Liberal Conspiracy Theory

A few days ago, I noted how David Frum was concerned the Liberals might try to bring down the Conservative government fast in the hopes they could win a snap election.

Well the more I think about this scenario the more sense it makes.

Consider the following bits of evidence:

* Liberal stars – Brian Tobin, Frank McKenna, John Manley, Alan Rock – have ruled out running for the leadership of the party, this despite the fact that being Liberal leader has been, in the past at least, a sure ticket to the Prime Minister’s Office. Has somebody filled them in on the plan?

* Paul Martin has broken his promise to step down as party leader. He now says he will stay on as formal head of the party until a successor is chosen. Well that’s convenient.

* Finally the Prime Minister’s residence 24 Sussex Drive is undergoing mysterious “renovations” which will delay Stephen Harper’s taking possession of the house.

All the pieces of the puzzle are coming together.

Oh what am I saying? This is a crazy idea.

Only a completely desperate, morally bankrupt and intellectually barren political party would even consider such an outrageous scheme.

Hmmm.

Expect an election in May.

Those Darned Yankees

Diehard Yankees fan Paul Tuns takes exception to my post comparing the current Liberal Party to a declining New York Yankees team of the mid-1960s.

Writes Paul:

“The Yanks had great characters and likeable players (Yogi Berra, Joe DiMaggio, Lou Gehrig, to name just a few) during their dynastic run. Who'd the Liberals have that you could like, let alone admire?”

He has a point.

But let’s face it, Paul is really upset with me because I had the audacity to remind him that there actually was a period in baseball history when the Yanks didn’t rule the roost.

Of course, I can’t blame him for being a tad stressed out.

I mean it’s been a whole five years since the Bronx Bombers last won a championship.

For Yankee fans that’s an eternity.

Time for some Magnum Force

The whole Gomery Report thing has been a bit of anti-climax.

Don’t get me wrong.

I think Justice Gomery has done a good job. And I’m sure he has come up with a fine list of recommendations to make government better, but what I really want is what all fair and decent taxpayers want: vengeance.

I want somebody blamed. I want somebody punished. I want somebody put in jail.

After all, this is personal; that was my money that got stolen.

Maybe we need to set up a new inquiry to get real justice.

And who should head this new inquiry? Dirty Harry, that’s who.

Feel lucky adscam punk.

When Dynasties End

The Liberal Party of Canada – once the colossus of Canadian politics --- suddenly looks second-rate.

It reminds of me of what happened to the New York Yankees back in 1965.

The Yankees of that era, like the Liberals, were seemingly an invincible dynasty.

Indeed, from 1923 to 1964 the Yanks won 20 World Series and 27 American League Pennants.

Then in 1965 the bottom suddenly fell out. Their stars became old; their farm system dried up.

The once mighty Yankees were relegated to second division status.

It took the Yanks 11 years to win another pennant.

The Liberals might not have to wait that long to win again, but sources tell me that privately Liberal insiders are admitting that Stephen Harper will be the Prime Minister for at least the next six years.

And for Liberals who are used to governing, that’s an eternity.

Union Boss Politics

In today’s Globe and Mail, Ken Neumann, the national director for Canada of the United Steelworkers of America, takes Buzz Hargrove to task because he supported the Paul Martin Liberals during the last election.

Writes Neumann:

“The CAW and Buzz Hargrove have every right to endorse Liberal candidates in any election, if that’s what they feel is in their interests. But it’s important Canadians know that the vast majority of unions and their leaders simply don’t agree and are sticking to supporting the New Democratic Party as the best choice for working people.”

What’s interesting about this statement is the way Neumann says “unions and their leaders” support the NDP.

He puts it that way because he knows full well that most unionized workers don’t support the New Democrats.

Yet Neumann and Hargrove force these workers to subsidize the NDP through their forced union dues.

That’s an issue that’s much more important than whether or not Hargrove is betraying “working people”.

The fact is “working people” should have the right to make up their own minds regardless of what their bosses think.

Go Bob Go

Now that Frank McKenna has taken himself out of the Liberal leadership race, the field is wide open.

Personally I hope the rumours that former NDP Premier Bob Rae is going to take a run at the Liberal crown are true.

It would give us a chance to bring back some of those famous billboards from the 1990s.

Windsor Liberty Seminar

Attention all free enterprise supporters/ libertarians in the Windsor area.

On March 11, 2006, “The Freedom Project” is holding a seminar at the University of Windsor aimed at exploring the ideas of freedom with an international panel of distinguished experts for a series of discussions on the nature of liberty and its potential to improve our lives.

I bring this up for two reasons: 1. I was born and raised in Windsor, and believe me this town needs all the libertarian ideas it can get. 2. I am one of the “distinguished experts” scheduled to speak.

It should be a fun and interesting event.

The Freedom Project, by the way, is dedicated to promoting individual freedom in Canada, and to supporting the efforts of those working towards the same goal in other countries.

You can learn more about the Liberty Seminar and register online here.

Frum at NCC Event

The National Citizens Coalition held a special luncheon with guest speaker David Frum this afternoon.

Our timing was lucky.

When we planned this event back in the fall, we had no idea there would be a federal election and certainly no idea the Conservatives would win the election.

Anyway, David’s talk was excellent.

One of the interesting points he raised was the possibility that the Liberals might seek to topple the Conservative government much quicker than pundits would have us believe.

Frum reasons that a quick humiliation of Stephen Harper in Parliament and a subsequent snap election might be the Liberal Party’s only hope of returning to power anytime soon.

That’s because Frum believes the impending Liberal leadership race will be a blood-soaked affair pitting Chreientites against Martinites in a civil war that will cripple the party for years.

Martin and his supporters will do anything to avoid that.

And just remember that’s essentially what happened to Joe Clark’s minority government in 1979.

Clark’s budget defeat gave the Liberals an opening to return Pierre Trudeau, who was stepping down, to power.

Can Martin pull the same trick?

What a scary thought.

Oh and Frum made one more brilliant point.

He noted that the NCC played an “absolutely vital” role in the defeat of the Liberal Party.

Bloomberg on the NCC

Stephen Harper’s victory has certainly increased the profile of the National Citizens Coalition.

But that’s a double-edged sword, because certain media elements have taken to distorting the NCC’s agenda.

Case in point, an article sent out by the Bloomberg News agency described the NCC as a “lobby that called for abandoning the nation’s public health-care system and revoking union rights.”

When I saw this piece I emailed the reporter the following message:

“In your article “Harper Helped Split Canada's Conservatives, Now Leads Them Back”, you described the National Citizens Coalition as a lobby group that calls for “abandoning the nation’s public care system and revoking union rights”.

That’s an incorrect description.

The NCC promotes free enterprise, less government and individual freedom. We are not a lobby group, but an advocacy organization. That’s a big difference. We don’t lobby politicians; rather we raise awareness about issues through advertising campaigns.

Nor do we call for the country to abandon public health care. We think having a government monopoly on health care is wrong and inefficient and we think there should be more choice for consumers.

Again that’s a big difference.

Finally the NCC does not call for “revoking union rights.”

We have, in fact, pushed to protect the rights of unionized workers against oppressive labour laws.

For instance, we don’t think anyone should be forced to join a union against their will and we don’t think a worker’s forced dues should be used to support political causes the worker may not support.

You can learn more about the NCC at our website www.morefreedom.org

I hope you can clarify this matter for your readers.

Thank you.”

I must admit I didn’t expect anything to come from this.

But lo and behold, the article on the web today, is updated and now describes the NCC as “a lobby group that calls for ending the government's ‘monopoly’' on health care and easing labor laws.”

OK he still calls us a “lobby group” but this is still a big improvement.

Credit to Bloomberg News for doing the right thing.

NCC in NY Times

The National Citizens Coalition got a mention in the famed New York Times.

The piece, “Canada's Shift: To the Right, Gently” (free registration required) by Clifford Krauss examines the Canadian election in general and Prime Minister Stephen Harper (still not used to writing that) in particular.

He writes:

“In the 1990's he (Harper) directed the National Citizens Coalition, a conservative advocacy group that favored free-market economics, privatizations and tax cuts, an agenda that does not necessarily resonate with most Canadians even today.”

Really?

Well maybe free-market economics, privatizations and tax cuts would resonate if any political party had the sense to make them part of its agenda.

Until that happens we just won’t know.

Three out of Ten

Back at the beginning of the month I posted the ten candidates I most wanted to see lose on Election Day.

Here’s the list:

Svend Robinson

Sid Ryan

Bonnie Brown

Michael Ignatieff

Ralph Goodale

Scott Brison

Jean Lapierre

Anne McLellan

Belinda Stronach

Olivia Chow

Out of that list only three actually were defeated: McLellan, Robinson and Ryan.

So do you think I’m disappointed?

Not really. I mean that’s a three out of 10, that’s a .300 average.

If I were a baseball payer a batting average like that would get me into the Hall of Fame.

Oh who am I kidding? I am bitter. Very bitter.

