Well at the end of this long day, I guess it's safe to say that the people of Ontario weren't too impressed with Tim Hudak's vision of the future.
They didn't like his Made in America plan to create jobs by killing them.
Or the fact he couldn't count.
And they did send him and his hideous Cons a clear and unmistakable message:
Ontario is still progressive, and so is Canada.
Premier Kathleen Wynne has extended the Liberals’ decade-long rule of Ontario, winning a stunning majority mandate for her ambitious agenda of transit-building and a provincial pension plan – the largest new social program in a generation.
And of course I had my own message eh?
Suck it up losers, and goodnight monster...
Mr. Hudak conceded less than two hours after the polls closed and told supporters he would not lead the PCs into the next election in four years' time.
Your time as Con leader was too long.
And your concession speech was too short !#@!!!!
But at least Timbit is no longer living in denial. Just dying the slow death of 100,000 cuts.
Which sadly, is more than I can say about Andrea Horwath. Who STILL seems to think that triggering this totally unnecessary election was a good idea. Not a disastrous mistake.
Ms. Horwath promised supporters that New Democrat members of the legislature will “work day in and day out” to hold the government’s feet to the fire. But she has gone from holding the balance of power in a minority legislature to being a third party with the Liberals holding a comfortable majority.
When she should understand that when an NDP bastion like Trinity-Spadina, the riding I live in, goes Liberal.
She's got a problem, and it will come back to haunt her.
Because surely one should not have to vote for the Liberals to see something like this...
So I don't have to stare into the sad eyes of so many poor seniors, and feel so hopeless.
But then Hudak and Horwath weren't the only losers of this election.
So were most of the pollsters, with the honourable exception of Frank Graves.
In short, Wynne appears headed for a victory. Indeed, with these figures, combined with a six-point lead among likely voters, Wynne is likely headed for a majority.
The guy the Harper regime hates so much.
And so were almost all of the pompous pundits in our shabby Con media. Who got it all wrong, shamelessly favoured the Hudak Cons despite their brutish and Made in America plans.
And who like Andrew Coyne tonight, couldn't conceal their shock...
Or their bitter disappointment...
Which in Coyne's case sounded so much like something Marie Antoinette might have said.
On her way to the guillotine.
It had me both shaking my head AND humming along...
Because seriously, it really is time that our ghastly punditocracy woke up and smelled the coffee instead of their old farts. Acknowledged that Canada is a progressive country, not a right-wing experiment. And started reflecting our views in the material they produce.
Instead of acting like self-appointed missionaries for the established order, or kissing the asses of their corporate bosses.
The Globe and Mail Editorial Board unanimously agreed to endorse a minority Liberal government for the Ontario provincial election but was overruled at deadline by Editor-in-Chief David Walmsley. Walmsley held the section up at noon last Friday for over two hours, costing the budget-strapped and job-slashing Globe tens of thousands of dollars as Editorial Board editor Tony Keller gnashed his teeth and squeezed out a forced endorsement for Tim Hudak's Conservatives.
Because that's pathetic, they're a joke, and the fact that so many pundits are right-wing in a country that does not share their views is a real SCANDAL.
And the best news? Canada is STILL a progressive country.
Tonight we got rid of Tim Hudak.
Oh boy did we EVER !!!!
Soon we'll get rid of Rob Ford.
Absence has not made the voters’ hearts grow fonder in the case of Rob Ford, according to a new poll. The latest Forum Research poll says the Toronto mayor’s approval rating has reached a historic low, his support continuing to drop as he remains absent from the campaign trail while receiving treatment in a rehab facility.
And then with two Con skulls hanging from our belts, and all the confidence that will give us.
Then it will be HIS turn...
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I am so proud of my fellow Ontarians. We chose to move forward not backwards, damn the torpedoes full speed ahead into a progressive future that Europe has enjoyed for seventy years and counting.
ReplyDeletehi Steve...yes, it was a sweet victory wasn't it? It does show that Canadians are more progressive than the Cons would have us believe. But let's not do that for a while, because it was a little too exciting... ;)
DeleteI was thinkingaboot why Wynne won? Its a clear example of a picture telling a thousand, thousand words.
ReplyDeletehi Steve...I'm not sure solar power had much to do with Wynne's victory, but it is an interesting graphic, and recent advances in harvesting the energy of the sun are very exciting...
DeleteYep, yesterday was a very good day, Simon. Wynne won big and so did Brazil which scored all four goals (including into their own net). Today is starting out very well too. Very much enjoyed your comment about Coyne and then laughed some more when I felt the pain oozing from Con Ivison in today's Con-Post: something about Hudak being unable to counter Wynne's tactic of anger and fear ... that was all I could stand to read from Ivison.
