I was sitting on a bench overlooking the beach at Ward's Island this weekend, when I suddenly thought of Jack Layton.
And how I used to see him all the time cycling around the island on a bicycle made for two.
Back in the giddy days when an orange wave had made many of its supporters, including me, believing that the NDP was only an election away from forming a government.
But as we all know, that never happened.
Jack still rides a bike, near the ferry dock, named after him.
But he has now been dead for almost eight years, and his party seems to be getting ready to join him
For it never recovered from the devastating disappointment of being almost wiped out in the 2015 election.
Its leader angry Tom Mulcair drowned the NDP in his bitter bile, and turned it into an anti-Trudeau party.
As if we didn't already have one.
As if it didn't make him look ridiculous...
And after Mulcair there was no greater toxic Trudeau hater than Nathan Cullen, who clearly enjoys the company of Cons more than he enjoys the company of others.
In fact Cullen hated the Liberals so much he sided with the Cons on the need for a referendum, blew the election reform process right out of the window. And then blamed Trudeau.
For he just can't conceal his bitterness, even though it can be so petty.
And says more about Cullen than it says about Trudeau.
But this tweet over the weekend was the absolute limit.
Can a liberal supporter explain how this fits into “sunny ways” politics? I’m not saying we can’t point out differences but doing the attack thing while claiming your opponents are divisive and negative seems duplicitous at best. https://t.co/BWOTefF9Hi— Nathan Cullen (@nathancullen) April 13, 2019
Its timing couldn't be worse.
For the first time opposition to visible minority immigration higher than to immigration in general . 42% think too many immigrants aren't white. But CPC supporters register an all time high of 71%.The vast majority of CPC supporters think there are too many non white immigrants pic.twitter.com/kf4qC4VzA9— Frank Graves (@VoiceOfFranky) April 13, 2019
So Cullen can't get away with it any longer...
I don't like to criticize progressives, but at a time when far-right extremism is a growing threat to this country and its values, this tweet by @nathancullen is both bizarre and disgusting, and he should be ashamed of himself. #cdnpoli https://t.co/j38c9vf52t— đ¨đŚ Simon đ´ó §ó ˘ó łó Łó ´ó ż đđ (@montrealsimon) April 14, 2019
And what has all this toxic Trudeau hate gotten the NDP?
Answer: absolutely NOTHING...
For as you can see from that latest NANOS poll, the Liberals may have taken a hit, but they are still in contention, while the NDP gained nothing from the fake scandal, and is still going nowhere.
And if this poll is to be believed.
Forty-two per cent of decided and leaning voters said they support the Conservative Party, according to the latest federal “horse race” poll by Forum Research. That compares with 29 per cent who intend to vote for the governing Liberals, and 12 per cent who support the New Democratic Party.
At 12 per cent they are hovering on the verge of extinction.
And while the Cons will be frantically trying to inflate those dismal NDP numbers, because only by splitting the vote can they hope for a majority.
And while Nathan Cullen may be delighted by the state of the Liberals.
No serious progressive can even think of wasting a vote on a party that has clearly lost its way.
And could lead us all to disaster...
You know, I'm sorry the NDP ended up in such a bad place. And I miss Jack.
But this country is in great danger. Toxic Trudeau haters like Nathan Cullen are doing it no favours...
So now is not the time to be sentimental.
Now is the time to go after the Cons and their collaborators.
Now is the time to resist...
67 comments:
Forum always leans heavily Con. But then, even those Nanos numbers are making me shake. 35-33 is within the margin of error, but still puts the GOP North in minority-government territory six months out. I only hope Aaron Wherry's earlier analysis holds water, that there's enough time to heal the wounds over the summer and the Liberals can still benefit from duking it out with Ford and Kenney and framing Scheer as the third stooge.
Justin Trudeau really is the male version of Hillary Clinton, the target of an irrational and obsessive "derangement syndrome" from both fascists and fauxgressive saboteurs alike. In a more general sense, this fits into the populist fuck-you horseshoe politics trend engulfing the West where the sensible middle is struggling to hold, but clearly in North America it takes on the character of an ugly personal vendetta. Some kind of fever clearly possesses people to irrationally hate a good man, and want to tear him apart, ruin his career and run him out on a rail. For what? His last name? Or his genuine concern for the citizenry and unflappable kindness in the face of the most vicious, bitter attacks?
As I posted here on an earlier article, this pretty well sums up what the sunny ways approach really means. If people can't or won't see that, that's on them. Not Justin Trudeau.
People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere anyway.
What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. Create anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, will often be forgotten. Do good anyway.
Give the best you have, and it will never be enough. Give your best anyway.
In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.
Mother Theresa of Calcutta
What's 33 plus 17? 50% of the ballot support against 35% for Andy the Aryan. The Libs and NDP need to set aside their differences and merge the left, pronto! There's too much at stake here if the impostor Scheer ever gets his foot in the door of the PM's office. Just do it!!
Merge and save Canada People! I can see it now. "The New Liberal Democratic Party of Canada". Once we're in power we can put the NLD logo on gas pumps nationwide proclaiming, "Saving Canadians From The Likes Of Doug Ford Since 2019".
JD
HI Simon,
For progressives, their flank attacks on Liberals, & alignments WITH the Cons, spell their own doom, as a strategy.
Mark my words: Imprint this in your brain:
Every vote, by anybody, this coming Federal election, against the Liberals, IS a vote for the Cons.