How in the heck did Stronach get re-elected?!! What were the voters thinking? Jeesh.

OK rant over.

Congratulations Stephen

The former president of the National Citizens Coalition is now the Prime Minister of Canada.

Score one for the Secret Society.

Of course, we here at the NCC are all excited and proud of Stephen Harper for his electoral victory.

But we also recognize that he is going to have a tough job, especially given the size of the Opposition he will face.

In the months ahead, the NCC will play a role to help Stephen push for changes and to push for democratic reform.

We will also be here to remind him to keep his promises.

Blackout Law

I am scheduled to be on Global News tonight to talk about the election night blackout law.

That’s the law which makes it illegal to prematurely transmit election results from regions of the country where the polls are closed to regions where the polls are still open.

You can learn more about this law here and here.

The National Citizens Coalition is helping Paul Bryan fight this law in the courts because we think it infringes on free speech and because we think it’s unenforceable.

In today’s Internet age anybody with a computer can access information and there’s nothing Elections Canada can do to stop them.

We are going to the Supreme Court of Canada later this year to fight this archaic law, so hopefully this will be the last censored election.

Update:

I am going to be on CHQR's The World Tonight at 7:05 Calgary time to talk about the blackout law.

Ten Things I learned During this Election

1. Having an election during Christmas wasn’t all that aggravating, or at least no more aggravating than having an election any other time of the year.

2. NDP leader Jack Layton is against private health care unless he’s the one using private health care.

3. Former CEO and former fiscal hawk Prime Minister Paul Martin is really a progressive, working class hero who likes to wear leather jackets.

4. Union boss Buzz Hargrove is a great asset politically, as long as he’s working for your opponent.

5. Paul Martin and Gilles Duceppe have at least one thing in common: They both think Calgary is a scary place.

6. Anybody who is against same-sex marriage and abortion is an “ultra conservative” and an “extreme right winger”. And here most of us thought the late Pope John Paul II was a nice guy.

7. The National Citizens Coalition is a secret society. In fact, it’s so secret they forgot to tell me it’s a secret society.

8. Whenever Canadians get extra cash they will rush out and buy popcorn and beer.

9. Public opinion polls during elections will be confusing 19 out of 20 times.

10. Nobody should ever let Paul Martin close to musical instruments.

Martin's Mixed Message

Yesterday Prime Minister Paul Martin declared the Conservative Party of today was not the same Conservative Party of Bob Stanfield or Joe Clark.

I’m confused.

Was that supposed to be an insult or a compliment?

Globe Tries to Poll Vault Liberals

In yesterday’s Globe and Mail the headline roared: “Harper’s Lead Takes Hit”

And indeed Harper did take a hit --- according to the Globe’s own poll which said the Tories went from 41 percent support to 37 percent, while the Liberals jumped from 25 to 28.

The Globe even helpfully explained why this tightening had occurred. It seems, explained the paper’s reporters, that Harper’s comments about the Supreme Court had spooked Ontarians.

Really?

Well they couldn’t have been all that spooked because today the Globe poll reports the Tories have gained a point and now lead the Liberals by 10 points.

So you would think today’s headline would read, “Tories Widen Gap” or “Harper Regains Momentum”.

Nope.

Indeed, this latest development is buried in their election coverage and actually given a Liberal spin: “The Liberal freefall seems to have abated.”

Yeah. Freefalls usually abate when you hit the ground.

To get more on the Globe’s wonky election reporting check out Andrew Coyne’s excellent site.

As for me, if the Tories win the election on Monday, I hope to see this headline on Tuesday: “Globe’s Credibility Takes Hit”.

Tories Will Win Election

Or so says Ipsos-Reid pollster Darrel Bricker.

Just got out of a presentation from Bricker and he made a convincing case that the election is over.

The Tories will win. They will likely win a strong minority.

In fact, says Bricker, the election was actually decided two weeks ago when the Tories took a big 10 point lead and never looked back.

And unlike other pollsters who claim the race is tightening, Bricker’s numbers indicate the Tories have maintained their lead for the last two weeks.

It hasn’t wavered a bit.

The turning point?

It was the tragic shooting in downtown Toronto on the Boxing Day weekend.

Prime Minister Paul Martin’s response was to promise to build more playgrounds and youth centres. Stephen Harper promised to get tough on crime.

Ontarians – in the suburbs at least – liked Harper’s answer better.

Here’s Bricker’s seat breakdown:

Tories: 149-153

Liberals – 64-68

NDP – 29-33

Bloc - 57-61

In “voter-rich” Ontario, Bricker says the Tories will win 45-47 seats outside the GTA plus a couple of more in the GTA.

Now let’s see if the voters agree with Bricker

Update:

Just to be a little more specific and to help the numbers add up, Bricker predicts the Tories will win 11-13 seats in the GTA, at least according to my scribbled notes which I can now barely read.

Update 2: You can now get all the scoop on this poll here.

Enemies List

Ok let’s recap.

During this election the National Citizens Coalition has been attacked and or smeared by:

Linda McQuaig

The Liberal Party

Buzz Hargrove

Belinda Stronach

Gilles Duceppe

With enemies like that we must be doing something right.

The People's Liberal Party of Canada

I don’t know who will win the election on January 23rd.

But there’s one thing I do know for sure: the Liberal Party has undergone a profound metamorphosis. No longer a party of the “centre”, the Liberals are now clearly a party of the extreme left.

Prime Minister Paul Martin has redefined his party as the socialist alternative to the Conservatives.

His cuddling with Buzz Hargrove, his wooing of “progressive” voters, his increasingly shrill class-war rhetoric – are all evidence of his conversion.

What does this mean?

Well it means if the Liberals win the election Canada will experience a dramatic shift to the left when it comes to our polices.

Our foreign policy will feature an unrelenting and ugly strain of anti-Americanism.

Our domestic policy will feature more spending, more taxes and more government.

Our federalist policy will feature division as the Liberals pit one region of the country against the other.

Not a pretty picture. You might even say it’s scary.

And if the Liberals lose?

If the Liberals lose we can expect a political death match between the Liberals and the NDP to determine who will assume the mantle of the voice of Canada’s Left.

That won’t be pretty, but it will be fun to watch.

Martin's Cowardly Smear Attack on the NCC

The smearing of the National Citizens Coalition continues.

A couple of days ago it was left-wing journalist Linda McQuaig taking a shot at us, and now it’s Prime Minster Paul Martin’s designated bully-boy Buzz Hargrove.

Today in a rambling news conference, Hargrove threw about a gallon of mud at Tory leader Stephen Harper, calling him a “separatist”.

And he also smeared the NCC to get at Harper calling us a “secret society’.

Is this what Martin is reduced to? Does he really feel it’s necessary to smear non-partisan private organizations? Is he really that desperate for votes?

It’s sickening.

It’s bad enough his party has corrupted our government. Now the Liberals are corrupting the election.

I once thought Martin was a decent man.

Not anymore.

Clearly, he will say or do or smear anyone or anything to keep power.

And he doesn’t even have the courage to do it himself.

Shameful.

Blogging Tories Vs. the Gag Law

It looks like my friends over at Blogging Tories are a threat to democracy.

Or so say a couple of ex-Tories who have launched a complaint with Elections Canada, claiming the site infringes on the infamous election gag law.

“They’re using a third-party agency to get elected,” fumes Eugene Parks, one of the complainers.

Is this the kind of society we are evolving into? Do people really think it should be illegal to express opinions on a website?

It’s unlikely of course anything will come from this ridiculous complaint.

The election gag law, after all, is designed to prevent people from “buying” elections. It is only triggered when there are election advertising expenditures above a certain limit.

Anything posted on the Internet is outside of its draconian reach --- for now.

Should the Liberals win this election, however, watch for the gag law to be expanded to include internet communications.

That’s why the Supreme Court’s ruling to approve the gag law was so dangerous. Once you accept the notion that election speech can be curtailed you start down a scary road.

Who knows where we will end up?

Liberal Attack Ad Backfires

When the Liberals first unleashed their dreaded attack ads I predicted they would not be effective.

Specifically, I suggested the Liberal strategy to attack former Ontario Premier Mike Harris and the Common Sense Revolution would backfire.

It looks like I was right.

Writing in today’s Globe and Mail, John Ibbitson examines the Tory surge in Ontario and says:

“The Harper Conservatives are achieving this seismic electoral realignment by promising to lower taxes, get tough on crime and put an end to entitlements --- exactly the same message that the Harris Conservatives used. Once again, the Liberal strategy has had a result diametrically the opposite of its intent.”

Remember you read it here first.

Will Wonders Never cease?

Today the Toronto Star printed a letter to the editor I wrote to defend the National Citizens Coalition from a Linda McQuaig drive by smearing.

They never print my letters.

Must be a sign of changing times.

What’s So Scary about Tory Platform?

With a week to go before voting day and with the Liberals sinking fast in the polls, we can expect Prime Minister Paul Martin to get even shriller with his scare tactics.

