Stephane Dion plays chicken by himself...and still loses!

Liberal Party Stephane Dion has a remarkable ability to take something as simple as a meeting and turn it into a battle of wills.

A battle of wills between himself and no one else.

And then Stephane Dion still manages to lose.

Atlantic Canada shift -- Carbon tax criticism driven by Liberal Party polling?

In the polls, a lot of focus falls on Quebec.  The Conservatives doing well, the Liberals still struggling -- clearly part of the decision to go to an election.

But there is another shift happening that matters too.  In Atlantic Canada, the Liberals number have tumbled badly, and I think that is driving two high profile criticisms of Stephane Dion's carbon tax.

Blair Wilson, the Green Party, and Elizabeth May lusting for a TV spot

History has been made today.  The Green Party has an MP in Canada's parliament.

Well, technically, the Green Party has an MP who is ready to sit in parliament, though it is unlikely parliament will sit before an election is called.

Indeed, after all is said and done, the Green Party might come out of all this never have had a sitting MP.

And certainly not an elected MP.

That might not matter much to some people, but I think these are more than just subtle distinctions.

Garth Turner lurking as "Milton John"?

At the blog Repossessing Halton, there is a convincing argument building that suggests that Liberal Party MP Garth Turner dons the pseudonym "Milton John" in order to lurk on blogs critical of him, and post nasty responses.

Martin Cauchon: Rumoured candidate that ought to give Stephane Dion pause

On the verge of an election, the rumours are flying fast and furious.  In this case, the Liberals are rumoured to making a serious play for their former stronghold of Outremont, lost to the NDP in a by-election. 

The secret weapon would be former Liberal cabinet minister Martin Cauchon.

But if I was Stephane Dion, I'd be worried about why Martin Cauchon would be willing to get back into politics.

Hoping for a visit from Liberal leader Bob Rae?

The BC riding of Nanaimo-Alberni is represented by Conservative MP James Lunney.  There is no Liberal candidate yet, and no one has filed papers yet to be the candidate.

Nevertheless the Liberal riding association president thinks the Liberals can win this riding, but it would help a lot if "leader" Bob Rae would come for a visit.

Huh?

Gilles Duceppe pulls rug out from under Stephane Dion

Liberal Party leader Stephane Dion has done it again.  He tries to act decisive, and ends up being made the fool.  In this case, he refused to meet with Stephen Harper until he, Dion, was good and ready. 

Well, Jack Layton decided the meeting was an opportunity to look like a responsible opposition leader, and has agreed to meet.

And now Gilles Duceppe is rumoured to be meeting with Harper ahead of Layton.

And with that, Gilles Duceppe has rendered Stephane Dion irrelevant.

Elections Canada allowance was driving Liberal Party election plans

The Liberal Party under Stephane Dion wants to fight an election, or so they say, but later this fall.  Apparently kicking off an election now, in September, is a bad thing.

A good thing would be kicking off an election in October.

Why?  Really, what difference would it make?

In either case, Stephane Dion would still have to face a leadership review in December, either as the new prime minister or as the loser of a general election, so from that point of view, there really isn't a difference.

Then it struck me that, for the Liberals, there is one big difference in starting an election in October.  All federal parties that meet the criteria get their next Elections Canada quarterly allowance in October.  The way the Liberals have been complaining about starting an election now instead of just a few weeks from now tells me that the Liberals need that money, and desperately. 

Until that cheque arrived, Stephen Harper was going to get a free ride from the Liberals.

I think we ought to have an election now.  Having the proper functioning of parliament (which includes an effective opposition) short-circuited by a broke political party that lurches from quarter to quarter on the back of taxpayers is just wrong.

A survey of Liberal Party online shiftiness

Last night I completed a survey of all the websites of sitting Liberal MPs.

I was looking to see how the Stephane Dion's carbon tax was being described, but as a bonus the survey itself turned up several interesting things.  The first thing you notice is just how un-shifty the Liberal caucus seems to be.

www.StephaneDion.ca goes nowhere

Hey, did you notice that www.StephaneDion.ca doesn't go anywhere?

