What a weaselly, lying piece of shit.
SO MUCH PURE DUMBASSITUDE: There is so much to mock in that CBC piece but here's my favourite bit:
Speaking to reporters Tuesday morning, Harper said the goal of the fixed election date — the next one being Oct. 19, 2009 — is to provide Canadians with some sense of certainty.
But he argued that in the context of a minority government like the current one, certainty is never possible because opposition parties are always threatening to vote against the ruling party on confidence motions and topple the government.
Quite right. Because having (and justifiably so, I might add) taunted and ridiculed the opposition mercilessly for months regarding their inability to vote against him even once, and even challenging them to do exactly that, Harper is now so terrified of the prospect that he must bring his own government crashing down to prevent the mere possibility of it.
And the media will nod indifferently, ignore the howling inconsistencies, file their stories, and move on to the next Ottawa dinner party. After all, those cocktail weenies aren't going to eat themselves, you know.
4 comments:
Be sure you scroll down to read the comments for that article, in the order of most recommended. You have to get to the 24th most popular comment before you find someone who's with Harper on this one.
Surely Harper knows that this is a hugely unpopular move on his part. Which tells me that not calling an election now will lead him to be even more unpopular. Why would that be? Is someone going to be led out of CPC headquarters in handcuffs over one of the many scandals under investigation? I can't think of why it would be, but it's the only rational explanation for why Harper is so hot for an election.
Have been wondering the same thing, m@. And a scandal breakout is at the top of my list of possible reasons, too. Other hypotheses:
- He knows something bad about the budget and wants to hold an election before we know it too.
- The economy is souring; in the short to medium run, it's all downhill from here. If you were going to run an election on, among other things, strong fiscal management (I know, I know), would you want to do so now or a year from now?
- He's anticipating a major Democratic win in the US, and is worried about the boost it might give to the opposition (progressive momentum; neocon dispair; Canadians' wanting their gov to be on good terms with the US gov; changes in military, economic and trade policy at odds with Harper's Bush-lite stance).
- Quebec: Dumont and the ADQ, to which he'd tried to hitch his wagon, are on the skids; Charest and the provincial Libs are increasingly estranged; and there's the post-Bernier disaffection, which may well worsen; the pre-by-election polling may be looking bad for the Tories, good for the Libs. Strike now while the fire is still a little bit hot?
- He's done a pretty good job at keeping a lid on the fringer elements of his party, but the longer he waits, the better the chances that a loony or two makes a really embarassing gaffe.
- The electorate is summer-lulled. If he calls an election on, say, September 2, before Parliament is back in session and the news cycle is in full swing, he avoids the possibility of death by a thousand cuts.
You know, it may not be one thing, just the realization that any number of things are going to get worse, that this is his last best chance.
You're probably right, Craig, that it's a convergence of a number of factors. I think Quebec is one of the more important items in the list, myself.
Paul Wells had a good post today on the counter-intuitive polling results in Quebec these days.
Thanks for the link, m@. Hadn't read today's La Presse article and so missed the CROP poll results. If the Cons' internal polling is showing the same thing, it would certainly be an inducement for Harper to act now. Funny thing though: my man-on-the-street impression is quite different. The Quebecers I interact with are increasingly turned off by Harper and company and lately seem to have a less visceral negative reaction to Dion (to the point that they might be willing to hold their nose and vote for him; nobody but nobody finds him inspiring). But that's purely subjective and my sample is small and entirely urban, while CROP has a pretty solid track record.
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