He will present Conservative Party leader Stephen Harper as a George Bush-loving, Neo-Con admiring, Mike Harris-imitating, right winger who will change the face of Canada forever.

Yet some conservatives are wondering what all the fuss is about.

Check out Rondi Adamson’s piece which appeared in the Sunday edition of the Toronto Star.

Adamson looks at Harper’s platform and says it isn’t much different from the Liberal polices of the 1990s and concludes it isn’t “scary or frankly particularly conservative.”

McQuaig Smears NCC

A little while ago I predicted the increasingly frightened and desperate political left wing would try and demonize the National Citizens Coalition, as a way of attacking our former president --- Stephen Harper.

Well it has started.

In the Sunday edition of the Toronto Star, weedy leftist Linda McQuaig, aims her poison pen at the NCC.

Writes McQuaig of Harper: “One of his few ‘outside’ jobs, from 1998 to 2002, was heading the National Citizens Coalition, a lobby group founded in the 1960s by a wealthy businessman Colin Brown, expressly for the purpose of preventing the establishment of public health care in Canada.”

Ohh scary eh kids. Or is it?

Colin Brown started the NCC expressly for the purpose of protecting Canada’s values, traditions and freedoms.

Colin opposed high taxes, he opposed budget busting spending, he opposed the ever expanding growth of big government.

So he set up the NCC to give a voice to Canadians who shared his values and principles.

And yes, back in 1968 he believed giving the government a monopoly on health care was a bad idea. He thought it would lead to a costly and inefficient health care system that just wouldn’t work in the long run.

Sorry Linda, it turns out Colin was right, just ask the Supreme Court of Canada which ruled recently that Quebec must permit a private health alternative to the public system.

I wonder if McQuaig thinks the Supreme Court is part of some NCC right wing conspiracy?

Oh and McQuaig also attacks the NCC for opposing election gag laws. “Another pet cause of the NCC,” she writes “has been fighting laws aimed at restricting the power of corporations to influence election outcomes through advertising.”

Yes the NCC fights gag laws. Unlike McQuaig, we believe in free election speech. We believe everyone – not just politicians -- should have the right to express a political opinion. Elections, we believe, should be a free market place of competing ideas.

The fact that McQuaig and other left wingers think free speech is scary says more about them then it does about us.

And the fact, that the NCC is becoming the focus of left wing attacks also says something else: We are good at what we do!

Left Wingers Hoist On Their Own Gag Law Petard

It looks like a bunch of left-wingers are setting up a coalition designed to stop Stephen Harper and the Conservative Party. (H/T to Adam Daifallah.)

Called the “Think Twice Coalition” it’s made up of the usual leftie types -- union bosses, artists, environmentalists, feminists --- and they want to warn Canadians about the Tory’s “scary” agenda.

So watch for a massive “Think Twice” anti-Harper media blitz over the next few days …. Oops wait a minute, I just remembered, they can’t run a massive anti-Harper ad campaign.

There’s an election gag law in effect.

This law actually makes it illegal for the Coalition (or any other group for that matter) to effectively make its point through paid advertising.

Too bad. Bet they would have run an effective ad campaign too.

And here's the irony: left-wingers generally applauded the gag law when it was enacted because they saw it as a way to make elections "fairer" and to stop the “rich from buying elections”.

Wonder if they think the gag law is such a good idea now? Wonder if they ever thought they would be lumped in with the rich?

Wonder if they ever think about anything?

New Liberal Ad?

I am gearing myself up for a possible Liberal smear campaign against the National Citizens Coalition.

After all, Stephen Harper was our president for about four years.

So what will a Liberal anti-NCC TV attack ad look like?

Well it will probably go a little like this:

Announcer: Stephen Harper once headed the National Citizens Coalition.

The National Citizens Coalition was established in 1967.

1967.

The year race riots tore apart Detroit.

What does Stephen Harper have in store for our cities?

He won’t say.

We are not making this up.

Yikes, this ad scares me and I wrote it!

Time for Tories to Pounce

If the Conservatives are smart they will jump all over that stupid attack ad the Liberals were forced to pull.

I am talking about the ad which subtly suggests Stephen Harper is planning an armed coup.

The ad is ridiculous and what’s worse it makes the Liberals look ridiculous.

And that’s the killer.

In politics there’s two things you never want to be called: a crook or a fool.

Right now the Liberals are looking like both crooks and thanks to this ad -- fools.

If Harper can capitalize on this it will undercut the effectiveness of the other Liberal attack ads – which are not that great in the first place – and deflate the much anticipated Martin counter-attack.

It’s going to be an interesting couple of weeks.

Liberal Attack Ads Stink

Everybody seems to be dumping on the Liberals lately, so why should I be any different.

So here goes: In my view the Liberal attack ads stink.

Now I have nothing against attack ads per se. In fact, they can be quite effective when employed properly.

The attack ads the Liberals ran in 2004, for instance, touched the right hot buttons – abortion, Iraq etc. They seemed to have a strategy behind them.

But these 2006 attack ads are less focused and seem just nasty for the sake of being nasty.

And is it really smart for the Liberals to attack Mike Harris in Ontario? Harris won back to back majority governments, so some Ontarians must still like him. Besides he’s been gone long enough for the nostalgic factor to kick in.

In other words, in attacking Harris the Liberals might drive Ontarians to support the Tories.

It seems to me that these ads are more designed to hold onto the Liberal core vote than they are to win over the undecided.

If that’s the case, then it's just another sign that Team Martin is in panic mode.

UPDATE:

The Toronto Sun's Christina Blizzard makes a good point in Wednesday column about the Harris attack ads. Writes Blizzard: "The whiz kids who dreamed them up might want to consult with their star candidate and high profile turncoat in Newmarket-Aurora, Belinda Stronach. When she ran for the leadership of the Conservtive Party, Stronach was nominated by Harris. Not just that, a large number of Harris's inner circle worked on her campaign."

Things I learned from the Debate

Gilles Duceppe’s English actually gets worse every year.

Jack Layton is changing the name of the New Democratic Party to the Third Option.

Canadians apparently care about the Notwithstanding Clause

Paul Martin thinks Canadian values are the same as socialist values

From the NDP and Bloc perspective, the Liberals and the Conservatives are the same.

From the Liberal perspective the Conservatives and the Republicans are the same.

Paul Martin loses his temper whenever he talks about Quebec

Toronto isn’t Detroit – That’s true the Pistons might actually win something this year.

Parliament needs women.

Different formats still make for boring debates.

Debate Strategies

Ok so this is it.

Last two debates beginning tonight. The first two were like exhibition games, but these are for all the marbles – or at least that’s what the media, eager to hype up these contests, would like us to believe.

What can we expect from the leaders?

Well, the polls show Conservative Party leader Stephen Harper is ahead, meaning a lot of Canadians will be sizing him up tonight to see if he’s really Prime Minister material. So Harper will likely approach this debate like a job interview or an audition. He’s got to show people he can play the part. And, of course, he’s got to avoid making any major errors.

As for Prime Minister Paul Martin, well he’s got to do what he does best: ramp up the compassionate rhetoric and hit people’s emotional buttons. There’s a lot of undecided voters out there and Martin can still win this thing if he can convince them Harper is a scary guy. Remember that’s what he did last time. And Martin’s big advantage is that the media is looking for a reason to spin him as the winner.

Jack Layton just has to remind people that he is still in the race. He’s almost been invisible during this election, a non-factor. His big aim will be to somehow convince the soft-NDP vote to abandon the Liberals and come back home.

Gilles Duceppe has the easiest job of all. He just has to keep reminding Quebeckers about Liberal corruption.

So who will win?

We won’t know the answer to that until January 23.

Update:

I'm scheduled to be part of a panel discussion on CFRB radio at 4:15 PM EST to discuss tonight's debate. Also scheduled to appear are Warren Kinsella and Judy Rebick.

Where Will Martin Get the Doctors?

A couple of days ago, Prime Minister Paul Martin unveiled his health care platform which included a plan to speed up the accreditation of foreign doctors.

This led a doctor friend of mine to send me the following message:

“I would like to know which other countries he (Martin) plans to recruit 5000 family doctors from. Belarus? Romania? Who would want to come here in ordered to be coerced into providing service at grossly discounted rates dictated by the government, and in order to be a member of the only profession denied by legislation the basic human right to sell its services and expertise privately?”

Good questions.

By the way, I will be on the Gary Doyle Show (570 AM Kitchener) at noon today to talk about my Must Lose List.

Top Ten Must Lose List

Sometimes during an election we focus so much on who we want to win, that we lose sight of something that's equally important -- who we want to lose.

With that in mind I decided to compile a list of candidates I would love to see lose on January 23rd.

Here’s what I came up with:

1. Belinda Stronach – No explanation I think is necessary.

2. Svend Robinson – Never mind his loony left-wing politics, if Robinson ever gets elected it will cost taxpayers a fortune to pay for all those little chains they will have to attach to the pens in the House of Commons.

