Election 2011

[Retired AF Guy]

The latest wrinkle (reproduced under S29 of the Copyright Act):

NDP candidate withdraws, backs Liberal

LONDON, Ont. -- In a move that has reignited talk of a coalition, an NDP candidate in this southern Ontario city has surprised everyone, including his own party, by withdrawing from the election race and throwing his support behind his Liberal rival.

Ryan Dolby, who was running in Elgin-Middlesex-London, made the announcement in a press release e-mailed to the media, party officials and others Wednesday morning.

"I am worried if Stephen Harper gets a majority. I made a strategic decision," Dolby said.

He was running against Liberal Graham Warwick and Conservative incumbent Joe Preston.

Asked if he had warned NDP officials either locally or nationally, Dolby said he thought it would be best to let everyone know at the same time.

Ignatieff said Dolby's decision "came as a pleasant surprise," but Ignatieff denied it's part of a broader vote-splitting deal with the NDP to defeat the Tories.

"I learned this about 10 minutes ago," he said at policy announcement in Vancouver.

"No deal, none whatsoever," he said.

Senior Conservative spokesman Dimitri Soudas said Dolby's decision to drop out of the race and support "his coalition partner, the Liberal candidate," is further evidence of what Prime Minister Stephen Harper has been warning against all along.

"The Liberals and the NDP are deviously scheming to help each other in ridings across the country. Quite frankly, what further proof is needed that they (Liberals) will form a coalition with the NDP and the Bloc Quebecois?"

He added: "One question we have is, will Jack Layton replace his candidate?"

NDP Leader Jack Layton wasted no time answering that question.

“We’ll have a nomination within 48 hours," he said. "We are a well-organized political team."

Article Link

 

[Edward Campbell]

And again, according to this article, reproduced under the Fair Dealing provisions (§29) of the Copyright Act from today’s Globe and Mail:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ottawa-notebook/fantinos-liberal-rival-defects-throws-support-behind-tories/article1963805/

Fantino’s Liberal rival defects, throws support behind Tories

DANIEL LEBLANC
OTTAWA— Globe and Mail Update

Posted on Wednesday, March 30, 2011

The Liberal candidate in a recent federal by-election in Ontario has abruptly switched camps and joined the Conservative campaign.

Tony Genco waged a fierce battle for the suburban riding of Vaughan last fall, losing to Conservative candidate Julian Fantino. It was a key by-election because it represented the fall of a traditionally Liberal riding, but also the rise of the Conservative Party in the Greater Toronto Area. Mr. Fantino quickly became a key member of the Conservative team in Ottawa, where he was appointed minister of state for seniors.

In a surprising move, Mr. Genco endorsed Mr. Fantino and dismissed the Liberal Party as out of touch with a majority of Canadians.

“I now encourage every Liberal in Vaughan to seriously reconsider their support for the Liberal Party and support the Conservative Party of Canada and Julian Fantino,” Mr. Genco wrote in an open letter.

“The Liberal Party is adrift continuing to be nostalgic about its historic contributions and past glories, without having built from those successes of the past to renew its ideas to reflect the needs of the new modern Canada,” he said.

It was the second major surprise of the day to hit a local campaign in Ontario. The NDP’s candidate in Elgin-Middlesex-London, Ryan Dolby, resigned and endorsed the Liberal Party, saying it was the best way to stop the Conservative Party from obtaining a majority.

While the Liberals welcomed Mr. Dolby’s endorsement, a party spokesman expressed “disappointment” at Mr. Genco’s decision.

“It is now up to Mr. Genco to reconcile today’s endorsement with the criticisms and attacks he levelled against the Conservative Party and Julian Fantino just four months ago,” Liberal spokesman Marc Roy said.

The Liberals also released a list of attacks that Mr. Genco launched against the Conservative Party during the by-election.

“After running up a record deficit – including a billion dollars wasted on the G8 and G20 – Stephen Harper has chosen tax breaks for large corporations, untendered stealth fighter jets, and new super-prisons. Those don’t sound like Vaughan’s priorities, The choice for Vaughan is clear. Let’s send Stephen Harper a message he can’t ignore: the people of Vaughan do not support his government,” Mr. Genco said.

