Coderre Bringing Iggy Trouble

The resignation of Denis Coderre from major posts within the Liberal Party today wasn’t really a surprise considering the drama going on between him and Ignatieff. On the other hand, when combined with news reports and the Liberals also hinting earlier today at another potential election call, this makes one wonder if Mike is trying to see how much lower in the polls his party can go. It will be a bit of a rude awakening for the Liberals if he turns out to be better than Dion at trying to guarantee a Conservative majority.

German Federal Election

Updates coming in as events unfold.

Pre-Election Polling:

CDU/CSU – 36%
SPD – 25%
FDP – 13%
Die Linke – 11%
Grüne – 10%
Sonstige (Others) – 5%

Meaning that your coalition options are:

CDU/FDP – 49%
SPD/FDP/Greens – 48%
SPD/Linke/Greens – 46%
Grand Coalition – 61%

UPDATE #1:

Exit polls looking good for the CDU/CSU/FDP coalition, but unfortunately the far-left (Die Linke) has showed some gains.

CDU/CSU – 33.4%
SPD – 23%
FDP – 14.7%
Die Linke – 12.6%
Grüne – 10.4%
Sonstige (Others) – 4.9%

That means the seat distribution would be something like this:

CDU/CSU – 228
SPD – 146
FDP – 94
Die Linke – 80
Grüne – 66
Sonstige (Others) – 0

CDU/CSU/FDP are totalling 322 seats (a majority). Not the most ideal result for an anti-EU individual like myself, but better than the alternatives. Hopefully the CSU and FDP have some room to maneuver and quell the more leftist tendencies of the CDU.

Join the Conversation

I just got the e-mail a few minutes ago, and unfortunately have no links, though it may be comewhere on Conservative.ca by the time I’ve finished this post. Other Conservative Party members may have seen this already.

A quick synopsis:

The e-mail features a link to a personalized video, hosted by Mike Duffy. Simply, it is a party advertisement telling recipients about some of the things the Conservative Party has done since coming to power. The idea behind it is for you to “Join the Conversation”, or in other words, to submit the ideas that you like the most to the federal Conservatives.

On the technical and presentation side, the interactive screen launches and plays without lag on my computer. The “personalization” was unfortunately fairly limited, just a little blue man on a map of Canada to show where you’re located. The most useful thing in the little feature is the map at the end (I’ve linked the menu leading to it in the pictures linked to below) showing where all of the infrastructure projects sponsored by the federal government are located in your area.

If you’re an undecided voter, you probably won’t have received this directly from the Conservative Party, but rather from a friend who has forwarded it (which you are encouraged to do at the end). Therefore,  this seems to try to mobilize the base a little bit, but it is designed in such a way that it will be a happy coincidence if others decide to view it. All in all, not bad.

Link to the photos.

Build the Memorial

Once more out of countless times in the history of Canadian politics, apparatchiks – er, I mean commission members – are doing something politically correct instead of something decent. I’m disappointed, but I can’t say I’m surprised.

The story, published yesterday in the National Post, describes perfectly this attitude of kowtowing to the idea of “political correctness” prevalent in many levels of Canadian society, and not least in the bureaucracy. Indeed, this incident is one of the most disturbing examples of prostrating oneself in this regard, namely because of the perceived “victims” in question.

Communists.

What many members of the National Capital Commission are concerned about is the inclusion of the word “communism” in the proposed Memorial to the Victims of Totalitarian Communism. Why is this, one may wonder? It is because, and I quote (from the above article):

“We should make sure that we are politically correct in this designation…. I feel this name should be changed.” - Hélène Grand-Maître

“Board member Adel Ayad noted that people who identify as communists might “not like” the memorial. “It’s not communism itself that we should be fighting here.”

“One commissioner questioned whether Canadians could even legitimately point fingers at the brutality of Stalin or Pol Pot, given that our own federal government had put Japanese-Canadians in internment camps during the Second World War.”

This is ridiculous. Why should we be politically correct to communists? Is it because, as a poster in the Museum of Communism in Prague says, that “they came up with the term fifty years before the West caught on?” Are the lovers of political correctness merely acknowledging those who helped create their world view?

