New Brunswick Politics

Story On CBC
As you've probably seen elsewhere Frank McKenna has said he will not to run for the leadership of the Liberal Party. So....the guessing game continues....Who will be in the race?? Belinda Stronach? Brison? Ignatieff? I've even heard Brian Tobin's name being tossed around.

Ok........Insert Wild and random speculation here! LOL....... Seriously, what do you think? Who are your picks? Do you even care?

Posted by PoliticsNB at 7:25 PM | Permalink | |

A story about Stephen Harper's Right wing think tank buddies in the U.S.

CBC Story Here:

From a commentary by Paul M. Weyrich, of the Free Congress Foundation.

"His contribution to the Harper election effort was to distribute an e-mail last week urging fellow U.S. right-wingers not to talk to Canadian reporters."

"Canadian voters have been led to believe that American conservatives are scary and if the Conservative party can be linked with us, they can perhaps diminish a Conservative victory," he warned.


"Harper is pleased that the media and many in his own party are nay-saying," he writes. "Harper thinks that such pessimism would lower expectations and give him additional latitude to accomplish his agenda.

Oh and my personal Favorite:

"The people of Canada have become so liberal and hedonistic that the public ethic in the Country immediately could not reversed. It will take time. But with leadership it well may be possible to change the public ethic."

Here's the website of this bunch of Right Wing ********.

Free Congress Foundation

Ummmm.....is this really the change that Canadians voted for?? To be "saved" from our Marxist ways???

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go Hurl!

Posted by PoliticsNB at 9:43 PM | Permalink | |

Just heard on Newsworld that Frank McKenna tendered his resignation as Ambassador to the United States. No surprise really, as it would be difficult to run for leader of the Liberal Party from Washington. :-)

Update:
CBC and CTV now have the story posted.

CBC Here
CTV Here

Posted by PoliticsNB at 6:34 PM | Permalink | |

Well, it was a late night. Being the junkie I am, I was up until after 3:00 am. That's late when you get up to go to work at 6:30 am. :)

Anyway, I have to think this result is a bit disappointing to the Conservatives. Realistically given the Liberals Baggage, they should have next to nothing left for seats in the House this morning. Despite the quotes i've heard on the news etc. from CPC supporters about Canadians being "stupid", I think the truth is more that many Canadians simply do not trust Stephen Harper, and his policies. This is his chance to show us what he's got....but I think his hands are tied. It's going to be a tough row to hoe I think. I'm thinking there will be no attempt to take these guys down until a new leader is in place on the Liberal bench, and an important issue comes to the books. Unless of course the CPC were to try to pass something crazy, that Canadians could get behind the Libs on. I bet they get at least 18 months to 2 years....unless , as I said they try something crazy. I think every member of the House realizes that the electorate is in no mood for another election anytime soon.

I think Paul Martin did the right thing for his Party, resigning right away. Leaves no speculation, and drama on their side of the house on the issue. I must say, I thought Martin did a classy speech, but I find it strange that his best speech as Prime Minister was when he resigned the leadership. To bad he did'nt do more of this as leader, and PM....it might have helped a bit. It's going to be intresting now to watch the potential Candidates line up for the job. I expect Frank McKenna to be a front runner if he chooses......question is....does he want the job??? Stay tuned!

Jack Layton did very well last night. He obviously profited from the anti Liberal feelings in Canada. Now he has to push the NDP agenda, and try to get some progressive things done to try and shore so of that support up or next time. Can he hold it or increase it for the next election?? Time will tell. I thought they may have got clobbered this time as they usually do after a Minority Gov. goes down....but surprise, surprise.

All in all an interesting night, and campaign. If nothing else, this should be an interesting House Of Commons also. I expect much drama, and rhetoric as it moves along. Hang on tight. This could be wilder than the last Parliament.

Posted by PoliticsNB at 12:34 PM | Permalink | |

Well, it's all over but the crying. It is indeed a CPC minority. Final numbers arn't in of course, but it's not a gutting of the liberals by any stretch. I'm impressed by the NDP though. They have done well up to this point.I have to say, I doubted they would gain much, so I was wrong on that one.