Nathan Cullen is doing his job. The NDP is not the official opposition, but they are an opposition party, like the Conservatives and Greens, along with the Bloc. Their job is to oppose, not agree with the government of the day, Liberal. The federal Liberals are not the friends of the working people in this country nor are they friends of Unions. The federal Liberals have been able to work a fine line between the Conservatives and NDP, taking NDP platform items to make them more acceptable and not as retro as Conservatives.
As to those who believe the NDP is on its last legs, that has happened before. The CCF was elected to Parliament in 1935 with 7 seat and grew to 28 seats in 28 seats only to fall to 8 seats in 1958 with only 15% of the vote.
In 1961 the NDP was founded as an alliance between the CCF and Labour. In 1993 the NDP held 9 seats, 1997--21 seats, Then the years of Layton put them in official opposition status. Then the party slide once again. The NDP is where people go when they've had enough of the two other major parties. Then when the two majors get the message, voters go back. As one of the old time NDP leaders in B.C. once said, the NDP are the bastards of the Canadian political system. If we come to office we have to make as many changes as we can because next election we'll be gone. He was correct then and is today.
The Liberals look good today because Trudeau is running the party, but for those who have a look back over history, they weren't always a "progressive" party. IF Trudeau were to walk away from the Liberals, what would they look like? Does any one remember what they looked like with Paul Martin in office, him and his "balanced budget" routine? It could happen again.
Over the decades Liberals and NDP politicians have moved from one party to the other. Bob Rae, Ujjal Dosanjh--another NDP Premier who went to the federal Liberals as a cabinet minister. Ian Waddell, from federal Liberals to NDP MP, in B.C. and then MLA in B.C. (Waddell wrote a book about his life in politics in 2018. Take The Torch. Gives you a good idea of how politics in Canada moved and how some social changes were made by NDP parties members. Waddell was Pearson's driver while he campaigned in the federal election back in the day. Also gives people a good idea where some of our leaders came from back in the day, along with some Supreme Court Justices.
Actually it was Jack Layton who started the NDP on this path. The man has taken on the mantle of sainthood when he was a politician like any other. He was not above attack politics albeit cloaked in a smile. He made the decision that it was more important to attack the liberals than it was to work with them. He had no issue finding common cause with the CPC because his aim was to destroy the LPC. Jack Layton and the NDP ushered in a decade of Stephen Harper. The NDP managed to form the Official Opposition based on an orange wave in Quebec. It didn't hold in 2015 and the NDP is on track to lose most of their Quebec seats. The NDP is still nursing a grudge over losing the Official Opposition and let's be brutally honest here. The NDP hates the LPC and Trudeau and they have no issue working with the CPC to bring them down. In many respects they are just as destructive as the CPC.
Tom Mulcair was often described as "angry Tom" and it worked when he was in Parliament, going after harper and his regressive laws and dismantling of our democracy. The problem was once it was time to run again in 2015, they tried to make him into "nice" Tom. That was a huge mistake. As the election campaign dragged on, it gave Trudeau a chance to shine and be elected. For anyone who thought the NDP were going to be the government of the day was consuming too much of B.C.'s best product.
Mulcair did a decent job as leader of the NDP. He was after all a Liberal from Quebec. The NDP is back where it historically has been.
Perhaps some ought to have a read of Tommy Douglas's speech regarding "Mouseland". Come to think about it, there is a video about it also. Its about mice voting for fat cats, why?
yes, right now the federal Liberals are the best choice for Canada, but without an NDP, where do you think the Liberals would go, if some one like Paul Martin came back to lead the Liberals or some of those prior to Pearson. The NDP is an opposition party and with out opposition a democracy can not flourish.
You really think Layton would be cutting Justin any slack over the SNC scandal? Hell, if Layton was still alive Justin would be a backbench MP no would give a shit about.
Will be interesting to see if NDP get a foothold in NL provincial election.....soon to be announced!
The NDP has truly lost their way. Hearing Singh say he’d ‘support the Conservatives’ was stunning. It shows he/they stand for nothing but crass opportunism. JS was a terrible choice for leader and seems to have little interest in actually rebuilding the party on a progressive platform but happy just for a ‘job’. Has none of the GRIT Trudeau had to criss cross the country to rebuild from 3rd party status.
Trudeau was incredible in his energy and hard work to meet with citizens from church basements to small community halls to rebuild one citizen at a time. When he’s in front of people he wins their hearts. I’ve seen grown men cry and all line up for selfies with him. Even some hard core conservatives boxed with him and wanted selfies even tho they said they’d never vote for him — Trudeau replied ‘that’s fine as that is what Canada is all about’. Pure CLASS act.
Can anyone with a modicum of intelligence imagine that miserable dumb and nasty Sheer as PM? It’d be an embarrassment of epic proportion and our country would be destroyed — bye bye health care. People need to really wake up to how dangerous he is in his SHEER STUPIDITY. He looks like a crazed LUNATIC off his nut.
How just how can someone so unremarkable and stupid get so close to PM??? Oh — he moved from Ontario to safe Saskatchewan to win a con seat where you could run a fence post and win. All those miseries are from Ontario but moved west as no one in the east would support their far right extreme fringe viewpoints. Sheer, Kenney, Fildebrandt, Harper — all Ontario boys who had to move west to get power from people so tribal they are blinded to logic and ethics. Blame Southern Alberta! Heartland of the reformacons— a truly evil force in Canadian politics —republicans north.
Nonsense! If this were true---"Nathan Cullen is doing his job. The NDP is not the official opposition, but they are an opposition party, like the Conservatives and Greens, along with the Bloc. Their job is to oppose, not agree with the government of the day, Liberal" ---NONE of the progressive gains Canada has already achieved and you've long enjoyed, even would have been realized!
The Opposition is the Opposition. (CON) Period.
