Liberal Party hemmoraging..so party president goes vacationing

Liberal party president (Senator) Marie Poulin, was nowhere to be found on Tuesday.

While her office refused to comment, confirming only she was not going to be present for the reading of the speech from the throne, sources said Poulin is vacationing in Bermuda.

CTV

Great time for a party president to be on vacation, don't you think? Not that there is a crisis in her party or anything. And Senate attendance is certainly optional, especially during a speech from the Throne.

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Stephane Dion can't find a right hand man..or woman..for Quebec

After the disastrous by-elections in Quebec last month, Stephane Dion followed the rantings of the pro-Ignatieff lobby and declared Denis Coderre would be replacing Marcel Proulx as his Quebec lieutenant.

Once Proulx heard that he was to be replaced with Denis Coderre, he quickly resigned.

Then Coderre flip-flopped on his acceptance of the position, and declined to take the post.

Then Dion approached Celine Herveux-Payette, who quickly said no.

Now Montreal area MP Pablo Rodriguez has also declined to take Stephane up on his offer.

So after all their squealing, the pro-Iggy cadre now want no part of Dion's organizing efforts in Quebec. So who does that leave to guide the Liberal Party in Quebec? Well, it leaves Marcel Proulx, who Dion apparently approached and offered a second chance at the job. Proulx politely told Dion where to shove his offer.

The question now is: Who the heck is going to end up in the position of the Liberal Party's Quebec Lieutenant? Are they going to be able to turn anything around? Not likely.

Has Stephane Dion tried asking Jason Cherniak? He is looking for a new job and is up for a challenge.


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update: Celine has come back and said yes! Praise be.

Ontarians won't vote Liberal twice in one election cycle

The Dalton McGuinty win in the Ontario provincial election is the final nail in the coffin of the Stephane Dion led federal Liberal Party.

John Tory lost solely due to his gaffe on Faith Based Funding for schools. Also known as the far less menacing, Inclusive Education Funding. As I've stated before, it was a dumb idea, voted in by a short sighted membership, and inadequately sold by an earnest but ultimately ineffective leader.

But with the provincial Liberal record of lies and broken promises, my guess is that thousands of Ontarians feel a little bitter about having to vote for Dalton. But they will have a chance to get back at the Liberal brand; at Dion's expense.

Dalton got electorally lucky. Now Stephane is now in for an electoral bruising.

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It's the $900 tax cut, stupid

The 5 faux-pas' of John Tory's Ontario campaign.

Mistake #1. Not coming out of the gate saying they were going to cut the McGuinty $900 health tax.

Mistake #2. Coming up with the idea of tinkering with the school system, especially in a fall election. Bad move.

Everyone is already spending their September all stressed out about getting their kids into school, and then Tory comes along and adds to their school-related stress. McGuinty's stay the course solution obviously offers more comfort to the voters.

Mistake #3. Spending three-quarters of the election on the defensive trying to explain their education idea, instead of saying they were going to cut the McGuinty $900 health tax.

Mistake #4. Offering a free vote on their education idea, instead of talking about their plan to cut the McGuinty $900 health tax.

Mistake #5. Talking about anything else right now other than the fact they plan to cut the $900 McGuinty health tax.


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CTV's Robert Fife drums up the wrong facts?

It has been quite some time since Robert Fife broke a political news story. Likely because in past Liberal governments, inside info was extremely easy to come across; a trend we see continuing in the Liberal Party today.

With the Conservative government's tight hold on messaging resulting in less leaks to media, is Robert's lust for breaking news leading him to see things that aren't there?

Robert Fife hit the airwaves last night with a tale from an anonymous source that the Government had decided to replace General Hillier as the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), and would not be renewing his term appointment.

Today, first Defence Minister Peter MacKay, then Prime Minister Stephen Harper, shot down Fife's erroneous report. Both added that the service provided by General Hillier, in his role as leader of the Canadian Armed Forces, has been top-notch.

"There has been no discussion in my office or with me with any senior officials about the possibility of changing the Chief of Defence Staff," said Harper.

And it should be pointed out that being the Chief of Defence Staff does not come with a set "term". The CDS serves at the pleasure of the Prime Minister, so there is no term to extend or end anyway.

So not only has the PM not been planning to evict Hillier from his job, the subject hasn't even come up for discussion. That is because the government, and most Canadians, realize that the General has been doing a great job. And as the Prime Minister stated, "As a matter of fact, I think I just approved a pretty good rating for (him)."

In the end, it would appear that Fife's source was seriously misinformed, and Robert could lose a great deal of credibility.

Or, is there a chance that he was purposely fed that information, so the resulting story could tell the "my way or the highway" general that he had better start toeing the government line, or he could easily be replaced?

Naahh, who could be that politically devious?

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Gilles Duceppe to quit (again) - will he give up Canadian pension?

Word has come out that separatist Bloc Quebecois leader Gilles Duceppe will be retiring after the next federal election.

The question I'd be asking him is, as a staunch defender of the right for Quebec to exist as an independent country, will he now announce that he will decline to collect the MP pension provided to him by the taxpayers of Canada?

Or will he continue to suck on the teat of Canadian largesse for the rest of his life?

Hypocrite or Patriot. Which is it Gilles?

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