Why I am supporting the Conservative Party of Canada on May 2, 2011

Canada is one of the greatest countries in the world, with some of the most remarkable leaders in business, research, culture, sport and politics. We are blessed with bountiful natural resources, which laid the foundation of this country`s development from coast to coast to coast.

No matter what personal beliefs you or I hold about the past political leaders of this country, they have shepparded Canada to this point here in 2011. I honestly cannot imagine this country being in any better shape. Each and every one of us is afforded as much personal, social, philosophical and cultural prosperity and freedom as we can possibly attain.

There are 4 options for you this Monday.

1. Bloc Quebecois - A borderline treasonous party devoted to the break up of this fine country.

2. New Democratic Party - A party that disrespects the extraordinary skills and efforts of most Canadians. Despite being led by a passionate individual with much charisma and experience, the NDP does NOT have a suitable grasp of the importance of the economic base that generates the government`s tax revenues which pay for the services that are almost essential to the Canadian identity. More critically, this party does not have the breadth or depth of candidates to improve that lack of insight.

3. Liberal Party - The "former natural governing party" has lost its identity and relies on metaphors and similes of "the middle ground". Unfortunately the Liberal party does not have a concrete vision for the direction this country should take, instead relying on relentless and baseless attacks of the other parties, attacks which it ironically does not have the moral authority to make.

4. Conservative Party of Canada - The only truly national party, the Conservative Party has a well-rounded understanding of, and respect for, the cultural and social fabric of the different regions of this country and the diverse people living in them. It is a party with the experience of leading this country out of the deepest worldwide economic crisis of our generation. This is a party with the vision and understanding of the importance of providing for those who require assitance and compassion, while still respecting individual rights AND responsibilities.

The Conservative Party of Canada is the ONLY party that has stated that the purpose of government is:

to create a climate wherein individual initiative is rewarded, excellence is pursued, security and privacy of the individual is provided and prosperity is guaranteed by a free competitive market economy.

As young urban voters with our careers before us, these are ideals which speak to our expectations of government.

We expect a government which will only tax us to the extent absolutely necessary. Taxation is an imposition on our daily lives and personal economic abilities; the other parties treat your hard earned salary as their God-given right to have, collect, and spend.

We expect a government that treats the environment as part of our heritage, not a separate external entity. This means the protection of critical and unique ecosystems, and striving to find innovative ways to maintain and grow our economic diversity while minimizing and someday reversing environmental impacts through research, development and implementation. This is the mark of TRUE sustainability.

We expect a government that will safe guard our communities, and ensure that we feel as comfortable out on the sidewalks, in the mall, and on the roads, as we do inside our very own homes.

Our economic recovery is nearly cemented, but our greatest challenges are still ahead of us. Only one party has the required experience, commitment and leadership to maintain, nay, IMPROVE, the services that our government provides - the Conservative Party of Canada.

That is why, on Monday, May 2, 2011, from coast to coast to coast, I urge you to join me and vote for your local Conservative candidate, to ensure that you and your community are well represented in government, and that Canada can continue with a truly national and stable government to drive this country forward to new heights.

Say What?!?! A long discussion on the foreseeable political future

The most exciting moments in Canadian politics in my lifetime...

This past weekend has been the cold shower that I needed to get back into Canadian politics. My initial reaction to the whole mess: Shock. Disbelief. Curiosity.

No need to go over the gory details of what have happened to lead up to the upcoming coalition government of the Liberals, NDP and Bloq. If you have the opportunity, listen to what Rex Murphy had to say in Monday night's piece on The National. I'll include a few of his points in my discussion.

Most importantly, yes, this is all a partisan game. For both sides. Anyone who denies this fact is either lying or kidding themselves.

Stephen Harper saw an opportunity to further decimate the organization of the LPC. The merits of public financing of political parties aside, his move was simply an attempt to further weaken the Liberal Party, perhaps to the brink of existence. He was, simply, completing his mission as Leader of the CPC. Which brings me to my subpoint, on his continued leadership of the CPC.

