Inkless Wells

Paul Wells on all the latest out of Ottawa—along with the occasional post about jazz. Follow Paul on Twitter: @InklessPW

Categories: Capital Read, Inkless Wells

Tuesday's North Bay nugget was a fellow named Dion

by Paul Wells on Wednesday, October 8, 2008 5:00pm - 49 Comments

Yet another Inkless videoblog, this time from a Tuesday-night rally in the riding of incumbent Liberal MP Tony Rota. Whatever Dion ate on the plane before this event, the Liberals will want to keep feeding it to him.

Tags: North Bay, Nugget, Stéphane Dion

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Steph C

Green Party members are fi$cal con$ervative$, while the NDP puts people before money. Not gonna happen!
ron

To Andrew E: Rae got to be premier for 5 years.

To Someone KGB: I can’t see Dion dumping the Carbon Tax. I can see Layton accepting a Carbon Tax provides he gets something like a commitment for mass transit, railroads, child care, etc – stuff the Liberals were going to do anyway.

To whomever else might be interested: The Greens will be so delirious if they win a seat and can enact a Carbon Tax they’ll easily sign on. I hope it happens, but I don’t think it will. If it does happen I hope May beats Mackae. If it looks to be a Liberal Minority the citizens of her riding would be smart to swing it that way. Hell, they’d be smart to swing it that way anyway but I’m beginning to believe the Cons are right in that no one ever lost an election underestimating the Canadian Public. Then again is Liz’s riding upwind or downwind from the Sidney Tar Ponds?
Pingback: | michaelcrook.ca
http://dipperchick.blogspot.com/ Erin Sikora

The Liberal Party should be paying you for these things.
Paul Wells

No need, Erin. I still have the money that commenters said the Conservatives should pay me when I was doing video blogs on the Harper campaign.
kenneth

I think that Harper is going to be pushed out if he wins a minority. Most people go into politics for reasons other than ‘do what Steve says.’ Albertans have had their turn.
http://prairiewrangler.wordpress.com/ Olaf

Paul Wells, political mercenary extraordinaire. When all sides are accusing you of bias, you’re probably doing something right. Although, in fairness, that doesn’t make you any less of a communist. A dirty, dangerous communist.
Sophie-Marie

When the right says you’re on the left and the left says you’re on thr right- you’re either correct or hopelessly cynical.
Also commonly refferred to as ‘sane’
Paul Wells

If I’m not mistaken, Erin would represent a third side to any debate between Liberals and Conservatives. I’d like to have some NDP video too, and if we still had 57-day campaigns I would.
Jack Mitchell

“I think that Harper is going to be pushed out if he wins a minority.”

But in favour of whom? Flaherty, that starking guy? Prentice? In my subjective estimate, only MacKay and Flaherty have the national profile needed. But does Flaherty speak French, and wouldn’t his “anti-Ontario” comments make him a hard sell there these days?

If Palin winds down south, maybe they could go with Polièvre.
http://prairiewrangler.wordpress.com/ Olaf

It would also help if instead of paying with hug coupons, they paid in cash.
http://dipperchick.blogspot.com/ Erin Sikora

You are correct Paul. And I understand that you must play the hand that you are dealt. Not every reporter gets to be on the NDP tour. But if you need any pro-NDP homemade videos, I have a few you could borrow.

And since you are fond of telling bloggers what you would like to see from us, I’m going to make a request of you. I’d like to see more of what we got from your debate video, which was sort of a behind the scenes kind of thing, and less of the staged stuff, which we can get from other sources.

Otherwise, I’m a fan of your work.
kody

Featured comment at SDA, I thought I’d share:

“The fact that the decline in Harper’s fortunes seems to go lock step with a decline in the stock market indicates that the entitlement psychology has spread far beyond starving artists and cranky university students: apparently middle class Canadians now feel “entitled” to a rising stock portfolio and soaring real estate values, and feel that it is the job of the state to guarantee those things.”

On top of that, we have a left leaning media who will happily add to that notion by:

- parroting opposition talking points essentially holding Harper “responsible” for a market downturn – which originated in the US no less

- adding chiding editorials suggesting that Harper is insensitive or being overly “cheerful” while he points to very real statistics which show Candians are far better positioned than other countries, with superior GDP, unemployment, lack of bank failures ect,

- consciously omitting from any serious reportage, just how much better Canada’s fundamentals are than virtually all other G8 countries, on virtually all other economic indicators, (which omission of very crucial real facts that are central to the issue of the day, is required to facilitate the dishonest attack on Harper).
Andrew

Kody, that comment is interesting, because it smacks of the Tory outrage we’ll doubtless hear much of in the coming weeks when Canadians fail to obediently give Harper their vote of confidence.

