May went on to say “but most politicians believe that if they say they are going to put on a carbon tax and reduce your income tax…they don’t think they can sell it. It is all about votes.”
Today we heard the news that Elizabeth May has been given the go-ahead to participate in the national leaders debate. Since this election will be a referendum on Stephane Dion’s leadership and his carbon tax, perhaps Mr. Dion can explain why he made a deal with May to have the Liberals stand-down in Central Nova and why May feels the way she does about Canadians who distrust politicians that want to raise their taxes.
h/t: audio quote from a compilation of quotes posted by Lore Weaver
This entry was authored by Stephen Taylor at 07:28 PM | Tweet this | View Comments
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Stephen Taylor is a scientist, political analyst and a blogger. Taylor writes here regularly and is the founder of bloggingtories.ca. Taylor has contributed to Macleans, CTV, talk radio and has been a featured speaker on new media at numerous events including the Western Standard Cruise and the Forum for Public Policy. In December 2008, Taylor organized Rally for Canada, a series of rallies held coast-to-coast to protest the proposed coalition government.
September 10th, 2008 at 5:59 pm
Ummm… did I hear that right? Did she say Canadians were stupid?
September 10th, 2008 at 6:14 pm
Had she not been allowed to participate, Ms. May would have whined ad nauseam, and played the victim/gender card, with cries of “power to the people.”
When I first expressed a firm NO to her participation, I was primarily considering my own ears. I have found out that, like Dion, I become deaf under certain circumstances. Whenever I'm exposed to continuous cries of calamitous catastrophies about to befall our planet, if not the entire universe – nay the Milky Way – well, I have a tendency to become extremely agitated.
But … what a surprise! Mother Earth thinks Canadians are stupid? Did she really say that? Who woulda thunk it?
September 10th, 2008 at 6:45 pm
*sniff* no hat tip?
Ya, this needs to get around. She's gonna float like a lead balloon in that debate.
September 10th, 2008 at 6:54 pm
Well, what she said in that clip PROVES beyond a shadow of a doubt that she is indeed a Liberal.
September 10th, 2008 at 6:56 pm
My apologies, hat tip granted
September 10th, 2008 at 7:47 pm
Uh, no, she said “they” (as in “other politicians”) think Canadians are stupid. She didn't say “I”, she said “they”. Listen closely.
September 10th, 2008 at 8:13 pm
Hm, an American-born wannabe politician calling Canadians stupid…nice.
September 10th, 2008 at 8:35 pm
None of the videos seem to be working….
September 10th, 2008 at 8:41 pm
Nevermind, that seems to be a problem with all embedded videos.
September 10th, 2008 at 8:46 pm
May didn't have any MPs. Theoretically, any party leader (even the marxist-leninist) could run in any riding he/she chooses. What is the test for leader's courtesy?
September 10th, 2008 at 8:47 pm
Call in the audio forensic experts!
September 10th, 2008 at 10:21 pm
Why we should be afraid of the Libranos?
Sask Power burns 10,000,000 tonnes of coal a year. Electricity from coal represents approx. 45% of the grid production. One tonne of coal generates 2.419 tonnes of co2. Therefore Sask Power generates 24,190,000 tonnes of co2 off of its’ coal produced electricity. At $40 a tonne for the Green Shaft tax this means Sask Power is going to pay $967,600,000 almost a billion dollars in tax to the Liberal government. Forty percent of Sask Powers electricity is consumed by Sask. residents (individuals, families, and senior citizens). Based on a population of 1,000,000 people each and every Sask. resident will see their electrical bill increase by $387 a year. For a family of 4 that is $1,548 a year. The liberals say that a family of 4 earning $60,000 or less will see a tax reduction of $1,600 a year. But wait Sask Power also has Natural gas fired electrical production that accounts for 14% of their production capacity. Under the Dion Liberals this portion of Sask Powers production will see a 27% increase on their natural gas fired generators. So now if we factor that cost in that will put a family of 4 well over the $1,600 tax reduction. We have not even touched heating the homes yet or the added costs passed down from the municipalities, goods and services, Boards of Education etc.
September 11th, 2008 at 7:13 am
OK, this is kind of a useless discussion, in that Ms. May's in … but May does have a propensity for 'truthiness.'
Truthiness 1: In a Sept. 8 interview with Don Newman, May stated she knew for a fact that none of the 4 leaders would dare say that they wouldn’t participate in the debate if she were allowed to.
She then went on to say that it was the decision of the Media Consortium executives: “they rewrote the rules” and she called them “an old boys’ club.” OK, so that was Monday Sept. 8.
On Tuesday Sept. 9, CTV reported through NDP strategist Brad Lavigne that Jack Layton had threatened not to participate if Ms. May was in. Okey-dokey, but many media continued to say it was Harper.
Truthiness 2: In another interview I saw (unfortunately I don’t recall where) May pointed to this op-ed by former CBCer Tony Burman: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RT...