The second quote is almost as absurd. I don’t care if people who are communists might not enjoy the presence of the memorial. I, and tens of millions like me, did not enjoy it very much when our families were torn apart, with members murdered, enslaved, or simply disappearing (in some cases, all of the above could happen to the same person) because of the hideous policies of the communist State. I see no reason why we should strike communism from the title of the memorial on the basis of some hurt feelings from people who somehow manage to identify with a system of thought on the same page of brutality as Nazism.

The third is plainly laughable. Canadians did not murder Japanese Canadians in the Second World War, but placed them in internment camps. An appalling action in itself, it simply does not compare to the sixty million people killed in the Soviet Union alone under the communist authorities. Canada, like America and every other Western nation, has made some mistakes in the past. Nothing, however, that any of these countries has done holds a candle to the brutality of communist Russia, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, or many more.

We have memorials to the victims of Nazism, fascism, and other ideologies of that nature – and rightly so. But what about the millions who have died as a result of communism? Should they be ignored simply because those who murdered them followed an ideology that apparently entitles them to freedom from hurt feelings? Would the NCC have the same sympathy for other criminals? The answer is a plain and unequivocal no.

National Capital Commission, this is for you. Please show Canada that we aren’t afraid to be offensive if we have to.

Please build that memorial – with the right title.

Election Averted – For Now

Gilles Duceppe has made it clear that he will support the Conservative government in the next budget vote, all but completely removing the chances of an election in the next little while. With Conservative polling numbers 9% ahead of the Liberals, you have to wonder if Ignatieff is giving his thanks to God right now.

It was a lose – lose situation for him from the beginning. Canadians did not want an election and he was down in the polls. The only way out of it for him would be if something like this happened, and it isn’t as if this was good for him either. Canadians will look at the Liberals with more mistrust now than before because of the attempted election call, and Ignatieff with bear the brunt of that. The opposition parties trying to backpedal their way out of election will probably not endear them to the voters either, since the running away started the second the polls turned against them.

With some luck, we’ll see the last of Ignatieff (and hopefully Layton) sooner rather than later.

Boycott the Boycotters

I am sure anyone who has recently done no more than take a brief glance outside of the front door, or into the computer screen, knows about the anti-Israel boycotts going on around the world right now. They are done by high profile celebrities, leftist and neo-Nazi activists, unions such as CUPE, student organizations at universities (some of these, especially at York, have actually been bordering on anti-Jewish riots and have included physical violence against Jews), and it is even under consideration by certain religious organizations, such as local branches of the Anglican Church. The boycotts cover everything from Israeli products to academics to films.

Yes, films. The most prominent anti-Israel boycott going on right now is at the TIFF, or Toronto International Film Festival. At the heart of this particular one is a certain Naomi Klein. If you’re a rightist with any connection to Canada you probably already know and loathe this name. For the rest of you, Naomi Klein is an left-NDP type socialist, married to Avi Lewis, and the author of No Logo and Shock Doctrine. While of a Jewish background herself, the Jerusalem Post has described her various remarks as the “most perverse of aspersions on Jews, an age-old stereotype of Jews as intrinsically evil and malicious.”

So there you go. Her and a few other people, who apparently dislike the films produced by Israeli filmmakers in Tel Aviv, have launched this campaign to boycott the film festival. The sheer stupidity in doing this and in the logic behind it is something I do not need to explain, as people much more eloquent than I have already done so here and here. I do not need to point out her hypocrisy in choosing Israel when films from China, Malaysia, and Iran may play unmolested by her and her cronies.

I write this piece, rather, so I may suggest something. I have made it clear that I dislike when organizations that should not be political launch political operations, especially against Israel. I disagree with Klein’s desire to repress free speech by wanting the Israelis shut out of the Toronto International Film Festival. I also disagree with forbidding individuals such as Klein to state their points, however ridiculous those points may be. But while Klein continues to do such things, I think I’ll take a personal, private stand.

I am going to boycott Naomi Klein.

This does not mean that I want – as she desires of Israel – her opinions to be shut out. It simply means that I refuse to support her in any way. I will not buy books that she publishes. I will not give her website traffic (and her advertising money) from my browser. I will engage in democratic and positive debate on the inaccuracy of her views.

And I hope I am just the start.

I invite all fellow boycotters to use this sticker on their blogs. If you can make a better one than me for others to use, please let me know.

Top Ten List – How to Save the Republican Party

Otherwise known as a “common sense approach to politics and getting elected.”