I believe that Stephen Harper has run his course as Leader of the Conservative Party. He has done many great things for the party, most notably being his efforts in bringing together the remains of the former PC party. He was instrumental in returning the right-of-centre ideologies to the forefront of the national consciousness. He has also succeeded in taming the far-right ideologues that threatened to take over the combined party in its infancy (although some of these people have found homes online). His mandate as leader has always been to bring the Tory voice back to the prominence it had enjoyed in the early part of Canadian history. He may not have delivered a majority government, but he has placed the party in a position where it is capable of virtually anything in the immediate future. Every party requires new blood and new ideas, especially coming out of a transformation like the one the CPC has undergone. Now appears to be the time.

Back to the main point about this being a partisan game. No, the Liberals did not make this move to try to fix the economy because this fiscal update does nothing to fix the current economic problems that Canada is facing. They simply did not want to lose their funding. They currently have very little grassroots fundraising support, which is a sign of a stagnant base. They would not have been able to mount anything close to a decent campaign next time around without the additional funding. This might have impacted them for a generation to come. This is the scenario that the LPC is so desparate to avoid. This coalition ploy is just that, a partisan attempt to keep the party alive. It has nothing to do with the economy.

The NDP on the other hand have no reasonable excuse to join the coalition, other than power. The NDP now has the power (for the 2nd straight government) to push pieces of their agenda. This should be a scary proposition for the average working Canadian (who the NDP love to talk about all the time). Their positions on the economy are based in some fanciful world where government income does not come from the very people they claim to be so worried about. Once again, their participation in the coalition is simply to appear to be a useful political party, and become part of the Cabinet.

The Bloq. What can I say? The very Separatists that want to tear this country asunder. Having a formal arrangement with them is troubling. All the conjecture and insinuations can be found elsewhere (deal with the devil, etc), but my point about them will be about the ideological bankruptcy of their party. Yes, they too need the funding, but WHY DO THEY STILL EXIST? Everything that they have done over the past 3 or 4 years goes to show the futility of their efforts. Not only did Harper one up them with the recognition of the uniqueness of the Quebec peoples (who will argue that?), but now they have signed a deal with the very man who crafted the Clarity Act. Dion is the enemy of the sovereignty movement. The Clarity Act is one of their most hated pieces of legislation. And yet here they are, handing him the keys of power. If you really believed in the sovereignty of the Quebec nation, why would you be in bed with the man who made it virtually impossible for you to separate?

Well... a lot said there. (Maybe not, I dont know) The bottom line I think is this: Yes, they can do what they want, it is within their constitutional rights. Should they? As their initial response to the funding measures, yes. Now that the offending piece of the bill has been removed, probably not. But it is too late to back down from their stated intent. What we are witnessing is one of the grandest moments in Canadian political history. Not the prettiest moment, but they will definitely be teaching this one in Gr. 10 history for generations to come.

The results of Strategic Voting

Wasting Political Efforts

First Jack Layton said he wanted to be Prime Minister of a coalition government.
Now Lizzy May wants voters to vote strategically.

WHAT IS THE POINT OF RUNNING A CAMPAIGN?

This really perplexes me. These leaders are really taking the wind out of their own sails! I anticipated the Green Party receiving around 10% of the popular vote. But what her recent statement does is cheapen the efforts of her supporters on the ground. As a campaign volunteer for my local Conservative candidate, Bob Dechert, I know how much the leader's visits and messages have an impact on my own efforts. Her grassroots volunteers probably woke up today, looked at that headline, and asked themselves: Why am I doing this then? What is the point of all of that door-knocking, phone-calling, sign-posting? This goes against what was said last year, claiming that a Green vote isn't a wasted vote.

Even the former president of the Liberal Party of Canada says that the Liberals are going to "take a drubbing." This can't be a good feeling for the Liberal volunteers on the ground. They are wearing out their shoes and told their efforts will be for nought.

As for the prospects of a left-wing coalition government.... wow. Canada would be in serious trouble. It would be a spend-first tax-next government. I can't afford that right now. Neither can our economy, which they all claim to be worried about.