The remaining Parties get to choose which of the two (gov't or opposition) to support.
Bernie Sanders North. Some Canadians will disagree with me and vehemently so, but evidently there are a LOT more similarities between your country's politics and ours than perhaps people are willing to admit. Purity-populist ratfucking and an infection of Clinton Derangement Syndrome among the irrational, angry cult of St. Bernard is what, in part, got us Trump. We begged them to do what was right for the country and they refused, choosing instead to punish innocent people for "rigging the primaries" and "running a shitty candidate," then claiming the false mantle of moral legitimacy as would-be saviors against the orange fascist. Talk about holding a grudge: They're still at it, attacking Democratic candidates for the 2020 cycle including some who haven't even formally announced yet. It would appear then that Canada's equivalent to the Bernouts, the (federal) NDP have the same destructive, nihilistic tendencies and the same obsessive, personal vendetta against Justin Trudeau.
What an ugly, ugly mess. Paris is on fire, a structural problem at Notre Dame Cathedral being blamed on who else but Muslims. Canada has racists exponentially on the rise and a good man is being chased out of office and probably out of the country with torches and pitchforks. A 9-year-old Syrian refugee in Calgary committed suicide due to Islamophobic bullying, and a fat, Islamophobic bully is on track to become Alberta's next premier. I'm really disgusted, disappointed and heartbroken by a lot of my fellow human beings lately. Not all of them. But a whole lot. The world is burning and selfish people are fiddling with themselves.
It was inevitable that Cullen was going to make a fool of himself sooner or later. But criticizing Trudeau for calling out the racism of his Con friends is as low as you can go. What a loser. And how come his idiot tweet got so many likes from other Dipper Cons? Simon is right, nobody should trust them.
Justin isn’t Clinton at all. One was a long serving public figure with a an impressive C.V who was also a bully, hypocrite and borderline criminal that made her party unelectable to one man in America worse than her.
Justin is just a self-centred fop who is all sizzle and no steak.
You realize the Liberal Party and the NDP have two completely different cultures right?
Tommy Douglas's Mouseland--in his own words:
(you can hear how inspiring he was. (& still sounds to our ears)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqvsB2aedfU
You can get all the pics with Justin you want on the unemployment line after October, if not sooner.
I really would love to get to meet him someday. He is a class act, and I admire his kindness and genuine enthusiasm for lifting people up, his passion for what he believes in that, sadly, so many others don't share. He is a bona fide humanitarian. Look at Jimmy Carter and how to this day, he is relentlessly shat upon for being so NICE. Look at how Fox News went after Mr. Rogers. Justin Trudeau has been the epitome of a class act despite all the hatred and venom being thrown at him, his family, even his CHILDREN. Did you see Rachel Curran's libelous tweet where she "speculated" that caucus support for Trudeau was probably because he "might be sleeping with half the cabinet"? How low can you get? Sounds like Julian Porter should send her a warning in the mail.
But Trudeau doesn't take the bait. He keeps fighting, he exemplifies Michelle Obama's "when they go low, we go high." Sadly, it didn't work out for Hillary Clinton, which is why I keep saying that he is the male equivalent and maybe just too good for the political arena: there is a sickening, personal animus directed against him for absolutely no justifiable reason whatsoever. His last name, phony scandals, conspiracy theories, "neoliberal shill" purity bullshit. In fact I would gather that the fact he DOESN'T take the bullies' bait is what drives them so crazy.
I feel really bad for him, his family and for Canada at this moment. I nevertheless have no doubt that, whatever the outcome in October, he will be a fighter for Canada and for the greater good until the day he breathes his last, which of course the yellow pests and their Con enablers would love to happen sooner rather than later. But he'll keep fighting, he will haunt them and taunt them and drive them to their own self-destruction. They have let the hate flow through them. A Jedi doesn't do that. So I have to at least try to believe, just looking at how he carries himself as a, Tru' leader, with Tru' Grit: It's always darkest before the dawn, and sunny ways will one day be here again. Godspeed Canadians, and may the Force be with you.
Few climate-concerned Canadians know much about the slate of new federal climate polices, except for the contentious carbon tax. And while global experts agree that the national carbon tax is impressive, they are equally impressed with several other climate policies.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-finally-canada-is-global-example-for-climate-action/
Excerpts from: NDP, Liberals have a long history of working together
Pierre Trudeau’s notion of an allied Liberal-NDP front on the centre-left side of Canada’s political spectrum was inspired by real-world experiences over the previous 20 years.
Both of Pearson’s minority Liberal governments between 1963 and 1968 had required the support of a small group of NDP MPs under leader Tommy Douglas to enact landmark initiatives such as a national health-care program and the creation of a new Canadian flag.
And between 1972 and 1974, Trudeau’s own Liberal government was propped up by the 31 New Democrat MPs under the leadership of David Lewis. His co-operation accord with Trudeau led to the creation of the government-controlled Petro-Canada and a new national program for affordable housing.
Jack Layton, along with his involvement in the failed 2008 coalition, has claimed one other major achievement as a result of a fleeting — but fruitful — Liberal-NDP parliamentary accord.
In 2005, with Paul Martin’s minority government on the brink of falling, Layton levered the NDP’s 19 seats to help prop up the Liberals and extract major concessions in that year’s federal budget.
The deal — which led to what Layton has called the “first NDP budget in Canadian history” — forced the Liberals to shift $4.6 billion in planned corporate tax cuts to spending on a suite of NDP-backed programs, including affordable housing, education and training investments and increased foreign aid.
