Election 2015

[Kilo_302]

I don't know if this will actually contribute to anything anyone has said, but anyways...

Something that has really furstrated me about this election (and about average joe Canadian in general) is how blind to reality the anti-Harper/anti-CPC front seems to be. Their rhetoric is so strong and so full of conviction that I can't help but think that they believe that all Canadians are with them in their hate for Harper. They always speak about the change that is coming and that "Haper is going to get his", and many more of what they say can be down right violent.

Do they not pay attention to the polls and news? Do they not see that the CPC still has a very large support base, and can very likely win the next election? They don't speak on behalf of all Canadians. A lot of people supported some of Harper's most controversial bills (C-51 anyone?). Futhermore, I can't stand how much they de-huminize him (and any other politician for that matter). The worst ones have actually advocated killing him (seen it many time) to solve Canada's "Harper problem". Come on! The guy is a husband, a farther and  Canadian. You may not like his policies, but he's not Pol Pot!

Anyone else find this annoying?

FYI this is a non-partisan post; on all of the political/vote compasses I consistently get the CPC as the furthest away from my political views.

I think part of this "heated" nature of criticisms of the current government is that they are largely, a nasty bunch of people. They have demonstrated that they are overly vindictive and bent on pursuing policies that often seem to make little sense. Even traditional Tories are beginning to chime in. Take Allan Gregg's recent attacks for example:

http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/djclimenhaga/2013/04/former-tory-strategist-allan-gregg-rips-harper-cons-systematic-a#at_pco=smlrebv-1.0&at_si=55e8669f983999ac&at_ab=per-3&at_pos=2&at_tot=5

Alas, as Gregg told the 500 or so trade unionists at the AFL conference, "it seems as though our government's use of evidence and facts as the basis of policy is declining, and in their place, dogma, whim and political expediency are on the rise."

He added: "Even more troubling, especially from the perspective of a public opinion researcher, is that Canadians seem to be, if not buying it, certainly accepting it."









Gregg cited a long list of evidence-based government activities that have been gutted by the Harper Government -- often saving only insignificant amounts of money -- since 2010.

The rampage, he noted, began with the notorious abandonment of the mandatory long-form census. "Why would anyone forsake these valuable insights and the chance to make good public policy, rather than bad public policy, under the pretense that rights were being violated when no one ever voiced concern? Was this a crazy one-off move … or was there something larger going on?"

It was pretty quickly clear to Gregg -- as it was to many of the rest of us -- that there was indeed something larger going on.

The demise of the long-form census was followed by the destruction of the national long-gun registry, despite the pleas of virtually every police chief in Canada that it be saved. After that, under cover of an austerity budget, there were massive cuts to Statistics Canada, Library and Archives Canada, science and social science activities at Parks Canada, the Parliamentary Budget Office, the CBC, the Roundtable on the Environment, the Experimental Lakes Area, the Canadian Foundation for Climate Science and so on.

At the same time, the government proposed multi-billion-dollar spending where the evidence didn’t support it -- as in its penitentiary-building spree.

"This flew directly in the face of a mountain of evidence that suggested that crime, far from being on the rise, was on the decline," noted Gregg. "This struck me as costly, unnecessary. But knowing the government's intention to define itself as tough on crime before all else, once can see, at least ideologically, why they did it."

However, he said, "when the specific cuts started to roll out, it became clear that something else was starting to take shape" -- something that went beyond mere ideology.

"This was no random act of downsizing, but a deliberate attempt to obliterate certain activities that were previously viewed as a legitimate part of government decision making," Gregg stated. "Namely, using research, science and evidence as the basis to make public policy decisions.

"It also amounted to an attempt to eliminate anyone who would use science, facts and evidence to challenge government policies," he added.

Gregg also assailed the Harper Government's use of intentionally misleading titles for legislation -- which often do the opposite of what their names declare, as in the case of the Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act, which will result in more pot smokers being thrown behind bars.

"In George Orwell's 1984, the abandonment of reason is twinned not simply with unthinking orthodoxy, but also by the willful dissemination of misinformation," he said. "Today, more and more, we see the same kind of misdirection and Newspeak in the behaviour of our legislators."

