Harper mentor Mulroney back in the news

Just like everyone's best Halloween nightmare...HE'S BAAAACK!
Lyin Brian Mulroney that is. Steve Harper's mentor and soulmate in all things tactical and photo-opable. Another installment of "How to Buy a PM" is played out in the Mop & Pail today.
Nice to see that Muldoon's mouthpieces are still stepping up to bat for Da Boss. Of course, they continue to miss one little point. A point that has been raised here before.
Mulroney did not tell the truth about his relationship with Schreiber in his testimony during the inquiry which awarded him a $2 million settlement.
Will Steve demand the money back?

More Flaherty Halloween Hijinks

Last year on Halloween Flim Flam Flaherty and Steve Harper broke their election promise not to tax income trusts and hurt many Canadians...especially seniors.
It looks like they are up to their old tricks again with Halloween approaching. This time their little game will involve trying to goad the Liberals into an election. An election that no one really wants...except for Steve that is.
It will be a huge surprise if the experienced fisherman Stephane Dion rises to this rather shallow bait. The Lib Leader has been calling for tax cuts for months ("…we need broad-based tax cuts.…I believe Canadian taxpayers would rather take more money home on their paycheck than save a penny on the GST when they buy a cup of coffee.") and as recently as yesterday.
All the while the Tories dithered, awash in a record surplus. A record that will be broken this year by all accounts.
So, apart from the "goad factor"...why does Stephen Harper want an election so badly? Why does he crave a majority so very much that he would try sleight of hand and tongue to get one? One supposes that is a question that only Tom Flanagan...behind the curtain...can answer.

Questions of leadership styles...

When the Tories are questioned by Elections Canada and by the Opposition about alleged over-spending in certain Conservative campaigns in the last election what is their reaction? Totally in concert with their Boss Harp's style they threaten lawsuits and challenge Elections Canada in court.
When Liberals face questions (not even yet from Elections Canada) about alleged over-spending in a riding in the last election what is their reaction? The Liberal in question leaves the Liberal Caucus and Stephane Dion points out that these are serious allegations that must be dealt with immediately.
Score one for Dion...and the Liberal Opposition is now in an even better position to question the Tories on their in and out scam.

Harry Potter fan Flaherty

Last week, JK Rowling "outed" her key Harry Potter character Dumbledore.
This week, we see Jim Flaherty telling all and sundry that he has finally purchased a Harry Potter book...Coincidence? Or is he a secret admirer of Dumbledore?
His performance as Finance Minister would indicate that the vertically-challenged rightie is more Stumblebum than Dumbledore...but in this day and age you just never know!

Harper and Bush...again

Together...again...
"As Prime Minister Stephen Harper of Canada put it, if the United States turns its back on its friends in Colombia, this will set back our cause far more than any Latin American dictator could hope to achieve." (George W. Bush, October 12, 2007)
Bush leads America into a deal with a Colombian government of paramilitaries and domestic murderers...and Steve Harper blindly follows along.

Harper pal in tough

Australian PM and noted Harpiste, John Howard, did manage to get in an election call this fall. It seems that things are not necessarily unfolding as he had hoped. A new poll shows a widening gap between the Howard forces and the Opposition in the fight leading up to election day on November 24th. P.S....and just like Steve, Howard refuses to change.
But a quick glance at the Howard Party web site (don't be confused by the "Liberal" name...it is a name only Down Under) shows that Howard is fighting a campaign which his buddy Steve would be happy to see. Totally negative!
Meanwhile, over at the Opposition Labour web site, pretty much all is positive.
Nice contrast and a likely harbinger of the next campaign here in Canada.

Harper accountability dead

Steve Harper's "accountability guy" image is but a memory. Tory staffers are moving into the lobby world...something he said he would never allow. The man has had no inclination to allow the media to do its job...something he would have roundly criticised Liberals for in the past. The Public Works department, headed by un-elected Senator, Tory Bagman and Harper buddy Michael Fortier, has quietly "signed off" on accountability for government purchases.
And now the most telling tidbit of all. The flow of government information has both slowed and decreased under the Tory administration of the Access Act. No doubt because Harper himself has to sign off on all requests!

More Harper sleaze

The Harper Tories may want an election just to avoid the mounting sleaze surrounding them ...Election ScamAds, top Tories interfering in Ottawa mayoralty election, building a mind control media centre, Harper's List of Jewish Canadians, etc.
The Tories deny all, of course. But today we have increasing proof that the ethnic manipulation reflected in Harper's List is more than just smoke. Now we learn of an "ethnic research team" that is working on partisan electoral work amongst multi-cultural communities.
The problem, you ask? Besides the obvious stereotyping that such an effort entails...
THE PARTISAN WORK IS BEING DONE OUT OF THE PMO and other Government of Canada departments.
Another page from the George Bush/Karl Rove political playbook.

