Asked about the first thing he’d do as Prime Minister, Jack Layton in the English leader’s debate said that he’d roll back the $50 Billion corporate tax cut. That would have been his #1 priority. Now we learn that the Liberals won’t support this. Since Layton has supported this coalition, has he sold out his socialist roots? Or is it more likely that the proposed coalition wouldn’t be stable or agree upon much after mere weeks in power?
This entry was authored by Stephen Taylor at 04:10 PM | Tweet this | View Comments
blog comments powered by Disqus
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.
December 2nd, 2008 at 2:59 pm
Harper is a bully receiving payback. Get someone to replace him who will work with others.
December 2nd, 2008 at 3:21 pm
Scot Brison's hesitance and body language sounds volumes to me.
Could these jokers have NOT really ironed out anything concrete in their mad lust to usurp Parliament?
When the 'blush' wears off (as it most surely will), will the infighting be loud enough to deafen Canadians?
Y'know Steven these characters are in so deep now that they HAVE to either successfully pull this off and somehow prevent future democratic elections in Canada or they stand to be obliterated into the political wilderness as the conspirators they truly are..
Exciting times & unsavoury operatives these desparadoes are.
December 2nd, 2008 at 6:11 pm
Some news:
#1. Bourque is reporting “Cracks in the Coalition”.
#2. The Tasha Kheiriddin Fan Club is back with a screaming new YouTube of the Rescuer of Canada's Right summoning forth on CTV Stephen Taylor- & PMSH-esque amounts of courage, conviction and commitment in defence of national unity. A must see!
#3. PLEASE GO TO RALLYFORCANADA.CA AND SORTIE!!!!!!!
December 2nd, 2008 at 6:20 pm
Mathieu, MPs are pledged to parties with agendas… not individuals just forming a posse after elections.
December 2nd, 2008 at 6:22 pm
Barry, you're a moron.
PMSH is not abusing his powers, hence not a bully. He's just strident.
December 2nd, 2008 at 9:03 pm
If MPs could vote by their own feelings, conscience, and what their constituents want them to do, I would fully, 100% agree with you.
However, party discipline throws that entirely out the window, because Canadian people aren't voting for an MP, they're voting for a PARTY. When you ask someone who they voted for, you don't get a person's name, you get a party's name. Half the people won't even know the name of the MP they cast a ballot for.
When you have Canadians voting on this basis, for a party and not for a person, then it proves this coalition is undemocratic. If the Liberals/NDP/Bloc agree to not force their members to vote party lines, I would be the first one to throw my hat in and let the coalition give it a try.
December 2nd, 2008 at 9:12 pm
Well maybe Layton is making concessions because he believes in teamwork. Did you ever think of that?
Maybe he understands that to be in a minority government means you must have some respect for ALL Canadians, not just Charles McVety and Ayn Rand.
December 2nd, 2008 at 9:29 pm
What about the impact our markets? The Canadian markets continued to plunge downward today, while the American markets held their own. This issue is driving Canada further into a financial crisis! Instability is not what we need at the moment.
December 2nd, 2008 at 9:50 pm
Yes it's big fun attacking the proposed coalition, cos it so conveniently avoids thinking about the “Economic Fatwah” – sorry – “Economic Update” that precipitated this impasse.
Rather than everyone just lining up on the sidelines to support one side or the other, can anyone reading this simply contact our Prime Minister and ask him to act like a real leader and acknowledge the errors that everyone seems to agree were committed with the Economic Update?
Nothing, NOTHING! would pull this Liberal supporter closer to supporting Harper than if he was able to somehow acknowledge that he took the wrong tack, and that his government is willing to work with a multi-party team to address the very real issues of the current world economic crisis.
Wouldn't this be a better idea than a tweet-enabled rabble-rousing website? Talkin' to you, Mr Taylor…
December 2nd, 2008 at 10:36 pm
Mathieu,
Jack Layton only won 45% of the vote in his own riding. Most Canadians in his riding are against him but he got elected because of the fragmentation of the other parties.
December 2nd, 2008 at 11:04 pm
But most Canadians hated Chretien and Martin as well.
I support the coalition for different reasons: I am an Alberta/Western Separatist at heart. This plays perfectly into my game plan.
We should have gotten out when the NEP gripped us by the neck and strangled us to near death. We gave it one more chance. We now see how the East views the West- especially Alberta, and when the chips are down, or opportunity arises to throw the smack down on us there is never a second guess- we just get it across the chops.