“We had the opportunity to put some of our ideas into practice for a change,” Layton said in his 2006 memoir Speaking Out Louder, “instead of just talking about them.”
https://ipolitics.ca/2011/04/28/ndp-liberals-have-a-long-history-of-co-operation/
Here's an interesting article:
https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/owen-gallupe/federal-election-2019-liberal-ndp-merger_a_23685300/
"Every vote, by anybody, this coming Federal election, against the Liberals, IS a vote for the Cons. "
Yes it is...which is why you should be pushing to get Justin Trudeau to resign while there is still time to select an interim leader who *could* beat Andrew Scheer. Trudeau can't. He's so damaged now that he can't possibly recover (with still more to come once the Admiral Mark Norman trial gets rolling).
The sooner you 'progressives' pull your heads out of the sand and simply ADMIT that Trudeau is beyond saving, the better your chances will be of avoiding a Conservative victory. QUICKLY NOW. You're almost out of time... the election is only 6 months away.
(or, alternatively, you could all just remain on the crazy train with your buddy Montreal Simon here, and keep sneering about a "fake scandal" even as more and more disturbing new information is revealed. How's that working out for you so far, that DENY DENY DENY strategy?...;)
Fred from BC
Left-wing icon Michael Harris, currently a contributing editor at The Tyee, says " Andrew Scheer is about as scary as the Michelin Man. Throw a paper airplane at him and he edits his tweets."
I see everyone is now trying to paint Scheer as a White Nationalist or some such bullshit...a tactic born of simple desperation, and just as doomed to backfire as the Democratic effort to do the same to Donald Trump.
Fred from BC
Mr. Cullen is a member of the NDP, one of the opposition parties, so his criticism of Mr. Trudeau is not remarkable. It is to be expected really.
However, the content of this particular criticism is off-base. He is inferring that Mr. Trudeau is being "negative" when calling out Mr. Scheer and his choice of political friends.
Making politics personal is negative. Calling out the leader of the Official Opposition and the erstwhile PM in waiting because he is known to consort with white supremists is not personal. It is necessary to be certain that Canadians become aware of it and to be certain that Mr. Scheer knows that he risks paying a heavy political price if he continues to be associated with these people.
I would think that Mr. Cullen and the rest of the NDP would consider this a laudable goal of the PM. After all, they have not had too much time for these types of people in the past so I am assuming that they still believe that in the present.
Then again I could be wrong.
The "scandal" WAS fake, as a host of analysts and commentators have already pointed out. Ever heard of "swiftboating"? This was a classic GOP-style smear campaign and backstab in an election year. The only reason he is "damaged" is because of a constant barrage of lies and hate directed at this man by a Con-friendly media apparatus and a pair of vindictive shrews with an opportunistic, self-serving agenda. I'm simply an American "Cassandra" who is still wounded from 2016 and trying to warn Canadians about the same "but her emails" coup being pulled in Canada. I can't vote here. I have no input on what Trudeau should or shouldn't do. But I will say that the M$M and the deplorable, self-serving opposition should be ashamed of themselves for what they've done to Justin Trudeau and to the country. Not that they ever will be because they're soulless and without shame. As for you, Fred, you sound like you're taking delight in Trudeau's misfortunes, which are not of his own making but a bombardment that he was totally unprepared for. Why? Why does everyone hate him so much? What has he ever done to deserve this?
"...just as doomed to backfire as the Democratic effort to do the same to Donald Trump."
Yeah, that didn't age well. Surprise surprise, Trump turned out to be a white supremacist after all, didn't he? Hillary Clinton has been vindicated in everything she warned us about him. Tiki-torch Nazis were "Very fine people"? Baby cages? "Shithole countries"? White-supremacist massacre perpetrators naming him in their manifestos? Any of this ring a bell to you????
Anyone who hires Rebel Media's co-founder to run an agitprop campaign and proudly attends the same rallies as Rebel alumni who tweet about the "14 Words" is "tolerant" of racists at best and an outright racist himself at worst. That Scheer's ties to and support of white supremacists are no big deal to you, to the M$M or even to Mr. Harris is appalling, and a disturbing sign of how normalized the rot really is in the "White" North. But then, Frank Graves' poll showed some troubling stats about the Dippers and even the Greens, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised.
As an American, I used to look to your country as a beacon of hope, promise and especially tolerance when ours had gone horribly wrong. "People-kindness." No longer. The constant barrage of abhorrent, deplorable, and relentless attacks directed at Justin Trudeau, his family and members of his party has pretty much disillusioned me of a place called "Canalot." No prime minister has done more to undermine the government he lost to fair and square than Stephen Harper, but that's OK because his proteges "aren't so bad"? Perhaps that is why Mr. Trudeau's foes despise him so much is because he pulled back the mask of "Canadian exceptionalism" and challenged you to do better, and you failed. He has revealed the Ugly Canadian to be just as bigoted, stupid and a poor steward of the democratic process as the Ugly American. He exposed a lot of myths about this country, and petty people like you indulging in Schadenfreude can't handle the truth. Shame on you.
Well, let me just say that he is welcome to come here and help us fix things anytime he wants if you don't want him. Or just hang out here and do whatever he likes. Write a book, or two or three. Open a school for disadvantaged children. Build Habitat for Humanity homes from repurposed hockey sticks. Andrew Scheer IS a white nationalist, but Justin Trudeau is a good man, a decent and kind man and a victim of bloodthirsty vultures who make them feel INADEQUATE. He is by no means the caricature you haters paint him as. He may not be such an astute politician, but maybe that's just because he really does believe in doing politics differently. He's not a dirty trickster or a smear campaigner. He attacks what needs to be attacked -- bigotry -- but doesn't engage in baseless, underhanded backstabbing like other people, even in his own circle. But if that's just the nature of the beast, then I hope he holds his head high, because he has every right to say "I have no regrets." Perhaps Canada was just not ready for someone like him, and his Parliament -- his Canalot -- is not of this world.
