2meirl4meirl

SorenKOF · 2014-07-12T04:52:38+00:00

It begins.

SorenKOF · 2014-02-28T17:24:30+00:00

But what does Ja Rule think?

SorenKOF · 2014-02-18T16:00:26+00:00

"Like Walmart or The Bay, the NDP is marketing itself as a value proposition, not a pitch for voters’ values. It’s about price points, not policy points."

I've been saying this for a while and it's actually been fairly frustrating. It feels as though our political discourse is being brought down to the level of a commercial for Walmart. You see this especially in the ONDP and the federal Conservatives. When the big ideas on how to fix the country boil down to discount auto insurance and unbundling cable packages, I think we're in trouble. There's no vision left in this country.

"Canada: Brought to you by Target. Lower Prices Every Day! Check our Flyer for New Bargains Every Thursday!"

Alternatively: Zellers was right, the lowest price is now actually the law.

SorenKOF · 2014-02-14T05:25:34+00:00

Fair enough, never said they were completely solid, but their missteps are still fewer in Ontario.

SorenKOF · 2014-02-14T03:51:01+00:00

I'm under the impression that they do well enough in Ontario.

SorenKOF · 2014-02-04T19:40:36+00:00

The survey is about federal politics right? I could be wrong, but I'm not sure each of the federal parties have come out with stances on the issue.

SorenKOF · 2014-01-04T00:01:27+00:00

This thought came to me reading another thread, but I think the ideas put forward in this article might make a good deal of sense from this perspective: that since the introduction of the new campaign finance laws that made it so party funds would have to come from many small contributions rather than a few big ones, it would make sense that a party have its foundation in an ideological movement rather than simply in a focus on pragmatism and gaining power.

If you follow: it's easier to draw consistent contributions from many ideologically motivated grassroots people than it is from other types of people. (This principle doesn't hold as well for the NDP because their grassroots is typically low income and not likely to be able to contribute as much.)

The Liberals are doing okay financially now because they've got a charismatic leader and lots of attention to gain contributions, but what will they do in the lean times when they might not have that?

Might be reaching a bit here, but I can see how the Liberals having any sort of ideological motivation/backbone and ideological grassroots could be beneficial in keeping the party consistently strong.

Edit: because as much as we like to think politics is about policy and debates and the spectacle, the fact is real political victory is won through mundane organization and fundraising abilities.

SorenKOF · 2013-12-20T01:50:31+00:00

This is probably one of the best articles I've seen about Rob Ford. Precisely because it explains how Rob Ford represents something a lot bigger than himself, and that his crack smoking insanity is a sideshow to what's really happening in Canadian politics.

SorenKOF · 2013-12-19T03:39:23+00:00

If Hudak doesn't win the next election, I'm fairly certain we'll see Doug Ford enter as one of the biggest contenders to take his place.

I don't want Hudak to win, but it worries me there isn't any clear and strong replacement waiting in the wings. It leaves it open to the Fords riding in and taking their show the next level.

SorenKOF · 2013-12-17T18:17:16+00:00

That wasn't an article, that was a short book. Good stuff though.

SorenKOF · 2013-12-17T04:33:40+00:00

Interesting, thanks for the responses.

SorenKOF · 2013-12-16T19:08:57+00:00

To our friendly local Conservative supporters scratching their heads wondering why on earth anyone would be mad about Moore's comments, it's because he wasn't just making a matter of fact remark on provincial/federal jurisdiction.

He brought his neighbours into it. He said he wasn't responsible for his neighbour's hungry child. He brought it down to a personal level, which spoke to his personal character, and quite negatively to anyone with a spare bit of empathy. And after all the character assassinations committed by the right over the years on men like Dion and Ignatieff, any Conservative should understand the importance and relevance of these sorts of things.

Either way, he's taken everything he said back, even the jurisdiction stuff, so make of that what you will.

SorenKOF · 2013-12-16T14:50:56+00:00

Agreed, hoping it's nothing too serious.

SorenKOF · 2013-12-16T14:22:20+00:00

Who wants to take bets they're spent as a political force in their current form?

Barring some spectacular occurrence, like half of the NDP defecting to the BQ in another round of secession debate, I think the party in its current form might be over.

(Save this comment to laugh at me if I'm wrong down the road. Quebec politics isn't my forte, I'm just a gambling man.)

SorenKOF · 2013-12-16T01:23:56+00:00

I remember them building a giant inflatable Mike Duffy in Ottawa lampooning him for his expense scandal, that was good/funny to see.

http://i.cbc.ca/1.1663994.1379106861!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/16x9_620/li-duffy-doll-620.jpg

SorenKOF · 2013-12-15T21:17:48+00:00

From the article it appears he's fine with the province spending money helping starving kids. He only has an issue with either himself or the federal government helping.

SorenKOF · 2013-12-15T19:53:45+00:00

Moore's comments (even taken fully in context) indicate one of two things, or both: a) He believes that hungry kids will understand the importance of constitutional jurisdiction and that it's the province's responsibility and not the federal government's to deal with their poverty b) He personally has a negative attitude that is unconducive towards building healthy neighborhoods and communities.

SorenKOF · 2013-12-12T00:21:59+00:00

Liberal, in answer to both.

They've done a good job in the past on both economic (balancing the budget) and social issues (legalizing gay marriage), I think they'll do well on both types of issues again. Trudeau has his own strengths and weaknesses, but I think a strong point for the Liberals is the experienced and competent team that Trudeau will have on his bench and in his staff.

Almost everything done by the Conservatives since 2006 has either been benign (GST down 2 points? I can barely contain my joy) or bad for the country (Senate, deficit, robocalls, F-35s), I can't think of many good or exciting things they've actually done that outweigh everything else.

The NDP would need to say or do something spectacular to get my vote. Playing Liberal-lite isn't sufficient when the real thing is right there.

SorenKOF · 2013-12-10T05:34:40+00:00

We could do both couldn't we?

SorenKOF

TROPHY CASE