CanPol: May(?) 2011 Election. Vote today!

[notyoueither]

As a BTW, heard a blurb on the radio today. Something to the effect that 61% of Montrealers think favourably about the oil sands.

I think it is good for the rest of us to keep in mind that there are some squeaky wheels with agendas in the vicinity.

[Wezil]

It called me a Liberal, but then I'm a farily flaming shade of blue.

The rapidly dwindling Redis Torialis.

I think what's telling is the test where answering all in the slightly agree or answering all in the slightly disagree both yield a Liberal result.

It had me in the right quadrant (upper right) but way too close to the centre on both scales.

[notyoueither]

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Parliamentary+players+masks+slip/4533064/story.html

Parliamentary players let the masks slip
By Elizabeth Payne, Ottawa Citizen March 31, 2011


The circus left town last week. The show ended with a bang, and quickly the sawdust was swept up and the big top taken down - at least for the duration of the 41st federal election.

But first the performers took off their wigs and makeup, slapped each other on the backs and transformed from doers of larger-thanlife feats and villains, back into regular folks who fool the public for a living.

Being fooled for an hour or two by clowns or actors who create a fantasy world on stage for the public's entertainment and enlightenment is not such a bad thing. But when those clowns and actors are members of Parliament who create a fantasy battleground in the House of Commons every day that affects policy and public opinion, being fooled is quite another thing.

Amid the many extraordinary events that occurred on Parliament Hill last week -the stillborn federal budget, the last-minute rush to get Royal assent of bills, the contempt finding, the confidence vote that felled the government -I was stopped in my tracks by a sight that probably went unnoticed by most, and even warmed the hearts of some.

With the curtain coming down on Parliament, MPs, mortal enemies for public consumption, embraced, congratulated each other, shook hands and even teared up during tributes to those colleagues who won't be coming back, particularly retiring Speaker Peter Milliken, who deserves the public's deep gratitude for trying to maintain order in an increasingly unruly House.

The heartfelt gestures and crosspolitical kindness on the final day of Parliament before the election were touching in the way that watching people behave like decent humans always is. But it also made something crystal clear -what usually goes on for public consumption on Parliament Hill is nothing more than theatre staged for the yokels back home (that's us) -and for that reason, I found the sight of parliamentarians taking off their masks to show their real selves for a brief moment before the rhetoric ratchets up again profoundly depressing.

Sure, it has long been obvious that politicians become caricatures of themselves when a camera is trained on them in Question Period or even during committee hearings and beyond. But it's more than that. It's not just that many of them behave badly in Question Period, but that politicians from all parties knowingly fool the public into believing the spectacle is real.

That became obvious last year when John Baird was voted Parliamentarian of the Year, news that probably had those whose only knowledge of Baird is as the government's trained attack-dog in Question Period spewing their morning coffee.

Members of all political parties voted him the honour and many spoke sincerely about how much they value the work Baird does. Victoria NDP MP Denise Savoie even called him a model of courtesy and added that he might be the most attentive minister she has ever dealt with. Many who know Baird, including those who work with him locally, will not be surprised by this -but what about the rest of the voting public? Why does it make sense that the only face they ever see of one of the (previous) government's most powerful ministers -one who is widely praised by his colleagues for being just the kind of MP the public wants -is frequently frothing at the mouth? Is this the picture of Parliamentarian of the Year, they might ask?

There has been plenty of talk about civility in the House. Conservative MP Michael Chong even introduced a motion to reform Question Period, saying "If one thing has been made abundantly clear to me as a member of Parliament for the last number of years and to all of us in this House of Commons, it is that ordinary Canadians are disappointed with the level of behaviour in Question Period." The motion passed but the government fell before a package of reform ideas could be put together.

Maybe in the next Parliament?

Don't hold your breath. Play-acting outrage and hostility for the public is in the best interest of many politicians. It promotes a simplistic fiction that the world is black and white, that there is no room for compromise and that your politicians are in Ottawa doing battle for you. It tells the public that there is only one way to get things done -by yelling and arguing and banging desks.

It also manufactures a false sense of urgency about what does get done in Parliament -it implies the public is at risk or danger if it does not support the party doing battle on its behalf. It undermines the notion that co-operation and consensus are the best way to go about the (mostly) dull business of governing.

Keeping this fiction alive is costly to Canadians. That's something voters might want to raise when the federal election campaign circus comes to their town in upcoming weeks.

Elizabeth Payne is a member of the Citizen's editorial board.
© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen

[Asher]

I'd like to interject to say I took the Votecompass survey at CBC.ca (mentioned earlier)

It claims I am closest to the Liberals and furthest from the Greens.

Does it really call everyone a Liberal? Do you have a couple minutes Asher?

It said I should vote Liberal also. Definitely a crooked test.

[Wezil]

I always suspected you were a closet pinko. The Rev. Phelps of politics.

[Asher]

On the graph I was somewhere completely in the middle of the Liberals and Conservatives.

[Wezil]

Michael Ignatieff has issued an open letter to Stephen Harper urging him to reconsider a one-on-one debate, saying he will make it easy for him by meeting him “at the time and place of your choosing.”

Sent Friday – and it’s no April Fools joke – the Liberal Leader’s letter says he was disappointed “and puzzled when you reversed your commitment, and tried to back out yesterday.”

But, Mr. Ignatieff argues, it’s not too late to “rectify the situation.”