@anon 4:51
Thanks for proving M. Theresa's point about irrational, self-centered enemies. A "fop"? Your homophobia is showing. You are completely off-base about our rightful President too.
Go crawl back under your bridge with either your MAGA hat or Bernie-branded blanket. Tankies and fascists are no different, two pea-brains in the same pod.
"Why? Why does everyone hate him so much? What has he ever done to deserve this?"
He's done nothing, Jackie. For people like Fred, Justin Trudeau is everything they will never, ever be.
JD
Anon 4:52, you do realize I said they need to set aside their differences, right?
JD
So you attribute comments to Singh, but who are you and where were these comments made? Any one can come a blog and make these accusations. They did it during the American, German and French elections. Some of us might not believe you.
the reason the americans have such a fucked up political system is they only have two political parties. Other democratic countries have many more parties and it enables people to decide where to park their vote. If you eliminate the smaller parties, there are only the two large ones left and both are tied very closely to big corporations. Their interests are not mine. It not like the federal Liberals have ever done the working people of Canada a whole lot of favours. Now having written that, yes, if the choice is between Scheer or Trudeau, of course Trudeau wins, but then if you look at two different leaders of these parties, it might be different. What if a new leader of the federal Liberals was another Paul Martin or right of him and there was no NDP, Green or Bloc.
brawnfire, perhaps you don't see politics as I do. "the remaining parties get to choose which of the two to support", not really, they can support their own party and not support either party. if you're going to succeed you don't tie your wagon to the tail of another party. You'll get shit on. If a political party is ever to get a head, its by opposing. Do you really think the NDP got to be official opposition by "agreeing" with the federal Liberals?
In politics the idea is to win.
This is not the U.S.A.
Its in the best interests of the NDP, Bloc, and Greens to get as many M.P.s as possible. It will make for a better country. IF they decide to support the federal liberals, then fine, but other political parties won't support them without getting something in return.
Remember we have a national health care act because that is what the NDP extracted from the federal Liberals to support them. The federal Liberals did not give that out of the goodness of their heart.
During the wars with the Conservatives, Broadbent agreed to support the minority Liberals. it cost the NDP a lot of seats, but at the time, it was the best thing to do. Its how small parties do get their agendas on the table. After the upcoming election, it maybe that the federal Liberals need the Bloc, Greens, and NDP to form government. That would be fine. We might make some progress in other areas.
Many here think Trudeau is great, Well he is fine, but its not about the cult of Trudeau, its about the Conservatives and the Liberals. Look at it from a party perspective.
If you look at the U.S.A. there have been as many asshole Democrats as there have been asshole Republicans over the past 100 years. Had some real good racists in the Democratic Party. These days they're more liberal, but only because they want to be elected. Remember where they get their money. Same applies to Canadian politics.
See Frank Graves' poll from the other day. The numbers don't lie. There's a LOT more of "these types of people" in the NDP than the Liberals -- and more than perhaps their "leadership" wants to admit. To me, they're the Canadian version of Bernie bros, who were and still are some of the most racist and tone-deaf bullies I've seen in a long time.
Besides that, they don't care who they side with or give cover to. All they care about is smearing and hating on Trudeau.
Hi Comrade Freddy
Yep propaganda 101, if the target audience is not stupid enough to vote Con perhaps seeding doubt about their leader will convince them to stay at home! This strategy is cheap to implement and any Con with a dog in the hunt can participate.
RT
The Canadian birth rate is below replacement level and when combined with an aging workforce it will translate into labor shortages including essential services as people retire and eventually require more support. Cons know that immigration is required to address this problem but like plantation owners of yesterday they delude themselves into thinking they can maintain control through a tiered society where newbies have to prove themselves worthy before they can move up in rank. Cons won't even realize the mistake they made until they end up in assisted living facilities wearing crappy diapers on their head in retaliation for the many years of discriminating against women who wear a hijab. Sew fear and mistrust then say "I told you so" when they reap the harvest. Its a cycle that seems almost impossible to break.
RT
Why would the NDP debase themselves like that?
I'd think that thinking conservatives would prefer Maxime and the PPC
AR
e.a.f.
we certainly seem to see the operation of Parliamentary democracy differently.
"not really, they can support their own party and not support either party." Then, in that case, (the Con/Lib situation I just presented to you,in my previous reply) they'll be a minority third party choosing to make itself simply irrelevant. Their votes/ their voice, in Parliament won't matter.
By themselves their votes in parliament won't make any difference if they needn't be counted towards determining the outcomes; pro or con. Same thing as abstaining.
So, the best a Federal third party has ever achieved is official Opposition. If you really believe the NDP or the Greens are going to succeed, ever, as in "win" the Government, as you term it, you must be smoking something.
You're right, "this is not the U.S.A."
That is the place where your take on succeeding IS the way it works. There's a winner and there's a loser, and that's it.
As soon as there's three Parties or more, the third and more parties have to form alliances/coalitions to be effective, have influence. The ones that don't win' though, can still sometimes be in position of "kingmaker."
"I really would love to get to meet him someday. He is a class act, and I admire his kindness and genuine enthusiasm for lifting people up, his passion for what he believes in that, sadly, so many others don't share."