3. Scott Brison – An unprincipled turncoat who once tried to smear the National Citizens Coalition. But hey this isn’t personal.

4. Sid Ryan – union boss who has lost about 100 elections in a row. Why spoil the streak?

5. Jean Lapierre – Just want to see if he will go back to being a separatist if he loses.

6. Michael Ignatieff – The last thing we need is another left wing intellectual in the House of Commons.

7. Olivia Chow – Ok relax. Chow is on this list because of her politics; it has nothing to do with dogs of any breed.

8. Ralph Goodale – A Liberal MP from Western Canada? It just doesn’t make sense.

9. Anne McLellan – Surely she has to lose sometime.

10. Bonnie Brown – You probably don’t recognize her name. But she’s the Liberal MP from my town of Oakville. A complete non-entity, she is the poor man's Carolyn Parrish, only with less charm.

OK I’ve done my bit.

Now it’s up to the voters.

Where No Commie Has Gone Before . . .

I have long harbored suspicions that the writers behind some of the recent Star Trek movies and TV shows were pushing socialist propaganda.

In the movie First Contact for instance, Captain Picard proudly boasts that the Federation economy is not based on money!!

So how do they pay for Romulan ale?

Anyway, I bring this up because today I came across a neat site that makes a strong case that the Federation is actually a Soviet-style totalitarian state.

Beam up me Scotty!

Blackout law under attack

It looks like the National Citizens Coalition is getting some allies in its fight against the election black out law.

Sun Media is joining an application to suspend those sections of the Canada Elections Act which make it illegal to post real time elections results on a website.

Jose Leal, general manager of Canoe, says the goal of the application is “to be able to release online information relative to the (Ontario) audience without waiting for the polls to close in Vancouver.”

Right now, such a posting would be a criminal offence. Indeed, under Section 329 of the Canada Elections Act, it’s illegal to transmit any election information from a part of the country where the polls are closed to a part of the country where the polls are still open.

Besides Sun Media, the CBC, CTV, CHUM and Canadian Press also oppose Section 329.

It’s good to see the media getting involved in this case. After all, they are the ones who are being censored on election night.

The NCC has been battling the black out law ever since we offered to help Paul Bryan who launched a legal challenge to Section 329 back in 2000.

Paul believes this law is an infringement on his right to free expression and we agree.

His challenge is going before the Supreme Court of Canada sometime later this year.

What to Expect in the Days Ahead

OK so now that the phony “election war” is over and things are set to begin in earnest starting today, what can we expect in the final few weeks before voting day?

Well, here’s what I think will happen:

1.The Liberals will run an attack ad that will portray Conservative Party leader Stephen as somewhere between Attila the Hun and Satan.

2. The CBC will release a documentary which will clearly prove that Stephen Harper is actually working for the CIA, in its “Satan division”.

3. The news media will scour the country looking for a Tory MP who believes the Charter of Rights should be dismantled so that we can pass laws against married, lesbians of colour who want to have abortions.

4. The Globe and Mail will run inflammatory headlines which will include the word “Christian” at least four times.

5. Paul Martin will put Alberta Premier Ralph Klein under 24 hour surveillance hoping to catch him whenever he utters the words: “health care”.

Yes indeed, expect democratic debate at its finest.

Joel's Fact Game

Besides his inane politics and his weak leadership, the thing that most bugs me about Prime Minister Paul Martin is the way he speaks off the cuff.

Every sentence begins with “Let me be clear” or with “Let there be no doubt” or with “In fact.”

And I’m not the only one who has noticed.

Joel Johannesen, over at his always excellent Proud to Be Canadian site, has come up with what he calls the “Fact You” game.

Let me be clear, you should check it out. Let there be no doubt, Joel has, in fact, come up with a great game.

The Cost of Anti-Americanism

Patrick Basham of the CATO institute had a piece recently in the Washington Times that examines the politics of anti-Americanism in Canada.

Speaking of the Liberal Party, Basham writes:

“The party's only hope is to cast itself as Mother Canada, protecting her vulnerable and insecure children huddled for warmth along the American border. Which makes one wonder what ever happened to Liberal Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier's 1904 forecast that, `The 20th century shall be the century of Canada.’ Laurier must be turning over in his grave. A century later, his countrymen remain so culturally insecure and politically adolescent that they may once again fall prey to such crass politicking. Canadians need to grow up. And they need to do so quickly.”

Basham’s point is essentially that anti-Americanism actually undermines Canada’s own national self-interest.

“Canadians need to get over themselves. They need to accept the asymmetry of the U.S.-Canada relationship, one deeply beneficial to both countries. Rewarding their political leaders' anti-American prejudices is an immature response. A mature electorate, with the worldliness and self-confidence that Laurier foresaw, would appreciate that anti-Americanism is really anti-Canadian, for it hurts Canada most of all.”

It’s unlikely of course, Basham’s words will change many minds.

Anti-Americanism is the last accepted prejudice in this country.

PC Guide for Bloggers

The recent outrage generated by a couple of Liberal blogs, see here and here, have rattled me a bit.

I mean, if even Liberals can’t live up to the ideals of Political Correctness what chance do the rest of us unenlightened non-Liberals have?

With that in mind, I have come up with a guide for bloggers to keep them out of trouble in these dangerous times.

Here it is:

1. Never use humour on your blog. Especially stay away from any kind of satire, as this could be construed as offensive to the PC police who have had their funny bones surgically removed.

2. Never make any comments about any person of a different gender, ethnic group, sexual orientation, religious background. Although please note that insulting Christians, WASPs, or conservatives is not only acceptable but actually encouraged.

3. Never call a woman “sexy” on your site as this could be interpreted as either misogynist or sexist. However, it is certainly permissible for female bloggers to call me “sexy” as this will only be interpreted as “charitable”.

4. Never use the defence of “free speech” to defend anything you post on your blog as this strategy is only useful when referring to Supreme Court sanctioned pornography.

5. Or to be really safe shut down your blog and spend your time watching the CBC to help with the necessary PC indoctrination process.

And to anybody out there who wants to report this blog to the authorities, rest assured I am in no way being satirical.

Media Alert

I am scheduled to be a guest on Adler Online at 2:30 PM eastern time today to talk about the election blackout law the National Citizens Coalition is fighting.

The Vancouver Sun also ran my op-ed today on the same topic which you can read here.

Why We Need to Defend our Freedoms

American economist Walter E. Williams has an excellent column entitled “Do we deserve it?” which argues that small infringements on our individual freedoms often lead to larger infringements later on.

Williams notes two examples: the attack on religion and the attack on smoking.

The attack on religion in the United States began in 1963 when the Supreme Court banned organized prayer in schools. Who knew at the time that this ruling would eventually lead to calls for the elimination of all Christian symbols or to the banning of Christmas carols from public schools?

The attack on smoking on the other hand, began with demands for no smoking sections on airplanes. That has led to no smoking bans in airports, restaurants, parks and to billion dollar legal suits against tobacco companies.

Here in Canada we will likely see the same thing with election gag laws. This law began as an attack on the right on non-political parties to participate in elections.

I dread to think where it could eventually lead.

Lion Movie Rocks, but don’t tell the Liberals

I took my family last night to see the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe and we all absolutely loved it.

This movie has it all – great acting, fantastic special effects, cool battles and a wonderful message or two.

I heartily recommend it to everyone, everyone that is except Prime Minister Paul Martin.

That’s because there’s a scene in the movie where Santa Claus, instead of giving the children toys, gives them weapons with which they can more properly battle the forces of evil.

If Martin ever gets the idea that Saint Nick is illegally arming people he will probably ban Christmas.

Shopping Hints

Need some Christmas gift ideas for the dreaded last round of combat shopping?

Check out Rondi Adamson’s site for some handy suggestions.

Good luck and be careful out there!

Let It Bleed Takes on Gag Law

Aaron Freeman makes the case for election gag laws on the Globe and Mail’s online site.

Now I’ve debated Aaron on this question so many times on radio, on TV and in print over the past five years that I just can’t bring myself to do it again.

In other words, I’m too lazy.

Fortunately, Bob Tarantino over at LetitBleed, did a magnificent job of demolishing of Aaron’s arguments.

Check it out.

Battling the Bloc

Conservative Party Leader Stephen Harper is garnering praise in some quarters for his bold offer to debate Bloc Quebecois boss Gilles Duceppe one on one.

But I don’t think it's such a good idea.

I mean let’s say Duceppe takes Harper up on the challenge; and let’s say, for the sake of argument, that Harper demolishes Duceppe.

The only upside for the Tories is they drain away nationalist support away from the Bloc.

But let’s face it, considering their lowly standing in the polls in La Belle province the Conservatives will never swing enough votes to win a seat.

What they could do, however, is weaken the Bloc enough to allow the Liberals to win a few more seats in Quebec – maybe enough seats to keep the Grits in power.

