Apolitical Staples

Speaking of something that has nothing to do with this post - think the timing of this is accidental?

http://www.gov.ns.ca/fina/fiscal/

1) smaller majority 2) no MMP will get mid thirties 3) mid thirties and will not be back for a while 4) not sure 5) yes 6) not sure 7) yes 8) dont care 9) gain 10) neither quit (if the PCs lose seats and come in below 30% Tory might but i dont think he’ll do that bad)

OK. I guess I truly am a political junkie. The only question I haven’t asked myself yet was #8 :)

Here’s my guesses.

1. Yes.
2. Yes.
3. Sadly, no.
4. Not a chance. That should have been John Tory’s baseline. Now it’s his most optimistic acheivement. Which means that Tory is actually a DRAG on the federal Conservatives, not the other way around. Not in Harper’s interest to do so, but I actually think if he campaigned for Tory, it would have helped.
5. Yes because McGuinty is running on his record. He will lose some seats because of it. Also, there are extra seats available in this election to win.
6. A lot of Southwestern Ontario will stay Liberal that is Conservative federally. Tory has poured his campaign into the 416 & the 905. He’s going to come up virtually empty there. He’s missed the low hanging fruit.
7. No.
8. Yes.
9. Yes & yes. Not enough to make a difference, but enough to allow Hampton a dignified exit, that Tory won’t get.
10. Tory is gone before sunrise. Hampton announces his retirement within a year.

Matt,

I think the expectations on Tory were a lot higher and the consequences for failure will be a lot more severe. Treading water is a failure on his part and he will be kicked out if he doesn’t jump first. I think anything less than winning 15 more seats and winning his own in Don Valley West is a failure too great to be able to keep his job.

The provincial PC leaders don’t stay on after losing elections. Miller, Grossman, Eves, they all quit as they should have. Sometime in the next 12 hours, you can add Tory to that list. Harris avoided that fate after the 1990 election because he had such low expectations on him going into that election. Remember the PC’s were in 3rd place at the time and going nowhere. Peterson also called the election just after Harris won the leadership. John Tory will win more than the 3 seats that Harris did, but that is woefully short of what he could have done with a well run campaign.

11) Did The Gimper and the public school teachers cook up a deal for votes and campaign workers in exchange for favorable treatment in upcoming collective bargaining? (not to mention OPSEU, CUPE, PWU, dot dot dot)

12) Will more than a handful of Ontarians figure out that they’ve been screwed in an advance auction of their own property?

The last-minute signs put up on the highway this morning by the incumbent candidate said, “Say NO to Freedom! Say YES to making other people pay!” Or something to that effect. Those guys sure know what people want.

This was an emphatic status quo result. I was wrong on #2 & #10. Tory is going to wait to announce his retirement from provincial politics. He can’t wait too long or he will get pushed. The Frank Klees wing of the party will be seething tonight. That wing of the party actually elected MPPs tonight.

Tonight’s results explain why Flaherty, Clement, Baird, Jackson bailed on Tory. He was a disaster in the making.