Canada's Opposition Parties Vow to Bring Down Government, 1 month into its term...

[Asher]

Yeah, I'm sure the will of the voters is to spend $300M on yet another election.

It's also exceptionally stupid for Harper to announce an economic plan now. Why?
- Because our economy isn't THAT bad yet
- He needs to wait to see what Obama does, and work with him on it since our economies are so close

[Wezil]

I wonder how happy the Conservative backbench will be if Harper successfully bullies and bluffs his way out of government?

[Asher]

Originally posted by Wezil
I wonder how happy the Conservative backbench will be if Harper successfully bullies and bluffs his way out of government?

Never going to happen, zip up and move on.

[Wezil]

I sincerely hope you get to eat those words (not that you would ever admit you are wrong).

[Asher]

Originally posted by Wezil
I sincerely hope you get to eat those words (not that you would ever admit you are wrong).

I should clarify that it will happen eventually (it's a minority gov't), just not within a year and certainly not before the Liberals get a new leader.

I also think it's amusing that a coalition of dumb, dumber, and dumberer will be good for this country.

[Wezil]

Yes, I presumed that was what you meant.

Procedural delays may prevent such a motion from being voted on Monday but if the opposition parties do this it will definitely be before a year and before the Libs have a leadership vote.

The odds of it happening increased when the Conservatives blinked and the opposition didn't. There is no way the GG will call another election if the opposition come to her with agreement in hand.

[Sharpe]

It's more amusing that the "dumbest" - the Conservatives - are the ones who have potentially shot themselves in the foot by not doing anything about a stimulus package (which Harper had just promised the G20 he would do) or by the proposal to remove the party funding within 5 months in a minority parliament.

Frankly I'd be surprised if Flaherty keeps his job for much longer - there isn't just one bad proposal in his fiscal update, there are several. The banning of strikes until 2011 for public workers, the 2.3 billion or more in possible asset sales (great time to sell - when those things are worth the least in an economic recession) - don't think Ontarians forgot about the major asset sale Flaherty did - the 407 debacle which has turned out to be a disaster

Latest reports are that the Conservatives are scrambling like mad to compromise - desperately trying to clean up the mess they made. The Liberals are supposedly working on 4 motions - only one of which proposes the removal of the government.

[Asher]

Originally posted by Sharpe
It's more amusing that the "dumbest" - the Conservatives - are the ones who have potentially shot themselves in the foot by not doing anything about a stimulus package (which Harper had just promised the G20 he would do) or by the proposal to remove the party funding within 5 months in a minority parliament.

It would be most stupid to release the stimulus package RIGHT NOW, when it is not fully needed and before Obama releases his plans.

I don't think the people who want the "stimulus package now" understand basic economics or public policy.

[Sharpe]

Given that is my area of work, I have quite a bit more than basic knowledge of economics and public policy .

I can understand if they had even said that "we can't disclose a stimulus package now until we see what the other nations do (ie Obama's US package), but we did commit to one in the recent meeting", that might have been enough to stymie the opposition, but they didn't.

[Asher]

Originally posted by Sharpe
Given that is my area of work, I have quite a bit more than basic knowledge of economics and public policy .

I can understand if they had even said that "we can't disclose a stimulus package now until we see what the other nations do (ie Obama's US package), but we did commit to one in the recent meeting", that might have been enough to stymie the opposition, but they didn't.

Harper has committed to an economic stimulus package...

[Wezil]

Originally posted by Sharpe
It's more amusing that the "dumbest" - the Conservatives - are the ones who have potentially shot themselves in the foot...

Harper must have learned from Joe Clark.

"How to win and lose a government in 60 days"


edit - It appears Clark managed to hold on for 181 days. Stephen Harper is in record setting territory.

[KrazyHorse]

Originally posted by Sharpe
Given that is my area of work, I have quite a bit more than basic knowledge of economics and public policy

Explain what your proposal for a stimulus package would involve, in broad terms.

[Wezil]

Originally posted by Asher

I am completely flabbergasted that people are outraged that a political party is playing politics.

What is going on with the world? I'm deeply saddened right now that people are surprised.

The Globe editorial from this morning.

For an economist, Stephen Harper can certainly see a political opportunity faster than an economic mess. In the fiscal update yesterday, the government should have concerned itself with rallying the people – and the Parliament – of Canada behind a vigorous response to the global economic crisis. Instead, the proposals put forward by Jim Flaherty, the Minister of Finance, amounted to fiscal gerrymandering.

After the election, Mr. Harper promised a new, co-operative, less partisan approach to governing. He pledged to work with the opposition to deal with the economic crisis.

The most significant item in yesterday's update, however, was a manoeuvre that has nothing to do with the economy, and could needlessly plunge the government into chaos.

The proposed cancellation of public funding for political parties stands to save less than $30-million a year. If approved, it will mean that the Conservatives have no viable opposition in the next election.

Under rigid campaign finance laws introduced by Jean Chrétien, and strengthened by Mr. Harper, personal donations to political parties are limited to $1,100 annually, and corporate and union donations are banned outright. The $1.95 per vote in public financing was enacted to make up for the loss in donations. The Conservatives, who enjoy strong grassroots support and the power of government, will be able to cope. The Liberals have deplorably failed to develop a similar basis for their campaign finance. But a viable opposition is essential to our parliamentary democracy.

Barack Obama, the president-elect of the United States, won the Democratic Party's nomination and the presidency through grassroots election contributions, with countless small and large donations, doing without public money. But he has not now tried to abolish public election finance altogether.

Stéphane Dion, the Liberal Leader, said yesterday that his party would not support the economic update. The Liberals and the other opposition parties could hardly do so: The elimination of public financing would threaten their existence. As a result, unless the Tories drop the plan to scrap public financing, or else relax the donation limits, the government could fall in a matter of days or weeks – triggering yet another election, or a constitutional crisis over the Governor-General's power of dissolution, or an unstable minority government led by a previously lame-duck Liberal Leader.

By destabilizing their own government, the Conservatives have placed Canada at a competitive disadvantage against other states. Through gratuitous partisanship, they have turned an economic crisis into a political one.

They should withdraw their cynical attempt to rewrite election rules and concentrate on what matters: the world economic crisis.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081127.weParties28/BNStory/politics/home

[Asher]

The most significant item in yesterday's update, however, was a manoeuvre that has nothing to do with the economy, and could needlessly plunge the government into chaos.

Did you read this article and take it seriously, with gems like that?

Today was fantastic. I read about how Harper was destroying democracy in one op-ed, and this one says it would plunge the government into chaos.

Can someone explain to me how that would happen? What do these parties use their money for, aside from holding lavish shindigs they pass off as "conventions" and blasting the airwaves with ridiculous slander that would not be permitted on TV or radio if it were subject to regular advertising regulations?

[Wezil]

Sounds entirely accurate to me. Harper has plunged his government into chaos. The latest development is him using the procedural rules to put off the confidence vote for a week. You tell me what every conservative in ottawa will be doing/talking about for the next week? Saving their collective political ass because of actions of the leadership is the best guess.


You didn't miss an opportunity to take a shot at the messenger.