So why does the Harper Government want to disguise the substance of its legislation, Gregg asked, when a "fulsome and rational debate" would help Canadians make the best decisions? The pretty obvious answer: "By obfuscating the true purpose of laws under the gobbledygook of Doublespeak, governments are admitting that their intentions probably lack both respect and support."

His explanation in the case of the Harperites: "I do believe that this particular government is pursuing a not-so-hidden agenda that few truly understand. It starts from a premise that the Canadian political spectrum has over-swung in a direction of liberalism."

 

[Altair]

In this article, which is reproduced under the Fair Dealing provisions of the Copyright Act from the Ottawa Citizen, Andrew Coyne discusses the possibilities ~ constitutional possibilities, conventional possibilities, tactical political possibilities ~ after the election:

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/andrew+coyne+just+election+results+that+impossible+predict+what/11336244/story.html

One factor Mr Coyne ignores is that if Prime Minister harper holds on to power and is, fairly quickly, defeated in the HoC he will demand an election (remember the "King Byng Thing") because the CPC, unlike the LPC and NDP will still have a sizeable "war chest" available to mount a big, aggressive campaign while the others will, very likely, be in financial distress.

War chest won't save him then.

Just like when Canadians were disgusted with the Liberal-bloc-ndp coalition trying to topple harper and appoint dion, the losing liberal guy who was stepping down, as PM.

Seems to go against our sense of fair play, and would feed the anti democracy, doesn't play by the rules sentiment that already exists regarding the conservative party. Voters would literally kill one of the two left leaning parties to make sure the other got a majority.

No amount of money would save the conservatives from the rage of Canadians,  same as back in 2008 when the liberal support dropped off dramatically after trying to oust harper when his party had the most seats.

I think Canadians expect that the guy with the party that has the  most seats to become prime minister, not the guy who comes in second.

 

[Kirkhill]

* The US led West can, with minimal effort, invade Syria, topple and hang Assad, deal a series of smashing military blows to IS** and then leave, and leave the Arabs to clean up the mess. There will be all manner of "do gooders" (from the political left, centre and right) screaming "You broke it, you fix it!" but the correct answer tol that is silence, during the rapid withdrawal and nearly total from the region. There is nothing that we, the West, can do to "fix" the Middle East; only the people there, Arabs, Persians and Israelis, can do that, and they may have to have another generation (or two) of war ~ small or large wars, doesn't matter ~ to manage the "fix," whatever it is.

I understand your reasoning, and I've written in support of it in the past but the reality of the situation gives me pause.

In general I accept the isolation/containment philosophy.  And I can agree that we can't "fix" the Middle East/Islam/Developing World....

But we can move the Centre of Gravity back towards the Middle East.  I have previously argued the need for "safe havens" to be locally established in the crisis region.  This implies an enduring presence - neo-colonialism if you will.

No fan of the UN I am, however, quite willing to use whatever fig leaves (or laurels as the case may be) to give cover to solving problems.

I agree that we can depose Assad.  And we should.  But we can't be under any illusion that that would solve the refugee crisis.  Many of the people currently in Hungary are not Syrians - they are coming from as far east as Pakistan.  The people coming into Spain and Italy are from Morocco and the Sudan.

We should eliminate Assad's regime.  We absolutely should eliminate ISIL/ISIS.  But we need to back the clock up.  We need to re-establish havens of Western Values in North Africa and the Middle East.    We need to establish Free Ports (Shanghai-Calcutta-Singapore model).  We need to establish UN mandates (Syria-Palestine) model.  And this time we need to be prepared to defend and manage those refuges to the betterment of the locals and ourselves.

In all the hand-wringing about colonialism there is this inconvenient truth forgotten - many colonial subjects sided with the westerners, so much so that at the earliest opportunity they moved west.  And their grand children are still moving west.

I was reading the other day of yet another outrage in India - a village council had decided that fit punishment for a young lad running off with a higher caste girl was to have his sisters publicly gang raped by the council.  It is argued that this is a cultural practice, a custom.

