Deficits? Deficits.

Okay, so the election was totally so long ago that I mean who could possibly have foreseen the need to run a deficit over a month ago. Now things are completely different!

The Conservatives are the party of deficit spending in federal politics. Let us make no mistake about that. It’s likely not an accident or a confluence of circumstances either – it’s purposeful, Harper wants a deficit.

To my Liberal friends II

You can’t be the Bono Party

Last time I wrote some unsolicited advice to the Grits, it was that they should keep it simple. This time I want to talk about the kind of issues that the Libs should highlight. In this spirit I want to talk about the danger of being what you could call the Bono Party. By this I mean that the Liberal Party cannot be the party of wealthy people who have something of a social conscience. There’s nothing wrong with appealing to those who are wealthy and socially concerned, but they aren’t much of majority. The Liberals really could have done with some of the platform planks that the NDP championed, simple stuff like taking on Canada’s overpriced ATM fees.

This is not to mean that the Liberals should ignore things that require big solutions such as the environment or international development or what-have-you, just that they need to give central role to policies that have a more pedestrian appeal. I imagine that Harper has a number of his own grand schemes – expanding the military or further integration with the US economy might be among them – but he doesn’t make those into campaign centerpieces.

Stay out of Toronto, Peter Kent

Once again more evidence that no one should vote Conservative in Toronto. This morning Peter Kent complained about the voters in St. Pauls and claimed that 905’s Thornhill is a riding more capable of “rational thought.” I love how the Cons keep insulting Toronto and Torontonians in the hopes that we can be berated into supporting them. Kent further went on to suggest that urban voters vote “against their interests” as if we are too dim to see the light of Harpermania. Or something.

Good riddance, Peter, stay north of Steeles Ave.

Liveblogging the Election

To kick things off, here’s a shot of my high-tech media command centre:

Everything after this is in reverse chronological order. No results until all polls close.

11:20pm: Okay, still a Con minority, still the same MP in my riding. I’m going to bed, more reflection tomorrow.

11:19pm: Local news – Olivia Chow is still my MP.

11:15pm: Oh well, at least electoral reform is a popular topic on twitter.

11:07pm: I tried to give Dion the benefit of the doubt since he became Liberal leader, it becomes much harder after tonight.

11:02pm: Crackpot far-right-winger Peter Kent may take Susan Kadis’ seat, ugh.

10:58pm: The Cons looks like they’re going to be frozen out of Toronto proper. Good.

10:46pm: Conservative minority government according to CBC.

10:44pm: Thank goodness that the good people of Quebec had the sense too put the brakes on the Harper sweater-vest steamroller.

10:41pm: Looks like Garth Turner is out in Halton. But Gerrard Kennedy is in.

10:38pm: 140 seats for the Cons, a little close for comfort.

10:31pm: Fortier can’t win a seat! Hah! Back to the senate?

10:30pm: Credit to Dion – I’m impressed that the Liberals are strong in Quebec at all. Good job there, Stephane.

10:29pm: The story emerging is that the Cons lost it in Quebec, otherwise they’d have won it in Ontario.

10:26pm: Still think Dion’s job is in jeopardy.

10:25pm: Probably another Con minority – even Rick Anderson says so.

10:23pm: Rona Ambrose is headed back to Ottawa so she can continue to be useless.

10:21pm: In my riding, Trinity-Spadina, it looks like Olivia Chow is going to squeak through again.

10:14pm: The prospect of any Con seat inside the 416 (i.e.: Toronto proper) is disgusting. John Turner said the voters are never wrong. Bullshit. Con-voting Torontonians must have some kind of political equivalent of a death-wish. Get ready for everything to suck.

10:12pm: It looks like things are going to be uncomfortably close to a Con majority. Sigh…

10:09pm: Carolyn Bennett looks to be winning her riding. It’s nice to see that the people of St. Pauls were not intimidated by a few terrorist acts.

10:05pm: So is Dion going to resign or what? The Cons are appearing to make inroads in Ontario after telling the world it was the “last place” to invest.

