Putting on a Pretty Dress for Our Fallen Soldiers

Our four year old daughter woke us up this morning asking if we were thinking about the soldiers who have died. She then said she was going to put on a pretty dress while she thought about them.

No Easy Answers for the Liberals

I`ve written before about the quandary facing the Liberals, one that existed well before their current drop in the polls, masked by a fractured right under Chretien. While the Liberals were busy occupying the mushy middle, the ideological ground on the right was unified by the current CPC while the NDP has solidified its hold on the left.

Now the Liberals have nowhere to go - not without consequences that is. Move to the right and they cede ground to the NDP. Move to the left and they lose their Red Torys. This quandary is now fully evident with Iggy`s absence of any concrete agenda. Trapped, the Liberals are forced to chase headlines and jump from one faux scandal to the next.

Some time ago, I predicted that the end result could be the rise of the NDP as the true alternative to the CPC. While the gains by both the NDP and the CPC in these by-elections are by no means conclusive, they seem to have caused the punditocracy to start to take note of this dynamic.

One thing is certain, there are no easy answers for the Liberals.

If the Dems Pass Their Health Care Bill

It will be political suicide for the Dems if they vote in the health care bill. In part because it is generally unpopular with the American people - according to every poll on the issue. More importantly, they will be doing it even though that they know the people do not want it.

Worse, the people know, that they know that the people do not want it but will pass it anyway. This utter contempt for voters in the land of the free and the home of the brave will surely lead to a political rout in 2010.

The Most Important Unreported Story of the Year

The fact that Adscam funds may be traced to find out which Liberals got their paws on the ill gotten booty may be the most important political story of the year. A few thoughts:

The cries of "old news" from Liberals will be cast against the backdrop of their recently flogging the Mulroney horse - which pales in comparison in terms of it being much older news, involving a tiny fraction of dollars, and most importantly, private funds not stolen taxpayer money.

Until the funds are returned the issue remains current. There could very well be liberals in power today who continue to benefit from this crime. The suggestion from Liberals to "just let it go" is tantamount to their saying "just let us keep the stolen money" - a position that will not sit well with the public.

Reviving this issue could well be politically devastating to a party that is desperate to gain traction in the polls. It reminds voters not only of how bad things really got under the Liberals, but serves as a stark comparison to the faux scandals the Liberals have been chasing over the last several years.

Liberals will have to tread very carefully. They've told us the notion of putting a logo on ceremonial checks is of national importance. Surely returning tens of millions of stolen funds back to hard working Canadians is something worth exploring.
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This Bold Fresh Brilliant New Idea Must Be From the Ivy League

Iggy brainstorms and comes up with....national child care.

In other news, Iggy proposes a fresh new music craze called ... disco.
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If You're Going to Scandal Chase, Do It Right

It seems that the liberals have decided to put their big thinking ideas aside and once again delve into scandal chasing - a prescription to power they seem to think will replace the long tough slogging of party revitalization. The latest is "giant ceremonial cheque-gate".

In order to help out my friends on the left, I have some helpful tips on separating a real scandal from faux scandals:

1) Numbers are important. If the amounts are in the tens of millions, like say the Sponsorship scandal, you're onto something, particularly if the sums are directly stolen from taxpayers and given to the political party.

2) Try to avoid creating a scandal out of things your own party routinely does. For instance, Emerson's floor crossing was portrayed as evil incarnate, while Stronach's and Brison's were "just politics". It doesn't just detract from your efforts, it causes a public opinion boomerang.

3) If possible, avoid looking like you're capitalizing on the deaths of others for political gain. Black humour in the course of a food poisoning outbreak, may or may not be in bad taste, but rushing in with feigned outrage at a single line uttered in a back room meeting seems a tad ghoulish.

4) If you have to say something is a scandal, it's likely not a scandal.

5) Pooping cartoons, whoever they happen to be pooping on, never rise to the level of national importance.

6) It may be tempting to go after a politician's attempt to look personable through the use of such evil devices as the sweater vest, but I'm told by fashion people that use of garb to portray an image is done by.....well....everyone on the planet, every day of their lives.

Those are just a few, feel free to add in the comments.
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Iggy: Forget About That Whole "Taking Down the Government" Thing

Forget about Harper getting a "fail". Forget about Canada being able to "do better". Forget about that little chat in the woods. As for "If you mess with me, I will mess with you until I’m done"? Hey, what's wrong with a bit of messing.

With the CPC now into majority territory, Iggy changes his tune...again. Take a look at this awkward backtracking:

"What I said was we lost confidence in the government. I didn’t say we’re going to move more motions of non confidence."

Riiiiight.
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