I was immediately reminded of this quote by Napier of Sindh:

"Be it so. This burning of widows is your custom; prepare the funeral pile. But my nation has also a custom. When men burn women alive we hang them, and confiscate all their property. My carpenters shall therefore erect gibbets on which to hang all concerned when the widow is consumed. Let us all act according to national customs."

We need more Sindhs. We need more refuges where OUR national customs prevail.

No we can't be everywhere.  Be we can be more aggressive and adopt a more forward leaning posture. 

Don't create concentration camps.  Create work zones where people can go and earn a living and raise a family - in the middle east, according to western values.

And be prepared to defend them. Vigorously and without remorse.

Another quote from Napier.

The best way to quiet a country is a good thrashing, followed by great kindness afterwards. Even the wildest chaps are thus tamed.

 

[Kirkhill]

I think part of this "heated" nature of criticisms of the current government is that they are largely, a nasty bunch of people. They have demonstrated that they are overly vindictive and bent on pursuing policies that often seem to make little sense. Even traditional Tories are beginning to chime in.

Alinsky's Rules

“Power is not only what you have, but what the enemy thinks you have.” Power is derived from 2 main sources – money and people. “Have-Nots” must build power from flesh and blood.
“Never go outside the expertise of your people.” It results in confusion, fear and retreat. Feeling secure adds to the backbone of anyone.
“Whenever possible, go outside the expertise of the enemy.” Look for ways to increase insecurity, anxiety and uncertainty.
“Make the enemy live up to its own book of rules.” If the rule is that every letter gets a reply, send 30,000 letters. You can kill them with this because no one can possibly obey all of their own rules.
“Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon.” There is no defense. It’s irrational. It’s infuriating. It also works as a key pressure point to force the enemy into concessions.
“A good tactic is one your people enjoy.” They’ll keep doing it without urging and come back to do more. They’re doing their thing, and will even suggest better ones.
“A tactic that drags on too long becomes a drag.” Don’t become old news.
“Keep the pressure on. Never let up.” Keep trying new things to keep the opposition off balance. As the opposition masters one approach, hit them from the flank with something new.
“The threat is usually more terrifying than the thing itself.” Imagination and ego can dream up many more consequences than any activist.
"The major premise for tactics is the development of operations that will maintain a constant pressure upon the opposition." It is this unceasing pressure that results in the reactions from the opposition that are essential for the success of the campaign.
“If you push a negative hard enough, it will push through and become a positive.” Violence from the other side can win the public to your side because the public sympathizes with the underdog.
“The price of a successful attack is a constructive alternative.” Never let the enemy score points because you’re caught without a solution to the problem.
“Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it.” Cut off the support network and isolate the target from sympathy. Go after people and not institutions; people hurt faster than institutions.

A reminder, in this election season, of the rules of the game.

 

[Fishbone Jones]

I recall the last CBC "election compass" which somehow would point to Liberal regardless of how you answered. No bias here, no siree....

Appears to be working better this time.

 

[Edward Campbell]

The Globe and Mail now has it's own election prediction, which it will update weekly. Currently it predicts that:

Even with NDP leading polls, Conservatives projected to win more seats

Paul Fairie
Special to The Globe and Mail

Published: Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2015 7:35PM EDT

If the NDP continue to poll well, showing leads in four of the last six publicly-released polls, why does the Globe’s Election Forecast suggest that the Conservatives have a higher probability of winning the most seats? The important thing to remember is that not all votes are created equal in terms of their ability to convert into seats.

The NDP’s strength, like in 2011, remains in Quebec. In the latest Angus Reid poll, the New Democrats are polling at a robust 51 per cent of the vote. Yet, in 2011, they turned 43 per cent of the province’s vote into winning 59 of the 75 seats. If we accept the Angus Reid number, increasing their vote share by 8 per cent around the province doesn’t leave them with much room to grow seat-wise: a seat is a seat, won by 1 vote or 20,000.

At the same time, the Conservatives also remain reasonably strong in Ontario. While certainly down from their 44 per cent vote share in 2011, they remain marginally in the lead in the province in a number of recent polls. In the latest Angus Reid survey, the Conservatives polled 35 per cent to the NDP’s 33 and in the Nanos poll released a day earlier, the Conservatives led the Liberals 39 per cent to 32.

