I just want the Bloc Quebecois to go away, seriously this party should be deemed illegal.
I agree that it sucks to have a federal party dedicated to ripping the country apart. That said, I'd never question their freedom to do it.
I'd also like to mention that if Gilles Duceppe was a Federalist, I would likely vote for whatever party he led. He calls a spade a spade, communicates his point of view, and follows through on his commitments. Gotta respect that.
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He has done 100X better than I thought he would have done when he first started.
He has been aided in no small part to the Liberals being in kind of a funk. I am fine the way he seems to have a hand in everything the government does, you cant have it any other way. If you are inevitable going to get blamed for something you might has well have a say in it in the first place.
I dont give the cons much credit vis a vi the economic downturn. I dont give the Libs much credit either, tougher restrictions were put on banks up here which is why none of them went tats up.
He is not the best activist for conservative causes but unlike in the US I think Canadian Conservatives can see that a slightly right of centre government is better than a Trudeau-Cretiean alternative. He has been one of the only Conservative politicians in North America to realize that countries always move left, they never move right. For times you can stall the movement and even get a slight bouceback but in the end democratic countries always move to the left and if you dont move with it your party will die.
Where he gets the most credit in my books is on the Foreign Policy stage. He has shifted money from causes where we were simply another line on the icome ledger to regions where Canadians have interests and which are closer to home. I particularilly like how he hasnt bent over for the Middle East Oil Oligarchy (mostly because we are one of the few countries in the world who dont need their oil). As expected it has cost us as the ME has used their considerable financial weight to create a puppet out of the Euro nations who are as addicted to their oil as Americans.
I do hope he tries to use what political muscle he has to get the gateway pipeline to BC built. While we wont see the rewards in the near turn, in the future it will allow us to have a significant bargaining chip with the US vis a vi relations with China if the US decides to put up walls on the 49th or tries to strongarm us into some bs agreement. Its time Canada realize that we have more political power available to us to use against the US if need be then the ME could dream of having.
Also, I think he has 1 more election to try to get the majority, if he doesnt I can see him stepping down a year or 2 after the next election if he is put in a minority position again.
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Last edited by mykalberta; 02-25-2011 at 11:43 AM.
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I like Harper and hope he stays PM for a while. After watching the Liberals and their corruption and lies (Adscam, GST, etc ), I hope its a long long time before they get another chance at power.
I just want the Bloc Quebecois to go away, seriously this party should be deemed illegal.
Why not have a party dedicated to promoting Alberta's interests? If it works for Quebec, it should work for any region really. But saying it should be illegal is akin to stating that certain groups of people should be denied political representation of their choice simply because you disagree with them.
Personally I'm happy with how the Government has handled things. I think things would be different if Harper had a majority though.
Party politics is ridiculous though. When I cast a ballot, I want the person who I vote for to represent me and our regional concerns at a Federal level. I do NOT want them to simply tow the party line. This is a democracy, not a fiefdom. Party politics is simply an oligarchy in it's current form. Sadly, what we have is probably the least of all evils.
If they go to a vote in the next year or so, it will be another Conservative minority. I'm fine with that. Any of the current parties holding a majority would likely be a disaster.
If Alberta's Wild Rose went Federal and won, Canada would have the hottest leader in the world. I would support this.
In all seriousness though, I dislike bits and piece of 'social conservatism', largely where the government starts putting its nose in people's personal issues like abortion and same-sex unions - I don't care about these things (they don't affect me) and I certainly didn't vote you in to make a fuss about them, let these friggin' people do what's right for them. On the other hand, I am for harsher punishments for violent crime - I grew up in a place where "Hug a Thug" attitudes have caused it to become a run-down s--t-hole, or "Detroit of the North" as I call it.
I appreciate fiscal conservatism and it's plain to see that this has largely influenced the ability of Canada to weather this economic slow-down where other nations have struggled. Lower corporate taxes to encourage growth and thus provide jobs. Lower personal taxes to encourage spending, which ultimately brings in more money if you balance it all out properly.
In the political spectrum, I'd put the Conservatives right on the center line, if not slightly right of center - certainly not as far 'right' as the Republican Party to our south. Liberals, left of centre but not by much. Ignatieff can't really call out Harper for much, because he knows he'd probably have done things more or less the same way. And the NDP, Jack Layton is a mustache with an idiot hanging off of it, 'nuff said. Like I said, I came from a place run by the NDP... I've seen the decline of quality of life out there, it's not pretty.
I'd overall give Harper a passing grade, and would have no problem with the Conservatives getting a majority. It would allow us to get more done, and no more talks of the loser parties trying to form a coalition (which is basically taking everyone's vote and pissing on it).
I'll say one more thing. Now that PM Harper has established control in the Senate, I expect (demand) that Senate reform by at the absolute top of the legislative agenda. It's the moment many (most) westerners have waited a lifetime for. Make it happen.
If Alberta's Wild Rose went Federal and won, Canada would have the hottest leader in the world. I would support this.
In all seriousness though, I dislike bits and piece of 'social conservatism', largely where the government starts putting its nose in people's personal issues like abortion and same-sex unions - I don't care about these things (they don't affect me) and I certainly didn't vote you in to make a fuss about them, let these friggin' people do what's right for them. On the other hand, I am for harsher punishments for violent crime - I grew up in a place where "Hug a Thug" attitudes have caused it to become a run-down s--t-hole, or "Detroit of the North" as I call it.