That’s why Harper should forget about Duceppe and forget about pandering to the Quebec nationalist element.

The election will be won or lost in Ontario.

Golf Ball Politics

Hey the Bloc Quebecois is stealing our golf ball bit.

Earlier this year the National Citizens Coalition came up with the idea of Adscam golf balls after former Prime Minister Jean Chretien's disgraceful performance before the Gomery Inquiry.












And now here's what the Bloc is selling.









I guess imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

Now if we could only get them to imitate our desire for smaller government.

Turning Cheek Strategy a Mistake

According to a story in today’s Globe and Mail, Conservative Party leader Stephen Harper has adopted a “turn the other cheek” approach to Liberal smear attacks.

“For the time being at least,” says the article “the Conservative strategy of ignoring harsh personal attacks and refraining from making them in return while instead peppering the country with ideas, looks to be set in stone.”

In my view it’s a dubious strategy.

One of the reasons the Tories fell short in the last election was that they failed to effectively respond to Liberal attacks ads.

Politics is a blood sport, and sometimes you got to fight fire with fire. Otherwise you will get burned.

I pontificate further on this in a column I wrote for the Vancouver Sun last spring.

Belinda Wants Gag Law Eased

Belinda Stronach, the Liberal Minister for Democratic Renewal, admitted recently that the election gag law is too strict.

In a column appearing in the Newmarket Era Banner, Stronach is quoted as saying “easing some of the limits on third-party advertising may be worth considering”.

This is kind of a big deal since she is the first senior Liberal to even suggest the gag law is too restrictive.

Mind you she is no where near as opposed to gag laws as she was last year. That’s when she signed an NCC pledge which committed her to scrapping the gag law should she become Prime Minister.

But at least it’s a start.

Conservative Party leader Stephen Harper has also pledged to scrap the gag law.

Could this be the beginning of a bipartisan move to restore free speech to Canadians?

Dubbed Debate

No I didn’t watch the debate last night.

For me, watching a French language debate is like watching a dubbed Japanese movie without Godzilla.

What’s the point?

For those who want a thoughtful debate analysis I suggest you go here.

Bloggers Beware of Internet Gag Law

The Supreme Court of Canada announced today that it will hear Paul Bryan’s challenge to an archaic and undemocratic law – a law which all bloggers need to know about.

I am talking about Section 329 of the Canada Elections Act, which bans the “premature transmission” of voting results on election night. That means it’s illegal for somebody to post election results from a region of the country where the polls are closed to a region where they are still open.

You can learn more about his law here and here.

Bryan challenged this law back in 2000 because he thought it was an infringement on his right to free speech.

What he did was post real time voting results from Atlantic Canada on his website in British Columbia.

The next day Elections Canada dispatched Speech Police to his home and seized his computer.

He was later charged.

But Paul fought back. With the support of the National Citizens Coalition, Paul challenged the law in court. In 2003 the BC Supreme Court overturned the law, but earlier this year the Court of Appeals reinstated it.

That means if any blogger in Eastern or Central Canada posts election results which can be accessed on the West Coast, you will be violating the law and could be charged.

Of course, such a law is not only undemocratic; it’s unenforceable. Look how long the ban on the Gomery testimony lasted.

Let’s hope the Supreme Court sees it that way.

Crying for Help

Maclean’s magazine on Svend Robinson:

“Last year, Svend Robinson’s lawyer, Clayton Ruby, explained that his client’s theft of a $21,500 ring was, in essence, a `cry for help’. Ruby’s arguments were successful and his client got off with a conditional discharge. Now Robinson is back, once again seeking a seat in the House of Commons. It’s our turn to cry for help.”

Couldn’t have said it better myself.

Social Conservatism in Canada

Paul Tuns, a Canadian conservative writer, has an excellent article in Comment that examines some of the reasons why Canadian social conservatives have not been as successful politically as their cousins in the United States.

He essentially boils it down to three main reasons:
1) the lack of conservative infrastructure such as foundations, think tanks, and publications;

2) the failure to organize and become part of a larger conservative coalition;

3) Charter-era politics.

Tuns makes the case that the same-sex marriage debate may help galvanize social conservatives to help offset points one and two, but the increasing supremacy of the courts makes it difficult to debate moral issues in the political arena.

It’s a thought-provoking piece.

Politics, Popcorn and Beer

Scott Reid’s infamous comment about popcorn and beer tells you everything you need to know about the Liberal Party mentality.

Simply put, the Liberals think Canadians are idiots.

We are too stupid to take care of our kids, hence the need for a state day care program.

We are too stupid to know how to spend our money, hence the refusal to give us any meaningful tax cuts.

We are too stupid to hear different political viewpoints, hence the need for an election gag law.

How long will it be, I wonder, before the Liberals think we are too stupid to vote?

Stronach Strikes Back . . . Sort of

Belinda Stronach appeared on Mike Duffy’s Countdown program this evening and Duffy asked her about my column in today’s Globe and Mail, the one that challenged her to take a stance on the gag law.

She demonstrated an amazing ability to avoid answering the question, meaning she is now truly a Liberal.

Joel Johannesen posts the clip on his blog.

Check it out.

Belinda and the Gag Law

I have an op-ed in today’s Globe and Mail taking Belinda Stronach to task on the election gag law issue.

Back in early 2004, when she was running for the Tory leadership, Stronach signed a pledge to scrap this horrible law which denies all Canadians the right to free election speech.

Did she really believe gag laws were wrong or did she sign it merely to help her win the leadership?

She has an obligation to her constituents to set the record straight, and I hope my article spurs her to do just that.

Hardly a Gun Ban

The media is misleading Canadians about Prime Minister Paul Martin’s new gun policy.

The headline in the Toronto Star for instance says “PM vows `total’ handgun ban”.

But that’s not true.

Here’s what the text of the Star story says:

“Liberal sources say that the proposed ban, to be announced by Martin in Toronto, will be sweeping – only police and select security officers would be allowed to carry handguns.” (italics added)

It seems to me that a “total” ban on handguns would also include the police, security officers and heck even the army.

So when you come down to it, Martin is only offering a partial ban on handguns.

But why not a total ban? Why exempt the police? Why should they enjoy a special exemption denied to the rest of the citizenry? Aren’t all Canadians supposed to be equal before the law?

Of course, Martin’s supporters might say cops need to be armed in case they run into some pistol packing crook.

But doesn’t that argument undermine the whole premise of the handgun ban? I mean if a ban on handguns doesn’t make the police feel safe enough to patrol our streets unarmed, why are the rest of us supposed to feel safer?

By exempting the police Martin is essentially acknowledging that his gun ban won’t disarm criminals. It’s a policy that just won’t work.

And by that I mean it won’t work when it comes to stopping crime, but it might work when it comes to winning votes – which is all that matters to the Liberals.

The NDP's Hidden Agenda

Talk about a hidden agenda.

Leo-Paul Lauzon, an NDP candidate in Quebec, recently praised Cuban communist dictator Fidel Castro and says the Canadian government should nationalize Air Canada, CN Rail, and the oil and gas industry.

Is this what Jack Layton really has in store for Canada?

Now that’s scary, but I wonder if the media will think so.

NCC Billboard Protests Gag Law

To protest the federal election gag law, the National Citizens Coalition has put up an unusual billboard in downtown Toronto.

The billboard doesn’t have a catchy slogan, or an election message, or any words at all.

It simply features the stark image of a man with tape across his mouth.

Our billboard symbolizes our loss of free election speech. The gag law stifles free election speech. It undermines democracy. It prevents us from effectively participating in the election debate currently raging across the country.”

The election gag law, which was enacted in 2000, imposes severe restrictions on how much money non-politicians can spend on election advertising.

The NCC has battled gag laws in the courts until last year when the Supreme Court of Canada ruled them to be constitutional.

Under the gag law only politicians and political parties have the right to effectively and freely speak out during elections. Everybody else has to keep quiet. We think that’s wrong. We think everyone should be free to participate in the election process.

The gag law prevents important issues from being discussed and debated. Groups on all sides of the political spectrum will be silenced.

The only items on the election agenda will be those items the politicians want to discuss. That’s bad for democracy.

Trick or Treat Election

Maybe they should have held this election around Halloween instead of around Christmas, because of all the strange and eerie goings on.

First of all you’ve got Jack “I will bring down the government to save public health care” Layton now saying private health care clinics are OK.

And yesterday the NDP unveiled their star candidate – Paul Summerville a former Bay Street economist who says the NDP doesn’t want to increase taxes.

Then you’ve got union boss Buzz Hargrove stiffing Layton and endorsing former corporate capitalist Paul Martin.

What’s next?

Is Layton going to endorse nuclear power instead of windmills? Is Martin going to make “Solidarity Forever” his campaign theme song? Is the Toronto Star going to endorse Stephen Harper?

Who knows?

All we do know is that we can expect a lot more tricks and treats before January 23.

Buzz's Ploy

I have been thinking over the weekend as to why a union boss like Buzz Hargrove would endorse the Liberal Party. After all, isn’t the NDP supposed to be the voice of the working man?