December 3rd, 2008 at 4:06 am
Mathieu,Louise and Barry…..you should be very proud that Fat Jack Pariseau has wholeheartedly endorsed this separatist propped coalition..you are all in great company…and Louise,I heard Lizzie May say yesterday that she would be the first senator sitting in the upper chamber with 1 million votes……well actually,she probably went to the same school as you….since she barely received 12,000 votes in her riding…..remember the old slogan….figures don't lie..but liars can figure
December 3rd, 2008 at 4:48 am
Spin Stephen Spin!!!
December 3rd, 2008 at 6:07 am
This morning the G & M's Dan Cook said Manley & McKenna were never in on a coalition economic planning committee.
Paul Martin and Roy Romanow did not return calls re: their participation in such a committee.
My question then is this: how did that piece of “news” – about a planning committee – get put out there?
Aren't facts checked with two or three different reliable sources before they're put out to the public?
December 3rd, 2008 at 6:21 am
This is high stakes. The Liberal Party have lost its federalist credentials.
The coalition has shut out the west, they have written off any hope of future western support.
Roll Tide to BCS Championship.
December 3rd, 2008 at 6:44 am
BRAVO! Louise, you said it very well, even Charles Adler plastered a caller on the same issue, he told the caller exactly what you wrote. and I say our DEMOCRACY HAS BEEN HIJACKED.
Louise, canadians especially in toronto,quebec, and maritimers are manipulated daily by the MSM; they(MSM) want nothing to do with the prime minister they hate him so much that they will do everything in their power to manipulate you about the prime minister. In fact louise, Scott Reid(liberal strategist) said on television that he wants to have the prime minister killed and to put him in his grave -not once did the MSM come to prime minister defense-most likely Louise, someone will do the job requested by SCOTT REID and still the MSM will say nothing yet those same lousey MSM were all over the prime minister when he came out with the PUFFIN ads. Do not trust the MSM, they are the three Desparados, Bandits opposition parties very best friends. They knew that the opposition parties were planning this plot months ago to overthrow the governement .Not a word of warning from the MSM.
December 3rd, 2008 at 6:51 am
Why would normally intelligent men commit political suicide by attempting this doomed palace coup? ” Scottie too hottie Reid”, AKA “Mr. beer and popcorn”, clearly described the purpose of the current self-inflicted phony crisis at the outset. Stephen Harper must be “killed”, not literally of course but politically.
Entering his second term in office, it had become obvious that Harper had become public enemy number one in old Ottawa. He must be forced to resign or be thrown out of office by the GG or his own party.
In any coup the conspirators must succeed in killing the target or the entire exercise has failed. Lee Harvey Dion, AKA “dead man walking” is being used as the sacrificial lamb in the assassination. The usurper can never survive even if the coup is successful. Iggy and Rae will distance themselves from the killing and plead ignorance of the plot to legitimize the ascension of one of them to the leadership position. The Ottawa press is gleefully reporting the coalition talking points as “news”
The leadership must transfer to someone more compliant, Tory or Liberal, as long as the new leader understands how business has always been done in Ottawa. The National media, the civil servants, the political hacks and operatives, the lobbyists, the parties, and the old dominant families, their friends and associates can go back to the old Ottawa good life. The names of the people behind this will probably never be known.
Looney in Lotusland
.
December 3rd, 2008 at 7:20 am
Yeah, IF this coup goes down… I fully expect Western Canada to form its own Bloc. If that fails, it'll seperate.
December 3rd, 2008 at 7:38 am
The sadest part in this is that our troops have given their lives so this could never happen in Canada. Even now they are probably wonderng why they will be home in a few weeks – Non Democradic Party wants them out as soon as possible-because freedom and women's rights mean nothing to this unholy alliance.
If these trators have any backbone they would face voters in an election, yet thet are very afraid of the results.
I think we should wear black arm bands with our poppies on them, to show that we respect our military and also the death of our freedoms that they gave their lives for. The Green, Non Democradic Party, LiEberals under DeYawn should go face the voters. [We already know that the Bloc wants t split up Canada and this will defenatly do it - sad.]
December 3rd, 2008 at 2:54 pm
Mathieu, Jean Chretien only won his majority governments because of the splitting of votes caused by the Reform Party and The PC's. I guess you could call it a fragmented opposition. Instead of whining that they didn't win and plotting to over-throw the PM, they decided to undergo a democratic merger of the two entities which Canadians decided was a better choice than the Liberals. This was what Canada showed they want, yet sour grapes on the left has caused them to seek power at any cost, democracy be damned! As for me, I will only support a government that takes its mandate directly from the people through a vote, thank you!