ReplyDeleteThose two (Coyne, Ivison) can't be the only ones feeling the pain today. Ipsos Reid had called for Hudak to demolish Wynne with a Con majority, claiming that the Cons led in EVERY major region in Ontario among likely voters: http://www.ipsos-na.com/news-polls/pressrelease.aspx?id=6532 Warren Kinsella was channeling Ipsos and saying Hudak was going to win big. They must be feeling the pain too, eh?
Well. the good news is that one member of the Con/con trifecta has been buried. In 4 months, Torontonians will hopefully eject the second member. And then next year (probably sooner since I suspect the knives will now be drawn in his own party now that they can see that you cannot fool all of the people all of the time), we will rid ourselves of the Dear Leader of that trifecta.
Finally, the media is doing a big disfavor to Frank Graves and Ekos who had called the election correctly: he even called for a possible majority (here is a link additional to the one you provided above): http://www.ipolitics.ca/2014/06/11/wynnes-liberals-hold-6-point-lead/ The big difference was that Ekos was actually carrying out random polling (by IVR, interactive voice response) whereas Ipsos and others who had called for a very close election (Abacus, Angus Reid) were using a non random (and now, as we are seeing, unreliable) method of polling where they were using pre selected online panels.
hi anon...yes Wynne won, and so did Brazil. But both could have been closer than they looked at the end, and both the game and the campaign flirted with disaster. But yes it did feel good, and I am enjoying the pained expressions on the faces of Con pundits like Coyne and Ivison. Ivison was practically Hudak's PR person during the campaign, which for someone from Glasgow is VERY bad form. ;)
DeleteWhat I forgot to mention was that our Con media is so detached from reality they don't understand how the Harperites have damaged the Con brand. So a Conservative in a place like Ontario can only be damaged as well. But yes, one down, another getting ready to be wheeled out, and the third one primed for ejection...
Hello Simon....From my latest article, posted on Wednesday night, ....
ReplyDelete"Stephen Harper is so toxic, so hated that riding rich Ontario is about to elect a corrupt, mismanaging provincial Liberal Government, so afraid of anything named Conservative Ontarians would rather vote in a dirty ratpack than a Harper disciple named Hudak....I`m predicting a Liberal majority Government tomorrow...A black Thursday for Stephen Harper indeed...Despite Ezra Levant and Bryan bible thumper Lilly at Sun News frothing away at Wynne and Justin Trudeau...
Don`t read anything into Ontario`s election result tomorrow except....Except the hatred of Harper by the masses...And it gets worse for Herr Harper...Rob Ford is done too, Olivia Chow, Jack Layton`s wife, a staunch NDPer will be Mayor of Toronto...Another deathblow for Harper....The Conservative marker, akin to the sign of the beast(666) is in it`s death throe...
I mentioned laughing, can`t help myself, Stephen Harper is the architect of failure, Harper was waving his fist at Vladimer Putin, idle threats from a limp sock puppet, ...How many of you know the real reason why Putin signed a sweet deal with China for natural gas.,...Because of Harper`s mouth, Christy Clark blathering away about being a gas spewing super-power...Christy pointing middle fingers at Putin too...ahhh....Putin single-handed destroyed Christy Clark`s LNG fantasy...I laugh at her, and Harper."
http://powellriverpersuader.blogspot.ca/2014/06/christy-clarks-lng-fantasy-death-by.html
The Ontario election result...It wasn`t about Hudak...it was a rebuke of Haperism....
A mismanaging corrupt Ontario Liberal government being led by a gay leader...what more motivation did bible thumping Conservative voters need ?...A sigh of what is to come in 2015...Here is another quote from my Wednesday night posting.
"Yet Stephen Harper and his Convict party are on the way out, endless ads attacking Justin Trudeau, ..remember Ontario?..They are about to elect a corrupt provincial party because of Stephen treason Harper.....Justin Trudeau, not a deep thinker, not funny, not sharp,..good hair but he isn`t labeled with the mark of the beast, not 666 but "Conservative"...
Have a nice day Simon..
Cheers Eyes Wide Open
hi Grant...yes you're right, as I told the commenter before you, the hatred people have for Harper was a factor in Hudak's downfall. The Con brand is damaged, and among other things, the fear of launching Harperite-style attack ads, probably forced Hudak to rein himself in, when he probably would have benefited from being more aggressive. And yes, it does signal a change and if I was Harper I would be very afraid. People are hungering for change, they are looking for anything but the Conservatives, and our future is looking brighter by the day...
DeleteI love it. Horvath should step down, she is finished.