They don't share because they are entirely devoid of decency, Jackie. Seeing you have never met Justin, that's a pretty accurate picture you paint of him. It'll be 12 years ago this summer that I met him, just before he entered politics. By chance I got to spend a couple of hours with him and he's everything and more as you described. Funny part was I didn't know who he was until after he'd departed but what I do know from the time spent with him is that he got into politics for love of country and to stop Harper's wrecking ball, corrupted government. He didn't come right out and say that but it was clear that Canada's direction was of great concern to him.
He crushed Harper 1.0 but this time and with so many conspiring against him, he will need all the help he can get to crush Scheer and save this country from the most vile, unqualified, vacuous individual to ever run for PM.
JD
I agree that the NDP has lost its way. On the other hand the Liberals, aside from having mastered the ethnopandering file on its inception and most of the ones concerning social justice thirty years too late, all the while remaining a little less harmful to the working slugs than the true-blue libertarians, hadn’t one to lose.
Except in the electoral benefit that may accrue to the party of the official opposition, I don’t see in his criticism of the Liberals sufficient reason to trash Cullen. Responsibility for failure in the electoral reform issue remains a yet undecided question. It likely never will be; but until the most recent developments, the outcome that we have seemed to be quite okay with the Liberals.
As always, I’ll support whichever local candidate has the best chance of ensuring the CRAP Party doesn’t win and hope once more that we don’t end up with another 40% constitutional dictatorship by whichever of the two most likely parties. I’ll continue to dream that someday more Liberal Party supporters would see it as I do and vote accordingly.
I agree with e.a.f. I don't feel welcome here; I have never voted for a bourgeois party in my rather long life and never will. At least where I live the parties elected are QuĂŠbec solidaire, the NDP - Alexandre Boulerice, very much on its left wing, and Projet MontrĂŠal (Green Left). And yes, of course Scheer, Kenney and above all the disgusting boor Doug Ford are far worse than Trudeau. Duh. Without the NDP, Canada would never have health care. Without Bernie's pressure (and that of other leftists) the US never will either.
HI Ottlib,
Re: "Making politics personal is negative. Calling out the leader of the Official Opposition and the erstwhile PM in waiting because he is known to consort with white supremists is not personal. It is necessary"
Thank you for saying so. You shouldn't have to. But. You state what is implicitly understood by all, but the stupid.
Mr. Cullen must think most people are pretty stupid; which shows you what he really thinks of his audience and adherents.
Remember where the Liberals were in the polls in April, 2015? I suspect the Conservatives have peaked - or, will peak very soon.
UU
Hey, Anon @6:23 pm
aka Fred BC, knucklehead Flintstone.
As to who's beyond saving, I suggest look to yourself.
Just as a stopped clock is right twice a day, even the Pathological-Liar-In-Chief had to admit: "I think Justin's a good person who's doing a good job,"
"The only problem with Justin is he loves his people, and he's fighting hard for his people,"
The problem is the Liberals have a long history of saying one thing and doing the other. In 2015 they pulled the rug out from under the NDP by running on their platform and once in power came up with excuses to do exactly none of it. And Simon, shame on you, you blame the 3rd place NDP for the majority government's failed electoral reform? Sorry, the Libs weren't actually interested. This is why they can never work together - the NDP actually wants to do stuff they say they're going to do.
Hi JD....For almost ten years I argued that the Liberals and the NDP should merge to form the Liberal Democrats. And when the NDP was ahead a few years ago, I believe that Nathan Cullen favoured that idea. But I never got anywhere, and although I remain open to the idea it’s not going to happen in time for the next election. And since the NDP is going nowhere, the only way to make sure the Cons are defeated is for Canadians to unite behind the Liberal Party....
There is a great difference between forming coalitions or legislative agreements than merging parties that have very different outlooks and memberships. I have nothing against either of the above ways of working together conjuncturally, whether a coalition or an agreement on legislation.
Here is an opinion piece by an Indigenous activist against the shaming of progressive activists and parliamentarians:
https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/2019/04/10/trudeau-liberals-dont-get-a-free-ride-because-pcs-may-be-worse.html
Hi Fred...If I am the engineer of the Crazy Train, you must be the conductor in the padded caboose. I realize that you must be disappointed that the fake scandal has finally fizzled out, but Justin Trudeau is still the most preferred Prime Minister, and he is going to win the next election.Sorry...
Hi e.a.f...Get a grip on yourself, you sound like you’re losing your marbles. No sane person can defend Nathan Cullen for criticizing Justin Trudeau for attacking the far-right extremists who are threatening our country and it’s values. It just can’t be done. And anyone who suggests it can, should be ashamed of themselves....
Hi JD,
Re: "Jackie...By chance I got to spend a couple of hours with him and he's everything and more as you described"
It means SO much to me to know that. That you actually met him. And that you witnessed for yourself that he IS is everything we who haven't met him, but strongly support him, see on our screens, and have long believed him to be.
Let that put the nail in the coffin of all those trying to undermine him.
There is no substitute. There is no progressive leader in the world as decent and with such a sense of mission and love of country.
No one, and I mean no one scuttled the electoral reform process but Trudeau. The ER Committee did its job, recommended PR as the replacement for FPTP with a referendum to see if the electorate wanted to replace the status quo. Mr. Trudeau didn't get the choice he wanted, took his ball and went home, and the party talking points blamed the Opposition Parties for making him break his promise.
Hi brawnfire @1:43 PM...I completely agree with you. With the far-right at the gates progressives need to unite behind the only leader who can defeat them, and that ‘s Justin Trudeau. I voted for the NDP in the Ontario election, if I was an Albertan I would be voting for Rachel Notley. Until the day they unite progressives are going to have to learn to put country before party..
