The gloves came off yesterday on Parliament’s first day back after its summer break, with Stephen Harper dealing the NDP what he evidently considers a fatal insult. Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition, according to the synchronized taunts of the Prime Minister and his Conservative minions, wants nothing more than to impose
Continue readingTag: thomas mulcair
Montreal Simon: Stephen Harper and the Big Lie
Well there they were again. The same tired old Con gang and their weird and whacked out leader. Blowing smoke out of every orifice, trying to smear their opponents. Lying like thieves. There’s only one problem with this alarmist scenario, which has been dutifully parroted by Conservative robomaulers across the
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: A Fact Check on Tory Lies
I suspect that the Harper regime’s capacity for fear-mongering, character assassination and bald-faced lies, so much in evidence in previous smear campaigns against Stephen Dion and Michael Ignatief, will have a greater challenge in confronting Thomas Muclair: H/t Larry Hubich Recommend this Post
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: The big lie and the bigger truth
Yes, it’s inevitable that Tom Mulcair will have to answer the Cons’ (however farcical) talking points about some nonexistent carbon tax. But there’s more to the story than the “big lie” currently being pointed out by Mulcair – and the best way to turn the issue back around on the
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Harris-Decima Poll: Has Thomas Mulcair’s waffling cost NDP support?
Has Mulcair’s waffling caused voters to start a fresh appraisal of the Mulcair-led Dippers? That just might be the case according to the latest poll showing slippage: Waffling Thomas A new poll gives the governing party a seven-point lead over the Opposition New Democrats — a cushion they may need
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: New column day
Here, on the importance of substance over spin in politics – and the counterproductive effect of dedicating a party’s resources to the opposite effect. For further reading…– As I’ve previously noted, the observations of Allan Gregg and Winslow Wheeler are here and here respectively.– Joe Klein discussed the impact of
Continue readingCalgary Grit: Charest’s Loss May Be Harper’s Gain
It was hard for Harper to say no to “the most federalist Premier in my lifetime”…and the one man who laughed at his jokes. Although the federal leaders executed Cirque Du Soleil worthy backflips to stay out of the Quebec election, the repercussions of this vote will be far reaching.
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: On timelines
For the most part, I tend to be skeptical that annual caucus retreats should be seen as having any substantive impact on the political scene. But the NDP’s meeting last week in St. John’s did provide some noteworthy news in the form of Tom Mulcair’s election readiness timeline: NDP Leader
Continue readingCuriosityCat: To know, know, know Mulcair, is to love, love, love him less
The tussle between the NDP, led by Thomas Mulcair, and the currently leaderless Liberal Party of Canada is heating up. And some Liberals are targeting the ambivalent positions of the NDP and its leader in a strategy to focus the attention of the media and of voters on essential policies
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Post-Confederate Albertans in Ottawa, the PQ in Quebec: Can Canada afford a national leader with no national vision?
Prime Minister Stephen Harper takes note of Quebec’s aspirations. Alberta politicians may not be exactly as illustrated. Below: Mr. Harper exhibiting the post-Confederation Alberta zeitgeist (Calgary Herald photo); PQ Leader Pauline Marois. With the PQ back in power in Quebec City, no matter how tenuously, one prays Stephen Harper can
Continue readingCuriosityCat: NDP’s Thomas Mulcair bamboozles media on Quebec referendum
Showing adept footwork (almost as good as that of Justin Trudeau in the boxing ring a short while ago), Thomas Mulcair has succeeded in persuading the media that he not only can have his cake on the framing of any Quebec sovereignty referendum question, but eat it too. To put
Continue readingA Different Point of View....: Bad news for the NDP and the rest of us, as Harper’s Conservatives pull even
It’s hard to believe, but — despite all the crimes, insults to Canadians and general incompetence — the Harper government has pulled even with the NDP in major opinion polls. The highly regarded Internet site, Threehundredeight.com, calculated all polls as of August 30 and showed the Conservatives at 33.9, the
Continue readingCanadian Progressive: New Democrats And Conservatives Tied at 34% each: Poll
The poll by Toronto-based Forum Research Inc is bad news for Tom Mulcair and the NDP. Real bad news for Canadian democracy. According to the National Post: With these voting intentions, an election today would see the Tories take 140 seats for a minority in Parliament while the NDP would grab 114 seats. Just last
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: On common viewpoints
I haven’t yet blogged about Angus Reid’s poll on how respondents see the economic issue ads released earlier this year by the NDP and Cons. But I’ll take a moment to point out both the most significant conclusion so far, and the next steps for the NDP in building toward
Continue readingLeDaro: Stephen Harper: Image Change
….in order to compete with Thomas Mulcair of NDP.
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week. – Jessica Bruno reports on Tom Mulcair’s first six months as leader of the NDP. But while it’s certainly a plus for pundits to recognize the NDP as a viable government in waiting, perhaps the most significant development is Mulcair’s ability to persuade Canadians
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Yes, it’s alarming that the Cons are eliminating environmental assessments on a huge number of projects. But even more worrisome is the complete lack of a connection between the basis for the exclusion and the possible environmental impacts: Ottawa is also walking away
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics blog: calgary-centre conservatives and liberals choosing their by-election candidates.
TweetOn Saturday, August 25, Conservative Party members in the riding of Calgary-Centre will choose a candidate to carry their party’s banner in an upcoming and yet-to-be called by-election. Six candidates are contesting the nomination. The Conservative candidate is widely expected to win the by-election in this moderate conservative voting downtown
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – As we approach the anniversary of Jack Layton’s death, Tom Mulcair discusses some of the lessons he learned from his predecessor as NDP leader: (W)hen Mulcair first joined the NDP caucus in 2007, he was sometimes frustrated by the ‘go-around’ sessions —
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: The final piece
Let’s follow up on the news that the NDP is planning to assemble a Quebec provincial party in time for the next election with a look at how the move would affect the NDP. And lest there be any doubt, I’d see the development as a huge plus for the
Continue reading