I was close on my NB picks though. I was quite surprised to see Andy Savoy lose his riding. BUt all in all no big surprises seat wise here in the Maritimes.

Ok I'm going back to the tube........

Back later!

Posted by PoliticsNB at 11:53 PM | Permalink | |

While some bloggers have stated they will be blogging the results of the Federal Election, i've decided to follow the blackout rules as set out in the law.
I'm not going to turn off the comments unless it becomes a problem though. Please think before you post.
Thanks
PNB.

There seems to be some people who dispute whether the internet is included in the publication ban. I've provided some links for anyone who disputes this. Also, on the Elections Canada Site you'll see a Toll Free number you can call for confirmation. 1 800 INFO-VOTE (1 800 463-6868) They will be happy to confirm this for you. They are actually quite helpful.

Elections Canada
Scroll down to the Section entitled "Internet"

ElectionResultsCanada

Prohibited Blogging...From CBC's Blog Report

Canada Election Laws
In Particular see section 323 to 329.

Posted by PoliticsNB at 6:10 PM | Permalink | |

(Via Ouimet at The Tea Makers }

Stephen Harper was interviewed by Anthony Germain on his CBC Radio show "The House" this morning.

The House
(Requires Realplayer)

Interesting interview. Of course I’d expect nothing less from Germain. Worth a listen.
By the way, the story following it about the CPC platform of enshrining property rights to the constitution is interesting as well. They also do an accounting of the promises by the parties.

Posted by PoliticsNB at 5:57 PM | Permalink | |

After looking at all the info available, and following the campaign closely, I've made my final call for this election. As I said a couple of weeks ago, i'm still calling a CPC minority government. I just don't think they have the numbers needed to capture a Majority. The undecided support here again seems to be a wild card. If the same thing that happened last time happens this time it will put the NDP in the same place. I'm calling between 15 and 20 seats for the NDP. (Sorry Jack :D) I think The Bloc will still be in the 50 range....last time they got 54, I think they probably will loose a few to the Federalist vote....probably to the CPC. Now the two biggies....CPC somwhere around 140 I'd say, with the Liberals somewhere around the 95 to 100 mark.

By the way, here in New Brunswick, I'm calling the same as last time. If there is going to be any change I think it will be the targeted riding in Fredericton. I'd not convinced they can beat Andy Scott though. The other close one I think will be Acadie-Bathurst. I expect Yvon Godin to win this again, but Marcelle Mersereau is a top notch challenger. Keep an eye on this one. As far as the Saint John riding, I expect Zed to hold onto this riding, although I expect a fairly close vote. I think the feelings towards the Provincial Conservatives may hurt Wallace here. We shall see I guess.

New Brunswick Picks: Same as last time....

Lib 7
CPC 2
NDP 1

So For the sake of round numbers....here's my seat pick for the new Parliament.

CPC 141
Liberal 97
Bloc 49
NDP 19
Other: 2

Methodology: I employed no methodology to these picks. Simply my opinion.

Posted by PoliticsNB at 2:31 PM | Permalink | |

{Via Scott over at The Sorry Centrist }

Great game where you get to make all your picks for Election 2006.
Wasn't online yesterday....or I would have posted this sooner. Not much time left, so go get your picks in!

Pick Your Hillclimbers 2006

Just a few more hours to go and we'll all know who our government will be for the next few months....LOL

PNB

Posted by PoliticsNB at 10:20 AM | Permalink | |

Why are these CPC Candidates not responding to requests for interviews and not attending debates and town hall meetings??? Are the being muzzled by the CPC??? Each and every one of these people were considered controversial before this election. Now it seems they have become very, very quiet........All part of the the CPC game plan?? Don't ask, don't tell???......I guess Canadians don't have the right to hear these people give their take on the issues. Now why could that be????