Hi Jackie...you are absolutely right. The scandal WAS fake, and without the full court press by our disgusting Con media it would have gone nowhere. And please don’t listen to anyone who suggests that you don’t have the right to say anything because you’re an American. I welcome progressive comments from anywhere, and your love for this country is obvious and inspiring...
Hi Ottlib...you are not wrong. Cullen Is entitled to make as many partisan comments as he wants. But attacking the prime minister for criticizing far-right extremists is, as I said in my post, both bizarre and disgusting. And unfortunately it is all too representative of what the NDP has become, a party where bitterness drowns out idealism...
In B.C. we put it to a vote, not once but twice. The last time, not so long ago. It went down to defeat. For Trudeau to stay with first past the post, was the way to go. There isn't an appetite for another system, let me rephrase that, by the majority of Canadians. There are political parties who want it, but they're small. So why should they get to hold a government hostage when they have a majority. Yes, I know we have dictatorship between elections if its a majority government, but that is also because political parties don't let individual MPs do much more than vote with the party, unless they decide so. If the system allowed MPs to vote the way they think their constitutents want them to vote, things might improve, but the "whip" system works for large parties and their financial supporters.
Hi John...Cullen is entitled to criticize the Liberals as much as he wants. But criticizing them for taking aim at the far right extremists who are threatening this country is simply beyond belief. And unfortunately it is a very good example of how low the NDP has fallen. Like you I will be voting for the candidate who I believe is best able to defeat the Con candidate. What I fear is that NDP supporters are so embittered they will cut off their noses to spite their faces, and will end up helping to elect the Cons...
Hi anon@10:43 AM...No, you should be ashamed of yourself for swallowing that NDP fairytale hook line and sinker. We could have had a ranked ballot which is infinitely superior to proportional representation. But Trudeau’s mistake was giving away his majority on the committee only to have Cullen take advantage of the situation to side with the Cons and demand a referendum. And fail to understand that the only reason the Cons wanted a referendum was because they knew it would be defeated as it was most recently in British Columbia, the self styled home of electoral reform. Trudeau realized that if after an incredibly divisive and expensive referendum the proposal was defeated , that would be the end of that for at least a generation. So by shelving the idea he actually saved electoral reform for consideration perhaps as early as a second mandate. I know the truth hurts, but it is the truth, and one more reason to despise the Con tool Nathan Cullen
Hi anon...please check my answer to anon 10:43AM.. I have neither the time nor the energy to repeat myself, especially not to the fanatics who believe anything the Von tool Cullen tells them, and believe that electoral reform can cure everything including cancer...
Hi lagatta...please, I hope that comment was accompanied by the sound of a tiny violin. I have never denied that the NDP has an honourable history. My problem is with Nathan Cullen and a party that would allow him to act like a Con tool. But while we're at it, let me remind you that Mulcair took the part to the right of the Liberals, he removed the word “socialist” from the NDP manifesto. And that in a recent poll the NDP had way more racists than the Liberals. You can call that a progressive party but I never will...
42% my butt
No body told me anything and I’m not a fanatic. You might want to look at what the Liberal Party told you.
I'd be suspicious about the poll and where it was conducted. Perhaps in Quebec and other parts. In other parts of the country, not so much. Lets remember the first South Asia politician to be elected to any leg. assembly or Parliament was Moe Sihota in the early 1980s. We also had Ujjal Dosanjh as Premier.
I would doubt very much that the NDP has more racists than other parties. Its a good line if you want to destroy the NDP and you and some others appear to be very game for that these days. The green's party platform has what some people think of as a anti Jewish platform. Elizabeth May at the time didn't agree with it. You can make polls do just about anything you want. I'd not put too much trust in this one. If the aim is to make the NDP look bad, its worked but we don't really know. It is after all the first national party to have a Sikh as its leader.
Nathan Cullen was not acting as a "Con tool", he was expressing an opinion. Now even when opinions are the same as your political opposition it doesn't make you a "tool" of the other party. Have a look at history.
it maybe the Conservatives have chosen to "embrace" the racist attitudes, but the Liberals are not without fault either. How long has Trudeau been in office now? What has he done with the promises made to the Indigenous people of this country? he can't move any further, so he has had to pull back. Why? because he knows as well as any of us do, if he pushes "too fast, too far", Canadians who vote Liberal won't in the future.
Early on in the Burnaby bi election Trudeau fired their first candidate, Chinese descent, accused of taking a racist attitude towards her opposition, the South Asian descent leader of the NDP.
Simon don't put on rose coloured glasses, it doesn't become you. The Liberals are just as racist as any other party. Trudeau may be fine and ought to be the next P.M. of this country. However, racism is alive and well in all parties. if we're going to fight it, we need to recognize it. If you took that poll in some ridings, in B.C. you'd get a totally different answer. Why? Because a large percentage of the population is: people of colour. However, even within the various ethnic populations in B.C. we have racism. You'll most likely find it in Ontario also. the enemy is not the NDP and progessives ought to stop treating them as such. it may work for trolls and those out to create problems within Canada much as it was done in the American, French, and German elections. Watch out. this could all come back to bite a lot of people in the ass. We might want to remember it was a Liberal P.M. who refused to admit Jews into Canada prior to WW II so they could escape the death camps. No political party is innocent.