The Devil and Joan Beatty

The story, told over and over again, of the guile of the Devil entrapping the greedy and the foolish is one we are all familiar with.  That literary device is one of those minor gifts of our Christian heritage (where the embodiment of evil is a lesser being than God, and so must depend on his sly words instead of brute force to win souls to his side).

When I see what has happened to Joan Beatty's name online, I immediately think of this metaphor. 

Ireland's Green Party leader dumps plan for carbon tax

Astonishingly, some people aren't as perceptive as Liberal Party leader Stephane Dion, and think that a carbon tax is a complex plan that will negatively affect a lot of people.

In Ireland, the leader of the Green Party and the Minister for the Environment in the coalition government, John Gormley, has dropped plans for a carbon tax for exactly such reasons.

This the second time the goverment in Ireland has been forced to step back from implementing a carbon tax.

Why?  Who knows?  The reasons given make no sense.  Don't they know that this tax is simple to implement, makes everyone richer, eliminates poverty, has no effect on rural voters, and saves the environment?

That's what Stephane Dion has been explaining to Canadians.  Maybe he needs to give John Gormley a call and explain it to him.

Shouldn't take more than 15 minutes or so. 

Stephane Dion does not want Stephen Harper falling into Dion's trap?

Sometimes I just don't understand what Liberal Party leader Stephane Dion is talking about.

With Prime Minister Stephen Harper making it clear that he is setting down conditions for not triggering an election, Stephane Dion is saying that Prime Minister Harper could be convinced not to call an election once he realizes such a call would only work in favour of the Liberals.

So what is Stephane Dion saying?  That he doesn't want an election that would favour the Liberals?

Wrong Green Shift (again), this time from a media pundit

I know it might seem boring, but tracking just how the Liberal Party's idea to name Stephane Dion's carbon tax plan The Green Shift, deliberately ignoring the existence of Jennifer Wright's Green Shift Inc, is damaging Wright's company serves a purpose.

It stands as a testimony to just how Jennifer Wright is right -- her company is becoming confused by one and all with the Liberal tax plan. 

Gone fishing (and back)

Sorry for the long break between posts, but I've been on vacation, and a series of unfortunate events conspired to keep me offline for the entire duration.

Heck, I only just found out about the Maple Leaf listeria outbreak.

thegreentaxshift.ca: A Liberal backup plan? [Update: More backup names?]

Interestingly, a full 11 days after registering thegreenshift.ca to be the online home of Liberal Party leader Stephane Dion's plan for a massive carbon tax, the Liberals registered thegreentaxshift.ca.  That was only days after being told by Jennifer Wright that she did not want to share the name.  Days after registering this alternate name, the Liberals were served with a cease-and-desist order from Jennifer Wright of Green Shift Inc.

Despite registering this alternate name, the Liberals aren't using it, preferring to fight Jennifer Wright for "Green Shift".

Update: I found some more alternate names.  And they were all registered after the launch and after the call to Jennifer Wright, not before.

Liberals still confusing GreenShift.ca and TheGreenShift.ca

Right on the heels of a news story reporting that the Liberals claim no reasonable chance of confusion between the Liberal Party's Green Shift tax plan and Jennifer Wright's Green Shift environmental consultancy firm, I find yet another example of confusion between the two.

As before, it is a Liberal who is unable to keep the two straight.

Even as he threatens to trigger an election, Stephane Dion loses yet another candidate (again)

No this isn't a double posting.  I just posted yesterday about how the Liberals lost candidate Parissa Aujla.

In reading an entirely unrelated story, I learned that another candidate has quit.

It happened at the beginning of the summer, and the reason given by Buffy Baumbrough for quitting was that she did not feel she could help the environment as a federal Liberal.

Liberal MP Karen Redman's "but": She uncovers In-and-Out in all the parties

Shocking revelations at the committee hearings looking into Conservative Party election spending.

Thanks to Liberal MP Karen Redman, we learned two things:

• Other parties engaged in In-and-Out funding and are being investigated by Elections Canada
• The Liberals are sore at Conservative efficiency, and believe that is why the Conservatives need to be punished

Liberal candidate Frank Valeriote's summer fling

The Ontario Young Liberals hosted a three day party in Guelph this past weekend.

That's great.

And they debate Liberal Party policy and strategy.

That's great.

And they want everyone to vote for Frank Valeriote on September 8 at the by-election.

