Stooges stage coup
Professor, socialist and separatist make their foolish move
By GREG WESTON
Ottawa Sun

The federal opposition parties have apparently decided the best way to deal with the world’s worst economic crisis in decades is to create a political disaster of equal proportion.

Yesterday, the three leaders who lost the last election inked a devil’s deal to save the economy by seizing control of the government from Stephen Harper and the Conservatives.

If all goes to plan, Mr. Bean will replace Mr. Mean as prime minister as early as next week, maintained in power by an unholy alliance of the Three Stooges.

For the next six months, Stephane Dion would hop into bed with NDP boss Jack Layton and separatist leader Gilles Duceppe in return for the Liberals’ hapless honcho getting the keys to 24 Sussex Dr. and a bulletproof limo.

Next May, Dion would be replaced for another two years by whomever wins the Liberal leadership.

The fun is just beginning.

The opposition parties’ entire justification for this coalition of the witless is the supposed need to rush through new federal spending measures to stimulate the economy.

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty has already moved up the date for the next federal budget from late February to the last week of January.

That would give the Canadian government a chance to see what the new U.S. administration in Washington has in mind for the auto sector and the rest of the U.S. economy after Barack Obama is sworn in as president on Jan. 20.

But the coalition claims that’s not fast enough to start throwing around other people’s money on this side of the border.

In the words of the coalition’s communique yesterday, a new coalition government is required immediately to “effectively, prudently and promptly address these critical economic times.”

The genius of speeding aid into to economy by changing governments is about what we should expect from a professor, a socialist and a separatist.

If the Conservatives are going to be voted down, it will likely be in a confidence motion in the Commons next Monday evening.

That would send Harper to see the Governor General the next day, asking her to dissolve Parliament and send the country to the polls again.

While the GG already has a letter from the coalition asking that it be given a chance to govern, Michaelle Jean’s decision will be constitutionally controversial, and could take days.

If the GG rules in favour of a coalition, she would insist that the three opposition parties test their deal with a confidence vote in the Commons.

That could take days, especially since the Conservatives will do everything possible to thwart it.

Now we are into the week before Christmas.

If the vote passes, as it would, the country may well not begin the process of changing governments until the New Year.

The transition from the Martin Liberal government to the Harper administration in 2006 took almost three weeks, and even then it was rushed.

The new coalition government would then have to decide on a new cabinet, and swear in 24 new ministers, including six from the New Democrats.

Until that moment, no one from the new coalition government will be allowed to see any confidential documents, much less the mountain of briefings needed to begin drafting a federal budget.

ZERO EXPERIENCE

All of the new NDP ministers and many of the Liberals appointed to cabinet would have zero experience running a government department, much less mastering their portfolios.

That usually takes months, even for junior portfolios.

The coalition would be lucky to have a budget worth anything before March.

Heck, by the time the coalition gets its act together and starts cutting cheques, it may well be time for Dion to make way for the new Liberal leader.

Let us pray that if the government falls next week, the Governor General will tell Curly, Larry and Moe to give their heads a slap.

I’ve sent these sentiments to Stephen Dion - DionS@parl.gc.ca and Jack Layton - Layton.J@parl.gc.ca - long may they be inundated with email.

Your plans have no precedence. They have no honour. It is an affront to the will of the Canadian people as voted on in the last election. To add any legitimacy to this madness, an election must be called immediately to be held in 3 weeks. This “coalition of current losers” should run as one party. This will save you money and be an honest representation of what you’re trying to do.

I have many more ideas I’m sharing at my blog - http://streams.revtrev.com The entire culture in Ottawa must be radically and irreversibly altered, or else the damage you’ve already done to the unity of this country will never be undone.

If you insist this is the right thing for Canada, and not simply a power grab from someone with a lust for power, then an election must give you the mandate.

Trevor Lund
Edmonton Alberta T6K 2X2

___
We need a Culture of Honour in Ottawa. It must run through the elected officials and the bureaucracy. We need to get rid of the oxymoronic concept of a “Loyal Opposition” as well as the face-to-face “two-sword-lengths-apart” house set up. This isn’t going to be done by the ones on the scene today. It doesn’t help that I’ve just agreed with the label “the three stooges”. I can’t just point fingers. I need to be the change I want to see.

But it’s really hard to believe the line that “this is for the good of the country”. It is simply a power grab by those who couldn’t convince the electorate of their views on Oct 14th. It’s a coup, that must be stopped… can it be stopped in an honourable way?

I guess I’m glad I’m not an MP right now.

Here’s the view of Chuck Strahl…

A Political Crisis?

