Apolitical Staples

Layton is laying the ground work for a populist campaign. It should be fun. He is being very, very, optimistic about his chances in Quebec, but that is his job. I suspect his message will get a much better hearing in English Canada. I know, I know, Harper will stride the land like a colossus, etc. All hail. I know.

Buzz Hargrove saw the Japanese non-union Plants growing in size while maintaining high Quality , so what does Buzz come up with. He wants to rescue these happy hard working people from their oppression and poverty by fighting to enter the Plant and make it a Union Shop , this was everyone will wprk equally slow and bitch about more money for less work and better benefits and pensions.

Typical mind set set for Buzz-Zaw Buzz Hargrove , cut everything down to a common denominator where everyone is angry and the products are so bad even the workers would buy Shares in the Company when the times are tough.

Just let the Tax payers bail them out until the company makes money and then demand more benefits and higher wages for the same low quality car.

It would be interesting to pour over the Union’s Pension Funds to see if they own stock in the evil Banks or Giant Oil Companies .

Google TiSP gets my prize for the most creative April Fools joke.

The “return of Chretien” is not a funny story. It is more of a nightmare, especially for the Liberals.

I think there may have been a translation problem with what Jack said vs meant. The truth is that Jack is only looking for a second Quebecer to vote for the NDP in the next election. Panic is over, folks, move along, nothing to see here.

People laughed at Harper, too, for his attempts to make inroads in Quebec.

If the Bloc vote actually collapses (which I still doubt will happen), some of those folks may want a left-wing/socialist alternative to vote for, not a decentralizing conservative/libertarian one…

some of those folks may want a left-wing/socialist alternative to vote for, not a decentralizing conservative/libertarian one

Stephen Harper & Co. are just another leftie/socialist party. Old wine in old bottles, with a slightly newish (but retro-looking) label.

Hey, now I know why there is such a fetish for the red ensign among the conservatives - they’re pining for the inflation, high taxes, conscription, vast corruption and overweening government control of the war years.

No, Layton is pretty accurate. The ADQ surge is a good opportunity for Dumont to sell his policies to listening Quebeckers, but it’s no more indicative of a conservative realignment than Bob Rae’s victory in Ontario was indicative of a socialist revolution. It only says that Quebec voters are volatile. They found the traditional choices in the Quebec election to be equally odius and they went for any credible third choice. Dumont, thanks to his hard work since bolting the Quebec Liberals, was the most credible alternate. The task is on him to transform his potential into something he can keep, but the swing is not one of immediate acceptance. Quebeckers didn’t become conservative overnight, but in the absense of viable leadership from Charest or Boisclair, they’re listening.

It’s probably wishful thinking that Layton can tap into that, but he’s not far wrong. It’s a long shot, but the electorate could break in new and interesting ways — ones which might not have either the Conservatives or the Liberals smiling. Or, for that matter, the NDP.

If I were Harper, I would be looking to cool the waters. The impotence of the Bloc at this point allows him to pursue an agenda, to build a bigger record to run on, and to calm suspicions. And by not going to the polls now, he would calm a big suspicion that he’s an opportunist, grabbing at his majority at the earliest opportunity, which is sort of what Paul Martin would do (and look what happened to him).

With that suspicion out of the way, I think he stands a good chance of being in majority territory in 2008.

Layton must be drunk.