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Tuesday 10 March 2009
Kinsella and Liberals cheering on bad economy for political gain
Warren Kinsella loves finding bad economic news in the business section and then posting it under the headline "Why Michael Ignatieff will be Prime Minister Part...". Today he has a video that highlights all of the layoffs that have come as a result of the global economic crisis and the video concludes with the headline "Tory times are tough times".
It is an insult to the intelligence of Canadians if they are expected to believe that the global financial crisis is the sole responsibility of Prime Minister Harper. It is an even bigger insult to believe Harper is a disaster yet McGuinty is somehow OK in Ontario. Now that Kinsella is back in federal politics, he may have taken his eye off the ball as far as provincial politics are concerned.
Let me point out a poll from the Liberal friendly Toronto Star:
He has a clear plan to deal with the economic slowdown - 24% agree
Right now, he’s more interested in his political career than in doing what’s best for Ontario - 49% agree
I have confidence he will find the right solutions for the Ontario economy - 30% agree
He has a strong team - 32% agree
Interesting numbers I must say. I would suggest that even if Randy Hillier wins the leadership there is no guarantee that Dalton McGuinty "will be Premier for 100 years". You cannot have your cake and eat it too Warren. If Harper is responsible for the economic recession in Canada than McGuinty must surely be responsible for Ontario's situation right Warren? I mean jobs have disappeared in Ontario under his watch consistently - especially in the manufacturing sector. Ontario is now a have not province. McGuinty will overtake Bob Rae's record in terms of record deficits. Ontario is dead last in economic growth. While the rest of the world rushed out a stimulus package (a coalition was even formed with socialists and separatists to force one out of Harper quickly) Ontario is still waiting for the McGuinty budget and will continue to wait for a few weeks. Broken promises and a lack of an economic plan are side issues now against Ontario Liberals.I won't get into the Obama "hope not fear" stuff. Apparently it doesn't matter to Warren that Obama praised Canada for being in a better position than most countries to handle this global economic downturn. It doesn't matter that he complimented the strength of our banking system. It doesn't matter that our housing market is not collapsing in the same way we are seeing in the United States at this point. It would be ridiculous to suggest that America is in a recession and Canada is hit hard given the fact that 85% of our exports go into that market. Why acknowledge a strong working relationship between the Harper Conservatives and the Obama administration on issues ranging from Afghanistan to energy to the environment to the auto industry to trade to the economy. Of course that all is irrelevant when you can post immature photos instead.
Following the economic statement, Liberals were quick to attempt to seize power by joining separatists from Quebec and the socialist NDP party. When the public turned against it, they went back to abstaining and supporting Conservative legislation. A wide consultation process took place on the budget and while people were offering suggestions across the country; Liberals and Ignatieff stayed silent and plotted election strategy. To this day, neither the Liberals nor their leader have come up with any tangible solutions that are different from Harper or helpful on the economy. Even their amendment did nothing to stimulate the economy. All it did was set up a series of confidence votes so that they could position themselves to politically take advantage of the economic climate. I suspect the government will fall in June following the Liberal leadership "contest" in Vancouver.
The numbers in the Toronto Star about Dalton McGuinty show Canadians are not fooled with Liberal partisanship on the economy. Two polls released today showed some improvement for Liberals, but ultimately indicate Canadians are still behind Harper. It is no surprise as up until this point McGuinty, Ignatieff or Kinsella have offered nothing to help the economic situation real Canadians and Ontarians are living with right now.
What happened to hope over fear? A promise not to go negative? Liberals said attack ads and partisan rhetoric would backfire in this climate and I suspect they are right. If Liberals think they can avoid rebuilding, avoid renewal and simply cash in on a recession and bad economic news; they will be proven mistaken. Canadians want their politicians to work together during these tough times. They do not need Liberals exploiting bad economic news for political gains while failing to present any alternative policies, ideas or solutions.
Watch the PC leadership race in Ontario closely Mr. Kinsella. I guarantee you that one of the contenders will be the next Premier. Unlike the federal Liberals, all of the candidates will be putting forward solutions as an alternative to McGuinty's "simply hope for the best" economic plan that has prepared this province much less for this global recession than we have seen at the national level under Harper and the Tories.
-Darryl