History reminds us that this has happened before. In 1979, the Pierre Trudeau-led Liberals won 40 per cent of the vote, compared to the Joe Clark-led PCs’ 36 per cent share. Despite this, the Conservatives won 22 more seats than the Liberals and formed a brief-lived minority government. One reason the Liberals were able to win a larger share of the vote despite losing the seat count was the result in Quebec, where the Liberals won an astounding 61 per cent of the vote, capturing 67 of the province’s 75 seats.

Paul Fairie is a University of Calgary political scientist who studies voter behaviour, who designed The Globe’s Election Forecast.


In another article, the Globe and Mail reports that, "Canadians believe economy is in recession, OK with deficit: poll"

The article says, that "Canadians think the country is in recession, according to a new poll, and a majority supports the idea of the federal government running a deficit to stimulate the economy."

A week later and the Globe and Mail's elcetion predictor now say, "The NDP are now favoured to win the most seats as Conservatives drop."

Paul Fairie, a University of Calgary political scientist who studies voter behaviour, who designed The Globe’s Election Forecast, says that

    "The Globe’s forecast now predicts that the NDP are the most likely party to win the largest number of seats, with the party leading in 53 per cent of the simulations. This follows a string of seven consecutive national polls each showing a lead of
      between 1 and 10 percentage points for the New Democrats.

      The seven poll lead was reported by seven different pollsters, using three different methods: traditional telephone, interactive voice response (IVR) and online surveys. The New Democrats have only had such a string of good polling on two
      separate occasions during this parliament: earlier this year in June, and in the May-June period of 2012.

      In good news for the Liberals, three recent polls, by Nanos, Ipsos Reid and Forum, have showed the party in second place, ahead of the Conservatives. Furthermore, polls consistently suggest the gap between first and third place is under 5 percentage points.

      This all reinforces how unusual this election is: the best a third-place party has ever done in terms of vote share was in 1988, when the Ed Broadbent-led NDP won 20.4 per cent of the vote. Currently, we’re in a situation where whatever party is
      polling in third is earning 25 per cent popular support."

 

[Acorn]

Another quote from Napier.

The best way to quiet a country is a good thrashing, followed by great kindness afterwards. Even the wildest chaps are thus tamed.

Worked with the Axis. Too bad nobody took that on board with the recent ME troubles.

 

[Retired AF Guy]

Another quote from Napier.

Quote
The best way to quiet a country is a good thrashing, followed by great kindness afterwards. Even the wildest chaps are thus tamed.

I believe Machiavelli said something similar.

 

[Brad Sallows]

So the Liberals have been forced to admit they want to spend without taxing*, and we're just waiting for confirmation/admission that the NDP will be forced to either borrow or raise taxes to satisfy their wish list.

*There is nothing Canada needs urgently enough to justify borrowing, and the current economic problem (commodities price slump) can not be fixed by Keynesian "stimulus".  What is needed are fewer impediments to major economic activity.  There is no point wishing for a magic fix for manufacturing / exports: the dollar is low; corporate taxes are low.

 

[The Bread Guy]

More details here.  It seems he his focusing on his ministerial duties as surmised by Poppa.

http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/immigration-minister-halts-campaign-to-address-refugee-crisis-1.2545919

The optics and the story behind this are not good though.

We'll have to see if this becomes, in the words of those way smarter than me, "an event" ....

Six weeks left, and counting ....

 

[Lumber]

What is needed are fewer impediments to major economic activity. 

Such as a tax cut? Tax incentives?

 

[Fishbone Jones]

More details here.  It seems he his focusing on his ministerial duties as surmised by Poppa.

http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/immigration-minister-halts-campaign-to-address-refugee-crisis-1.2545919

The optics and the story behind this are not good though.

Optics? Perhaps. The story is now being reported by the family member as false. She didn't petition for the drowned family.

Also, Canada is in the business of accepting qualified immigrants.

We are not in the business of setting up refugee camps, on our soil, and importing said refugees here where it would be difficult for them to return to their homes.

If the opposition and the MSM know the difference between immigrants and refugees, they are playing stupid to spin the story. If they don't know the difference, they need to STFU.

