This Is Why The Tories Are Ahead In The Polls

Forget the bullshit about cleaning up Ottawa, an election-friendly budget or the ass-kissing in Quebec - the real reason why the Tories are doing so well is because of the Liberals.

The Tories can thank us Grits for the fact that our leadership race is deflecting the attention of the media from all their blunders.

I mean, when you think about it, this race is a pretty good one - we've got eleven candidates and each one of them are more interesting than Harper could ever be:

1. Michael Ignatieff: Former Harvard prof, former broadcaster and soaking up a lot of the media attention.

2. Bob Rae: Former long-time and prominent Dipper who crosses over to become LPC leader.

3. Hedy Fry: Known for her sound bite faux pas'.

4. Joe Volpe: Former Immigration Minister

5. Maurizio Bevilaqua: Former junior Cabinet Minister

6. Gerard Kennedy: One of Ontario's most popular Provincial politicians.

7. Martha Hall-Findlay: Okay, so this one isn't that interesting.

8. Carolyn Bennet: Not very high profile, but she's a former junior Cabinet Minister and for someone low profile, she's really kicking ass. She's got a killer website and has come up with some pretty interesting ideas.

9. Stephane Dion: Kyoto, Clarity Act, need more?

10. Scott Brison: He's gay, had a blackberry mini scandal and he's a former Tory.

11. Ken Dryden: Hockey hero and former Social Development Minister.

Plus, on top of all these guys and gals, we also deterred attention from the Tories by having Belinda Stronach and Ashley MacIsaac talk about running.

Gawd, with this much entertainment coupled with the fact that Harper won't talk to the media, it's no wonder we're taking all the attention.

Harper Wants Elections Every Four Years

Prime Minister Stephen Harper says his government will introduce a bill next week to establish fixed federal election dates every four years except in cases where the government is defeated in a House of Commons vote or is otherwise "prevented from governing."

Hmmm... I truly think that the frontrunners in this race are scaring the shit out of those Tories. Personally, I think Ignatieff is the scariest of them all for the Tories, but I'm sure Kennedy, Rae and Dion are scary for them too.

Pedro Salutes Kennedy

Earlier this week, Calgary Grit posed that Kennedy was considering running for a seat in Western Canada. While I would discourage Kennedy from doing so, seeing as his roots wouldn't be very deep, I salute his intentions to try and make Western Canada feel more included. However, I don't really think that having a powerhouse, like Kennedy (you got it - in my books, he's a powerhouse), run in a Western province is really going to do much, but kudos to Kennedy for having the right intentions.

Western Canada (and by that, I mean West of Ontario - how arrogant), by no stretch of the imagination, is a homogenous entity. The politics is very different depending on the Province you are in, althought I don't really know because I have no idea of what goes on between Alberta and Manitoba. I usually just stick to my BC politics, but also follow the news in Ontario and Quebec.

To say that I, as a Westerner, will feel more included to have a strong candidate in the West, is a little unrealistic. Say he decides to run in Saskatchewan - won't make a difference to me; I have no idea what happens there (not a good thing, but let's be realistic). Even if he ran in Alberta - who cares?! I don't even care that our Prime Minister is from Calgary, and not just because he's an asshole, but because it really doesn't mean anything.

At the end of the day, it's not about where you are from, but what kind of policies you produce. Harper is from Alberta and the Province has been pissed that there isn't enough representation for them in Cabinet, etc, etc. I mean, the guy is from Alberta, but keeps dotting on Quebec!

To make the West feel more included, have Western-friendly policies would do so much more - hold more conferences out here, give us a Federal bureaucracy head quarters, give us more seats... There are other ways to make us feel more included in the federal political process than running a powerhouse out West.