The Liberal chief has been ramping up the pressure on Mr. Harper since the Conservative Leader suggested he would meet his opponent for a one-on-one encounter – and later retracted.

Harper got cold feet.

[Asher]

Probably doesn't want to rock the boat: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/...rticle1966649/

Regional poll numbers could ‘turn over a lot of seats’ for Harper

This week’s surprise jump in support for the Liberals – at the expense of the NDP – has largely held for a second night in a row as nightly tracking by Nanos Research for the Globe and Mail and CTV shows little change in The national numbers.

Yet a closer look at the regional numbers shows the Conservatives have plenty of reason for optimism. Strong support in Ontario and British Columbia may just be enough to win Stephen Harper the majority he says his party needs.

“At 39 per cent support, they’re close to a majority,” pollster Nik Nanos said.

The Conservatives are in front with 39.4 per cent (up from 39.1 per cent the day before), followed by the Liberals at 31.7 per cent (down a point from 32.7 per cent), the Bloc Quebecois at 8.5 per cent (from 8.7 per cent), the NDP at 16.1 per cent (from 15.9 per cent) and the Greens at 4.4 per cent (up from 3.7 per cent).

The results are based on a rolling three day survey of 1,200 Canadians from March 29-31.

The early days of Mr. Harper’s tour has made no secret of the fact that the party is hoping to win new seats in Ontario – particularly the suburban ridings of the Greater Toronto Area.

The regional support numbers by Nanos Research appear to show those efforts are paying off. Support for the Conservatives in Ontario is higher now (47.2 per cent) than it was when Nanos Research polled Canadians on March 15, before the campaign began. At that time, Conservatives had 43.2 per cent support in Ontario.

The Liberal support in the province is holding steady at about 32.7 per cent, while NDP support is on a downward trend, sitting at 15.8 per cent. The Greens are at 4.2 per cent.

It is rare for the Conservatives to enjoy a 15 point lead in Ontario. Mr. Nanos said if that support holds, it will make a big difference in the campaign.

“It’s going to turn over a lot of seats,” he said.

In British Columbia, another province with several tight races that could have a major impact on Election Day, Conservatives enjoy a 10 point lead over the Liberals. Conservative support is at 40.1 per cent support in B.C., followed by the Liberals at 29.7 per cent and the NDP at 20.4 per cent. Prior to the campaign, the NDP was polling slightly ahead of the Liberals in B.C., but Liberals have beat out the NDP in B.C. in all three of the daily Nanos Research surveys released this week.

The Green Party’s campaign is almost entirely focused on getting party leader Elizabeth May elected in the Vancouver Island riding of Saanich–Gulf Islands. Regional support for the Greens in B.C. is at 9.8 per cent.



In other regional races, the Liberals enjoy a big lead in Atlantic Canada at 46.9 per cent, followed by the Conservatives at 30.6 per cent, the NDP at 19.7 per cent and the Greens at 2.9 per cent.

In Quebec, Nanos Research numbers show a downward trend in support for the Bloc (now at 35.6 per cent), and slight upward trends for the Liberals (at 26.5 per cent) and the Conservatives (at 22.1 per cent). Support for the NDP in Quebec has been largely stable since March 15 and is now at 13.6 per cent while the Greens are at two per cent.

Finally, the large Conservative lead in the Prairies continues to hold. The Tories are well in front with 51.6 per cent support, followed by the Liberals at 30 per cent, the NDP at 14.6 per cent and the Greens at 3.9 per cent.

Each night a new group of 400 interviews is added to the sample and the oldest group of 400 is dropped, producing a rolling average.

Nanos reports that its margin of error for a survey of 1,200 respondents is plus or minus 2.8 per cent, 19 times out of 20. The margin of error increases with regional numbers, which are drawn from smaller samples.

[Guynemer]

I'd just like to get on-record as saying that is absoultely adorable that Canadians have their very own elections, almost as if they were a real country and everything.

Not quite as adorable as Canada having its own navy, but cheek-pinchingly cute nevertheless.

[Wezil]

Probably doesn't want to rock the boat:

I agree which makes it a pretty stupid challenge to make in the first place. Now his backtracking speaks to the Liberal narrative about his character.

Harper is not a very good campaigner.

[Wezil]

I'd just like to get on-record as saying that is absoultely adorable that Canadians have their very own elections, almost as if they were a real country and everything.

Not quite as adorable as Canada having its own navy, but cheek-pinchingly cute nevertheless.

Thanks.

[notyoueither]

I'd just like to get on-record as saying that is absoultely adorable that Canadians have their very own elections, almost as if they were a real country and everything.

Not quite as adorable as Canada having its own navy, but cheek-pinchingly cute nevertheless.

We enjoy our free and fair elections. You guys should try it some time.

[notyoueither]

Kind of a dog's breakfast of a first week of campaigning.

Ignatieff is doing quite well. Harper is not performing as expected, but his support is buoyant where it will count. Layton is doing OK, but is bleeding support to the Liberals despite good effort.

I'm hoping for a more enlightening second week.

[notyoueither]

re May in the debate or not.

Did Harper smartly swamp the draft May movement by showing the media a shiney object in a one-on-one debate? The inclusion of a fourth dog dragging on the moose had an effect last time.

[Wezil]

He didn't need to help sink her debate bid as she wasn't getting in anyway. His one-on-one challenge was a gaff not a clever ploy.