Fun and games.

 

[GR66]

Very true but the cynic in me says that that statement could also be translated to "Western Canada is going to take it in the wallet again!" ;D

KJK

Don't worry....the West has both energy and food.  I don't see the world prices of either going down any time soon.  A system like this wouldn't be put in place overnight either....and the negative market incentives against high energy use will also trigger innovation in energy efficiency...even in your SUV.

 

[observor 69]

Exhibit C: From the Conservative campaign trail, this Tweet by CTV's Robert Fife: @RobertFife: At Brampton plant, Harper put workgloves on backwards. Laureen showed him how they were to be worn.
http://thestar.blogs.com/politics/2011/03/-king-for-a-day.html

Remind anyone of this?

 

[Jed]

Somehow putting gloves on backwards just does not equate to putting a helmet on backwards or a hair net on your noggin in a chesse factory, etc. Just my opinion though.

 

[OldSolduer]

I'm telling youg guys that you'll get better governance from the Cat in the Hat and Yertle the Turtle than some of these guys.

I do not like green eggs and ham. Said Sam I Am.....might make a good Minister of the Environment.

 

[Retired AF Guy]

Exhibit C: From the Conservative campaign trail, this Tweet by CTV's Robert Fife: @RobertFife: At Brampton plant, Harper put workgloves on backwards. Laureen showed him how they were to be worn.

How do you put work gloves on backwards??  ???

 

[a_majoor]

This is like one of those dreams where you are running down a hall which never ends.....

http://paulsrants-paulsstuff.blogspot.com/2011/03/ignatieff-finally-admits-plan-to-take.html

Ignatieff Finally Admits Plan To Take Power From A Conservative Minority...

I've done two previous posts this week begging someone in the media to ask Ignatieff if he would support a Conservative minority budget should Stephen Harper win another minority government. I actually left a comment for the National Post's John Ivison on a column he did about the coalition talk being done with and put to rest, asking him to ask Ignatieff that question. Today we got the answer: "

VANCOUVER — Michael Ignatieff has said he would not be able to support a Conservative budget, if it is the same one that was rejected by the three opposition parties last week. In a broad-ranging interview with the National Post, the Liberal leader was asked if he could support the same budget that Jim Flaherty, the Finance Minister, introduced in the House of Commons last week.

“I think we’ve given a clear answer on that question,” he said. If they win, the Conservatives would be obliged to bring down a budget and Mr. Flaherty has already said he intends to re-introduce the same financial plan that the three opposition parties rejected. Indeed, the Conservatives have been campaigning on many of the measures contained in Mr. Flaherty’s plan.

It suggests the country is destined for an endless cycle of elections until one side or another wins a majority government. The Conservatives have accused Mr. Ignatieff of hatching a plan to form a coalition government with the NDP, supported by the Bloc Québécois, and Mr. Ignatieff’s admission that he could not support Mr. Flaherty’s budget will add to suspicions that the opposition parties are planning to act in concert. Mr. Ignatieff ruled out a coalition or a formal agreement with the Bloc on Saturday.

 

[Scott]

When I used the application I received a result of Social Conservative, which is a quite accurate.

Right where I landed...and it told me to vote Liberal.

Then I went and tried messing with it and it told me to vote Liberal.

Anyone remember the online career chooser the CF used to have? You'd answer bunches of multiple choice questions and be given a list of trades you might want to check out. No matter if you said you hated cooking and could not even boil water the bloody thing would suggest that you become a cook.

I could have sorted this Liberal as an answer problem with one question:

How much do you trust Michael Ignatieff?
a) about as much as I trust Stephen Harper
b) about as much as Jack Layton
c) about as far as I could throw Bev Oda
d) about as much as Gilles Duceppe

And I'd likely still be told to vote Liberal. :facepalm:

Objectivity: Fail.

