Damn Separatists!

Conservatives who are against a potential Liberal-NDP-Bloc coalition should not complain about "Separatists" getting into power. When they attack the separatists, they are attacking Quebeckers. The probability is high that most voting-age Quebeckers have voted at least once for the Bloc Québécois or the Quebec provincial Parti Québécois. They should not complain to Goveror-General Michaëlle Jean because she has a lot of friends in Quebec who have voted for those two parties at least once.

To potential western separatists who may complain that they'll get ignored because westerners elected mostly Conservative candidates: That is true. However, only 44.4% of British Columbians and 48.8% of Manitobans voted Conservative. A minority of voters in both those provinces voted for Harper's party. Heck, I complain that Harper remains Canada's prime minister without the Conservatives winning one seat in Toronto. Yet, I don't ask that Toronto separate from Canada. You may want it, but it won't happen.

Harper is too arrogant to lead Canada. The opposition parties need to force him out sooner than later by forming a governing coalition.

Proroguies for Harper

I'm guessing that Harper will ask the GG to prorogue Parliament until the middle of January which she will consent. With Harper wanting to bring in the budget at the end of January, he can state that if the opposition MPs vote non-confidence in the Conservative government the implementation of budget will be delayed. If the economy is so urgent, why would the opposition members try to delay the Conservative budget just so they can put their own budget through at a later date?

Any thoughts?

Grumpy Voter both a Progressive Blogger and Blogging Tory at the same time

I read through some of Grumpy Voter's blog posts. I cannot find anything progressive about what he writes. I have no problem with someone being both a Blogging Tory and Progressive Blogger at the same time. I would like to see something resembling progressive thinking when one writes under the Progressive Bloggers' label.

My $1.95 worth

Of the two major Liberal leadership candidates, Jim Flaherty's proposal to eliminate the $1.95 per vote subsidy for the political parties will help Michael Ignatieff and hurt Bob Rae. Ignatieff, the centre candidate will be able to express disappointment in Flaherty's proposal, yet vote for Flaherty's Conservative budget. He'll also be able to say to his supporters that if elected prime minister, he will bring back the subsidy. Also, as the candidate of the centre, he will be better likely than Rae to solicit donations for the Liberal Party directly or indirectly from the business community. Rae, being further to the left, will have a harder time reaching out to the business community. Also, he probably won't get the support from people who currently vote for the NDP.

I think Michael Ignatieff will win the leadership of the Liberal Party on the first ballot. My advice for him is to start running against Stephen Harper now instead of in May.

Update:

Recommended Blogging Tory post for today: The View from the Right: Conservatives Wrong to Cut Party Funding.

Dang nabbit! I wasn't nominated!

OK, so I am ticked off. Just kidding. I'm pleased to see a lot of quality bloggers nominated in different categories for the Canadian Blog Awards.

If people are disappointed about some of the categories listed or not listed, then they should contact those who are running the competition to see if some of the categories should be changed or added for next year. I do hope that everyone will take this competition seriously, but with a good spirit in mind.

I have voted in most of the categories. If I did not vote in some of the categories, it was because I do not have enough knowledged about some of the particular blogsites. One quick look through the links doesn't make me qualified to judge some of blogs.

Except for the Best Pundit/Professional Commentator Blog, I did not vote for people who make their living in journalism or are common guest panelists on news programs.

I did vote for blogs across the political spectrum--left, centre, and right--in different categories. I do like to vote for good quality blogs, not just those whose bloggers share the same views as I.

I voted for blogs that added something new to the intellectual discussion in the Canadian blogosphere. I voted for blogs that could be critical of others and their own thinking while not resorting to name-calling. I voted for those that could invite discussion through their comments section. I know that some people moderate their comment boards and that is fine so long as they are not deleting comments that disagree with their own viewpoints. Spam and derogatory comments are fine to delete; other viewpoints need to be heard.

I didn't focus much attention on the layout of the blogs other than to decide if they are easy to navigate. I don't expect bells and whistles. I just want the basic text, pictures, and videos.

Anyway, I didn't get nominated this year. Vote for me for the best blog with a pink background next year.

All the best to everyone.

Intending to run for the Liberal leadership

No, I am not intending to run for the Liberal leadership. I am suggesting that the three Liberal leadership candidates--Ignatieff, Rae, and LeBlanc--will not formally register as leadership candidates until just before the deadline. This way, the candidates can keep all fundraising money for themselves rather than give a portion to the Liberal Party. Since, they are not officially candidates, one can assume that people are donating money to ordinary MPs. Only the money that these candidates raise after their registration will they have to give a portion to the Liberal Party.

The big mistake made over the weekend by the Liberal Party of Canada (Ontario) was to give vetoes to non-registered candidates on allowing media access to a meeting. That decision should have been made by the executive alone.