most Liberals knew this.
ReplyDeleteNeed to address Anon's line of BS. It has been proven in court that not one single senior Liberal was involved with that situation, and the one "popularly named" person who was involved was also a part of the Mulroney government previously.
ReplyDeleteThe RCMP investigation of the Finance Dept (Lib gov) was proven to be of dubious nature, and the minister in that case was cleared of all allegations - unfortunately too late to impact the election, after the story rocked the election initially. There was no "Shawinigate" - and that was also proven in court. The reporter either made up the story, or was fed false information.
Don't trust my words... go research it in the regular MSM (not the Blogging Lava-Supposo-tories)...
Many thanks, as usual, WG
ReplyDeleteCheers
His rule last time was to push through things he knew he couldn't get away with (Fortier, Emerson for instance) right away, so they'd be forgotten by the next election.
ReplyDeleteHardly, WesternGrit; it was proven in court that Chretien undertook a program of malicious vengeance against the civil servant at the Business Development Bank of Canada who refused to approve a bad loan to Chretien's friend (so said friend could buy Chretien's interest in his golf club/hotel). How "senior" does someone have to be in the Liberal party to count as "senior" in your mind? The head of the party in Quebec (certainly someone I would consider to be "senior") certainly knew about the way in which Canadians were having their pockets picked by your gang of thieves, and the terms of reference of the investigation were so limited that we're NEVER going to get the full story.
ReplyDeleteCanadians like to think they have the most honest government in the world. Try living outside of Canada for a number of years and one learns just how corruptable any government in power is including Canada. Canadians need to get off the stupidity of drawing the party line. First, the Prime Minister needs to be voted into power separately from the party.....that is so very vital in Canada now. Second, the Senate needs to be voted into position as well. Money is what makes a Prime Minister in Canada and nothing else. It's about time people speak openly about what is really going on in Canadian politics. People who think one party line and defend it as if it is the be all and end all of everything, have nothing but tunnel vision. Call yourself "Liberal" all you want, if you can't see beyond the garbage within the party and do something about it, then you have "bean" vision. This is the only way government will be handed back to the people instead of the obscenely wealthy who don't have any idea what the word "sustainability" means nor do they care. Morris
ReplyDeleteActually AM, I have yet to meet a Canadian who thinks we have the most honest government in the world. I credit Canadians with being remarkably realistic about the corruption that exists and, more importantly, the corruption that can grow if it's not constantly kept in check by a vigilant electorate. You may have been out of the country too long.
ReplyDeleteMOS....I spent all of last year in Canada on the Island. I have not been totally out of the Country. Many Canadians are so caught up in trying to make a living, they don't have time for what is happening in government......and that is another important point. In a country like Canada, all Canadians should be making a "living" wage. All one has to do is look at Alberta with its measly minimum wage of just over $7.00 dollars an hour.....just a travesty. But people who run Wendys or McDonalds can bring in people from other countries, buy a house, house the foreign workers in it while the foreign worker pays the mortage and all on $10.00 dollars an hour. While on the Island last year, I was offered 11.00 an hour to work in an office doing the job equivalent to the assistant to the VP.....who lives on 11.00 an hour on Vancouver Island? Morris
ReplyDeleteAnonymous... I think you need to check your facts once again. The Shawinigate being a farce story was all over the media just last winter. Mr. Cretien was absolved of ANY wrong-doing in court. The only story that there is, is the dream that bounces around the vacant corridors of some Conservative droids mind...
ReplyDeleteAnd, as far as the Adscam stuff, once again, you guys try to attack our honest elected members. NONE of them were implicated. You know, I was VP Finance in Sask. for a while - an elected party position - and if I had been in a similar boat, I still would have been a nobody. You're talking about a VOLUNTEER who was helping organize advertising in a campaign... and even this person was cleared. The ad agency folks, on the other hand weren't. I know you've tried to call them "Liberal friends", but these agencies have done work for the Conservatives as recently as the past election... For the ad guys, it was all about the money, and getting business from the government - any government. It was scandalous business practices - not scandalous government.
I've been around both the Conservative and Liberal fundraising mechanisms. I have experienced literally hundreds of people of many political strips (provincially) who buy party memberships (of all parties - when in power) to try to curry favor with the incumbents and score contracts... I know of at least a dozen Alberta Tories who do so... It's why big firms used to give big to the ruling parties of every province - even if they don't agree with the politics.
Mr. Cretien's reforms took care of this skullduggery...