 

[Edward Campbell]

Here is this morning’s projection from ThreeHundredEight.com:

Source: http://www.threehundredeight.blogspot.com/

Source: http://www.threehundredeight.blogspot.com/

The reasons for the changes, reproduced under the Fair Dealing provisions (§29) of the Copyright Act from ThreeHundredEight.com, are:

Liberals see an uptick in vote, Bloc gains a seat

Nanos Research's daily tracking has already come up with its first little shift, putting the Liberals within seven points of the Conservatives. And when we add the riding polls recently released by Segma Recherche, the result is a better situation for both Michael Ignatieff and Gilles Duceppe.

Nationally, the Conservatives are unchanged at 38.6%, where they have been for a few days. However, they are down one seat and are now projected to win 150. The Liberals, meanwhile, are up again and now stand at 27.3%, up 0.4 points from yesterday. They are still projected to win 73 seats.

The New Democrats are down 0.3 points to 16.6%, but are unchanged at 33 seats. The Bloc Québécois is also stable at 9.6%, but has gained one seat and is now projected to win 52. The Greens are down 0.1 points to 6.6%.

I will be reserving most of my longer-view reflections on changes in the projection to my articles in Le Devoir and The Globe and Mail each weekend, which will be comparing week-to-week changes. But during the campaign, I will also take the time to look at campaign-wide trends once we are a few more weeks into the race.

Regionally, the Conservatives have moved very little. They are up a smidgen in British Columbia and Quebec, but also made a decent 0.3 point gain in Ontario. They now stand at 42.2% in that province.

The Liberals made small gains in Quebec and British Columbia, but also jumped 0.7 points in Atlantic Canada at the expense of the NDP. They are now only 1.2 points behind the Tories in the region.

The New Democrats dipped in Quebec and Ontario by 0.3 points, which is very problematic for them. They can't afford to drop that much when they are below 17% in those provinces.

The one seat change took place in Quebec. The Conservatives are now projected to lose Beauport - Limoilou, represented by Sylvie Boucher. Michel Létourneau, the Bloc candidate in this Quebec City riding, is now projected to be ahead.

Harold Wilson, former British (Labour) prime minister who said that
“A week is a long time in politics.” We Canadians are nearing the end of the
first of six weeks of campaigning. I expect voter preferences to ebb and flow
again and again in the five weeks remaining.

 

[vonGarvin]

This is where Political Compass put me (the UK application).  The CBC application had me much farther to the right (economically) and further "south" socially.

 

[dapaterson]

Hmm... I think I'd label those quadrants:


North Korea  |  Germany
-------------+-----------
Scandinavia  |  USA

 

[Edward Campbell]

I'm almost exactly with Milton Friedman in the UK test:

On the CBC "test" I was slightly more socially liberal than the Conservatives but, also, a bit more to the right economically. That may be because of my views on e.g. same sex marriage, in fact marriage of all kinds, etc, about which I believe the government should take no interest save to help enforce domestic contracts to protect children and property.

 

[The Bread Guy]

Interesting how the UK and CBC results compare, especially given the tone of questions asked in each - thanks for pointing out the UK version, TV.

 

[Nemo888]

Why is a coalition a scary thing? It wasn't fair when the Reform and Conservatives split the vote. The right was not represented in Federal politics for a decade because of that. Why can't the middle and left work together?

 

[HavokFour]

Apparently Ottawa—Orléans representative Royal Galipeau took that CBC political gimmick test and got Liberal as a result.

He's a Conservative...

 

[Jed]

A coalition itself is not scary; but a coalition with the Bloc as a main player is just not palatable for most of Canada, especially the Western part of Canada.

 

[Dissident]

Pretty much where the CBC one was for me.

And I tend to be more Libertarian than ER Campbell?

What shocked me a bit was that this website equated Anarchism with Libertarianism.

 

[vonGarvin]

One point to note is the major difference between the CBC "spectrum" and the british one.  The "left and right" match, but the "up and down" are inverted between the two.

 

[vonGarvin]

What shocked me a bit was that this website equated Anarchism with Libertarianism.

No government = anarchy, no?  Isn't that 'similar' to Libertarianism (to the extreme, mind you)