How dare they? He’s made all the right noises.
Jack Mitchell

So, kody, you’re saying the Tories should do a media blitz, unleashing all their candidates on local and national media to explain the real nature of the economic situation, patiently walking reporters through the fundamentals, and answering every question the media cares to ask?
kody

Think about that for a moment:

Canada’s performance/readiness relative to all other equivalent/G8 countries in this economic downturn, is perhaps the most relevant piece of information, in this election,

but the media has decided not to report it.

It has decided the public needs not see this when they make their decision as to who is best to lead the country in an economic downturn.

Instead the media is content to parrot opposition attacks, and editorialize that Harper is being “defensive”, while at the same time knowingly withholding information from the public that would have a material impact on their decision and that would put a lie to the allegations the media are tacitly supporting.

Paul Wells,

you must be so proud of your industry.
kody

Jack,

Harper can’t do that.

He’d be labeled too “cheery”.

True factual context is spun by the opposition and the media (the two at this point have exactly similar narratives) as ‘pie in the sky’ and ‘detached’.

There’s a problem in our democracy when basic, true, highly relevant facts are banished from the debate lest one be labeled a heretic.

And the source of the problem lies with today’s gatekeepers (for the moment that is) of information.
kody

Ti-Guy,

I haven’t responded to you with all of your childish base, comments, against me

but I will this time, for the sole reason that I’m in a bad mood and I think it will make me feel better (even though it will give you a response – which you oh so crave).

You lurk around here seemingly for the sole purpose of attacking other commenters’ comments. What is particularly creepy is your apparent firm belief that opposing veiwpoints should be silenced (through ridicule, invective or on occasion an explicit request to the blog administrator that they be banned/silenced).

Others disagree here, to varying degrees and in varying emotional states.

But you represent the worst political discourse can offer (I use ‘discourse’ very generously). Your motivation is partisan, but not just traditional partisanship, but the deep hateful kind that justifies (to yourself that is) authoritarian like attempts to control others’ beliefs, by utilizing cheap thuggish insults as your sole blunt instrument.

…

I feel better.

Now, I will carry on ignoring your constant insults like I ignore the gnats that occasionally fly about my face while I enjoy the great outdoors.
http://scottdiatribe.gluemeat.com Scott Tribe

Well Kody.. I have to admit.. once I saw you were quoting SDA, I discounted almost everything else you put down.
kody

Of course you did Scott.

I’m well aware of the politics of the personal partisan,

it goes something like this:

If you are labeled as an “other” it matters not what you say is the truth. In fact, there is a reflexive tendency to deny virtually everything said by this “other”, such that it will often place the labellor of the “other” in an awkward position of taking an absurd or irrational position simply because it is the opposite of the “other”.

It’s also another tool to silence those with opposing views,

and a tool I’ve often seen applied to Kate.

Have a good night.
marty

what’s all the talk of Dion winning?

in BC, Manitoba, still looks like the Libs will lose a few, Tories pickup; will offset Tory losses in Maritimes.
Quebec, probably much the same outcome as 2006.
so, comes down to Ontario, probably only a few seats changing hands as well?
B
oth electionprediction.org and democraticspace.com show the Tories with about 130, Libs with 90, give or take.

more of the same for the next two years.

lucky us.
Liz

Just watched Stephen Harper on TV. He seems tired. Stressed. Worried. Without makeup even. Twice in one paragraph his voice rose to his signature whine. Once a man starts to let himself go…
the rest follows soon after. By “the rest” I mean his blind followers, not those “others” who have hounded him since he first set out on his failed course to subdue Canadians.
Manny

To all speculating about the workings of the Canadian parliament, this reminder : Canada’s head of state is the GG. She has the last word on who forms the government.

This heavy responsibility will fall on Michaelle Jean. Good lord.
Wascally Wabbit

Kody Kody Kody – what HAVE you been drinking today?
Bernard Lord and charismatic – in the same sentence?
Nope – I think the CPC have a dark horse (and tractor) hiding in the wings…Randy Hillier!
Now – there’s charisma for you…