BUT, having said that, I really do tip my hat off to Kennedy. I haven't met him personally, but I'm sure I would like him. The more and more I read of him, I'm realizing that he's the idealist-type. Perhaps it's his young age, but I think that he will bring so much to our Party in terms of renewal, raising our morale, bringing marginalized groups into the fold, maintaining our conscience etc. He definitely inspires me and give him a few more years of life experience and I hope to see him as our leader one day. In the meantime, support Iggy ;)

Oh, and as a side note, I am so impressed with all you Kennedy supporters - I think you guys (with few exceptions) are the nicest campaign team outside of the Ignatieff's crew, that I've come into contact with. Meanest campaign team goes to Fry for this stunt. Ouch.

Dhalla Declares Support For The Igg-Meister

I don't know what number this is for MPs supporting Iggs... Ruby Dhalla will also serve as National Campaign Co-Chair along with Senator David Smith and Denis Coderre.

I am so delighted to see Dhalla part of the team. She was first elected in 2004 as the Member of Parliament for Brampton-Springdale, and is the youngest woman MP. She is a community activist, doctor, entrepreneur and has been involved in the Liberal Party since the age of 12. Wow.

Here's what she had to say: “ We must empower women, youth and cultural communities with the right resources and tools for them to succeed in building the Canada they want. Our leader must be able to listen, to inspire and to empower Canadians and Liberals. I believe that leader is Michael Ignatieff. He has already attracted great interest from these groups and is in the best position to make Canada even more successful.”

Welcome aboard and best of luck, Ruby!

Fry Had Better Watch Herself

I am competely disappointed with the flyers that members of Hedy Fry's campaign have been handing out in downtown Calgary, begging people to become members of the Liberal Party so they can stop Michael Ignatieff. In fact, members of the "anything-but-Ignatieff" campaign even have a website.

In all fairness, the group distributing these flyers claim to not be Liberal members... still, though, they give an endorsement to Fry, so I'm thinking that's a big cover-up.

I hope Fry cleans this whole mess up very quickly. If she is so committed to rebuilding our Party, then she should stop this asap.
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*** Thanks to Aristo from One Warm Line, for raising attention to this.

Charest Flips Harper And Ambrose The Bird

Kudos to Quebec Premier, Jean Charest, for deciding to uphold Quebec’s end of the bargain when it comes to Kyoto.

This Tuesday, Charest told reporters that he is ready to act alone if the federal government reneges on its commitments to Kyoto, “the Quebec government is resolutely committed to Kyoto and we intend to soon announce our policy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions”.

I think it’s pretty clear to most, that the Tories are planning to derail Canada’s commitments to Kyoto. According to Liberal Environment Critic, Scott Brison, Harper’s government is the only government on Earth that's reducing its investments in the environment this year.

Yikes.

To make matters worse, Environment Minister Rona Ambrose is trying to use a non-existent ethanol announcement to distract Canadians from her plans for Kyoto.

Liberal Natural Resources Critic, Roy Cullen, stated in a press release that, “the Environment Minister’s failure to deliver her promised announcement regarding increased ethanol use in Canada is an overt attempt to detract from the fact that this government is not serious about fighting global warming or meeting Canada’s Kyoto commitments”.

Regardless of what the Tories might have in store, I truly hope that other Premiers follow suit. Our climate is changing fast and we need to stop making excuses about it.

To Liberal hopeful, Michael Ignatieff, thank you for realizing the importance of our environment:

"Canadian recognize that the quality of the environment is inextricably linked to their health, the competitiveness of our economy, and to the overall quality of life we enjoy. We are fortunate to have a substantial endowment of the world's natural resources and wilderness areas, and Canada has traditionally played a key role in advancing sustainability around the world."

It's just too bad that the Tories are neglecting this role. And to Ms. Ambrose: You are embarrassing us in Bonn. Well, actually I should write, Harper is making you embarrass us in Bonn, Rona.

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*** Thanks to A View From The Left, it was brought to my attention that now, Manitoba Premier Gary Doer has also said he has no intention of changing the province's commitment to its Kyoto targets, even if the federal government backs out of the agreement.