You're right, those desperate attack ads won't work for another what... eight years? Yeah, that sounds about right.
Stupid? No. Intellectually lazy? Yes.
Okay, I'll bite:
CPC 152
LIBS 72
NDP 61
BLOC 21
Greens 1
Independent 1
Interesting that you would lump Chretien/Martin together. They had more differences than commonalties. The most striking is that the sponsorship scandal happened under Cretien's watch. Martin, in contrast, was the one who actually called for an public inquiry, though would have benefitted by doing absolutely nothing at all. I would say that is a pretty stark contrast.
A delightfullly cogent and reasoned analysis of the pros and (mostly) cons of both parties. Your choice, while imperfect, is also the most pragmatic. It is foolhardy to renovate a house that has a decaying foundation. Democracy and respect for the voters is supposed to be the foundation, and the Conservatives have given up even pretending that they care about it. I will be voting Liberal as well.
Can we all at least agree on the following: It would not have mattered what Ignatieff said, the Conservative response would have been the same. Mansbridge could have asked Ignatieff if he likes eating live kittens for breakfast, and Ignatieff would have said "That is a preposterous question, I do not eat live kittens at any time." The Conservative reply would have been: "Mr. Ignatieff may try to fool the Canadian people, but we all know that he eats kittens. He may have specifically said he wouldn't eat LIVE kittens, but Mr. Ignatieff cleverly didn't say what he would do about DEAD kittens. Oh, and something something coalition, something something support our troops, something something here for Canada. End transmission"
If it IS Harper's strategy, he's in trouble. Look back over the landscape of the last 6 years. Liberals and Conservatives, give or take a few points, can count on about 35% of the population apiece. The other 30% is neatly gobbled up by the other parties. In the case of Dion, many of the 35% didn't show up. When Harper polls above 35%, he's appealing mostly to Liberals who aren't happy with the Liberal Party. If he continues the way he is, he'll drop back to 35%, if not a few points lower - and the Liberals will pick up the slack, along with a few NDP points along the way. Those swing voters that I just referenced are not typically angry, frightened, and paranoid. In truth, the angry, frightened, paranoid voter is in the untouchable base of Conservative supporters that would vote for Harper even if he were caught eating live kittens in public. This is similar to the challenge the Republicans face. You can rant about lower taxes and whip up fears of terrorism, and you can slyly appeal to the anti-immigrant, anti-gay sentiments of voters, BUT you're only going to be attracting people who vote Republican anyway.
I expected better from you.
Was the person who wrote the letter a member of the Minister's staff, paid by tax dollars, or person compensated by the Conservative Party of Canada?
If I worked in a job where my reputation was equally as important as my competency, and I still had many thousands of dollars in student loans to pay off, and I didn't want 10 years of schooling flushed down the toilet, I would totally hire a PR firm as well. Hiring a PR firm does not = guilty, it can also mean that you have a lot more to lose if you are found innocent in court but still PERCEIVED as guilty in the court of public opinion.
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Contraption