UPDATE: Even Warren Kinsella can see the upcoming troubles for the Liberals.

Polls CAN tell the truth: Breaking stereotypes

Yesterday I had a conversation with a few other Conservative supporters in my riding. We got to talking about the image problem that the Conservative Party has historically had, and how we all broke the stereotypical mould.

A black conservative? Shock and awe!
An immigrant conservative? Bewilderment!
A professional woman conservative? Unheardof!
A gay conservative? Unfathomable!
A lower-income conservative? Unbelievable!

From today's Daily Tracking numbers from EKOS:

1. [The] front-running Conservatives ... appeal now cuts across economic classes.

Contrary to the conventional picture of the Conservatives as the party of the better-off, they are almost completely uniform across income groups in terms of their support. In other words, whether you are making less than $40,000 a year or more than $80,000, your likelihood of voting Conservative is almost exactly the same.

2. In contrast, the Liberals ... now skew clearly towards wealthier voters.

3. The Conservatives are winning every age category, from youngest to oldest.

I am glad to finally see people accepting the message from the Conservative Party at face value, instead of believing what the mainstream media would have you believe about their ideals.

Green Shift no more?

Dion: The Green Shift is not a major part of the Liberals election platform.

WHHHAAAATTTTTT?!?
TO Star

I've always found the joke about Liberals flip-flopping to be funny, but this.... beyond the pale.
Mr. Dion has been touring the country since WINTER! trying to convince people that the Green Shift is a good idea. Now you are campaigning with nothing, nada, bupkis. The plan was unpopular at best, yes, but at least stick to your mores, and go down with the sinking ship. I think it is he, Dion, with the not-so-hidden hidden agenda.

So I guess that it is now upto Elizabeth May of the Green Party to continue stumping for the Green Shift. She claims that it's her idea anyways.

Update: Oh! That was the sound of the flop-back. The Shift is back on... but not as an important part of their campaign.

Toronto Star continues to suck b@!!s

An update on the Toronto Star calling the past government productive. TODAY they decided that the Conservatives record is somehow flawed.

Harper is running on flawed record

"...Canadians have seen what kind of government he runs over the past 32 months. Of course, it was a minority government, held in check by the opposition parties."

Held in check? All that Mr. Dion did was run and hide every time the Conservatives wanted to pass a bill.
Every time something came up, all the Liberals decided that they needed to take a piss.
Every time something came up, they needed to run home and check their toasters.
Every time something came up, they needed to take their dog for a walk, instead of actually voting, as they were elected to do. At least Jack Layton and the NDP had the balls to stay in the House.

The Liberal Press Machine: The Toronto Star

This from the Toronto Star editorial, entitled: War of Words on Green Shift.

"The Conservatives are seeing red over the Green Shift.

Last week, Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion announced shifts to his Green Shift, some $900 million in concessions for sectors hit hard by the carbon tax plan.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper promptly lashed out at the changes as 11th hour improvisations that suggest Dion is rewriting his plan "on the back of envelopes."

...

it is hard to see his announcement last week as anything other than a legitimate political response from a responsive leader to public feedback – precisely what Dion said he was setting out to do when he road-tested the proposals over the summer."


My Opinion:

The bottom line is this: The Toronto Star's editors and "analysts" are simply a privately funded corporation acting as part of the broke Liberal election machine.

How do the announced changes (read: flip-flops) constitute a "legitimate political response"? This is simply the Liberal party pandering to whomever can shout the loudest.

What it also does is make an ill-conceived plan even more complicated. OUR TAXATION SYSTEM IS COMPLICATED ENOUGH AS IT IS! If you are going to do something, make it easier for me to hand over my hard earned dollars for you to spend in ways that do not benefit me, or the country.

Every new tax system, every new tax credit or taxation exemption makes it harder and harder for an individual to do their own taxes. Why should I have to SPEND money having someone do my tax reporting? This reduces the collective disposable income, which hurts the economy. Imagine the effect on corporations. They won't have the time or money to invest in new innovations; they'll be hiring more tax lawyers to figure out what the hell they owe to whom.