Hi Brawnfire, I'm glad to confirm what you already sensed about Justin. I put in a more detailed comment on this meeting quite a while back and wouldn't know where to start looking for it but suffice it to say is, what made our encounter so special was that he was much like some of my very best friends. An ordinary man with extraordinary decency, intelligence, and a great sense of humour. Couple those with an insatiable quest to learn everything about my particular site, asking quality questions I would seldom, if ever hear from your average visitor. That tells me it is how he approaches everything in life. He cares to know and for that I know he cares. That's why I believe in him and take great offense when people try to tear him down and paint him as a dumb, privileged pretty boy with their pathetically petulant attacks. But that is the Con way. Attack 24/7, substance, 0%.
JD
No tiny violin. Fist still raised in solidarity, as for many decades. I was very much agains Mulcair's right turn, as was and is my MP.
I have met Trudeau several times, as I'm a member of a tenants' association located in his riding, a few streets north of chez moi. He is a pleasant person. Not the sharpest knife in the drawer though. I wish him no ill whatsoever. But there is little action behind the progressive talk.
Hi JD, the info you added is most intriguing...
I had the pleasure of watching last night's Cambridge Town Hall on TV. I was impressed, not for the first time, with how adept and IN-DEPTH were Trudeau's responses to every question put to him. We're looking at a very well-informed individual, on every subject that came up. His answers also reveal the logic and thought process behind his stances on every issue.
He had the fire in his belly last night. And, he did it with grace.
Very inspiring!
Hi JD -- Perhaps as a form of solace, I went and perused his Wikipedia page. One section stood out for me. He told the Star and a gathering of young Liberals at Wilfred Laurier U. that he initially didn't want to run in 2013 for leader because 1) he had a young family he didn't want to leave behind:
“My kids are two and four years old and I barely see them enough as it is,” the eldest son of the late prime minister Pierre Trudeau told a group of about 50 students at Wilfrid Laurier University Wednesday.
Some Liberals, hoping to wring political victory out of the famous name, may attempt to change his mind, but Trudeau doesn’t give them much hope.
and 2) he was actually troubled by the fact that the Liberals were so desperate they were pinning all their hopes on his last name, and he felt it could be a liability for them:
"I don't feel I should be closing off any options ... because of the history packaged into my name, a lot of people are turning to me in a way that ... to be blunt, concerns me."
Nevertheless, they persisted, and begrudgingly he went along with the draft. Sadly, he has turned out to be right, as that's been at the root of the attacks he and the party have faced ever since 2015. The ad-hominem campaign of destruction has only metastasized and mutated ever since. In many ways I think he sees politics in Canada as trying to bring, or keep, together a dysfunctional family, much like his own. Consider a holiday gathering where no one wants to sit with each other. Some people threaten to sabotage the whole affair (Jody and Jane) if they don't get everything they want. Some "people" (SNC-Lavalin) are like errant cousins with a criminal record or a drug problem who've worked hard at turning their lives around and he believes they deserve a second chance. Some people (the Cons and NDP) are raucous neighborhood troublemakers who want to burn his house down because they can't stand that he lives there, where his father used to, and feel the property is rightfully theirs. To complicate matters further, it's a multi-ethnic family with frayed tensions from the "old country" being brought to the new one. The town gossips (the M$M) are desperate for attention and just as jealous of him, and so can't stop blaming the host of this already chaotic holiday gathering for everything that goes wrong in his orbit, which has the effect of turning the rest of the townsfolk against him.
I may be reading too much into this, but the idea of family just seems to motivate everything he does. Brawnfire posted a Heather Mallick op-ed from the Star the other day about how Doug's bizarre retro-populism seems to be a holdover of his family life. That seems to be the case for Trudeau as well, who mentions his parents' divorce multiple times in his book and seems to be genuinely wounded by it. As an adult, he's trying to be Lincoln and "keep the union together." Unfortunately, it didn't work out for Lincoln either, who paid the ultimate price for his efforts and so did the nation. There are a lot of people who would like the same to happen to Trudeau; character assassination is the next worst thing, but it's not for any fault of his own. He just wants to bring people together, but like you said, they have no fundamental decency. They don't share his vision because they don't share, period. Sharing is caring and neither seems to be a feature of "I got mine screw you" politics. I believe in Trudeau too and want to see him do well and be happy no matter where his unorthodox career trajectory takes him. He's not Peter Griffin -- that's Doug, complete with cheap Paw-tuck-et Beeah (Kenney is dopey Chris and Scheer is sociopathic Stewie, while Trudeau is a kinder, gentler, Golden Retriever version of Brian) -- but he really is a family guy.
"Schmearmonger what are you talking about? Nobody uses fear or smears others as much as you do. And if you think that denouncing bigotry and corruption is nasty, what kind of lesson do you think we are going to have to teach you in October?"
LMAO....don't pay much attention to the Liberal twitter feed or the feeds of the party attack dogs, including yourself, do you??
Meanwhile, Liberal corruption is perfectly acceptable, eh you pathetic, partisan hypocrite hack??
Hi Jackie.
Your dysfunctional family analogy is so very apt.
In fact, (hope you don't mind), I've copy-pasted it where I'll have ready access to recite it to mine :) when we get together at Easter time.
There is nothing wrong with being partisan.
I was very disapointed by Simon's tiny violin comment, but that is because of how much I've appreciated his blog over the years and his fight not only for lgbt+ equality - thinking of one of my best friends who was a pioneer fighter against homophobia and anti-gay violence - but many other things. And because I will not resign myself to supporting the somewhat less evil of the ruling-class parties.
Im my riding, the candidate who has the best chance of winning is definitely Alexandre Boulerice. And I would not in the slightest be surprised if the Bloc comes second. The Bloc held the riding when Alexandre first won, and although I think he got a majority vote last time, the Bloc came second. The Cons (remember, this means stupid in French) are more likely to gain votes in rural areas and in QuĂŠbec City.
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