Came up with three possible reasons:

Buzz is sending a message to the NDP brass that he doesn’t want to be taken for granted.

Buzz believes Prime Minister Paul Martin is a closet socialist.

Buzz wants to be ambassador to Denmark one day.

It remains to be seen, of course, if Hargrove’s endorsement will actually help the Liberal Party.

Unionized workers are notorious for ignoring the advice of union bosses when it comes to voting and other voters might actually get turned off by Hargrove’s seal of approval.

Mind you, at this stage of the game, the Liberals will likely take anybody’s help.

Health Care Will Be Fixed Somehow

Stephen Harper announced his health care plan today.

He is going to reduce medical waiting lists --- somehow.

This is pretty much the same as Paul Martin’s plan, which also promises to reduce waiting lists --- somehow.

Of course, neither man sees a role for the private sector in our socialist health care system.

And until they do see a role for the private sector, sick and dying Canadians will just have to get by --- somehow.

GST Gambit

The Conservative Party plan to reduce the GST is brilliant politics.

By taking an anti-GST stand the Tories are essentially forcing the Liberals to defend one of the most hated taxes in the country – a tax they themselves vowed to scrap back in 1993.

And the more, the Liberals defend the GST the more they will remind people of past broken promises.

Mind you, some economic eggheads say cutting the GST is bad fiscal policy.

Well, I’m no economist, but one thing I do know is that lower taxes are better than higher taxes.

Tax Wars

Conservative Party leader Stephen Harper argues cutting the GST is a good idea.

Prime Minister Paul Martin says he wants to cut personal income taxes.

I say they are both right!

A Modest Proposal for Homolka Judge

Convicted killer Karla Homolka is a totally free woman today; she’s free to travel around the country, free to associate with children and free to contact her ex-husband and fellow monster Paul Bernardo.

Isn’t that a comforting thought?

And we have a Quebec Judge, Justice James Brunton, to thank for this state of affairs.

Brunton yesterday removed all the restrictions imposed on Homolka last June when she was officially released from prison.

“The possibility that (Homolka) might reoffend one day cannot be completely eliminated,” he wrote in his ruling, “However . . . on balance of probabilities . . . this is unlikely to occur. She does not represent a real and imminent danger. . .”

Interesting.

Even though Homolka is a depraved, psychotic, cold-blooded child-killer, Brunton says she is no “real threat”.

Well if that’s the case, Brunton shouldn’t be afraid to walk the walk.

I propose he voluntarily take his little angel Karla into his home for the next year or so, just to show us how confident he is in his judgment.

What’s more, he should put Karla in charge of babysitting his kids. After all, on the “balance of probabilities” she won’t murder them.

Only when Brunton takes up my suggestion, will I buy his argument, otherwise I’d advise all Canadians to beware: a wolf has just been let loose among the sheep.

The Blog About Nothing

Only one day into the federal election and I am already tired of it -- and there’s eight more weeks to go!!

But maybe the presence of blogs will make this election more interesting, but then again maybe not.

Case in point is the official Liberal Party blog that former journalist and current Paul Martin speech-writer Scott Feschuk is writing.

Feschuk is a good writer and it’s clear he is trying to inject his Dave Barry-style humour into the election campaign.

It’s interesting. It’s different. And I don’t think it works.

Not that I am against laughing at election politics. God knows we need something to keep us smiling in the dark days ahead.

It’s just when Barry wrote about politics he skewered both Democrats and Republicans, gleefully pointing out absurdities on a non-partisan basis.

Liberal Party employee Feschuk, on the other hand, will poke fun at the Opposition Parties but kiss up to Martin.

That just isn’t funny.

But if it does work, maybe Conservative Party Stephen Harper should fight back and hire Jerry Seinfeld to write his blog: “Did you ever notice how corrupt the Liberals are . . .”

Fearless Election Prediction

Now that the federal election is officially underway it’s time for my fearless prediction.

After surveying the last election results, after studying various trends and polls and after consulting with people wise in the way of politics, I have come to one inescapable conclusion --- the party that wins the next election will be the party that makes the fewest mistakes.

OK that sounds like a cop out, but hear me out.

Since actual issues --- things like health care, Kyoto, taxes --- won’t play much of a part in what promises to be a nasty campaign, everything else will be magnified.

Every gaffe, every stupid comment, every bad photo op will become disproportionately huge as the media, starved of anything else to talk about, will magnify any screw up under its unforgiving microscope.

Does this make for a good election?

Nope.

But until our political parties start coming up with real visions, and with real ideas, that’s what we are stuck with.

Anybody else have a prediction?

Once Election Starts, Gag Law Does Too

Well today’s the day the Opposition pulls the plug on the federal government.

That means starting tomorrow the country will be in election-mode and voters will be exposed to differing ideas, conflicting visions and alternative points of view.

Nah, I’m just kidding.

In reality, the only views Canadians will get exposed to are those put forward by the politicians.

That’s because the election gag law makes it a crime for non-politicians to effectively and freely express ideas through election advertising.

The National Citizens Coalition will be forced to essentially remain quiet for the next month or so.

It’s frustrating.

Imagine what a hockey player would feel like if he was told he could play in the regular season, but would have to sit out the Stanley Cup playoffs. That’s what we feel like.

Elections are the most crucial time in any democracy, and here we are forced to sit on the sidelines and watch.

The real losers, however, are the voters. They are losing their right to free speech, because free speech means having the right to listen as well as to speak.

Instead of hearing a wide assortment of ideas from a wide assortment of citizens and groups, voters will only hear the political propaganda of the political parties.

That’s not democracy.

OK end of my rant – for now.

Brison's Hypocrisy

Did you catch the recent remarks from the NCC’s good friend, Public Works Minister Scott Brison, who was responding to some tough Tory attacks?

Brison accused the Tories of “slanderous mudslinging” and declared the Tories “have as their modus operandi the use of absolutely false accusations … that do nothing but tarnish the reputation of everybody in public life.”

This is the same Brison of course who was forced to publicly apologize to the National Citizens Coalition because he made some false accusations that tarnished the reputation of the NCC.

Memo to Scott: People who live in mud houses shouldn’t sling dirt.

Rescuing the Book Launch

Had a great time last night at the book launch for the Adam Daifallah/Tasha Kheiriddin book Rescuing the Right.

Held in the Albany Club and hosted by former Premier Mike Harris, the event was a great conservative get-together, excepting Warren Kinsella who also showed up for some reason.

I had a chance to talk to bloggers Bob Tarantino, Greg Staples, Paul Tuns and Steve Janke which was great.

The highlight of the evening, however, occurred when Lord Black showed up, traveling media circus in tow.

It added a surreal touch to the evening, especially when the camera hordes nearly trampled a few of the guests.

All in all, though it was a fun event.

Let’s hope the next launch of this kind will be for a book called Rescuing the Liberals.

Felicem diem Natalem

That’s Latin for “Happy Birthday” which is I think an appropriate way to express best wishes to William F. Buckley who turns 80 years old today.

Buckley, of course, is almost as well known for his erudite use of language as he is for his brilliant and trenchant defence of conservatism.

His greatest achievement was the creation of National Review magazine which in the dark days of the 1960s and 70s, was one of the few voices of reason.

Check out George Will’s excellent tribute.

Liberals to Get Nasty

“PM plans negative campaign” screams the headline in today’s Globe and Mail.

No kidding!

Indeed, you got to wonder why the Globe headline writers seemed so shocked. Negative campaigning has been a Liberal trademark for the past 20 years.

And you can bet any Liberal attack campaign will include smears against the National Citizens Coalition because Conservative Party leader Stephen Harper used to be our president.

In the last election they even produced a massive report to expose the NCC’s “scary” agenda – you know things like fighting gag laws, opposing waste and promoting honest government.

Of course, thanks to the election gag law the NCC can’t fight back, making it all the easier for the Liberals to sic their attack dogs on us.

Mind you we welcome their hatred.

The day the likes of Paul Martin says nice things about us is the day we are not doing our job.

Brison Vs. the NCC

The little battle between the NCC and Scott Brison has generated lots of interest.

And now that it’s winding down (at least for now) you might want to check out the chronology of the whole affair.

We have set up a special section on the NCC site that details this mini-epic.

Check it out.

And speaking of Brison, I did an interview yesterday with Charles Adler on this topic and he suggested an interesting theory.

Adler contends that Brison, who just jumped to the Liberal Party a few years ago, is trying to out-Liberal the Liberals in a sad effort to ingratiate himself with his Grit comrades.

Makes sense.

Despite all his bravado and tough rhetoric, Brison is probably just an insecure politician out to score brownie points.

Of course, that doesn’t make his smear tactics any more palatable.

Brison On Losing Streak

This has been a bad week for Public Works Minister Scott Brison.

First off he had to publicly apologize to the National Citizens Coalition for slandering us a few weeks ago – man that must have hurt.