ReplyDeletehi deb...well I think she should, but she did gain a few more seats so I don't see her leaving. Or even being pushed out. Maybe she'll surprise us over the next four years, but somehow I doubt it...
DeleteAndrea's net gain was one seat.
DeleteSimon:
ReplyDeleteOne of the things I noted in all the three speeches by the respective leaders was that Wynne was the only leader who used French at all, and given the francophone population within Ontario (small but NOT inconsequential electorally speaking) that seemed a bit odd to me, but also showed how she appeared to really try to connect to voters across the board, as so many political observers had said about her, especially last night. Another thing that stood out was that Hudak was the only leader not to thank candidates for running who lost in all parties, something that is in my experience something leaders who win or lose tend to do because they value the process itself to make sure that all who put in that kind of time and effort and risk are remembered for having done serious civic duty, and that I think is telling about Hudak and his vision of politics.
I am so looking forward to reading today and the week-end those who were so expecting a massive fail by Wynne and her team, who indeed had been almost salivating to say I told you so, and for me one of those is
Warren Kinsella. Reading his blog as of late you have to wonder if he has sold his soul to the forces of darkness where the future of anything Liberal is concerned (which given that he came from the federal Libs, indeed was at one time a major party operative, and a player back in the days of the Cretch is no small point), which given he works for SUNNEWS these days is not as far fetched as one might think (and no, I don't think it is so much because he was always that way or that he is being pressured by employer to be that way, I do wonder though how much is because he is being contaminated by exposure). Coyne's pain is expected, and I wonder how that editor in chief at the G&M is feeling right now too, especially since his actions and dishonest endorsement have become public knowledge.
I'm not sure if it was here or elsewhere, but I remember saying that the only winner I saw in that debate, if there was a winner at all, was Wynne, because despite being hammered hard from both sides no one managed a knock-out punch on her, no small feat given the material that was available to use against her. That and that listening to her she sounded the most connected to reality in terms of discussing what she was doing and would do, in particular her defence of a Horwath attack about a highway being that it takes time to build and that it was in the middle of the process with land having been bought was a good jab back at Horwath. It would seem I read that better than most of the punditry, because most said she lost that debate, and I do think debates still matter, they just are not always going to be game-changers, but not being a game-changer does not mean no impact/influence at all.
Finally, I agree with you about Horwath, in what fantasy world does going from having the balance of power in a minority to third party no power/influence on policy in a majority and gaining no more seats and a 1% increase in the popular vote count as a victory?!? Listening to her last night you could be excused for thinking she was giving a victory speech, which given the results and give this was a potentially winnable election for her and her party is shockingly deluded IMHO. If she doesn't end up facing serious questions from within her party for her decisions and choices then her party is no better I'd argue, because she made almost every bad choice in her side of the spectrum as Hudak did in his from where I was watching, no small feat that. Horwath truly snatched defeat from the jaws of victory in her own way at least as much as Hudak did in his, because for both leaders this outcome was clearly the worst possible one, and to pretend otherwise does not speak well for one's connect to reality AND to one's ability to understand that voters are not so idiotic as to believe you instead of their own lying eyes and that further undercuts your already damaged form losing credibility.
hi Scotian....I think a lot of people in the media underestimated Wynne. They thought that the debate had dealt her a mighty blow. But like you I wasn't convinced. I thought she came across as a kind school teacher and very Canadian. The kind of person you could trust unlike the greasy Hudak. As for Kinsella I don't know why he was so down on the Liberals during the campaign. I imagine it's because of some intramural dispute with those running the Wynne campaign. But he certainly didn't look too prophetic at the end of it. And when it comes to Horwath I don't know what to say. Like you I thought she made the result sound like a great victory, when it clearly isn't. She allowed herself to be outflanked on the left by the Liberals. And her decision to trigger an election at this time of the year could have been disastrous. I can't help feeling we dodged a bullet, but it does feel good... ;)
DeleteRe: Horwath -- I think that given how well Kathleen Wynne has been doing, Horwath triggered the election because Wynne was bound to be even more popular a year from now. This is the peak of the corruption allegations, and so although Horwath was completely unprepared and had no platform to speak of, she triggered an election to solidify her position and avoid future losses.
DeleteI think what Ontarians responded to was Wynne's inherent trustworthiness and conscientiousness, her fundamental decency. And she is tough -- she bore the corruption onslaught without trying to wriggle out of it, without making excuses, but rather, apologizing over and over for what she acknowledged was wrong. Voters knew that she was not responsible, and would never have allowed such a thing to happen under her watch.
Maybe her openness about her sexuality played an unacknowledged role -- because she is so open, fearlessly so, when others around her had doubts, she proved herself as an honest and trustworthy leader. As someone not afraid of telling the truth.