By Chuck Strahl MP

November 29, 2008

Last week I sent around an update on Canada’s economic situation, with the observation that it wasn’t a very enjoyable subject to write about. Unfortunately, this week it appears that our economic woes are morphing into a political crisis of sorts, at a time when we can least afford it. What’s happening in Ottawa is bordering on the absurd, but its impact would be felt most harshly by Canadians, not political parties. It is potentially a shame of historic proportions.

The Throne Speech I wrote about last week has now been passed. The Opposition Parties apparently had no trouble supporting the direction of the Conservative government, and in fact, they let it pass “on division”, which means they didn’t even want a stand up vote! When the Finance Minister tabled his economic update, though, things got ugly, mostly because the speech made reference to politicians and political parties receiving less from the government coffers. Suddenly, the Liberals and NDP want to form an alternative government, apparently by joining forces in a coalition, and supported by the separatist Bloc Quebecois.

This unholy alliance is trying to paint a different picture, of course. They say they simply want to spend more money to stimulate the economy, but when asked for details, it’s pretty thin gruel. Apparently they’re prepared to take the ‘ready, shoot, aim” approach to spending, and agree to some blank cheques without even knowing what will actually help specific industries, without knowing what Barak Obama has planned, and without working in concert with the other G-20 countries. It is a recipe for a fiscal disaster.

More importantly, it is a democratic disaster. During the campaign, Liberal leader Stephane Dion said he would not and could not have a coalition with the NDP, because their policies would destroy the economy. Apparently that principled position has now gone out the window. Now we have the prospect of the Liberals (with 77 seats) joining with the NDP (with 37 seats) to unseat the democratically elected Conservatives (with 143 seats) . Of course, the only way to do that would be with the support of the separatist Bloc Quebecois, who bring their votes to the table in exchange for their separatist agenda. It is almost beyond belief, but apparently the back room discussions amongst these parties are happening as I write this note.

As I said last week, our Conservative government has been preparing our economy for over a year to weather this world-wide economic storm as best we can. We have brought in almost $200 billion dollars in economic stimulus over a 5 year period, by lowering taxes across the board and in every category. We have freed up billions more by adopting Bank of Canada policies and mortgage protection that have increased the availability of credit and addressed liquidity issues, without costing the taxpayer too much and without risking our country’s core stability. The IMF, the World Economic Forum, the OECD and other international organizations are united in their opinions that Canada is in the best shape of any industrialized nation in the world. Now the left-leaning parties in Parliament are willing to risk it all in order to gain power through the back door, power that was denied to them in a general election.

In order to diffuse this crisis, our government has agreed to separate the political party financing issue from the confidence vote, and we’ll be bringing it back to Parliament in a stand-alone Bill for a vote next year. Whether a person believes the taxpayer should be forced to pay for political party finances will be debated and decided at another time. I’ll be supporting the Bill when it comes to a vote, and we’ll see what happens. For now, Canadians should be appalled that we could be thrown into a democratic and constitutional crisis by an attempt to gain power at any cost, to overthrow the democratically expressed will of the Canadian people, all at a critically important economic time for us all.

I’m uncertain where all of this is going, but it is entirely possible that the Conservatives could lose the confidence of Parliament and be forced into an election within days. You can’t run the government without revenue, and we simply must have the authority to pay the bills and stick to the agenda already approved in the Throne Speech. But it is also entirely possible that the Conservatives could be forced from government by the Liberal/NDP/Bloc coalition, if the Governor General agrees. Canada deserves better than either of these options, and we’ll be working hard to keep everyone focused on the economy, jobs, and a sound budgetary plan. We believe Canadians want us to get on with governing. But I just don’t know what will happen, and I share Canadian’s shock and anger that we’re teetering on this abyss at this critical time.

The vote to bring down the government will now take place on December 8th, so Canadians have a week or so to express themselves before that critical moment. I urge everyone to write a letter-to-the editor, call a radio talk show, circulate this article (or others) through their own email list, and contact political parties with their opinion. A strong grassroots reaction may be the only thing that stands between us and a Prime Minister Stephane Dion and Finance Minister Jack Layton.

My Note: details change hour by hour. This was written three days ago, and since then even the Liberals couldn’t stand Jack Layton being Finance Minister. Still we need to get involved. Call, email, write letters, send faxes, show up for protests… we can’t let this happen.

I want to see another election before Christmas. I want this coalition to run against the Conservatives. Not having to run a full campaign should help this cash-strapped group of losers (A term stating their non-winning of the last election - not necessarily derogatory). Put the plans up, run again and let the Canadian public give a mandate to these junta members. Let the GG know.

Political drama engages, outrages Canadians across the country

Colin Perkel, THE CANADIAN PRESS

TORONTO - The drama unfolding in Ottawa with all the intrigue of a well-crafted political thriller has riveted Canadians across the country - both political junkies and citizens who turned out in such anemic numbers for the federal election barely seven weeks ago.