Harper tactics

Hmmm...be interesting to see how Boss Harp deals with this, since one of the spin lines used to delay the recall of the House was a desire not to be drawn into the Ontario election with a Throne Speech in the middle of it (although the same line of thinking did not stop them from presenting a budget in the middle of the Quebec election)...We'll see if that was just more partisan posturing if Calvert calls his...
Election call could be today
Saskatchewan residents will indeed go to the polls this fall, and an election call could come as soon as today as Premier Lorne Calvert is nominated in his Saskatoon constituency.

Foreign Affairs photo-ops

There is no criticism of Denis Coderre here. Rather, there is a real problem with Steve Harper's latest shill at Foreign Affairs. Check out this CTV news report. At the 0.29 seconds point of the report you will see an interesting shot of Dandy Bernier shaking hands with some troops. You will note that every single troop is holding a Tim Horton's cup of coffee. Little wonder given Steve Harper's efforts during the last election campaign to portray himself as a "Tim Horton's kinda guy." It is one thing to drop into a Tim Horton's...quite another to stage a photo-op for propaganda purposes. No doubt the brainiacs at PMO dictated this particular effort for Dandy. It is in stark contrast (along with the other photo-ops) to the "welcome" arranged by the government for the Liberal Defence critic Coderre. It should also be noted that the Tory "take" on how things are going in Afghanistan is at odds even with their allies at the United Nations.
Not surprising...typical of Bully Steve and his true style. A style truly reflected by the fact that Foreign Affairs officials are feeling muzzled by the current government, in spite of Harper's partisan propagandist bleatings that he wants to expand Canada's role on the world stage. Comments which are also at odds with his government's decision to sell off Canadian diplomatic assets abroad.

A good reason NOT to have a fall election

The Toronto Star's resident separatist, Chantal Hebert, does her best today to paint a nice picture of Gilles Duceppe's intentions with respect to a fall election. She fails to sugar coat this lemon though.
The whole scenario of Duceppe and the Bloc rushing to an election in order to satisfy Mr. Duceppe's retirement planning is just too funny. Just think of the logic...an election is inevitable because Duceppe wants to get out of politics ASAP. No doubt so that he can begin collecting that big fat Government of Canada MP pension. Quite the political epitaph for the separatist leader!
Meanwhile...the Dion Liberals are re-tooling...

Tory Gambit

John Tory was trying to remove the issue of faith-based school funding from the Ontario election agenda yesterday. One might conclude that the initial reviews do not look promising for Tory and his faith-based Harper friends in Ontario. Their decision to flip-flop-flip is merely thumbing their nose at the biggest "free vote" of all...the provincial election.
A sampling...
Free vote won't solve Tory's problemToronto Sun, Canada - 1 hour agoBy LORRIE GOLDSTEIN How does Progressive Conservative Leader John Tory's latest promise to hold a "free vote" on whether to publicly fund non-Catholic ...
Tory's U-turn raises questions of leadershipLondon Free Press, Canada - 1 hour agoBy CHRISTINA BLIZZARD, SUN MEDIA Former CFL commissioner John Tory threw a Hail Mary pass yesterday. And how appropriate, since it was all about religious ...
Tory backpedals on pledge to fund faith-based schoolsWaterloo Record, Canada - 2 hours agoThree local party candidates have said they do not support Conservative Leader John Tory's pledge to extend public funding for faith-based schools. ...
Can Tory’s wink change the mood?Toronto Star, Canada - 2 hours agoHas Progressive Conservative Leader John Tory "changed the channel" in the provincial election campaign by agreeing to hold a free vote in the Legislature ...
PC leader Tory 'more sheep than shepherd'Ottawa Citizen, Canada - 2 hours agoSeveral Ontario religious and ethnic community leaders are slamming Conservative leader John Tory for "backtracking" on his pledge to fund religious schools ...
John Tory's missed opportunityOttawa Citizen, Canada - 2 hours agoSorry John, that's not going to do it. PC leader John Tory's promise of a free vote on faith-based school funding will do little to defuse the controversial ...
Knives out in Conservative quarters as Tory backs down on faith ...National Post, Canada - 15 hours agoTORONTO — Ontario PC leader John Tory, facing polls suggesting his party will lose the Oct. 10 election to the governing Liberals, announced Monday that if ...

Been thinking...Tory and Fed Libs

Missed posting last week for a few days as I watched Liberals trying their best to implode federally and Tory (John) self-destructing in Ontario.
Fed Liberals should read and heed this advice.
John Tory spent yesterday debating in his own riding. That will likely give rise to the thought that things must be desperate for him indeed. And now he and his brain trust is apparently re-thinking the faith-based funding concept that got him in trouble to start with. Some will say "better late than never". Some will say "never back down". Still more will say "what was that man thinking?" Truth is that he is now caught in the proverbial "damned if I do, damned if I don't" sccenario.
It was dumb to start with and now he will lay bare his absolute lack of judgement by partially reversing himself. To make matters worse some are suggesting that he will advocate for a free vote on his proposal in the legislature. For heaven's sake...what does he think is happening now? We are in the midst of a vote that is truly "free"...a general election. His so-called "leadership edge" is being laid to waste very rapidly. Premier McGuinty must be a happy camper today.