Patrick Brown: Barrie
Rakesh Khosla: Halifax West
Cheryl Gallant: Renfrew Nipissing Pembroke
Bob Dechert: Mississauga
Darrel Reid: Richmond
Harold Albrecht: Kitchener
Rondo Thomas:Ajax-Pickering
Rob Anders: Calgary West

If any of these people are running in you riding be VERY wary of voting for them IMO. If they are not available to answer questions during an election......imagine if they get elected!

Posted by PoliticsNB at 11:48 PM | Permalink | |

It's making its way around the net and is posted in many places. Everyone should have the opportunity to see what you will be voting into government if you vote CPC. It's all about informed decisions right?

I knew these guys were something else. But seeing it all laid out in front of you....well....kinda puts it into a new perspective. Click on the Pic's to get the scoop on each and every one of these individuals.

Conservative Party Links to Right Wing American Groups

And then people wonder why these guys get called scary.

Posted by PoliticsNB at 8:16 PM | Permalink | |

{Story From CBC N.B. }

What did Stephen Harper really say??

Saskatchewan Premier Lorne Calvert says Harper has pledged to change the equalization formula to benefit wealthier provinces. Non-renewable resourses would be exempt from the formula according to Calvert. Bernard Lord says he disagrees that Harper made that Promise. Yet CPC candidates throughout Saskatchewan agree that is the plan according to Harper, and they are repeating the promise across their Province.

Wake up Mr.Lord, Harper is playing you for a fool.
I would imagine that Calvert's senario is probably closer to the truth. It's no secret that Harper and his western backers hate the fact that any of their revenue from oil and gas goes into the federal coffers to come back to "have not" provinces through equalization payments. No doubt they would be quite happy to keep damn near every dime at home in Alberta. Screw everybody else.

The Provinces lucky enough by geography to have Oil and Gas reserves get richer, and everyone else in Canada gets poorer. Welcome to Stephen Harper's Canada!

Posted by PoliticsNB at 8:51 PM | Permalink | |

Intresting story on CTV today.
CTV News

The conservatives in the States are looking forward to a Harper government.....Imagine that! From the story:

"Weyrich applauds Harper's suggestion that he'd revisit the decision not to participate in President George W. Bush's missile defence program and has hopes he'd consider helping rebuild Iraq."

That should help Harper.....not!

I bet Harper and his bunch are wishing these guys has kept there mouths shut for a few more days..........

Posted by PoliticsNB at 7:00 PM | Permalink | |

As in the last election, Paul Martin is once again calling on the NDP supporters out there to jump to the Liberal ship and save Canada from Stephen Harper. It remains to be seen whether they'll respond as they did last time. Meanwhile Jack has started to sound very desperate lately. His plea for traditional Liberal suporters, to lend the NDP their vote... "Just this once" sounds a tad whiney to me. Maybe it's just how he said it......

I do agree with Martin on one thing though......I find it intresting that Jack has saved almost all of his attacks for Martin and the Liberals. Kinda strange when you consider how far apart the CPC and the NDP are on most issues. Maybe all part of the "deal" Jack and Harper cut when the agreed to take down the government??

I've Got a feeling we are going to see a slaughter of the NDP in this election.....Not that I think that's a good thing. I think we need a Left of center party in parliament.....god know's the liberals have hardly been that over the last while.......but I think the NDP are going to get caught in the crossfire.

Martin attacks Layton for not attacking Harper

Posted by PoliticsNB at 8:54 PM | Permalink | |

Recieved this update in my email today from SES.

“The latest round of CPAC-SES tracking has the Conservatives holding on to an eight point lead. Conservative support stands at 37% while the Liberals are at 29%, the NDP at 18%, the BQ at 11% and the Green Party at 5% nationally. Harper still leads as best PM but Martin and Layton improved their daily performance scores.” – Nik Nanos, President, SES Research.

Comment:

Harper may stil be holding on to the lead, but has dropped from the lead he had last week at this time. Is this a trend?? I notice all of the polls are in this range except Strategic Counsel which shows a much larger gap........


Poll Tracking

As always, as we've discussed before.....take the polls for what they are worth...but I would have to think if they are even close to accurate, this is definetly in the range where the undecided vote could make a huge difference........but still a CPC minority.......