 

[Remius]

We'll have to see if this becomes, in the words of those way smarter than me, "an event" ....

Six weeks left, and counting ....

This is the risk of a long campaign.

I suspect that the CPC is going to weather this.  Mostly because people have short attention spans and unless we see images like the one we've all scene every week, then this will not have a large effect nationally.

The one that likely will not weather this is Chris Alexander. This is the sort of thing that could cost him his seat.  That race is purportedly tight and this could tip things against him. 

 

[Remius]

A week later and the Globe and Mail's elcetion predictor now say, "The NDP are now favoured to win the most seats as Conservatives drop."

Paul Fairie, a University of Calgary political scientist who studies voter behaviour, who designed The Globe’s Election Forecast, says that

    "The Globe’s forecast now predicts that the NDP are the most likely party to win the largest number of seats, with the party leading in 53 per cent of the simulations. This follows a string of seven consecutive national polls each showing a lead of
      between 1 and 10 percentage points for the New Democrats.

      The seven poll lead was reported by seven different pollsters, using three different methods: traditional telephone, interactive voice response (IVR) and online surveys. The New Democrats have only had such a string of good polling on two
      separate occasions during this parliament: earlier this year in June, and in the May-June period of 2012.

      In good news for the Liberals, three recent polls, by Nanos, Ipsos Reid and Forum, have showed the party in second place, ahead of the Conservatives. Furthermore, polls consistently suggest the gap between first and third place is under 5 percentage points.

      This all reinforces how unusual this election is: the best a third-place party has ever done in terms of vote share was in 1988, when the Ed Broadbent-led NDP won 20.4 per cent of the vote. Currently, we’re in a situation where whatever party is
      polling in third is earning 25 per cent popular support."

My guess is we'll be seeing a lot of these polls swing back and forth.  But as you said, the real race and polls begin after this weekend.

 

[The Bread Guy]

I suspect that the CPC is going to weather this.  Mostly because people have short attention spans and unless we see images like the one we've all scene every week, then this will not have a large effect nationally.

The one that likely will not weather this is Chris Alexander. This is the sort of thing that could cost him his seat.  That race is purportedly tight and this could tip things against him.

It will be interesting to see how much sticks to the party, and how much to the Minister, indeed.

 

[Edward Campbell]

It will be interesting to see how much sticks to the party, and how much to the Minister, indeed.

Bruce Anderson, a "closet Liberal" but a very smart guy with good connections and instincts, explains, in the article, which is reproduced under the Fair Dealing provisions of the Copyright Act from the Globe and Mail, that, for the moment, the "events" are spinning in directions Prime Minister Harper did not anticipate:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/this-campaign-is-being-taken-over-by-events-out-of-harpers-control/article26206928/

This campaign is being taken over by events out of Harper’s control

BRUCE ANDERSON
Special to The Globe and Mail

Published Thursday, Sep. 03, 2015

Bruce Anderson is the chairman of polling firm Abacus Data, a regular member of the At Issue panel on CBC’s The National and a founding partner of i2 Ideas and Issues Advertising. He has done polls for Liberal and Conservative politicians but no longer does any partisan work. Other members of his family have worked for Conservative and Liberal politicians, and a daughter currently works for Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau. He writes a weekly digital column for The Globe and Mail.

The plight of Syrian refugees has become a high-profile subject in Canada’s federal election in the last 24 hours, as well it should. Few Canadians will be unmoved by the scale and depth of the human suffering the world is witnessing. Even his own Conservative Party watched yesterday’s lamentable comments by Immigration Minister Chris Alexander and knew they needed to hit the reset button. The Syrian crisis is but the latest in a series of events that have made this campaign far less controlled and predictable than the Prime Minister had in mind.

Stephen Harper has had an elaborate plan for winning Election 42, one that has been in the making for a few years. He managed the budget to allow the room he needed to mail cheques to millions of voters weeks before dropping the writ. He had ministers and MPs fan out across the country cutting ribbons and spending billions of dollars in all sorts of communities where the Conservatives have a good chance of winning. Millions more was spent on a series of advertising campaigns to burnish the image of the government and remind people why they might want more of the Tories.

