More Political Posturing
Have you ever run into one of those "If you don't..., I'm gonna...!" type people?
Aren't they annoying?
Canada has two of them at the moment -- Harper and Layton. Well, maybe Duceppe, as well, but he's not being mentioned by name in this story.
This particular quote caught my attention, as the question has been in the back of my mind for weeks, now:
"You've got to ask yourself, why can't the opposition wait eight weeks for the election call."
Why, indeed? What's the rush? I'm thinking there's gotta be a reason Harper, Layton, and Duceppe are so damned desperate to not wait until the final Gomery report is issued.
So, let's do what the rest of the country, and most of the media are doing. But let's not pussyfoot around and call it by a pretty name -- let us call it what it is when you speculate without having all the information...
Let's indulge in some wild-ass guessing!
And the question you need to have in the forefront, when you think about each of the Three in turn, is: Qui bono?
Who benefits?
You can leave the Electorate out of the equation. You and I don't count. We vote, but nothing changes because this is not a democracy -- it's a top-down system of government, and the people you vote for do not represent you to the government; they justify the government to you.
So, in whose best interests is it that we not wait for the final Gomery report before we go to the polls?
Use this as a reference guide while you're trying to decide who benefits most from a sooner election -- scroll down and choose whatever is not highlighted in green or pink (yellow would be the good ones to look at because they are closest to being passed).
Give us your best guess. Show your work (or at least quote the Bill number so the rest of us can find it easily).
And keep in mind that it need not be a Liberal bill that they're trying to block. It might be a Bloc bill that Harper wants killed, or a CPC bill that Layton doesn't like. Or it might be several bills that any/all of the Three don't want to have see the light of the Senate chamber.
Ready? Set? GO!
Aren't they annoying?
Canada has two of them at the moment -- Harper and Layton. Well, maybe Duceppe, as well, but he's not being mentioned by name in this story.
This particular quote caught my attention, as the question has been in the back of my mind for weeks, now:
"You've got to ask yourself, why can't the opposition wait eight weeks for the election call."
Why, indeed? What's the rush? I'm thinking there's gotta be a reason Harper, Layton, and Duceppe are so damned desperate to not wait until the final Gomery report is issued.
So, let's do what the rest of the country, and most of the media are doing. But let's not pussyfoot around and call it by a pretty name -- let us call it what it is when you speculate without having all the information...
Let's indulge in some wild-ass guessing!
And the question you need to have in the forefront, when you think about each of the Three in turn, is: Qui bono?
Who benefits?
You can leave the Electorate out of the equation. You and I don't count. We vote, but nothing changes because this is not a democracy -- it's a top-down system of government, and the people you vote for do not represent you to the government; they justify the government to you.
So, in whose best interests is it that we not wait for the final Gomery report before we go to the polls?
Use this as a reference guide while you're trying to decide who benefits most from a sooner election -- scroll down and choose whatever is not highlighted in green or pink (yellow would be the good ones to look at because they are closest to being passed).
Give us your best guess. Show your work (or at least quote the Bill number so the rest of us can find it easily).
And keep in mind that it need not be a Liberal bill that they're trying to block. It might be a Bloc bill that Harper wants killed, or a CPC bill that Layton doesn't like. Or it might be several bills that any/all of the Three don't want to have see the light of the Senate chamber.
Ready? Set? GO!
posted by Chimera at 12:41 PM
3 Comments:
Definitly in the Liberals best interests to wait for an election, as Canadians have a pretty short memory when it comes to political scandals. Also probably why the opposition wants to hold the vote sooner rather than later.
I'm listening to the news right now, and I can't for the life of me figure out how the Liberals are at 33%, it makes absolutly no sense. Some countries would already have the party leader in prison for what has happened...
I dunno, Dazz; I think it's something else, and I can't exactly put my finger on it...
Voters have short memories to a point. But there are still a lot of people who remember Lyin' Brian -- especially with his recent little lawsuit -- and Joe Clark, and how ineptly or insanely they governed. And now, here's Harper, looking frantical and fanatical, and they equate. Doesn't matter that the Tories of today are a whole different breed than Clark and Mulroney -- they're not longer Progressive Conservative; they're Reformers in disguise (and people know that, and maybe that, too, has something to do with the Tories' low numbers).
Putting the party leader in prison would be good if you get the correct party leader. Makes no difference now what the anti-Liberal crowd thinks: Gomery has vindicated Martin of all blame, if not all responsibility. Chretien is the guy you gotta nail, and he's slippery than an eel in a gumbo patch. He learned that from Trudeau, another beloved/reviled leader.
And you'd think that the opposition would benefit by having the vote sooner rather than later (although Martin will be able to set the time frame), but I don't think that's the case here. I think the opposition parties are going to get their heads handed to them. Oh, the Bloc will gain, I think (the rest of Canada is beating up on them again because of AdScam, and that will glue the separatistes together). But The NDP and the Tories will lose ground.
Martin is going to come back with a majority.
*Janus* I can't believe I actually said what I've been thinking! Not wishing for, mind you -- just thinking...
Yikes, I hope you're wrong, Chimera. But I really think the urgency is due to a number of things: the overall corruption (Gomery alone wouldn't be enough, but look at TPC, just starting to brew, look at Dingwall's severance, and now Pelletier's going to be bought out); the fact that Martin is spending like a drunken sailor with no obvious plan (other than buying votes)...
Layton was losing his shine and I think Broadbent and his ilk were putting serious pressure on Layton to quit making deals with the devil (especially when the devil turns around and renegs and/or makes the spending promises for so far down the road that we may never see it). You can't call PMPM a crook or corrupt one day, and make a deal with him the next (unless you're Stronach).
And all 3 parties are in agmt - I think Harper & Duceppe want to get the job done before Layton flip flops again.
I sincerely doubt Harper & Layton will be handed their heads. There are an awful lot of people that want to see an election, and not just Albertans, IMHO.
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