Posted by PoliticsNB at 7:35 PM | Permalink | |

(Story comes via I'll Have The Soup and Liberal Mole )

Remember when Stephen Harper boasted that his plan had been endorsed by the Conference Board Of Canada?? Well it appears the plan released on Friday is different than the one the Board was originally given. Paul Darby, the deputy cheif economist with the Conference Board of Canada, says that the health-care guarantee and the commitment to fix the "fiscal imbalance" were not in the plan they examined. He speculates that perhaps Harper and the CPC are not really committed to these items, as they were never costed in the endorsed plan.

CTV has it on their web site: Click Here

Posted by PoliticsNB at 8:30 PM | Permalink | |

On the subject of polls....I've just posted a new one.

What is your realistic prediction for Jan 23rd? Please take a second to add your vote.
Thanks
PNB

Posted by PoliticsNB at 7:55 PM | Permalink | |

Been doing some research this morning on the polls. Every polling firm puts the conservatives out in front, no question......but none of these polls seem to show the undecided portion of the electorate. Decima has done a poll that shows much of the undecided vote leaning towards the liberals. I'm suspect on most of these polls......most seem to put the undecided vote at between 8% and 14%. Also most polls are including what they call "leaners" in the numbers for the respective parties.I'm not fully convinced Harper's numbers are as strong as the CPC would like us to believe, as far as a possible majority, unless most of the leaners, and undecided go his way. I may be proven wrong 8 days from now.....but unless something dramatic happens I simply do not see a majority in the cards. On the flip side of that, unless Haper does something extremely stupid.....I don't see the liberals forming a government....at this point i'm calling a CPC minority....

Correct me if I'm wrong but did'nt the undecided voters decide the last election as well?? Strange that none of the media outlets seem to be paying any attention to the undecided. Wonder why??

Either way this should prove to be a very intresting week....expect the rhetoric to be cranked up even more than it currently is and watch the fur fly!! Hold on tight!

You can find all the latest poll numbers Here. Scroll to the bottom of that page to find the links for the respective polling firms, to view more in depth anylasis.

Posted by PoliticsNB at 12:33 PM | Permalink | |

LOL........thought this one was pretty good......
Conservative Government Threat Level Indicator

Add The Indicator To Your Site

Posted by PoliticsNB at 5:42 PM | Permalink | |

For those of you with temporary amnesia......remember.....leopards don't change their spots.
In Their Own Words

Posted by PoliticsNB at 10:26 AM | Permalink | |

So Mr. Harper has released his plan. In his pretty blue document he has:

* 45 Billion in tax cuts over five years to individuals and businesses.
* 30 Billion in New Spending over 5 years.
* 29 Billion in spending cuts and reallocations. {that sounds kinda interesting doesn’t it??}

Now Harper does admit that there will be cuts in services and funding in order for his plan to work, but is downplaying them. He also refuses to give us any hints as to what these cuts may be.
Quite obviously he’s going to have to dip into the surpluses run up by the Liberal government, which have been used over the last 12 years to pay down the debt run up by previous governments.

Either big cuts are part of his plan or he will indeed eventually get into deficit spending IMO.

The basics of his plan……..
Smaller government, less taxes, and less services. Sounds very American doesn’t it??? Surprise, surprise.

Posted by PoliticsNB at 12:12 AM | Permalink | |

Just in case some of you have missed it, here is a link I picked up from Rick Mercer's blog. Rondo Thomas is the CPC candidate for Ajax--Pickering.

Click Here to Listen to his intresting speach. Imagine, the world is 6000 years old. But as Rondo says "The facts don’t matter."

Article from the star....thanks to reader "Frankly My Dear"
Star Article

Posted by PoliticsNB at 10:25 PM | Permalink | |

Today it was Paul Martin's turn to toss a candidate out the door. David Oliver of the Abbotsford riding in B.C. allegedly offered Jeffrey Hansen-Carlson, the NDP candidate a job in Ottawa if he would drop out of the race. At this point it's only an allegation, but he's gone, as per Paul Martin. I guess it's a hard one to prove one way or the other, as it's one candidates word against the other. Guilty until proven innocent in this case I guess. Ahhhh politics!