10:03pm: Elizabeth May failed to knock off Peter MacKay and really has nothing to show for her party’s efforts in terms of seats.

10:00pm: All the polls are closed. CBC says Conservative government. Shit. Fingers crossed for a minority government.

9:53pm: Why do so many Green candidates look like bike couriers?

9:34pm: It’s weird having a picture of my computer on my computer.

Voting Day -1

Some random thoughts:

It’s all over tomorrow. From what the polls are saying, this looks like it may be a parliament nearly identical to the one that preceded it. One thing I would like to see is that the Conservatives make no more inroads in Ontario. It is still unconscionable to me that Flaherty would badmouth this province as the “last place” to invest because he was unsatisfied with our corporate tax rates. Whatever you feel about tax rates the sheer stupidity of a federal ministry deriding one province as no place to do business because it frustrated his goal of creating a low-tax “brand” for Canada is mind-boggling. By the way Jim, the fact that equalization screws over Ontario may also have something to do with our tax rates.

I really hope that Harper does not get a majority, I like my iPod.

Does anyone know what Harper would do with a majority? His government put up the censorship provisions in bill C10 (something they surely did not run on) and then dropped them in the new platform. Remember income trusts? The greatest threat from Harper is that it is simply impossible to predict what policies he will implement. He might extend the Afghan mission indefinitely, or break up the CBC or, well, who knows?

This could be three minority parliaments in row. Has the sky fallen? Proportional representation will seem less scary the more we see minority governments operate just fine.

More Evidence of Harper’s Long-Term Plan

Here’s what he said today (via Blues Clair):

“I said for a long time, and nobody listened to me for the longest time, that my goal was to make conservatism the natural governing philosophy of the country.”

I’ve posted about this elsewhere. Harper doesn’t want to win this election, he wants to win the next ten elections. This man wants his own Reagan revolution for this country.

Feeling Powerless in Toronto

I really want to help stop Stephen Harper from being Prime Minister again, but when I look around my downtown Toronto neighbourhood I don’t see anywhere that he’s threatening to pick up seats that’s anywhere near where I live. Those of you in battleground ridings, you have a real opportunity – I envy that. All I have is this blog.

Hey Reformers, ever get the feeling you’ve been cheated?

Being the left-leaning type that I am, I can’t say that I’d be a supporter of the old Reform party, yet I can’t help but think that some of the reasons that the party was formed were perfectly reasonable. By the late 1980s the people that were putting together the Reform Party were upset with a Progressive Conservative Party that had, in their opinion, lost its way. Being mainly Westerners, the Reformers felt that their region had been ignored by Mulroney’s PCs who were bent picking up the nationalist vote in Quebec. They also weren’t fond of Mulroney’s deficit-spending, something that they thought wasn’t very fiscally conservative. Last, but certainly not least, Reform sought to create a more grassroots type of party where the rank-and-file could be heard.

Fast forward 20 years. The PC party imploded, Reform became the dominant conservative party in Canada and ultimately engineered a takeover of the PC rump that was disguised as a merger of equals. This new Conservative Party is now on the threshold of a majority government. Reformers should feel justifiably proud. Or should they? Right now it appears as though Harper is going to try for his majority by chasing Quebec votes, spending like a drunken sailor, and running on a platform that is essentially the cult of the leader (sorry, grassroots). So Reformers, ever get the feeling you’ve been cheated?

Conservative Platform ‘08: The Cult of the Leader

There was a story on the CBC tonight as I drove home discussing another round of pre-election ads featuring Stephen Harper as a nice man who likes being a dad. Good for you Steve! Every parent who has any social graces can launch into how parenting is the greatest thing ever. Great. Now tell us what in the hell you would like to do if you got your sought-after majority. You can hate on the Liberal Green-Shift policy, but at least it’s a, you know, actual policy!

Stephen Harper – he’s a creepy leader

I’m sure many Canadians have now seen the Conservative ads talking about how Stephen Harper is nice. What makes me laugh every time is the terrible creepy smile he gives at the end of them. He looks like Willem Dafoe in Shadow of the Vampire, it’s terrible.