This is so rare, and she is so rare and exceptional a leader and Ontarians recognize that.
Neither Horwath nor Hudak can touch her on any of that, and it is disappointing that the pundits completely misanalysed the debates, and what was really unfolding.
As for Kinsella -- very disappointing, and a sign that Liberal party feuds are not over. Clearly, he was reacting not to Ontario Liberals, not to Kathleen Wynne, but to David Herle (she may have won a majority, but I's hardly call it a brilliant campaign...). Just goes to show the tough job that Justin Trudeau is dealing with (and handling quite adroitly).
love it Scotian, your analysis is soo appreciated.
Deleteas for Kinsella I always think he has a personal vendetta against those in the backrooms working with Wynne and it might colour his perspective. I think he was hoping for a big loss on her part to confirm his bias about shoddy advisors. I dont think he dislikes Wynne persay, but just was tougher on her then the others. But yeah dealing and working with sunnews must start to colour you after a while. I dont know how he stomachs it.
Horvath is a disgrace to her party, nuff said.
and Hudak, im with Simon, he is a greasy lying weasel and I think the voters still repond to that. and really the debate ....I still dont get it, how do you call a win for a debate with lies. I mean its ludricrous. is that what we have left, that shallow styled look is all that matters, the right suit, hands in a calm held gesture, lies flowing from a false face. I am glad people still respond to honesty and some version of commonsense.
Voters are proving the pundits and the media wrong all over the country these days and I am glad its happening.
It was a relief when they announced Wynne had her majority. Thank god. Hudak would have been a disaster. At least the people of Ontario are smarter than the people of B.C. (no the B.C. Lieberals are not Liberals like the Ontario or federal ones)
ReplyDeleteHorvath cost the taxpayers $90M and who knows what to her party. She didn't think about the "big picture", i.e. the federal NDP having to fight an election in 2015. She ought to have held off. I suspect she thought she had a change to become premier herself. This was more about personal gain than what was good for the party and the province. Hudak resigned. Now let Horvath do the honourable thing and resign also.
"Now let Horvath do the honourable thing and resign also."
DeleteThat aint gonna happen! She thinks she's some kind of hero when all she did was to put the NDP "all in da back o' da bus and shit" to use a perfectly appropriate quote from Riddick. She took "us" from having some sayso in the government to a weak third AGAIN.
Huge ego going on there and she isn't going to relinquish "her power" at all easily unless she has some kind of epiphany and sees what she is doing to her party with her grandiose, megalomanic posing.
hi e.a.f...yes it was a huge relief. I really didn't know what to expect since the polls had been all over the place. I would have settled for another minority government, but seeing Hudak defeated so thoroughly was real bonus...
DeleteI knew Hudafukdat would lose as soon as he announced his audacious plans. He could have won if he'd toned it down a bit but stupid is as stupid does. Your day is coming Harper, will you resign like the coward Mulroney did or will you take it like a man?
ReplyDeletehi anon...I too thought Hudak's plans were far too radical for a place like Ontario. But I must admit when I saw how the MSM was labelling them as bold instead of crazy, I was a bit worried that people would be fooled. It does make you wonder what parallel universe the Cons are living in, but yes Harper's day is coming...
Deletethe media is no longer reporting, its seems to me they are now paid to create the narrative, like some PR hacks. sad very sad. the G&M was really exposed for the chicanery.
Delete"Because that's pathetic, they're a joke, and the fact that so many pundits are right-wing in a country that does not share their views is a real SCANDAL."
ReplyDeleteThis is of course because the media that employ these mindless regugitators of right wind talking points are themselve either corporate, elite or in many cases both.
I have to admit that it was a real treat to wake up this morning and hear that Wynne had won, and not just a minority, but a majority and that Timbit had already not just conceded but announced he would be leaving politics..........a Wynne-Win for Ontarians. The Koch brothers can kiss my ass!
hi kootcoot...I think the increasing right-wing bias is being aggravated by two factors. One they have swallowed the corporate line about how austerity is the cure for everything, and that raising taxes is a bad thing. And two, the precarious state of many media organizations makes their owners want to endorse anyone who offers to cut corporate taxes. But yes, we were owed a victory, and the Koch brothers must be very disappointed with Timbit...
DeleteLets hope the Koch brothers dont buy themselves another politician, but Im sure they will, perhaps they're the reason Harper is still in power:P
ReplyDeleteIt Isn't the Koch brothers who pay the inflated salaries of the pundits who serial lie with smug assurance.You need to look somewhere else to find those responsible for the creeps in politics and the dishonesty in our media.
ReplyDelete