The Prime Minister was in control, he was setting the agenda, the elaborate machinery of government was at his disposal to make everything hum. He was anticipating a smooth transition to a campaign that would be run with tight control by operatives he has worked with for years and share his love of discipline and planning.

But, as life goes for most of us, events can disrupt the best-laid plans. A series of unexpected events have turned the election into a roller-coaster ride for the Conservatives, and it must often feel that no one is at the controls.

The disruptions started earlier this year with the shocking NDP election win in Alberta. It reminded us all just how quickly voters can reject the expected, when the mood strikes them. It helped catapult the NDP into the lead in national polls, and made it necessary for the Tories to battle on two fronts, rather than simply concentrate on Justin Trudeau.

Add the remarkable testimony at the Duffy trial, which exposed in detail how the Prime Minister and his staff misled Parliament and Canadians. Day after day of revelations trumped any effort by the Conservatives to establish a campaign message of the day, and put Mr. Harper on the defensive.

But the bigger challenges to the campaign rhythm Mr. Harper had in mind are beyond our borders.

The slowing of the Chinese economy has sent shock waves around the world, and have had a particularly powerful effect on Canada’s commodities. There is nothing the Prime Minister can do about it but hope for the best.

When the Saudis refused to cut oil production, a glut of supply and a dramatic drop in the price of oil was inevitable. The consequences for Canada include tens of thousands of layoffs piling up in the oil patch here, and the contraction will be felt by many more people who are involved in the supply chain that supports Canada’s oil production. Then there’s the impact on tax revenues and budget balances. Once again, there’s nothing the PM can do about the world price of oil, but hope that other countries’ economies gather steam and increase demand, or other producers cut production and the price goes up.

Sustained turmoil in Greece and ongoing weakness in many parts of the EU have combined with slowing Asian market growth to produce some of the wildest gyrations the stock markets have experienced in years. Voters in Canada who have RSP savings invested in equities and equity-based mutual funds have watched as their assets lost value. In the last month, the TSX Composite Index fell by more than 6 per cent. The PM is not responsible for the volatility in global equity markets, but it’s an unexpected and unwanted cloud overhanging the start of the campaign.

For years, the Prime Minister has maintained that he is the best person to help shield the Canadian economy from headwinds. Our polling shows that if that becomes the ballot question, he continues to enjoy an advantage over Justin Trudeau and Thomas Mulcair. But when we ask people who would put in place the right policies to grow the Canadian economy and create jobs, Mr. Harper falls to third choice.

As a politician who values control, Mr. Harper can’t be feeling good about the degree to which his political fortunes are hardwired to events and choices made by others, around the world.

He will know there is a risk that Canadians will find his “I can shelter Canada” message less convincing than it used to be. And, perhaps, less inspiring than they are hoping for.

These "events" are precisely the sort that "SuperMac" (the late Prime Minister Harold Macmillan, later 1st Earl of Stockton, PM of the UK from 1957 to 63)) had in mind when (maybe) a reporter (may have) asked him what might bring down his government.

There were a number of good half decent political and diplomatic and even policy reasons for jumping on the anti-IS** bandwagon and, as M Trudeau, said, "whipping out our CF-18s" (to display our manhood). At a purely partisan, tactical, political level it created yet another wedge to drive between undecided voters and the LPC and NDP. Of course, no one could have anticipated the political fallout from the tragic death of one small boy ...

But, there are opportunities in any crisis: some (most) of the Canadian media, for example, by virtue of its own knee jerk, reflexive reaction, can now be pilloried as a biased, anti-Harper cabal that routinely misleads the Canadian public on any issue with a political slant.

Re: Chris Alexander ~ he's a very smart guy, sometimes the "smartest kid in the room," and a potential CPC leadership candidate. Now we'll see what sort of "bottom" he has, too.