December 3rd, 2008 at 6:15 pm
This is very interesting politics indeed. One has to wonder why Stephen Harper called an election recently. He stated parliment was dysfunctional. The election cost the taxpayers of this country over 300 million and what did we get? The money would have been better spent on infastructure or other more useful purposes. It was a gamble for a majority that should never have happened. Before the election the conservatives could pass any bill they presented. They dared the opposition to defeat any bill and invoke an election (which they never did). So instead of being able to further implement a conservative agenda ,we now have the ultimate dysfunctional parliment and are 300 million plus poorer. Stephen Harper has pushed the opposition into a corner and they have come out swinging. Even if Harper survives this crisis, the poisoned political climate will take a very long time to heal and not much will be accomplished in Ottawa (no matter what happens). He needs to eat crow and stop being such a control freak. He should have offered some conciliation and inclusion, but instead only provoked the opposition. He can no longer be trusted and should resign.You don't gain any allies by throwing left hooks (or in this case right hooks) . No doubt this whole fiasco will lead to some heads rolling within the PC party.
December 3rd, 2008 at 7:12 pm
Please tell me that your idea of working together does not mean compromising a sound conservative economic approach and agreeing to a tax and spend socialist approach of a political snake like Jack Layton. If not, and you can not see the coalition as the power play it is then you are either a naive Liberal or Conservative at best or one of the small % of Canadians who did not finish high school or belong to a union that support the NDP.
December 3rd, 2008 at 7:20 pm
Yes, lets do it your way you moron, lets give a power sharing arrangement to Jack Layton and a party with 18% national support and all start worshipping Buzz Hargrove.
December 3rd, 2008 at 10:55 pm
Frank valeriote
Liberal leaving coalition
December 3rd, 2008 at 11:00 pm
Guelph's Liberal MP: Focus should be on fixing economy
December 03, 2008
Scott Tracey
GuelphMercury.com
OTTAWA — Frank Valeriote does not favour a coalition government and instead hopes Prime Minister Stephen Harper can work toward rescuing the Canadian economy.
“I believe in working toward a solution, not working toward a coalition,” Guelph’s Liberal MP said Wednesday.
Valeriote added he does not believe a Liberal-NDP coalition, with support from the Bloc Quebecois, will unseat the Tories.
“I have given no thought to that,” Valeriote said when asked whether he saw himself in a cabinet role under such an arrangement. “I am not, frankly, anticipating moving into government.”
December 4th, 2008 at 2:15 am
This is very interesting politics indeed. One has to wonder why Stephen Harper called an election recently. He stated parliment was dysfunctional. The election cost the taxpayers of this country over 300 million and what did we get? The money would have been better spent on infastructure or other more useful purposes. It was a gamble for a majority that should never have happened. Before the election the conservatives could pass any bill they presented. They dared the opposition to defeat any bill and invoke an election (which they never did). So instead of being able to further implement a conservative agenda ,we now have the ultimate dysfunctional parliment and are 300 million plus poorer. Stephen Harper has pushed the opposition into a corner and they have come out swinging. Even if Harper survives this crisis, the poisoned political climate will take a very long time to heal and not much will be accomplished in Ottawa (no matter what happens). He needs to eat crow and stop being such a control freak. He should have offered some conciliation and inclusion, but instead only provoked the opposition. He can no longer be trusted and should resign.You don't gain any allies by throwing left hooks (or in this case right hooks) . No doubt this whole fiasco will lead to some heads rolling within the PC party.
December 4th, 2008 at 3:12 am
Please tell me that your idea of working together does not mean compromising a sound conservative economic approach and agreeing to a tax and spend socialist approach of a political snake like Jack Layton. If not, and you can not see the coalition as the power play it is then you are either a naive Liberal or Conservative at best or one of the small % of Canadians who did not finish high school or belong to a union that support the NDP.
December 4th, 2008 at 3:20 am
Yes, lets do it your way you moron, lets give a power sharing arrangement to Jack Layton and a party with 18% national support and all start worshipping Buzz Hargrove.
December 4th, 2008 at 6:55 am
Frank valeriote
Liberal leaving coalition
December 4th, 2008 at 7:00 am
Guelph's Liberal MP: Focus should be on fixing economy
December 03, 2008
Scott Tracey
GuelphMercury.com
OTTAWA — Frank Valeriote does not favour a coalition government and instead hopes Prime Minister Stephen Harper can work toward rescuing the Canadian economy.
“I believe in working toward a solution, not working toward a coalition,” Guelph’s Liberal MP said Wednesday.
Valeriote added he does not believe a Liberal-NDP coalition, with support from the Bloc Quebecois, will unseat the Tories.
“I have given no thought to that,” Valeriote said when asked whether he saw himself in a cabinet role under such an arrangement. “I am not, frankly, anticipating moving into government.”