“Former CBC News chief: The election debate process is a sham”
May argued that PM Harper was opposed to her participation from the get-go and offered Burman’s op-ed as evidence. In it, Burman states:
“Within days of the meeting, we were privately told by the Conservative Party representative that Prime Minister Harper would not participate in the debates if the Green Party leader was there.
That was in early 2007.”
What both Burman and May neglect to mention is that it was also early in 2007 (April) that May and Dion made their pact:
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTV...
“Liberal Leader Stephane Dion is dismissing any criticism within his party about a non-aggression deal struck with Green Leader Elizabeth May.
Dion has agreed not to run a Liberal candidate in May's Nova Scotia riding of Central Nova, which is currently held by Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay.
In exchange, May is endorsing Dion as the best candidate to become prime minister.
Opinion within Liberal ranks is sharply divided. …”
AND
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTV...
“ … Under the terms of the non-compete agreement, ***May has agreed not to run a candidate against Dion and will essentially endorse him as prime minister.*** …
During the news conference May touted Dion as the answer to Canada's climate change struggles, saying she has worked closely with him and has become convinced he is the best choice to lead Canada. …”
So, at that time the PM probably decided no, she shouldn't take part in the debates.
Next, in an interview with Mike Duffy on Wed. Sept. 10, she blamed it primarily on Mr. Harper as being the one most responsible for wanting to boycott the debates. She pointed to his “hard-right agenda” and “top-down autocratic style.” But she insists she wants to see “Canadian politics practiced more respectfully.”
So, Ms. May is speaking out of both sides of her mouth, She wants a more respectful discourse, yet she paints her opponents, primarily the PM, in very negative terms. And she demonstrates a certain elasticity with the truth.
September 11th, 2008 at 7:19 am
Approve
Sent from my BlackBerry device on the Rogers Wireless Network
September 11th, 2008 at 8:10 am
She said, “I think Canadians are stupid” in the video clip. So I feel I should do something smart by voting for the Conservatives to show her I'm not. All May will do is steal votes from the Liberals and NDP which will hasten the Conservative majority. Seems the electorate are more afraid of Dion and his usurious carbon tax plans than they are of a Harper majority.
September 11th, 2008 at 11:07 am
Don't Conservatives have them on speed dial or something?
September 11th, 2008 at 11:32 am
“What is the test for leader's courtesy?”
They are a party leader?
That could be taken advantage of, so there may need to be another test.
September 11th, 2008 at 12:01 pm
I'm no forensic expert, but if you listen very carefully you make out Paul Martin offering Gurmant Grewal a bribe to cross the floor.
September 11th, 2008 at 12:08 pm
LOL she said Canadians are stupid!!
September 11th, 2008 at 1:12 pm
And over at LeftDog the Green Party brain trust has threatened to sue. Here's the link. The story is also linked on Bourque Newswatch. Just another big green blunder.
http://buckdogpolitics.blogspot.com/2008/09/gre...
September 11th, 2008 at 1:41 pm
Will the Green Party threaten to sue stephantaylor.ca too? LOL
September 11th, 2008 at 2:50 pm
The other test has always been there – a new leader of a party that already has seats, who is running in a by-election. I have never heard of a case where the leader's courtesy was extended in a general election.
September 11th, 2008 at 4:28 pm
I think it is a question of interpretation,
It appears to me she is saying (after repeated listening):
“Politicians are afraid to mention the word tax and “THEY” think Canadians are stupid, and cannot, and I fundamentally agree with that assessment”
To my ears she is in fact agreeing with the assessment that “Politicians are afraid to mention the word tax and “THEY” think Canadians are stupid.
The tape isn't edited, but cut short, preventing us from determining proper context.
That said, the Watermelons and Ms. May have made asses of themselves for threatening to sue.
September 11th, 2008 at 8:07 pm
That is definately her saying that “they” (other politicians) think that canadians are stupid. It's quite obvious. But I supoose people nly hear what they want to hear…right?!
September 11th, 2008 at 9:44 pm
Lame of whoever posted the 'video' to edit out the rest of what was said. Lame. Be honest and post the rest so we can hear the context.
September 11th, 2008 at 9:56 pm
The rest is posted. Keep reading for the context. Check the TVO link and I posted the full context in my original post.
September 12th, 2008 at 10:44 am
“What is the test for leader's courtesy?”
Normally it's done in a by-election when a new party leader is elected and does not hold a seat in the house. Kind of odd May never mentions Liberal's ran a candidate against her in the London by-election. Wanna explain why there was no leaders courtesy there Saskboy?
September 14th, 2008 at 4:00 am
Where is the TVO link? Are we expected to believe the interview conveniently ended like that?
September 16th, 2008 at 9:04 pm
and if the leader of the tories was born in america no one would dare raise a word about it, right?
September 17th, 2008 at 4:04 am
and if the leader of the tories was born in america no one would dare raise a word about it, right?