Ghost Of 407's Past

For those of you who survived the Mike Harris years in Ontario, this story is nothing new. The government wants to sell buildings it owns and then lease them back from the private sector over a long term. It says it will save the government money. It says it can't afford to keep them up (didn't they just have a 13 billion dollar surplus?). The Mike Harris Tories said the same things about the 407 when they sold it off for a song. Ontarians got screwed over on that deal and it looks like the Harperites are getting ready to do the same thing with the people's buildings, across the country. Welcome to Mike Harris' Canada.

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More Blasts From Harper's Past

As I said yesterday, Harper loves to send his attack dogs after Stephane Dion's past, but he is strangely silent about his own. Fortunately, others are starting to mine his past for gold and baby, its all close to the surface. My question is to Jack Layton. How the Hell can you trust this guy? Even if he signs his name in blood and swears on his children's lives, I am willing to bet he will never, ever, make any attempt to meet our Kyoto obligations.

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Tories Use The Old Sargent Schultz Defense

Ve know nossing, nossing!

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New Politics For A New Government

Unlike the previous government, Canada's New Government doesn't give jobs to people with party connections. Rather, goverment jobs go only to those on Stephen Harper's Christmas card list.

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Oh, This Is Too Wonderful

My first question in Question Period. "Mr. Prime Minister could you tell the House if the Conservative Party got permission for the images used in its latest round of campaign attack ads?" Then when he pushes it off to functionairies follow it up with quotes from source that say they did not. Watch the ensuing squirmathon. LOL.

Update: From the article:

It's possible one of the networks sold the video to the Conservatives; the networks are checking to find out if their marketing or archival units might have done so.

Which network sold the CPC the video, if any? If it was this network, things could get mighty interesting.

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Our Hero

Steve Harper likes to trash the Liberal environmental record (and let's face it, it sucked), but he doesn't like to be reminded of his own past. Here, for example is an article from November 2002 on the topic of Kyoto. Steve did not seem to be much of greeny in those days.

OTTAWA (CP) - It's time Paul Martin showed the fortitude expected of prime ministers and reject the Kyoto protocol on greenhouse gases, Canadian Alliance Leader Stephen Harper charged Wednesday night.

"Given the stakes here, the responsible thing to do is simply to come out and oppose it," Harper said, before a Canadian Alliance dinner in Ottawa which drew over 650 supporters who paid $350 apiece to dine with the Opposition leader.

"Mr. Martin himself has at least hinted that if he doesn't think it's bad he at least does understand that the way the prime minister is proceeding is improper and premature."

David Anderson, the environment minister and Herb Dhaliwal, the minister responsible for natural resources, were to launch the Climate Change Plan for Canada - a blueprint for Kyoto's implementation - Thursday in Ottawa.

Harper accused Martin, the leading candidate to replace Prime Minister Jean Chretien when he retires in early 2004, of sitting on the fence when it comes to stating his position on the protocol.

"Paul Martin has a responsibility to block ratification of Kyoto in the absence of an implementation plan with provincial and industry consensus," said Harper in the text of his speech.

Harper warned the deal, if fully implemented, would damage the economies of all provinces and territories and that consumers would end up footing most of the bill because they, not industry, are responsible for 80 per cent of carbon dioxide emissions.

The Kyoto agreement calls for Canada to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions by 30 per cent over projected levels by the end of its implementation process in 2012.

Prime Minister Jean Chretien has vowed to ratify the deal by the end of the year.

Harper also warned against the former finance minister using a "ratify and rescind" strategy to appease industry worried about the deal's effects.

"This strategy - to knowingly accept an investment chill and later renege on his own commitments - would be even more irresponsible behaviour than Jean Chretien's," he said.

The Alliance leader again blamed the prime minister for moving too swiftly on Kyoto, without enough input from Canadians.

"I think its clear that the majority of Canadians at least, thinks we should not proceed until there is a full plan and until all provinces and all governments are working together."

Harper said his party "would never ratify a deal with the effects of the magnitude of Kyoto without being able to explain how it will be implemented."

"I actually think (the Liberals) are running scared on Kyoto - and they should be because it's a major, major deal...and yet they are really in the dark about how they're going to move forward."

Mr. Green was Mr. Stall and Obstruct just a few years ago. I wonder what changed his mind?

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This Sounds Familar..A Little Too Familiar

Paul Wells on the latest Tory attack ad strategy:

What's worth noting is that Harper likes to go after an opponent's strength, not his perceived weakness. If Dion has a brand — a debatable proposition, since it's so early in his new incarnation, but still — what is it? Integrity and the environment, probably. So the Tory ads try to tie Dion to Liberal malfeasance, and simply acknowledge that while Dion sat at the federal Cabinet table, the Grits did nothing serious about global warming. It's audacious, and a long way from the lamentable gong show John Baird and Michael Fortier put on in Montreal an hour after Dion's victory, when Baird attacked Dion as a Quebecer and Fortier attacked him for being a bad Quebecer. (emphasis mine)

This is nothing new, nor is it surprising. Afterall, Harper is nothing if not a student of the Republican smear machine and its modern master, Karl Rove.

Very early on, Karl Rove did something that many other political operatives don't do, and it's really an element of why he's a unique figure in American political life: He understands that while other people look for the weakness in an opponent and exploit that, Rove has long looked at the strength of an opponent. In the case of Ann Richards running for governor, it was that she was tolerant and appealed to many constituents, so you attack her as an advocate for the homosexuals' agenda. In the case of John McCain, it was that he was a POW in Vietnam, and so you raise questions about his service in Vietnam through surrogate groups.

Good old Steve. Is there any sleazy Republican tactic he won't try?

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