I told you so
July 28, 2010 11:30 am Canadian PoliticsTory results are down. Why? What about boneheaded stubborness on the census issue.
It is a losing position, Mr. Prime Minister. Get off it fast.
Do what Tasha Kheireddin suggested yesterday:
- abolish the Indian Act
- reform our antiquated health care system
- get rid of ethanol and other green subsidies
- chop corporate welfare
- lower taxes
For example, according to Brian Lee Crowley, Jason Clemens and Niels Veldhuis in the brilliant new book “The Canadian Century“, our health care system is heading for catastrophe (see page109-110). The expenditure is unsustainable, the service bad, the costs crippling, and the system shows no signs of improvement. Why not some free market reforms where they matter?
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Dalwhinnie
Paul :
Date: July 28, 2010 @ 12:17 PM
Only poll that natters is election day. Census is hardly a barn-burner support issue. The media is playing with it until the next ‘crisis’ or ’scandal’. Move along and enjoy the summer.
Sara :
Date: July 28, 2010 @ 12:27 PM
If you are worried about this poll, it was taken before the census trouble.
A Few Figs :
Date: July 28, 2010 @ 12:50 PM
I watched the proceedings on CPAC last night. I’m waiting for the transcripts to be published because what Jennifer Stoddard had to say (if I got it right) was very enlightening and very much seemed to support the Conservative position. Of course, her testimony will not get much if any play in the media..unlike say Richard Colvin. Kady Ya’ll barely gave it a mention in her live cast. So for that reason, I’ll agree with you that pursuing this will likely be a losing proposition. Sad to say.
Glendronach :
Date: July 28, 2010 @ 1:03 PM
Sara,
“The pollsters surveyed 2,030 people between July 15 and 25…”
The survey was actually conducted when the story broke and gained media traction.
A flawed analysis resulting from an inadequate possession of accurate data: I rest my case.
potato :
Date: July 28, 2010 @ 2:53 PM
A voluntary sample taken during the height of vacation season is unlikely to be representative.
real conservative :
Date: July 28, 2010 @ 3:05 PM
Another non-issue blown up to gigantic proportions by our socialist driven media. I’m surprised yet again that the story didn’t get any traction despite the overwhelming efforts to brainwash this disaster into the collective consciousness of the Canadian mindset. I think that from a conservative viewpoint the change was sold poorly as usual but then again maybe I’m the one that is wrong in thinking that liberals would accept any change a conservative government would implement no matter how well thought out, sincere and practical. Maybe the only way conservatives can implement change in a hostile liberal controlled environment is to slide it by at every chance?
wilson :
Date: July 28, 2010 @ 4:31 PM
PMSH hasn’t been in the media for an entire month,
that and it’s summertime, likely account for any drop in the polls.
Blair Atholl :
Date: July 29, 2010 @ 12:41 AM
This bordering on the irrational. The residents of Canada’s nether regions are going all weak in the knees over census reform so – hey – let take on something easy like health care. Tasha’s still driving the Fraser horse but there is no way the spineless faux conservatives of the St. Lawrence and Ottawa valleys wil buyu into that. The Tory results go down qhwn they start acting like conservatives whichj means it’s time thje west just mopved on
Glendronach :
Date: July 29, 2010 @ 9:12 AM
Blair Atholl,
It is irrational to cast an issue like the census change as a political deal-breaker for the West of the same magnitude of the CF-18 repair contract in the Mulroney era. If that constitutes your baseline for manning the barricades, then what does not?
If the Harper government’s policy can address privacy concerns and still maintain a statistically reliable database, then they are free to move ahead. But they have not laid out a persuasive argument. It is unworthy to slam people who disagree with them and you as merely puppets of the Ottawa bureaucracy.
Some bloggers have claimed that other countries have pursued similar policies with success. So why can’t Tony Clement say that and marshall the evidence?
Others claim that the media is twisting the story. What is to stop the Harper Tories from pulling together a coherent message with the facts and propagate it virally? Instead, we see vitriolic virtual zampolits imposing ideological litmus tests upon their critics, even within the party.
You make the change, you make the argument. Dialectics can be a bitch.
blair atholl :
Date: July 29, 2010 @ 7:26 PM
They made it clear they are seeking balance. It isn’t the issue that is the West’s hill to die on: it’s the absolutely panicky nervous about change reaction of the nether regions that inspires despair.
blair atholl :
Date: July 30, 2010 @ 8:30 AM
p.s. Gregg says clearly in the article that the census issue is not the reason for this shift. The issue, he says, “is not resonating with Canadians.” Duh.