I appreciate fiscal conservatism and it's plain to see that this has largely influenced the ability of Canada to weather this economic slow-down where other nations have struggled. Lower corporate taxes to encourage growth and thus provide jobs. Lower personal taxes to encourage spending, which ultimately brings in more money if you balance it all out properly.
In the political spectrum, I'd put the Conservatives right on the center line, if not slightly right of center - certainly not as far 'right' as the Republican Party to our south. Liberals, left of centre but not by much. Ignatieff can't really call out Harper for much, because he knows he'd probably have done things more or less the same way. And the NDP, Jack Layton is a mustache with an idiot hanging off of it, 'nuff said. Like I said, I came from a place run by the NDP... I've seen the decline of quality of life out there, it's not pretty.
I'd overall give Harper a passing grade, and would have no problem with the Conservatives getting a majority. It would allow us to get more done, and no more talks of the loser parties trying to form a coalition (which is basically taking everyone's vote and pissing on it).
I agree with this, but I think the concepts of the Conservatives messing with Same Sex unions and abortion have been pretty effectively quashed by Harper.
Like I mentioned before those are dead issues. If the conservatives did win a majority and tried to change them, it would be the last majority for the Conservatives forever, and the next government would simply repeal those changes.
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Bland...colorless...dweebish...likely the most lacklustre PM we have ever had. If the liberals had half a leader with half a brain they would have a majority.
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Bland...colorless...dweebish...likely the most lacklustre PM we have ever had. If the liberals had half a leader with half a brain they would have a majority.
The last colorful Prime Minister we had nearly tore the country apart. I'm not voting for personality here.
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The last colorful Prime Minister we had nearly tore the country apart. I'm not voting for personality here.
I said...IF the Liberals had "half a leader" with "half a brain" they'd have a majority. That implies that's all it would take to defeat Harper.
Harper comes across to me as a bland colorless individual...(apologies to my IT friends) but he comes across as the closet IT dweeb we know lurking in the Hub room of our local offices. Of course he has enough smarts to hang on to a minority but has done nothing to get the majority he craves.
Even if the Liberals had a leader with half a brain the dynamics would change from the Michael Ignatief is a disaster and shouldn't be Prime Minister, over to, yeah I like leader X, but I don't trust the Liberals yet.
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Even if the Liberals had a leader with half a brain the dynamics would change from the Michael Ignatief is a disaster and shouldn't be Prime Minister, over to, yeah I like leader X, but I don't trust the Liberals yet.
Perhaps yes..perhaps no...the east is just as much Liberal as Alberta is PC, I think the one thing we should do in Canada is institute a mandatory 2 term role for PMs. That would stop the corruption we saw from side show Jean at the end and allow for better politics with new leaders coming in to replace these guys.
I think the fact that its been 5 years and there arnt that many complaints just means he has done a good job. Federal Politics have really gone on the back burner because its quietly being successful.
Although no one in Alberta would believe this, the reasons that Canada did so well through the recession were because of things that the Liberals did before Harper was in office. He basically didn't screw it up worse, but it wasn't any magic that he worked!
^^This.
Harper does indeed deserve some credit for not making things worse, but the real hero for Canada weathering the recession better than most other countries is Paul Martin (moreso for his work as Finance Minister than PM).
As for Harper's performance after five years...it's been okay (note that I identify as a liberal-leaning moderate). I don't mind him as PM so long as he's held in check by a minority government, but I wouldn't want to see him win a majority.
Also, I find it interesting that he campaigned on a platform of openness, accountability, and granting more power to individual MPs, but once elected he's done exactly the opposite. He is quite likely the most controlling and secretive leader in Canadian history, and he's centralized even more power in the PMO than Chretien did (something Harper rightfully criticized when he was in opposition). I understand why he's so controlling -- he doesn't want the to lose moderate votes because a stereotypical "redneck" rural Albertan MP says something ridiculous -- but that doesn't excuse his hypocrisy.
And his long form census change is just utterly stupid.
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I always laugh when Liberals talk about how Paul Martin was this wonderous finance minister. He dipped into the EI and gouged the provinces by cutting transfer payments by 1/3. His party also made a mockery of the military by cutting the budget and closing numerous bases. Playing a shell game doesnt make you a great finance minister. Anyone whos business is held off shore in a tax shelter is more anti-Canadian than anything Stephen Harper has done.
I think Harper has done an okay job as PM. I dont care for his social ideologies, but I believe his handling of the recession was superior to anything the other federal parties would have done.
Last edited by burn_this_city; 02-25-2011 at 02:04 PM.
I hate Harper, but can tolerate him in a minority government. I don't agree with his perspectives or policies but he can't really do too much damage being a minority.
The NDP and Liberals both suck (NDP are too fringe, Liberals are inept) and the liberals won't be able to do anything until they get rid of the establishment of the party. Ignatieff is somehow more terrible than Dion. I wish they would get someone in that would have a backbone and not be a complete pushover pansy.
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I hate Harper, but can tolerate him in a minority government. I don't agree with his perspectives or policies but he can't really do too much damage being a minority.
The NDP and Liberals both suck (NDP are too fringe, Liberals are inept) and the liberals won't be able to do anything until they get rid of the establishment of the party. Ignatieff is somehow more terrible than Dion. I wish they would get someone in that would have a backbone and not be a complete pushover pansy.
Just wait until Bob Rae becomes the next leader of the Liberals and we can watch the total erosion of their power base.
Because he's already positioning himself for Ignatief's fall.
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