I've visited the NP boards and I take your point, to a degree. However, I think the anger thing comes and goes depending on who's in power and who's not. As a general rule, if you're a political partisan, you're far more likely to be angry when you're on the outside looking in, rather than when your team's in power. I'm sure that if we looked at comment boards from, say, the Chretien-Martin era, the conservative-leaning comments would have been far angrier. Now, I find that a lot of pro-CPC commenters I see on here have a tone that's more triumphalist — consider hollinm, for instance. It's not gentlemanly or nice, but it's not angry per se. In contrast, a lot of partisan Liberal and Dipper commenters have palpable anger, calling conservatives mean and stupid, claiming all Albertans are stupid, making gratuitous comments about Harper being fat and mean, claiming that Harper and the Conservatives are destroying Canada as we know it, etc. I'm sure these people believe what they say, and think such anger is entirely justified but it is angry stuff.

Except your comment was "based on what I see on THESE comment boards"

Notwithstanding a few commenters on these boards I think we'd all agree are blowhards (not naming names as we all know who come to mind – on the right AND the left), I don't think the tone on these boards is exceptionally angry. Certainly not compared to the Nat Post, Sun, or CBC boards, anyways (let alone Kinsella or SDA).

I think M either misunderstood my point, or I didn't express it as concisely as I should. What I meant was, on these Maclean's boards, I find the tone of Liberal and other anti-Conservative posters to be characteristically angry, in a comparative sense. There are tons of comments to the effect that Conservatives are stupid, Harper is evil, Harper is fat, Harper is a dicatator, Harper hates Canada, Harper and the Conservatives are destroying Canada as we know it, etc. Also, Albertans — Albertans are regularly trashed as being stupid, knuckle-dragging sheep. That is angry stuff.

I agree, though, that these boards are civil compared to those other ones that Matlock cites.

Ok, I take your point, I didn't catch the nuance. It would be interesting, I suppose, to carry out the kind of tallying-up analysis you describe there.

Kinsella's website is interesting in that regard. There are some fairly informed, plugged in and thoughtful posters there. But, partly because it's explicitly a partisan website (notwithstanding WK's penchant for going on and off the official OLO bandwagon), there are a handful of absolute Liberal Party scortched-earth fire-breathers there. And my reaction is, if they're actually reflective of the LPC rank-and-file and/or braintrust, then I really wonder about the quality of analysis and advice circulating within LPC circles these days. I guess my point is, if you really see the world in such black-and-white terms, and if you really have that kind of contempt for anyone who disagrees with you, then I don't think you're capable of the kind of objective, reasoned analysis that's required in order to formulate and carry out a successful political strategy.

Call me all the names you want Richard…….I still don't want to pay for your freebies.

Sorry RIchard….I make too much money to get tax credits for my kids.
Retirement – I have savings, RRSP's, and TFSA's……I'm good thanks.
Freebies – sorry, I pay far more in taxes than most people (who vote Liberal of NDP) make.

As for my folks………I look after them myself. I don't need any $$ from you.

Has it ever occurred to you James, that the rise/implimentation of the hated welfare state coincided with a great explosion of wealth creation and the expansion and establishment of the middle class – you truly are an ignorant man.

Since I've never provided any science links on here, I doubt that.

The one link I've given here was because it was the first one I found that had the full Joe Republican statement.

Which you still haven't addressed. LOL

First comes Anger, the comes Denial……