Then he had to back off on his department’s ill-advised and discriminatory scheme to ban the hiring of white males in his department.

And now a long-time Liberal is demanding Brison apologize for rude comments he allegedly made to her in a public restaurant.

He is quickly becoming the Toronto Raptors of Parliament.

Brison Eats Crow Again

Public Works Minister Scott Brison has formally apologized to the National Citizens Coalition for trying to smear us on November 4th.

Readers of this blog will recall he offered a half-baked apology to us two weeks ago, but we rejected it and threatened legal action.

So today we got a better apology faxed to us. (Please note this letter is the only thing we are legally allowed to make public concerning his apology)

Of course, this apology does not make up for the fact that Brison smeared our organization on national television but at least we have put him and other politicians on
notice that the NCC will fight to defend its reputation.

And as a bonus we have also undermined the credibility of Brison, who appears to be the designated Liberal attack dog.

We plan to keep an eye on this guy, so he had better watch his step.

New Gag Law

Well it looks like the Liberals are not just content with shutting us up; now they want to try and shut us down too.

News reports say the Liberals want to enact a new gag law which would limit how much money citizens could contribute to the National Citizens Coalition.

This is on top of a law they have already enacted which effectively makes it impossible for the NCC to effectively speak out during elections.

Man they must be scared of us!

And for good reason – the NCC exposes their sordid, scandal ridden record.

Here’s a news release I just sent out:

NCC Condemns New Gag Law

(November 21, 2005) The National Citizens Coalition today denounced the Liberal government’s plans to rush a new gag law through the House of Commons on the eve of an expected federal election.

“The same government which enacted a gag law making it a crime for non-partisan groups to express political opinions during federal elections now wants to take away our right to raise funds during an election,” says NCC vice president Gerry Nicholls. “Not content with just shutting us up and they now want to shut us down.”

The Liberal government is pushing new rules that would place a limit on how much individuals can contribute to non-partisan organizations like the NCC.

“While fighting the original gag law we predicted this would happen,” says Nicholls. “First they limit how much you can speak; now they want to dictate how much money Canadians can contribute to private organizations. What’s next?”

Nicholls says this move reveals how desperate the scandal-ridden Liberal Party has become.

“Prime Minister Paul Martin knows the NCC is an effective voice in exposing the sordid record of his party,” says Nicholls. “So he is using the power of the state to strike back. It’s sad and it’s scary.”

The NCC fought a constitutional campaign against election gag laws for more than 20 years.

Black Affair

Not long after the news broke that the U.S. government was going after Conrad Black, my friend Pierre Lemieux sent me a link to an article he wrote a few months ago called “The Anti-Capitalistic Inquisition”.

Check it out.

It might shed some light on this Black affair.

Conservative Prospects in Quebec

I was in Montreal yesterday to give a speech to the McGill University Campus Conservative club, and while here I talked to some conservative/libertarian Quebecois to get their take on the political situation.

What they told me does not bode will for Conservative Party.

To be blunt, the Conservative brand name just doesn’t register here.

Quebecois fed up with the Liberals will park their vote with the Bloc, even those who are not separatist.

In fact, the Bloc makes the perfect protest vote – Vote for them and you send the Liberals a message without ever having to worry about the Bloc Quebecois ever taking power.

On the other hand, I got the sense that even here in Quebec – home of the “Quebec Model” – people are getting fed up with big government, militant unions and high taxes.

The Tories need to connect the dots.

Book Review: Rescuing the Right

Ever wonder what’s wrong with the Right in Canada?

Left-wing views dominate our media, our courts and our schools; federal conservative parties are on a twelve year losing streak; and worst of all word has it, young people see conservatism as “uncool.”

But help is on the way.

Two young, bright conservative activists, Tasha Kheiriddin and Adam Daifallah, have written a book called Rescuing Canada’s Right: Blueprint for a Conservative Revolution.

And that’s exactly what this book delivers: a blueprint.

Rescuing Canada’s Right delivers a bold plan of action showing conservatives not only how they can win elections, but more importantly how they can transform Canada’s statist culture and society.

Kheriddin and Daifallah, for instance, argue that to be successful the Conservative Party needs to be . . . well more conservative and more innovative when it comes to applying free enterprise solutions to issues like health care and the environment.

They also offer practical and useful advice on how the Conservative Party can make badly needed inroads among immigrants, the young and in Quebec.

The most interesting and provocative aspect of this book, however, is its core argument on the need for a conservative Canadian infrastructure “encompassing all aspects of public life, from the media, to the courts, to academia.”

In other words, Rescuing Canada’s Right is call for conservatives to seize back the country.

And while that’s a tall order, Kheriddin and Daifallah, who make their case with passion, with unassailable logic and with humour, show how it can happen.

This is an easy to read, informative and important book, which every conservative Canadian should read. And Liberals should read it too, just so they know what’s coming.

Liberal Tax Announcement No Reason for Joy

Usually I am pretty happy whenever a government announces a tax cut.

I am even happy when a tax cut is simply the result of crass, political calculation. I am even happy when the tax cuts are not deep enough or go far enough. I am even happy when tax cuts won’t happen for awhile.

So why am I unhappy with the tax cuts the Liberals announced yesterday?

Maybe it’s because I know the Liberals too well. They know how to promise tax cuts they just don’t know how to deliver them.

Remember the GST they promised to scrap? Remember the corporate tax cuts they were supposed to provide last year?

And I have a funny feeling that somehow the Liberals will figure out a way to forget about these tax cuts (small as they are) even if they do win the next election.

Wouldn’t it be nice to have a government that was sincere about cutting taxes because it was the right thing to do?

Now that would make me happy.

Republican Tent Divided

Alan Ehrenhalt, writing in the New York Times yesterday (free registration required), poses an interesting theory regarding America’s Republican Party.

We Canadian conservatives, of course, often point to the Republicans as a successful conservative entity that, unlike our Conservatives up here, can put together majority coalitions and win elections.

But Ehrenhalt, says the Republicans are actually weaker than they appear. In fact, he calls the Republicans a “hyper-extended family” whose members – right-wing Christians, libertarians, suburban businessmen – have very little in common.

Ronald Reagan was able to unify these diverse groups because they all agreed on the need to fight communism.

But when communism collapsed so did Republican unity.

When the Democrats are able to capitalize on these Republican rifts, they win, as Bill Clinton did when he won back-to-back elections starting in 1992.

The emergence of the terrorist threat, says Ehrenhalt, reunited the Republicans and helped them win in 2004, but that glue he argues is also beginning to weaken, hence the recent Democratic victories last week.

So you see, even the mighty Republicans have problems too. The grass isn’t always greener on the other side of the political fence.

Remembering Our Heroes Past and Present

Today’s the day we rightfully pause to remember and honour the courage of those Canadians who fought to protect our freedoms.

Yet we must not forget about those Canadians who are risking their lives today for their country.

And the folks at the Canadian Coalition for Democracies have come up with a great way to say thank you to the men and women currently stationed in Afghanistan.

They are asking Canadians to donate to “Operation Rudolph”, a program aimed at purchasing special holiday gifts for each soldier in Afghanistan. Each gift will include a letter of thanks from students and adults.

This is a great way to make sure our troops enjoy a little Christmas cheer in a somber dangerous land.

You can learn more about this worthwhile initiative here

Hatchet Job on NCC in Globe and Mail

I was on a plane flying back from Calgary yesterday when I read Murray Dobson’s anti-National Citizens Coalition hatchet job in the Globe and Mail.

And although it’s in the editorial section of the paper it really belong in the comic section, because it was pretty funny.

Dobson, who specializes in denigrating anything conservative as “virulently right wing”, was trying to make the case that Public Works Minister Scott Brison should not have apologized for calling the NCC a lobby group.

Brison, as readers of this blog know, is facing a possible lawsuit for falsely stating among other things, that the NCC was involved in illegal lobbying.

How Dobbin make his case?

Well he says our founder – the late Colin M. Brown –“took Ontario Premiers Bill Davis and John Robards on chartered flights to the Master Golf tournament in August, Georgia.”

That’s a hoot. Clearly Dobbin, somber working class socialist that he is, doesn’t understand these kind of golf getaway weekends. Believe me, the last thing anybody talked about on these trips was politics.

Then Dobbin claims our former president, David Somerville, was given a “special meeting with finance minister Michael Wilson in 1984 to lobby him on deficit cuts.”

I don’t know anything about such a meeting; the only time these two met that I know of occurred when Wilson harangued David because the NCC put out a “Tales from the Tax Trough” booklet that exposed Tory government waste.

Maybe that’s an example of reversing lobbying: politicians trying to get us to change our ways.

Finally, Dobbin says the “NCC presents position papers to public hearings.”

Yes we have done that from time to time, but here's a news flash: appearing before a public committee does not constitute lobbying. Anybody can appear before a public hearing.

In short, if Brison is hoping Dobbin’s “evidence” will help should we sue him for libel, he is deluded.

