Media Update

I am going to discuss the latest Angus Reid poll, on The World Tonight with Rob Breakenridge, tonight at approx. 10:05 PM EST.

Tory Critic Fired

According to this Globe and Mail story, the outspoken second-in-command in the office of Canada's Information Commissioner has been fired only months after he criticised the Conservative government.

Alan Leadbeater, who worked for the Commissioner's office for 15 years, had been sharply critical of the Conservative government for abandoning promises to strengthen access-to-information laws.

Then just two weeks ago, Leadbeater was told he was no longer needed and was escorted from the building.

I am not sure why, but all this has a familiar ring to it.

Tory Strategy Working?

According to an Angus Reid poll released today over two-in-five Canadians (41%) do not believe any current federal political party truly represents conservatism in Canada.

Even among those intending to vote Conservative in the next election, 44 per cent say this is true.

What does all this prove?

It proves the Tory strategy of moving to the Left is working in one respect: fewer and fewer Canadians view the Conservatives as conservatives.

Media update

I am scheduled to appear on the CHQR Morning News with Stirling Faux Tuesday morning at 8:15 AM EST.

The topic: the 20th anniversary of the Reform Party's founding.

Poker Retraction

My friend Paul Tuns takes me to task for my posting yesterday about the "Top Five Things that Shouldn't be on Sports Television Channels."

He is especially incensed about my claim that TV poker was nothing but a bunch of "fat guys" playing cards.

Apparently I was wrong about that.

Writes Paul:

"I'm a TV poker addict (World Poker Tour, World Series of Poker, High Stakes Poker, and any shows with interesting players). And while I like the play of portly Canadian Gavin Smith, two of my favourite players are definitely not fat: Barry Greenstein, a skinny Jew, and Phil Ivey, a skinny black guy. (The other is Eli Elezra, a fairly average-sized former Israeli army commando.) Regardless of the size of the players, televised poker is quite exciting."

OK Paul I give up.

Sorry about dissing poker.

(Please note, I have to be nice to Paul since his beloved New York Yankees are currently hovering near last place in the American League East.)

Keep these off the Air

Here are my "Top Five Things Which Should Never Appear on Sports Television Channels":

5. Fishing Programs -- What's more boring than fishing? Watching other people fish. Memo to TV producers - it's time to cut bait.

4. Poker -- Sorry a bunch of fat guys sitting around a table playing cards is not a sport.

3. NASCAR Racing -- What is NASCAR but a bunch of noisy cars going around in endless circles. It reminds me too much of life -- you keep going faster and faster, but you never get anywhere.

2. "Fitness Challenges" -- Do we really need to see muscle-bound babes in bikinis, bouncing around a stage? OK maybe we do.

1. Ultimate Fighting - If I want to watch people stepping on each others necks, I will take the Toronto subway at rush hour.

Gunter on the Tory Drop

Lorne Gunter had an excellent column in the Edmonton Journal a couple of days ago.

It concerned the Conservative Party's recent drop in the polls and what caused it.

And what caused it argues Gunter is that the core support for the Tories is eroding.

Writes Gunter:

"The Conservatives were running a consistent six to 10 points ahead of the Liberals in national opinion polls before their big-spending budget and green plan came out. Now they are effectively tied with Stephane Dion and his crew. Hmm. Do you think there's a connection maybe? When Stephen Harper and his cabinet were acting like Conservatives they had a comfortable lead in the polls, but the moment they started governing like Liberals, their support cooled."

Yes, exactly

Facebook Fracas

Seems the federal Conservative Party is ordering ministerial staff to stay off Facebook, the popular social networking site.

The Tories fear some enterprising reporter might discover embarrassing tidbits on staff members profiles such as "In my spare time, I am an axe murderer" or "I am hording incandescent light bulbs".

Anyway, I happen to be on Facebook myself and I couldn't care less if the world knows about all my shameful vices.

So if you were "friends" with some Tory staff member who is no longer on Facebook, by all means you can become my "friend".

I need all the friends I can get.

Spiderbunny

Imagine if the first two Spiderman movies were a combined 30 seconds long.

Now further imagine, if you will, that the actors were all rabbits.

It might look something like this.

Harper flip-flopping on gag laws

One of my biggest disappointments with Prime Minister Stephen Harper has been his failure to scrap Canada's election gag law.

This is a law which denies all Canadians the right to free speech, a law Harper opposed when he was president of the NCC.

Even worse -- he is writing up his own versions of the gag law.

I have an op-ed in today's Toronto Star which explains why Harper is abandoning principle on this important issue.

Check it out.

Conservatism in Canada

Media Alert.

I am going to appear on Mike Duffy Live this afternoon at approximately 5:20 PM EST to talk about the state of conservatism in Canada.

Honesty in Government

Pierre Lemieux, a libertarian friend of mine, has uncovered something interesting.

Turns out, notes Lemieux on his website, there is a department in the Quebec government actually called the "Directorate for the Protection of the State" (Direction de la protection de l'État).

