Wednesday, May 03, 2006

Dear Jack: Shut up. Just shut up.


Regarding the budget:

The NDP's Jack Layton added that his party cannot support the billions in corporate tax breaks the Tories are proposing.

"We will vote against it, but we will propose amendments. If Mr. Harper would accept a few changes, we're here to improve the budget, but we'll see," Mr. Layton said.

Dear Jack: Stephen is not going to "accept a few changes" based on your recommendations. Stephen doesn't give a fuck what you think since he already knows that, with the Bloc's support, his budget is going to pass so, really, Stephen couldn't possibly be less interested in your opinion about anything.

Deal with it.

5 comments:

MgS said...

Actually, although the Bloc has "agreed" to pass the budget, that isn't to say that they won't agree to amend it here and there as well.

Minority parliaments are funny beasts that way.

CC said...

Grog:

Your point is well taken but, if Stephen is going to some wheeling and dealing, I suspect he'll do it with the Bloc. I doubt Jack is going to be a factor here, regardless of what his fantasies are whispering in his ear.

MgS said...

Frankly, I don't expect Harper to listen to anything. The track record of CPC MPs out here is to ignore anyone who speaks a slightly different language.

Anonymous said...

Hypothetically, say the Bloc decides to try and force a few concessions out of him.If Harper does decide to deal with someone to pass the budget, who would he choose? Harper either has to deal with the NDP or the Bloc. So either the devil (which is what he called the NDP last budget time as I recall), or the separatists.

Politically, I have to think publically reworking a budget with the Bloc would absolutely kill him in some areas (no majority for you!), whereas reworking it with the NDP would kill him with his own base. Great choices, I hope he has to make one.

But most likely, the Bloc will let this one through untouched; they've already said (I can't find the link) that the next budget is the important one, assumably because of the child care funding commitments that will be killed at that point.

Robert McClelland said...

if Stephen is going to some wheeling and dealing, I suspect he'll do it with the Bloc.

He will if he has too, but I think he'd prefer to get the budget passed with either NDP or Liberal support. If it's done with only the Bloc support it carries the image that he's in league with the separatists. And we know image is everything to the conservatives.