Conservatives peaked too early

9/15/2008

      Harper's visit to Newfoundland was a disaster. He was unable to get past Premier Williams refusal to support him and so he came up with the lame excuse that Williams did not get along with the previous federal gov'ts.......failing to point out that they were not Conservatives, but Liberals and thus were not expected to get his support .Harper's message and his personality have failed to make a dent in seat-rich Ontario and in Quebec he is losing ground to the Bloc.

      Voters are increasingly concerned with his " hidden agenda ",........ the fundamentalist, right- wing Reform programme of social values ( anti-abortion, anti-gay, and tax cuts that penalises consumers and favor the wealthy, as well as the anti-environment policy ( which has earned Canada the condemnation of many countries and groups ),the depleted surplus and the economic downturn. Continued job losses in Ontario, risiing casualties in Afghanistan, grave concern about the ecological destruction of the Tar Sands development, and the general lack of leadership and vision ( his refusal to attend the Olympics in China ) are millstones around his neck.

      Dion grows on you. He is a bit hard to take , but this is beginning to change. His message is getting through, especially after the Ref/Con " boo boo " about bird "doo doo ". Cnadian voters remember the vain attempt by Kim Campbell to denigrate Jean Chretien and as they punished her, they will punish Harper, especially if the Ref/ Con try to emphasise personality over issues. The Liberals will gain from the Greens poaching of NDP supporters in B.C. and Ontario.

      The Quebec strategy of the Ref/ Con. will founder on the enviroment, Afghanistan and the social agenda, especially on Harper's comment that the country is getting more conservative ( wishful thinking ). A split vote between the Bloc and the Ref/ Con will benefit the Liberals in close races, and therefore the Liberals have a good chance of increasing their seat couint in Quebec.

      It looks like a minority Liberal.

3 Comments

Steph Doughty

9/16/2008 08:36:48 am

How can he say the country is becoming more conservative? He must be blind, deaf and dumb... or his advisors are.
Also, I must admit, this man truly scares me. If he were to get a majority government... he could drastically change the country, and I'm afraid of what our country might look after he's through. On countless numbers of issues, he is just blindsighted by his conservative ideals.
On another note, do you really believe we're going to end up with a Liberal minority? I kind of like the idea of minority governments... but it seems that our politicians have yet to figure out how they can benefit the country.

Hannah

9/16/2008 10:27:46 am

What worries the most is his solution for the economic turmoil, is that "Canadian economy's fundamentals are solid" and will pull through the times, very reminiscent of President Hoovers "laissez faire" attitude during the Depression of the 1930's. The Tories can tell us were better off with Harper, but I don't think the voters are buying it.

Ishwar Prashad link

9/18/2008 04:36:33 am

The REFORM/CONSERVATIVES cannot hide their callous,uncaring, insensitive side. once more it has bubbled to the surface.
The Minister of Agriculture Gerry Ritz, in a conference call, on Aug.30, during the listeriosis crisis,said the following " This is like a death by a thousand cuts.Or I should say " cold cuts ". When he was told during the call that there was a new death, he again joked by saying " Please tell me it's Wayne Easter." ( he is the Liberal Agriculture critic , from PEI.)
After calls for his resignation, he attempted an apology, but this is too little, too late.He apologised to save his job, not because he was sorry. If he was really sorry, he would have offered an immediate apology and his resignation.
Time is against the Ref/ Con. They are very prone to exposing their real feelings. Let's see when the next clod opens his mouth. There have been 17 deaths, including 14 in Ontario, linked the outbreak.
On another note, Quebec's second largest trade union....the C.S.N., has called on its members not to vote for the Ref/ Cons., but to vote strategically, but not necessarily, for the Bloc. This means either for the Liberals or the N.D.P. This can be crucial in close races. The Q.F.L.Quebe's largest union has endorsed the Bloc Quebecois.
Elections Canada has ruled that encouraging strategic voting or vote swapping is not illegal.There are 41 ridings with tight races and vote swapping eg. you vote for my party in riding A and I will vote for your party in riding B. A Facebook group was set up to stop the Ref/ Cons. from getting a majority and wanted to target some ridings eg. in Parry Sound, Ontario, Tony Clement the Health Minister won by only 28 votes last time.

Author

Ishwar R. Prashad recently retired from over 47 years of teaching.

He taught Political Science variously at Dawson College, Loyola College, Algoma University College, Sir George Williams University, Concordia University and Vanier College.

Previously, he taught for nine years in Port Mourant, Guyana.

He became Principal of Corentyne Comprehensive High School at the tender age of 21. During this time he turned down Scholarship offers to study overseas in England and the U.S.S.R.

He chose Canada and after graduating from Sir George Williams with a B.A Honours with Distinction, he accepted a Fellowship to complete his graduate work at McMaster University. He completed his first two degrees-Bachelors and Masters- in three years.

His last position was as Co-Ordinator of Political Science and Economics at Vanier College and Adjunct Professor of Political Science at Concordia University.

He is married to the former Juliet Ramcharan (Library Supervisor, McGill University) and together they have three children – Indra R. Prashad, P.Eng. ,McGill (Presently Manager, Ontario Safe Water Drinking Agency), Ishwar R. Prashad Jr., B.A ,McGill (Presently, President, Kismit Gear Inc.) and Rabindra Y. Prashad, (Presently, Artist and Chef).They are the proud Grandparents of eight grandchildren-Miranda, Kamal, Ayesha, Élan, Anĵa , Étienne, Chloé, and Jasmine.

Conservatives peaked too early

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