 

[Edward Campbell]

Bruce Anderson, a "closet Liberal" but a very smart guy with good connections and instincts, explains, in the article, which is reproduced under the Fair Dealing provisions of the Copyright Act from the Globe and Mail, that, for the moment, the "events" are spinning in directions Prime Minister Harper did not anticipate:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/this-campaign-is-being-taken-over-by-events-out-of-harpers-control/article26206928/

These "events" are precisely the sort that "SuperMac" (the late Prime Minister Harold Macmillan, later 1st Earl of Stockton, PM of the UK from 1957 to 63)) had in mind when (maybe) a reporter (may have) asked him what might bring down his government.

There were a number of good half decent political and diplomatic and even policy reasons for jumping on the anti-IS** bandwagon and, as M Trudeau, said, "whipping out our CF-18s" (to display our manhood). At a purely partisan, tactical, political level it created yet another wedge to drive between undecided voters and the LPC and NDP. Of course, no one could have anticipated the political fallout from the tragic death of one small boy ...

But, there are opportunities in any crisis: some (most) of the Canadian media, for example, by virtue of its own knee jerk, reflexive reaction, can now be pilloried as a biased, anti-Harper cabal that routinely misleads the Canadian public on any issue with a political slant.

Re: Chris Alexander ~ he's a very smart guy, sometimes the "smartest kid in the room," and a potential CPC leadership candidate. Now we'll see what sort of "bottom" he has, too.

Remember, please, that the Sun chain of newspapers is NOT part of the media Harper Haters™ cabal when you read this article which is reproduced under the Fair Dealing provisions of the Copyright Act from the Toronto Sun:

http://www.torontosun.com/2015/09/03/who-is-to-blame-for-the-drowning-of-alan-kurdi

Who is to blame for the drowning of Alan Kurdi?

BY TAREK FATAH, TORONTO SUN

FIRST POSTED: THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 03, 2015

A single photograph of a three-year old boy named Alan Kurdi, lying dead on a Turkish beach, has rocked the conscience of the world.

The picture will remain seared in our collective memory forever, just as the image of a nine-year-old girl running naked on a road after being severely burned on her back in a napalm bomb attack shook us up on June 8, 1972. That was Phan Thi Kim Phuc, who later settled down in Canada.

Despite what was initially reported by Canadian media, Alan Kurdi was never headed to Canada.

His aunt in Vancouver, Tima Kurdi, tried to sponsor Alan’s uncle and family under what is known as a “G5 privately sponsored application for asylum.” Citizenship Minister Chris Alexander personally took up her application after receiving it from Fin Donnelly, the MP for Port Moody-Coquitlam.

However, because the UN in its wisdom wouldn’t register the Kurdi family as refugees, and because the Turkish government wouldn’t grant them exit visas (as they didn’t have passports), the application for asylum in Canada couldn’t proceed any further.

With no legal options, the family did what tens of thousands of refugees in Turkey have done — they took a risky boat ride from Bodrum in a flotilla of dinghies headed for the Greek island of Kos. The boat capsized about 30 minutes after it set off. Alan, his brother Ghalib, 5, their mother Rehan, and many others drowned.

It’s a tragedy that should have brought out the best in all of us.

Unfortunately, the New Democrats and Liberals tried to use it to attack Chris Alexander and the Conservatives and depict them as heartless and cruel, in the most unethical and immoral manner.

To understand the calamity unfolding in the Mediterranean, illustrated by the photograph of Kurdi, we need to step back a century, but even a year is helpful.

In essence, it’s the story of a Kurdish family that fled an Arab country after an Islamist attack and took refuge across the border in Turkey, a country known for its hostility towards its own Kurdish population.

In the words of the boy’s aunt in Vancouver, the treatment of her family in Turkey was “horrible.”

Instead of targeting the most visible and apparent villains in this drama — the Assad regime in Syria, the Turks, ISIS, Saudi Arabia and Qatar — the Liberals and the NDP sharpened their knives and went after Alexander, the very man who has been quietly helping people escape tyranny and settle down in Canada.

We cannot lose sight of the Syrian Revolution that began as protests in the early spring of 2011 as part of the Arab Spring. Instead of paying heed to his people, President Bashar al-Assad unleashed his military forces in violent crackdowns that forced 3.2 million people to flee the country and internally displaced 6.5 million others. Alan was just the latest victim.