Oops.

Liberal Atlantic Caucus really did avoid mention of carbon tax

Prime Minister Stephen Harper made a point of mentioning how the Liberals in Atlantic Canada avoided mention of Stephane Dion's plan for a carbon tax in the media release following their caucus meeting.

The silence speaks volumes.

But oddly, the media made it sound like a simple statement of fact -- that the Liberal media release did not discuss the carbon tax -- is some sort of clever Conservative trick meant to confuse the listener.

Even as he threatens to trigger an election, Stephane Dion loses yet another candidate

The Liberal Party has lost yet another candidate.  And this time in a riding that had lost its previous candidate mere months ago.

You would think that with Stephane Dion threatening to trigger an election, Liberal candidates would be pulling together instead of looking for the escape hatch.

Garth Turner apologizes...for no good reason

Garth Turner has apologized.

I know.  It's a day to remember.  But I'm confused, because Garth Turner has nothing to apologize for.

But let's back up and set the stage for how this happened.

Did the Conservatives snitch to Elections Canada about Garth Turner's accounting problem?

Liberal MP Garth Turner has had a relatively minor dustup with Elections Canada.  Frankly, he should have just kept quiet about it.  Instead, he makes an accusation in an attempt to embarrass the Conservative Party.

The problem is that based on the evidence I've developed, I can't see how that accusation can be justified.

Well, you can decide who's been embarrassed.

Update: Garth Turner apologizes...for no good reason

Oops: Liberal MP Hedy Fry promises high food prices but huge benefits for Alberta and Saskatchewan from carbon tax

Liberal MP Hedy Fry becomes the latest in a line of Liberals attempting to explain Stephane Dion's promised carbon tax.

It is a pitiable performance.

Robert Thibault: Who's the idiot?

The Liberal MP for the Nova Scotia riding of West Nova, Robert Thibault, is in some trouble.  In the space of two weeks, he has insulted seniors and women.  In his attempt to defend his comments, he called Senator Majory LeBreton an "idiot".

Clearly Garth Turner is working his special magic with his communication seminars for Liberal MPs.

But to the question of idiocy, I cast my eye on Robert Thibault.  Does he not know the demographic cross section of his riding?

GPS ankle bracelet a great idea...for parolees

Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day has announced a plan to start testing the use of GPS tracking ankle bracelets on parolees.  There is resistance to the idea, which has me puzzled.

You would think parolees would love the idea.

Snazzy new design at Stephen Taylor's blog

Check out the new sleek design.

Garth Turner attempts to wipe his blog clean of his latest stumble

In my last post, I looked at a blog post by Garth Turner, Liberal MP and communications guru for the Liberal Party.  A senior citizen by the name of Jon C Coates had a letter printed in a Halifax newspaper, in which he proceeded to show how a single senior would suffer under Stephane Dion's carbon tax plan.

Garth Turner immediately responded by alleging that this person was not real, and indeed was some sort of fraudulent Conservative Party frontman spewing lies.

This even after Garth Turner had spoken to Jon's wife.

Well, in the best Orwellian fashion, Garth Turner has erased his old post, put up a new one, speaks highly of Jon C Coates, and proceeds to call Stephen Harper a liar.

Hmmm.  I don't see a public apology directed at Jon for publicly declaring Jon to be a liar.

Garth Turner vents his spleen on a senior citizen on long-term disability -- and prepares to backtrack

A letter from Jon C Coates of Halifax is getting a lot of attention.  In it, he describes how he is going to suffer as a result of Liberal Party leader Stephane Dion's carbon tax.

Well, Garth Turner is the communications guru handling the carbon tax file.  So he reveals on his blog that (1) Jon C Coates is a liar, and (2) Jon C Coates probably doesn't exist.

Jon C Coates, according to Garth Turner, is likely a fiction concocted by the Prime Minister's Office, and Garth Turner is pulling back the curtain to reveal the ugly truth.

OK, so I called Jon C Coates, and we had a long conversation.

David McGuinty can't keep Green Shifts straight

I've been idly checking out references to Jennifer Wright's website greenshift.ca, the site that supports her company Green Shift Inc.  The Liberals under Stephane Dion decided that the name "Green Shift" should really have been theirs, and so named their carbon tax plan The Green Shift, supported with a website thegreenshift.ca.

