Meanwhile

Our nuclear industry is in meltdown (no pun intended). You are doing a heckofa job Steve.

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OOOkay

Since Mr. Harper has called raising taxes "dumb", I think he owes Canadians an explanation of what programmes he intends to cut, to wipe out the structural deficits, his "smart" tax cuts have created. And before the next election please. Or, perhaps deficits don't matter.

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Irony Watch

Prime Minister Harper slammed the media for reporting on an "unsubstantiated story" and then attacked Michael Ignatieff, based on an unsubstantiated story.

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Harper's Paperless Future

Honest to God, I thought this was a mistake (or maybe an excerpt from the Onion) when I read it:

Canada's defence strategy for the next 20 years will be based on speeches by Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Defence Minister Peter Mac-Kay given yesterday in Halifax.

In a highly unusual move, the Conservative government will base its entire future rebuilding of the Canadian military on Mr. Harper's 10-minute speech and Mr. MacKay's 700-word address. No actual strategy document has been produced, or will be produced, according to government and defence officials. Neither speech went into any specific details about equipment purchases, costs or timelines or how the future strategy will unfold. Both speeches presented more broad-brush approaches to defence.

Asked about when the actual Canada First Defence Strategy was going to be released, Jay Paxton, Mr. MacKay's press secretary, replied: "It is a strategy that you heard enunciated by the prime minister and Minister MacKay."

"It is not a 'document' like a white paper -- it is the vision delivered today for long-term planning for the CF," he added. "As such, the speeches are the strategy."

It is almost as if the politicians, press and defense bureaucrats were all trying to keep a straight face while engaging in a huge joke, and not quite succeeding. This is how our government works now? Whenever Harper feels the need not to be in the House to answer questions, he flies to the nearest military facility and announces a new policy? Really? Very funny.

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Hear That Sound?

It is an electoral bomb going off in BC. The chain reaction is beginning.

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Steve As Speed Racer

The wheels on the Tory bus (or in this case NASCAR racer) keep falling off. The backlash started almost immediately. It will only get worse.

I will bet you a box of donuts that the Liberals will assign a person full-time to follow that car around with a video camera. Then, in the next election we will see ads of the "Conservative Car" spinning out of control, smashing into things, coming in last, etc. Come to think of it, it is a pretty good symbol of the Conservative Party after all. I realize the Harper Conservatives absolutely do whatever their Republican handlers tell them to, but someone in the party, sometime, had better say "Enough!", before they become a joke.

Update: If you want a good primer about what the Tories are trying to do, read this. I find it fascinating that the Tories will import any Republican strategy, regardless how outdated or culturally unsuited to Canada it is.

Update 2: I really love this quote too.

A Conservative source said the goal is to reach middle-class voters who don't like current Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion and have bad memories of Brian Mulroney's leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party from 1984 to 1993 (emphasis mine).

I love the fact that these Conservatives are willing to dis Brian Mulroney and emphasize they are a different brand. I suspect old tyme PC's (if any still exist within the ranks of the Conservative Party) will not appreciate having mud kicked on the memory of their last great PM. This is further evidence that the Reform rout is now complete.

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From Bridge To Bush Stalking Horse...

In less than 24 hours. Harper is pushing "intensity targets" to a skeptical world (the one exception is of course, the Bush Administration which loves intensity targets). That's some middle ground Harper is staking out there (On a positive note, I love the way Steve also inserts yet another dig at the Liberals, just in case anyone back home is listening). What a bonus for Canada. Now, rather than being just a national embarrassment, Psycho Steve is showcasing his "unique skills" to the big boys. We all should be proud.

Update:I see that some of the European press services, who have not had experience dealing with Psycho Steve, are swallowing his bullshit about supporting Merkel's position on climate change. For future reference, when Harper says he is "on the same page", look at the fine print. In this case he is suggesting that intensity targets and absolute reduction targets are "roughly" the same. After all, they differ only in their choice of adjectives, right?

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When Conservatives Attack?

Is it just me, or are the Conservatives latest attack ads a tad bizarre? I guess if you have nothing to offer in the way of solutions to Afghanistan, health care and drug costs, education, and global warming, you might as well start a pissing contest with Dion over Senate reform. This "government" is its own best advertisement -- for electoral reform.

Today's Update: Don Martin says it all:

But blasting Stephane Dion's "puppet-on-a-string" leadership as the culprit smacks of cheapshot desperation. To condemn Mr. Dion for failing to operate Liberal senators by remote control does more to question the Senate's usefulness and bolster arguments about its uselessness than any Conservative argument for reform. It's not Mr. Dion's job to whip his senators into line and pass Conservative legislation on the government's timetable. It's not a sign of lousy leadership that he can't get supposedly independent- minded Liberals to follow his marching orders.

If the Conservative view of a perfect Senate is to serve as an echo chamber for the government's agenda, let's just abolish the damn thing now and save a pile of money and time.

Amen, brother Don. Amen.

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