Posted by PoliticsNB at 8:35 PM | Permalink | |

So the CPC has released the full party platform.

Harper is going to pull out of the Kyoto accord, probably get us involved in missle defence and is going to renegotiate the recent deal made with the natives. Now we know why they are calling Harper "Dubbya's new best buddy." Do we really need a "President" Harper in Canada????

More Here

And Here

What really suck's about this, is I find myself aligning myself with the Liberal's, which makes me sick. But Harper and his "Chucky" smile makes my skin crawl.

Posted by PoliticsNB at 8:06 PM | Permalink | |

CPC Candidate for British Columbia Southern Interior, Derek Zeisman.

He tries to smuggle a Mercedes-Benz and 112 Bottles of liquor into the country. Gets caught and is charged.....and then thought it was a good idea to run for political office?? And not bother to tell anyone in the Party about his legal troubles?? Oh yeah that's bright. Just the kind of person you want to represent you in the HOC. And to make it better, he was an expert on the Canada/US Border. More Here

Posted by PoliticsNB at 8:03 PM | Permalink | |

I'm quite confused with Harper's economic plan here. Cut taxes, maintain and/or expand services......spend more money. So less money coming in to the government coffers, more money than ever going out......oh yeah that'll work! The more research I do on this "economic theory" I find that it's been used quite a bit by leaders of countries like the U.S. Ronald Reagan, George Bush sr, George Bush jr, all subscribed to this idea....and just look at the great economies under those leaders........~yeah right. Good lord people wake up before it's too late. This guy will set this country back economically by at least 10 years, as the last conservative government we had did. If people find nothing else about this guy "scary" this should be all you need. Any person who runs a household can do this simple math. Personally i'd like a Prime Minister who can at least do simple Math.

Posted by PoliticsNB at 7:11 PM | Permalink | |

Someone sent me a link from another New Brunswick blog. The blogger said :

"Some pretty savage commentary on the curent NB administration once in a while."

Is my commentary savage? I'll admit i've let them have it occasionally, however, I think i've been pretty fair. When they've done something I feel is good i've said so.
It's simply his opinion and that's fair comment. I actually enjoy his blog. Perhaps he's right. I'm wondering what you guys and gals think? Am I to rough on Bernie Lord and the Gang?

Posted by PoliticsNB at 10:26 PM | Permalink | |

Well, that was better than the last one anyway. First off to the question in the blog comments below....what the hell is with the promise to get rid of the "notwithstanding" clause?? Simply, so the Liberal's can use it to further make their point that they believe Harper will use the clause to get rid of the same sex marriage rights that have been made into law. The Libs are floundering big time.They are obviously getting desperate. Harper to his credit is sticking to the issues, attacking Martin and the Liberals, and keeping his personal views to himself. As long as he keeps his mouth shut on social issues nobody seems to be noticing that weak part of his platform much. And that spooky smile of Harper's gives me the creeps. It simply screams PHONEY. Speaking of Phoney....Martin looked very unglued last night. As I heard one pundit put it, it looked like he was searching for the answers on the back of his eyelids. And Jack...ahhh Jack....gotta love that "wanna buy a used car" look he has. I actually kinda like Jack, but damn he's got a slippery look about him. The only one who looked really laid back was the only guy with nothing to loose last night...Duceppe. He did get off a couple of good shots at Martin. I laughed out loud when he said "Martin campaigns like NDP, and governs like a Tory"......LOL
Boy i'm getting more cynical by the day....I may have to vote "none of the above" on my ballot.....naw......I guess i'll hold my nose and vote for one of these turkeys.

All in all, I really doubt many minds were changed by this debate, except for maybe a few undecided Right Leaners. I wonder how much sleep Martin and his "guys" are getting these days??
I dunno, for all the crying about the so called "Liberal Media Bias" in this country, Mr.Harper sure seems to be getting a free ride from them. Granted, the Liberals deserve everything they are getting. I just can't find any sympathy for them. Reap what you sow......