While premiers like Ontario’s Dalton McGuinty weighed in Tuesday, Canadians weren’t leaving the talking to the politicians.

Talk-show phone lines buzzed with a seldom-seen fervour and media websites groaned under the weight of a flood of comments.

“Wow. Never have I seen more regular people upset at politicians,” a reader from British Columbia wrote on the Globe and Mail’s website.

Most everyone it seemed - those furious at the hijacking of democracy and those blissful at democracy working exactly as it should - had a strong opinion.

“This is what bullies in a school yard do when they can’t win a fight fair and square - gang up,” read another post on the Globe’s site.

Finally putting his feet up on his desk after a show Tuesday in which the phones lit up like Christmas trees, Bill Carroll, a veteran host at Toronto’s CFRB radio, called the high-stakes machinations in the nation’s capital a “dream” issue for talk shows.

“This is like a once-a-decade kind of story,” Caroll said.

“You don’t have to work to get phone calls . . . the story comes to you. The passion is out there.”

When people feel they have lost control, that’s when they turn to talk radio to vent, Carroll said.

The volume of calls was probably 10 times or more greater than typical, he said, adding people are both “engaged and enraged.”

“I’ve never seen people more motivated.”

Barely 60 per cent of those eligible to vote actually made it to the polling booths for the Oct. 14 election that saw Harper’s Conservatives returned to government with a bulked up minority.

The historically low turnout prompted many analysts to despair at voter apathy and fatigue - a malaise that appears to have been swept aside by political theatre at its best.

Spectacle aside, however, there were those who just wanted the situation settled, especially amid the roiling economic climate and gut-wrenching market volatility.

“While I am giddy at the sound come-uppance being dealt to Mr. Harper, I can’t help but think that enough is enough,” one person wrote on the Star’s website.

The country’s premiers seemed to share that view, with Saskatchewan’s Brad Wall saying earlier in the week it’s time for political leaders in Ottawa to get their heads “out of their kilts.”

Speaking at the Ontario legislature on Tuesday, McGuinty also urged an end to the political crisis, saying the feds need to get on with dealing with the economy, particularly the floundering auto sector.

“Whatever happens on the Hill, I hope it happens sooner rather than later,” McGuinty said.

“Let’s get back to the table. Let’s see what we can do together to support the auto sector, not just for the good of Ontario but for the good of the country as a whole.”

McGuinty was adamant the province had no desire to get involved in the political intrigue, saying only that when Ottawa is ready to talk to the province, the talk will be about the auto sector.

At Yahoo Canada, news editor Trevor Wilker said the “appetite for this story is huge.”

People, it seems, can barely wait for every twist and turn of the political plot.

“Whenever we do put up a new headline, you can just see the traffic come in,” Wilker said.

Content Provided By Canadian Press.

I’ve sent this to Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michalle Jean at this email address info@gg.ca

Voice your views as well. I’m looking for a page with all the contact information for all the players. If I have time, I’ll create one.

Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michalle Jean,

Without knowledge of the back room meetings held by the three political leaders and their people, Canada is in a shock that a duly elected opposition seemingly had no intention to fulfill their mandate in these critical economic times.

At no time in Canadian history has a party with an outgoing leader, who has fewer seats than at almost any time in history, been explicitly supported by a separatists party.

The decision falls on you. You have been brought in for this time in Canadian history. Will a group of elected officials from Toronto and Quebec be allowed to tell the rest of Canada we didn’t elect the right government?

This coalition of non-winners, if allowed to govern - will create an irreparable rift in the Canadian political landscape.

Will you support the democratic process, or will you support the power-hungry lust of losers?

Trevor Lund
Edmonton, Canada

Here’s some thoughts from a facebook group -

Foremost, you can email Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michalle Jean , Governor General of Canada and ask her to not grant permission to the coalition to assume power without another general election, should they take the current government down so quickly. You can do so by emailing her at info@gg.ca

Secondly, you can share the facts with your friends and family and ask everyone you know to send their thoughts to their local MP.

Thirdly, you can share your thoughts with the local media, by calling radio talk shows, writing letters to the editor of local newspapers, etc. The CFRA studio line is 613-521-TALK (8255).

Fourthly, you can sign the petition located at http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://www.canadians4democracy.ca%2F

And lastly, you can show up at the rally taking place on Parliament Hill this Saturday December 6th from 12 noon to 4pm on Parliament Hill. The website for this rally is located at http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://www.rallyforcanada.ca%2F Bring signs, bring your flags, bring banners and show your support for the Conservative Government just re-elected with a stronger mandate.

Clifton Bond