I think it's all just a ruse by Harper to put Dion in his place, seeing as Dion did nothing but say we're ready for an election blah blah blah for the first half of the summer. The second it became a possibility he shut right up.
Posted at 2008-08-25 16:37:13 [PermaLink]Harper is the chess player concerned only about political maneuevering. The campaign promise is out the window if his electoral aspirations conflict.
Sad but true.
Hate to admit it, but I gotta tell PMSH to follow the advice of Joe Clark (shudder).
Govern like you've got a majority. Dare the Liberals to take you down. If they do, great, you've got your election. If not, also great, you get your legislation passed. It's a win-win!
Harper's doing the right thing, although the media will pillory him no matter what.
Canadians are so used to political ruses, they're too cynical to even recognize an honest threat when they hear one. There's going to be an election. Okay?
Let the Liberals "take them down?" You'd have to be an idiot -- i.e., Joe Clark -- to allow your opponent to choose the time and field of battle. Better to trap the other bastards in your own ambush.
Let Parliament continue as is because you get your legislation passed? Since when? Parliament is a useless clown show.
I think it will be great fun to make the Liberals borrow $18 million to fund their campaign, beg for volunteers who won't appear because they back Iggy and Norma Bob, then run a horrible campaign which will end with a humiliated Liberal party finishing in worse tatters than it is now.
The Tories might not win, but an election will leave the Liberals near dead. It will be fun to experience the Schadenfreude the Liberals felt during those long Reform/Alliance/PC days. I like it when bad things happen to bad people.
Read the legislation folks. It sets out fixed dates for elections but does nothing to curb the power of the PM or the GG to terminate a session of parliament. To do so would require a change in the constitution.
I agree that for Mr. Harper to call an election would violate the spirit of the legislation, to say nothing of the intent of the legislation which he so proudly proclaimed. But it does not break the law and I'm surprised that Mr. Coyne doesn't know this.
Are we to assume that an unidentified insider at from the CPC said that an election is "possible" soon. Any thinking person would know that an election is possible soon with a minority government. But this coming from CTV makes it suspect.
Harper said the parliament is dysfunctional and he will speak with Dion before deciding his next step. Dion says that Parliament is not dysfunctional and he will not speak to Harper. Who spoke the truth or who stepped into a trap?
I trust Harper's wisdom over the MSM any day. As a principled man he will not voluntarily go to the polls before next fall.
I'm with Owl except that we will get a majority Tory government IF we go ASAP.
I'm also with Lucas except to add that Andrew Coyne is a regular performer on CBC's At Issue...'Nuff said.
I can't believe the amount of Tory bloggers with little sense of political strategy: THIS IS THE BEST TIME AND CHANCE FOR A CONSERVATIVE MAJORITY. DION AND LAYTON BOTH KNOW IT...THAT'S WHY THEY DESPERATELY DON'T WANT ONE NOW.
THE DOWNFALL (IF ANY) OF SUPPOSIBLY BREAKING THIS FIXED ELECTION THINGY (IT'S NOT + IT'S A MINORITY) WILL LAST 15 MINUTES IN THE OVERALL CAMPAIGN.
IT'S TIME TO GO NOW! HARPER KNOWS IT AND SO DOES, MUCH TO THEIR PANICKED DISMAY, MOST OF HIS OPPONENTS INCLUDING THE MSM.
GIVE YOUR BLOGGING TORY HEADS A SHAKE.
Grind a Grit; on what substantive issue? The Government would have to claim that there was some insurmountable problem preventing them from governing, otherwise the backwash would be "Harper's just another lyin' opportunistic sob..."
You've been listening to your own rhetoric methinks.
There are still a LOT of voters out there who are convinced that the Conservatives are e.v.i.l., based on nothing more than Liberal and MSM smoke. Personally, I'm not ready for another Liberal Government.
"Personally, I'm not ready for another Liberal Government."
And you think Harper breaking an election law that's not really in effect until Oct. 2009 unless it's another minority (It's only valid for majorities) in which case could also be desolved is going to get the Liberals elected?
There's a lot of dumbass voters in this country but not that many...and unless you are a political junky like us, you probably are oblivious to this law.
Leadership, taxes, the economy are going to be the main drivers...
ELECTION NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I don't care about the details of the law; what matters is the perception. In the mind of the public, Harper's platform 'promise' was fixed election dates. Any backsliding on that just gives the opposition ammo; weasel words. The vast majority of the electorate are NOT "political junkies", don't read political blogs (or blogs of any sort), and are ambivalent on the Liberals' scandals. They do however remember Mulroney, with something less than fondness. A population that still idolizes the Trudeau legacy deserves what they get...
Until Harper gets a meat and potatoes issue he's playing Russian roulette.
"And you think Harper breaking an election law that's not really in effect until Oct. 2009 unless it's another minority"
The spirit of the law applies to minority governments as well as majority governments, and Harper initially wanted to show that the law applied to him. Why else would he have picked a dissolution date of October 2009?
Our constitution grants parliaments a mandate to sit for five years. Tradition dictates that majority governments go to the people after four years. 2009 is three years, and while minority governments typically do not last that long, it's not unheard of.
It seems a silly thing that Harper would violate the spirit of his own law when he doesn't have to. Just let him engineer his own defeat like most other minority governments before him. Otherwise, I think a lot of Canadians will wonder what his rush is.
If Dion wants to play his chickenhearted game of sitting out confidence votes, there is another way that Harper could force an election, while still working within the parameters of his law (see [External Link]But otherwise, it can be seen as another example of Harper believing that the rules don't apply to him.
My apologies, but the external link has an extraneous ). in it. Can you fix, Damian?
Posted at 2008-08-27 08:29:05 [PermaLink]