10. Tone down the social conservatism.

There’s no reason to eliminate it, but the simple fact is that the Republican Party needs to attract other voters. Middle of the road voters don’t want the baggage that comes with this. It’s not that the Republicans need to give up social conservatism – on the contrary, they should continue to espouse it. But toning it down and cutting the rhetoric a little bit will make the middle of the road more receptive to the message that the GOP is trying to get across. It may be more helpful to compromise on issues like gay marriage (for example, by allowing gay civil unions or getting the government out of marriage altogether) and focus on other ones, like abortion, which most Americans believe should be somehow restricted.

9. More libertarianism.

This goes with point number ten in toning down the social conservatism. But what I’m trying to get across here is that while getting rid of a little bit of social conservatism, the GOP should increase fiscal and social libertarianism. Keep pounding on the gun rights, but also focus on cutting taxes and letting Americans get on with their daily lives. Trim the bureaucracy. The problem with this is that the public won’t believe this after the explosion of red tape under the last President. With luck, however, they’ll get even more fed up of the even larger explosion under the current President. When the Republicans get back in office, they have to prove that they are committed to this, or it will be their downfall.

8. Back to fiscal conservatism.

Let’s face it – the issue that most Americans are really concerned about at the moment isn’t gay marriage or anything like that. It’s the finances of the Obama administration, specifically the national debt. The problem is that most Americans still remember Bush and how he ran up the debt, and even though Obama is doing it more, they wonder how much better the Republicans will be. Keep on the message. Americans are right to be worried about the financial situation, so the GOP has to answer. Put high profile fiscal conservatives in key positions, and keep them on track.

7. No more scaremongering.

Let me be clear on what scaremongering is – spreading rumours to cause needless or false alarms. The problem with this, though it can be initially effective, is that eventually people will get used to it and tune you out. It just needs to stop. Attack Obama’s actual positions – it really isn’t that difficult.

6. Force Obama to be bipartisan.

Open your arms to the Democrats, but don’t accept what they offer immediately. Throw them tidbits and convince Blue Dog Democrats to vote with you a little bit more. Gradually continue this until the Democrats have to fight to win every vote, but never make it obvious. Make them reach out to you, while looking as though you are reaching out to them. Make them look stubborn and uncompromising. This will win public sympathy and therefore votes.

5. Be open to compromise.

Of course, this must be conjoined with number six – the Democrats cannot be seen as the ones compromising. It has to be the GOP. Therefore, when the Democrats offer a deal that seems centrist, a deal that isn’t good or bad for America or the GOP, it might be wise to take it. If the Democrats offer a very good bill to the GOP in the House, roll back the demands you’ve made a little bit and work in some Democrat concerns. Most of all, make sure the media gets hold of this information and gives America the impression that the GOP is trying to help.

4. Project a message of calm but deep concern.

“We are worried where this country is going, and we’re going to try and get it out of this mess.” The media should not be talking about raving Republicans yelling and screaming and acting like barbarians, because Republicans are not like that – except for a tiny minority. Silence that minority by having the majority express concerns about how the country is run in a civilized way. Talk, look worried yes, but also look confident that you, and only you, can get America out of the financial mess and back on her feet.

3. Pick your battles.

Fighting about everything will leave you worn and tired, and it will only serve to promote an image of the GOP as uncompromising and mean-spirited. It really doesn’t do the Republican Party any favours. The best solution is to fight hard on the issues that most Americans really care about with a few others on the side. Don’t fight every little thing the Democrats do, or you will lose.

2. Be rational and consistent.

Once the GOP has chosen the issues that it wants to fight (the deficit should be one of them – look at the polls, please), it needs to fight them rationally and on a consistent basis. Do not flit in between issues. If the deficit has been chosen, stick to the deficit. Convince Americans by sending out the brains and beauty of the GOP, the cerebral and charismatic chaps, on the media circuit. Have them calmly state their points.

1. “Don’t worry – we have a plan.”

Draft a concrete plan to show what the Republican Party will do with America. It can be anything, but make sure that you have something to show Americans that you are ready to take the reigns of government. Draw up an internal plan at the same time, on what to do when election time comes. This plan should include a “get out the vote” campaign – with turnout in the West so low, making sure the party faithful vote is just one way to win an election.