Hadi Elis, spokesman for the Kurdish Community Centre of Toronto, told me he was shocked how Trudeau and an NDP MP from B.C. used Alan’s tragic death to attack Alexander.

“Minister Alexander has been one of the strongest allies of the Kurdish community and stood by the Syrian Kurds in their darkest hour in Kobani from where the boy and his family fled in the face of attacks on them by Islamist ISIS and their Turkish allies,” Elis wrote in an e-mail.

“It is despicable for Liberal and NDP politicians to use the dead boy as a political tool to score partisan political points. Shame on them. They want Canada to stop attacking ISIS, and then shed crocodile tears when a victim of ISIS drowns on a Turkish beach,” he continued.

“If there is anyone who is guilty of this crime, it is Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and UN, all those who have refused to embrace hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing war, not Minister Chris Alexander who needs no lectures on compassion by politicians who are catering to the Islamists inside Canada.”

Neither the NDP nor the Liberals dare say a single word against Turkey, Saudi Arabia or even Pakistan for fear of losing the imagined Muslim vote in Canada’s large riding-rich cities. Instead, by depicting the Conservatives and Alexander as anti-refugee and anti-Muslim, they hope to harvest a supposed rich crop of pro-Islamist voters.

It’s possible they might even succeed in this venture given the way many mainstream media outlets have formed a lynch mob targeting the Conservatives with disdain and shameless partisanship.

Canadian voters, on the other hand, must recognize the stories they’re reading or watching also reflect an illiteracy and ignorance among Canada’s chattering heads on matters of the Middle East and South Asia — ignorance they cover up by ensuring no one with a background in the area is given the opportunity to challenge what wrongly passes for objective and balanced discourse.

The fact is all these refugees fleeing war zones in the Arab World could very easily be accommodated in Turkey and Saudi Arabia.

Instead, while Turkey wants to dump them in the sea and hope bleeding-heart, guilt-ridden liberal Europeans embrace them and pay for their resettlement, the Saudis have an even simpler solution: Shut down the border and seal it so not a single Alan Kurdi dare walk across from Iraq or the new “Islamic State of Iraq and Syria” into its territory. Period.

Strictly from a management perspective and common sense, Saudi Arabia has the land, the resources and lies in the vicinity of the crisis. The refugees and the Saudis speak the same language and settlement and integration could happen sooner and at a fraction of the cost.

But it’s far easier to call for the head of Chris Alexander than to be honest and admit the villain in the drama is Saudi Arabia and criticising the Saudis might upset the Islamist vote bank both the Liberals and the NDP covet.

I agree, broadly, with Tarek Fatah* that the LPC and NDP cynically seized upon this issue to unfairly and dishonestly attack Chris Alexander and the CPC. I don't blame political operatives for being cynical or unfair or even dishonest ... but I do think that most of the Canadian media could have and should have done much, Much, MUCH better. The media's lemming like rush to judgement was amateurish and reflects an inbuilt, automatic ant-Harper bias.

_____
* Who founded the Muslim Canadian Congress and served as its communications officer and spokesperson for several years. He advocates for gay rights, a separation of religion and state, opposition to sharia law, and advocacy for a "liberal, progressive form" of Islam. Some of his activism and statements have met with considerable criticism from other Canadian Muslim groups.

 

[Remius]

I agree that blaming Mr. Alexander or Mr. Harper for this is wrong.  However, given the interview Alexander gave the day before (some would call it disasterous) prior to the events that unfolded, I think that things might have unfolded differently.  But they didn't.  Unforthunately now he is the face of this fairly or unfairly.  And it would seem that events are forcing the Conservatives into more damage control.

 

[Rocky Mountains]

"What is needed are fewer impediments to major economic activity.  "

Such as a tax cut? Tax incentives?

Such as not taking 8 - 10 years to approve something as routine as a pipeline.

 

[PPCLI Guy]

The media's lemming like rush to judgement was amateurish and reflects an inbuilt, automatic ant-Harper bias.

Yeah, what's with that?  It is not like he has treated the media with utter contempt since his first day in office or something...

It is not like this is the least transparent government in recent memory or something...

It is not like he refuses to have actual press conferences or something....




Oh, wait a minute.....