Sick of Liberal Tactics

Word has it that Scott Brison is getting ready to offer another apology to the NCC.

Funny what the threat of a slander lawsuit will do.

The National Post has a good line in one of its editorials today concerning Brison’s original half-baked apology which he put forward as an example of his “civility.”

Wrote the Post:

“Perhaps it would be even more civil if people like Mr. Brison refrained from publicly branding innocent politicians like Mr. Harper as lawbreakers when there is no evidence of their having committed any misdeeds or broken any rules. False demonization is a time-worn Liberal campaign tactic and we are sick of it.”

NCC Rejects Brison's Apology

The National Citizens Coalition has decided to reject Public Works Minister Scott Brison’s apology concerning the slanderous comments he made on Friday:

See below the text of a letter I emailed him today:

Dear Mr. Brison:

We cannot accept your apology for the following reasons:

Your comment that the National Citizens Coalition engaged in illegal lobbying was not “premature” it was dead wrong. As I stated in my first email to you, the NCC is not a lobby group. We are a non-profit corporation that promotes economic and political freedom through media ad campaigns. We provide a voice for thousands of Canadians who believe in free enterprise, individual freedom and honest, accountable government.

You failed to apologize for stating that the NCC was “convicted” of violating the Canada Elections Act. The NCC has never been convicted of any crime.

We requested a public apology. By that we mean an apology that generates at least as much media attention as your slanderous comments did.

Please understand that thanks to the election gag law your government enacted, the NCC is unable to defend its good name or to rebut defamatory comments that might arise during elections.

Indeed, your comments were clearly partisan and seemed designed to smear our organization.

That’s why it’s so important for us that you set the record straight loudly and clearly.

If an appropriate and public apology is not forthcoming soon, we will turn this matter over to our attorneys.

Yours truly,

Gerry Nicholls

Brison Eats Crow

Liberal MP Scott Brison has officially apologized for the malicious and false statements he made about the National Citizens Coalition.

See below a letter he emailed me late Friday after I demanded an apology and retraction:

Dear Mr. Nicholls:

Thank you for your letter dated today concerning my statement regardingthe NCC.

I wish to acknowledge that my statement was factually incorrect in two ways:

* I was in error to say that the NCC was charged six times with violations of the Elections Act.

* It was premature to say that there was a contravention ofthe Lobbyist Registration Act. In order to resolve and clarify thenature of these activities, I have asked the Registrar of Lobbyists toinvestigate. I was provided with incorrect information, but I accept responsibilityfor my statements. I regret my errors, and I withdraw those statements categorically.

Please accept my apology.

Sincerely, Scott Brison

Brison Smears NCC

Well it’s been quite a day.

A clearly desperate Scott Brison decided he was going to smear the National Citizens Coalition and by extension, our former president Stephen Harper.

Speaking before the media, Brison declared the NCC had engaged in illegal lobbying activity, that we had been charged with breaking the Canada Elections Act six times and that we had been convicted of violating the Canada Election Action.

Serious charges.

The problem is they are all completely false.

The NCC does not lobby politicians, we were not charged six times with breaking the Election Act and we have never been convicted of anything.

I wrote Brison demanding an apology.

If one is not forthcoming, he can expect to hear from our lawyer.

I talked about this on the Mike Duffy news show this evening. Proud to be Canadian has put it on his site.

Check it out.

More Liberals Who Need Purging

Just as St. Patrick cast all the snakes out of Ireland, Prime Minister Paul Martin, in the wake of the Gomery Report, has been casting out Adscam-tainted Liberals from his Party.

And while he’s off to a good start in that regard, much more needs to be done.

So in the interest of helping the Liberal Party help itself, I have compiled a list of 10 more Liberals Martin should flush out in the interest of cleansing his party.

Here are my suggestions along with explanations:

David “The Chiclets Kid” Dingwall, whose main achievement seems to be that he can chew gum and waste tax dollars at the same time.

Carolyn Parrish: Yes she already got kicked out of the caucus. But you can never be too careful. Ban her again just to be on the safe side.

Joe Volpe: Too many restaurant bills charged to taxpayers. We just can’t afford his appetite.

Pierre Pettigrew’s Chauffeur: Time for him to pay for his own European vacations.

Jack Layton: Ok so he’s not really a Liberal, but he plays one in the House of Commons.

Belinda Stronach: Liberals only needed her for one vote anyway.

Hedy Fry: Only claim to fame: Attacking cross burners who never existed.

Judy Sgro: Thinks Canada’s most pressing immigration problem is a lack of exotic dancers from Romania.

Ralph Goodale: Won’t introduce tax cuts, unless of course, they serve the purpose of distracting us from Liberal scandals.

Jean Chrétien –Read the Gomery Report.

Anybody else got any ideas?

Grading President Bush

Is President George W. Bush promoting a truly conservative agenda?

In the latest edition of National Review magazine, John O’Sullivan says so far the answer is no.

O’Sullivan says Bush needed to get three things right to be counted as a successful conservative leader:

He had to halt the advance of the regulatory state.

He had to restore a sense of national unity.

And he had to prevent the rises of anti-Americanism in Europe.

On the all points, O’Sullivan says Bush has failed.

Indeed, under Bush, O’Sullivan points out that “Domestic discretionary spending has risen faster since 2001 than under another other president since LBJ and Nixon. Federal spending now accounts for over 20 percent – and the federal deficit about 3 per cent – of America’s GDP.”

Meanwhile, O’Sullivan laments that Bush has aided disunity with his support for bilingualism and with his support for an immigration policy that would “admit as many new immigrants as businesses wanted to employ without limit.”

Finally, Bush’s policy of promoting and encouraging the unification of Europe, O’Sullivan argues could result in the emergence of an anti-American superpower.

Yet, O’Sullivan says Bush can still turn things around, but he will have to act fast.

“He (Bush) needs a positive conservative agenda that can be successfully enacted in a relatively short time.”

Time will tell if the President can rise to the challenge.

Waste Meters

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty plans to install “smart meters” in people’s homes as part of his grand plan to promote energy conservation.

The meters are supposed to help consumers manage their costs by displaying how much energy they are using over a given period.

That gives me an idea.

Let’s install “waste meters” in the Ontario legislature that would display how much money McGuinty is squandering in a given period.

Maybe that might promote tax dollar conservation.

Liberal Health Care Hypocrisy

I went to a Fraser Institute event last night.

The featured speakers were former Ontario Premier Mike Harris and former Reform Party leader Preston Manning.

The purpose of the event was to publicize their “A Canada Strong and Free” platform, which by the way is excellent.

But I thought one of the most interesting remarks of the evening came from Manning, who suggested what he thinks is the real reason the federal government won’t clamp down on private medical clinics operating in Quebec.

Those clinics, says Manning, would battle the federal government in the courts which could lead to disclosure of their client lists.

So what, you ask?

Well says Manning, “Those client lists include the names of lots of deputy ministers, senators, cabinet ministers.”

So rather than face the embarrassment of being exposed as health care hypocrites, the Liberals content themselves with smearing any reforms Alberta might dream up.

Typical.

Writing Cheques Not Enough

Prime Minister Paul Martin says the Liberal Party is going to pay more than $1 million to taxpayers as restitution for the ill-gotten gains the party received as result of the Sponsorship Scandal.

It’s a good move and one the National Citizens Coalition has been urging him to do for months.

But it’s not enough, because this scandal was always about more than just wasted money and kickbacks.

What restitution, for instance, can the Liberals offer to make up for the fact that they essentially won elections using dirty money?

What restitution can the Liberals offer to make up for the fact that their antics have fueled separatist feeling in Quebec?

What restitution can the Liberals offer to make up for the fact that thanks to this scandal, Canadian voters are more cynical about politics than ever?

In short, the damage the Liberal Party has done, cannot be undone simply by writing a cheque.

And unfortunately for the country, writing cheques is the only thing the Liberals are good at.

Time to Investigate Chretien

Here's a news release I sent out on the Gomery Report:

NCC Says RCMP Should Investigate Chrétien

(November 1, 2005) The National Citizens Coalition says today’s Gomery Report should trigger strong action from Prime Minister Paul Martin to stop the scandals plaguing the Liberal Party.

“Prime Minister Paul Martin must order RCMP investigations into former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien and other top Liberals associated with Adscam,” says NCC vice president Gerry Nicholls. “The time has come to punish the guilty no matter how high they are in the party’s hierarchy.”

Nicholls notes Gomery’s conclusion that Chrétien bears some responsibility for the scandals is not enough.

“Canadians need to know if Chrétien broke any laws associated with this scandal,” says Nicholls. “Gomery has pointed the way, now Martin must have the courage to follow up with a serious police investigation of any wrong doing.”

Nicholls says the only way to stop the scandals is to ensure those guilty of abusing the public trust pay a price.

“So far no one has paid any price for this disgusting scandal,” says Nicholls. “If Prime Minister Martin is serious about making government honest he must punish the guilty.”

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