Posted by PoliticsNB at 7:37 PM | Permalink | |

Well, it's Jan 9th and that means it's debate day. This is the second and final English language debate of the campaign. The French debate will take place tommorrow night. Wonder if this will make the choices any clearer??
Starts at 9:00 PM atlantic time. (8:00 PM est)
CBC will be streaming it live, as they did with the last one.

Listen Live

Looking forward to this one myself. Hopefully it will be better than the last one.

Posted by PoliticsNB at 6:19 AM | Permalink | |

While it's true the election is yet to be decided, it's almost a sure thing that the loser will have to step down. Who are the likely successors??

A really intresting article about the possible future candidates for the Liberals and Conservatives on CBC. Click Here

Posted by PoliticsNB at 11:20 PM | Permalink | |

Well Kate over at Small Dead Animals tagged BumfOnline,who tagged The Sorry Centrist A.K.A Scott , and he in turn tagged me. I guess i'm it! So here goes.....

Five wierd things about me:

1)I can make my eye's go in different directions......one left one right....
2)I have a strange like for miracle whip sandwiches.
3)I spend entirely tooooo much time watching web cams online. No I don't mean the naughty ones....just people sitting in front of their computers......doing nothing......like me...... CamStreams
4)I can burp along to the 80's song "I've got a new girl now" by honeymoon suite. (Caution before trying this one at home....make sure you lay in a good supply of beer!)
5)I can push my nose completely flat on my face so it looks as if I basically have no nose. (Why would I want to is entirely another question)

Ok..........now that it's done Scott...what do I win???? LOL

Nothing???
Then I gotta add another:
6)I obviously Like to humilate myself online by talking about my weird traits for the enjoyment of sick buggers like myself! ~GRIN

Can't really think of anyone to tag so I guess that's all you get outta me Scott. ;)

Posted by PoliticsNB at 12:32 PM | Permalink | |

You know i've had many conversations this past week, with people who feel the leaders of the Federal Parties are insulting their intelligence. I mean, one promises a few million for something and the other comes right behind and up's the ante. They must really believe we are all totally stupid!? This is OUR money these BOZO’s are casually tossing around. Why are we not taking them ALL to task when they visit our ridings??? If either party were to actually deliver on 70% of their grandiose promises, you can forget the much criticized "surpluses" of the liberals, and say hello to mucho deficit spending. Any surplus money would be burned up in no time. Both parties are simply trying to promise the world in a desperate attempt to try and convince us THEY are sincere. I'm have never been as disgusted at politicians as I am at these clowns!!

By the way, full marks to the Harper camp. They are keeping Harper’s personal views and ideas out of the daylight, and sticking to the issues. It’s pretty obvious if he opens his yapper, with his actual thoughts, and ideas, and “The World According To Harper” the conservatives would be sunk.

Wow, I didn’t think I could become disillusioned with politicians, but yup……..there it is!!

Posted by PoliticsNB at 8:16 PM | Permalink | |

So the latest poll from EKOS shows the Conservatives in the lead nationally, by 6 whole percentage points. That is a significant jump. Meanwhile the latest numbers from SES shows a virtual tie right now between the Liberals and Conservatives. Is the EKOS poll simply a glitch? Or is the tide turning blue?

Whether you believe these numbers to be correct or not, all of the other polls show this to at least be a neck in neck race right now.


2006 Election Polls

It will be intresting to see what the next poll from EKOS shows.

Intrestingly enough,all of the polls show the Conservatives still trail signifcantly in Atlantic Canada.

Atlantic Polls

I guess Atlantic Canada still hasn't forgiven Harper for his "culture of defeatism" statement eh?

I'm not a firm believer in polls, however, we know the parties watch them VERY close. Bet all parties will ramp it up now. Liberals will try to go on the attack hard to make up their lost ground. The conservatives will most likely try to keep Harper from doing or saying anything stupid. This should be much more intresting from here on out....stay tuned!

Posted by PoliticsNB at 7:49 PM | Permalink | |