The reason I've been checking is to see whether Jennifer Wright is correct in her assertion that the Liberals are damaging her brand.  The Liberals say that no one is going to be confused and that the two entities can easily coexist.

The problem is that I find evidence, over and over again, of confusion.  This time from the Liberal's own environment critic, David McGuinty.

Liberal Party candidate Claudette Roy names greenshift.ca as carbon tax website

As I've posted before, there is something to Jennifer Wright's argument that when the Liberal Party decided to name Stephane Dion's carbon tax plan "The Green Shift", her company Green Shift Inc would suffer from the confusion that would result.

Nonsense, say the Liberals and their apologists.  People will be able to tell the two apart.

Apparently people can't tell them apart.  One such person is Claudette Roy.  She's the Liberal Party's candidate for the riding of Edmonton-Strathcona.

More Green Shift confusion

Jennifer Wright of Green Shift Inc is suing the Liberal Party.  The Liberal Party has named their carbon tax plan "The Green Shift", and Wright's position is that the use of that name is hurting her business.

The Liberal contend that there is no reason for people to be confused.

Well, for the second time, I've found a blatant example of confusion is the media.

Garry Oledzki's cold send-off

Garry Oledzki was the Liberal Party candidate for Palliser in Saskatchewan.  Until yesterday, when he quit.

The report of his resignation was, well, cold.

Frigid even.

Oil prices already too high said former Liberal candidate Bobby Morrissey

Even as Stephane Dion is making noises about a fall election (that could be as soon as six weeks from now), the Liberal Party has lost two candidates. 

Garry Oledzki in Saskatchewan and Robert "Bobby" Morrissy in PEI have both stepped down as candidates.

In the case of Bobby Morrissey, it might indeed be a problem selling Stephane Dion's carbon tax.

Confused Liberals: The Top 21 Carbon Tax Questions

Liberal Party leader Stephane Dion could not explain his carbon tax plan to his own aides.

There are a lot of questions that I suspect Stephane Dion will have trouble answering.  I've compiled my favourite 21 questions that I think every Liberal MP ought to be able to answer.

Stephane Dion and the Carbon Tax: Martha Hall Findlay responds

I was among many people who commented when Liberal MP Martha Hall Findlay was quoted as saying that the effectiveness of Stephane Dion's carbon tax could not be predicted, or even measured after the fact.

Martha Hall Findlay wrote to me by way of response.  I've posted her note here in its entirety:

Garth Turner: Spamming for Stephane Dion?

Liberal MP Garth Turner is very excited.  The most loyal of all Liberal MPs is hosting a town hall meeting for his hero, Liberal Party leader Stephane Dion. 

But what if no one shows up?

To make sure that doesn't happen (and so show that he can command a loyal following of Liberal voters) Garth Turner has sent out a mass mailing to encourage people to turn out for the meeting.

Here's the problem.  Pulling together various threads, I wonder if there is reason to believe Garth Turner has contravened the anti-spam rules of the US-based email marketing service he is using his effort to look make Stephane Dion look good.

Another stealth Liberal praising Stephane Dion in the press

A "resident" of Cornwall is very upset at the mailing he received from his Conservative MP, Guy Lauzon.

According to local resident Guy Tropper, the flyer is juvenile in its design, and shows how the Conservatives are not spending time dealing with global warming, the way the Liberals are.

Gee, this letter to the editor could have been written by someone in Liberal headquarters.

No wait, it was written by someone at Liberal headquarters.  Guy Tropper.

Stephane Dion remains committed to cycling

You might think I'm talking about Liberal Party leader Stephane Dion's green credentials -- using a bicycle and such.

I'm not.

I'm talking about the Stephane Dion Election Cycle.

David Suzuki Foundation gets ripped a new one

The David Suzuki Foundation gets roughed up badly by the Center for Media and Democracy Watch, the group that looks to expose spin and propaganda.

Motivations unknown: Julie Couillard had no reason to take files

A report from an internal Foreign Affairs department investigation has concluded that Maxime Bernier was the victim in the events that led to his resignation from cabinet.

Angry in the Great White North by Steve Janke is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Canada License. Based on a work at stevejanke.com.