Defenders of big government say we need a strong state to protect us; turns out the real interest of the state is to protect itself.

Light bulbs and Tories

I am quoted in this article in the Montreal Gazette today which examines how some "die hard" old-stye Reformists feel betrayed by the Conservative Party.

My bit is to chip in on the ridiculous Tory plan to ban light bulbs.

Here's how I put it, "It's nanny state-ism. It's government telling us how to run our lives. The light bulb thing sort of symbolizes everything that's going wrong with the Conservative party right now."

Anyway, happy Victoria Day everybody!

Me in the Interim

Here's a little piece I wrote on the Charter and free speech, which appeared in a recent issue of the Interim.

Me in the Vancouver Sun

Vancouver Sun columnist Barbara Yaffe has an interesting column in today's paper examining unrest among Canada's conservatives.

And I'm not just saying it's interesting because it quotes me.

Yaffe rightly notes all the reasons small "c" conservatives are growing increasingly upset with Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government: the spending, the Emerson affair, pandering to Quebec etc.

But she then argues all this conservative anger is playing into Harper's plans.

He wants conservatives to attack him because, says Yaffe, this makes him more palatable to mainstream voters.

Here's how she puts it:

That those on the right of the party would be fussing about Harper's unconservative record in government serves to assuage prevalent fears more mainstream Canadians have had about Harper being too much a conservative ideologue.

They're bound to see him as more centrist and electorally acceptable now that he is increasingly unacceptable to more doctrinaire segments within his own party.

Maybe Yaffe's right (Although the polls certainly show Harper is not gaining any ground -- despite the fact he is facing a weak opponent in Stephane Dion.)

Maybe the Tory strategy of moving to the left will eventually help boost his poll numbers.

But that would only be a short term success. Over the long term a political party needs a strong base to be successful.

The base is made up of people who contribute money, who hand out brochures, who go canvassing, who put up lawn signs, who help get the vote out on election day, and most importantly who vote.

Who does that kind of stuff? Motivated people. People who believe in what a party stands for, who believe in the vision the party is promoting.

Non-motivated or angry people won't do all these things. They might just stay home.

That's why if the Tories continue to alienate and anger their base it will hurt them, maybe not today or tomorrow, but sooner or later the party will pay a price for betraying its supporters.

Just ask Kim Campbell.

Chip in for Liberty

As readers of this blog know, I am a huge fan of the Liberty Summer Seminar.

It's a one-of-a-kind event that brings together libertarian/conservatives for a weekend so they can share ideas, argue issues and have fun in a beautiful pastoral setting.

And the best thing about the LSS is it's primarily aimed at young people -- the future generations who will keep the cause of freedom alive and vigorous in the years ahead.

I am not sure if socialists have similar events, but if they do, it's almost certain they are funded with government grants.

Not so the Liberty Summer Seminar. It relies on voluntary contributions from people who believe in freedom.

So if that's you (and I am sure it is) please help keep this wonderful LSS going. Please do what you can to keep liberty alive in Canada. Just click on the button below.

Quick Hits

Here's a quick grab bag of commentary on recent events.

Gilles Duceppe flip flops on PQ leadership:

There's two things you don't want to be called in politics: a crook or a fool. Duceppe now fits in the latter category. I mean his candidacy lasted only slighter longer than last year's Oscar telecast!

Tories aim to bring back anti-terror provisions.

Now I don't know enough about crime enforcement to know if these provisions are good laws, but I do know they are good politics. The Liberals looked bad opposing anti-terror legislation the last time this was debated and they will look bad again. Canadians don't care about the niceties of civil rights, they just don't want to get blown up.

Tories to tighten rules for foreign strippers.

What's this all about? I can see keeping terrorists out of the country, but strippers? These are people who literally have nothing to hide.

Dion biography sparks Liberal infighting

Stephane Dion is a disaster. When are the Liberals going to get rid of this stiff?

Harper to hold rare meeting with premiers.

One question: Who is going to keep Premier Danny Williams and Prime Minister Stephen Harper from killing each other?

Me on TV

I am scheduled to appear on the Michael Coren Show tonight at 8:00 PM EST.

I will be part of the "On the Hill" panel which examines issues in federal politics.

Well I suppose that's better than being on the "Over the Hill" panel.

The Coren Show is on a Christian network, so I, of course, will have to watch my language.

Me in the Citizen

I am quoted in this Ottawa Citizen article today on the Conservative Party's campaign finance reforms.

It seems Opposition politicians are howling mad because Prime Minister Harper won't reveal the names of "secret donors" from his 2002 Canadian Alliance leadership campaign.

Haven't they got better things to criticize than five year old issues that nobody outside of Ottawa cares about?

Mind you, Harper has no one to blame for this. All his recent talk about the evils of money in the political process has opened himself up to these charges.

As I say in the Citizen piece: "Conservatives shouldn't be telling people what do with their money."

Me on the Radio

Media Alert!

I am scheduled to appear on Adler Online this afternoon at approximately 3:15 PM EST.

The topic: conservatism in Canada.