Canadian Politics Thread

[crazy canuck]

flip flops on torture, Iraq and oilsands, depending on who is listening. he has few convictions.

How was the poor man to know that he wasnt going to walk in and talk the position of PM by acclamation.   Isnt that what drew him here in the first place?  And now you want him to have ideas beyond simply being our philosopher king?

You are a hard hard man.

[Josephus]

COUGH****Justin***COUGH

I trust you were having an allergic reaction just saying the name.

Seriously though, I can think of no single candidate the Liberals could choose that would stand a better chance of relegating it to being an Ontario only party.   I simply cant see him getting any meaningful support in Quebec, the West or the Maritimes.  And I suspect Ontario would be hard for him as well.  Being the son of a great man just doesnt sell the way it used to.

True. And yeah, I'm not really a Trudeau fan, old or young. However, to comment on what you said. Is there any point in the Liberals trying to win in the West or in Quebec? Seems to me, Harper and the Bloc have those areas secured. Maybe if they can find someone, who at least can consolidate their Ontario vote, they might stand a chance.

It's said to say, but Canada is becoming increasing fragmented.

[Josephus]

I have big problems calling Ignatieff a "decent" man. I think he is a snake.

How so?   

flip flops on torture, Iraq and oilsands, depending on who is listening. he has few convictions.

Harper has also flip flopped. Flip flopping is part of politics in a democracy. I'm sure, for instance, that Layton wears flip flops to work.

[Barrister]

Is there any point in the Liberals trying to win in the West or in Quebec? Seems to me, Harper and the Bloc have those areas secured. Maybe if they can find someone, who at least can consolidate their Ontario vote, they might stand a chance.

It's said to say, but Canada is becoming increasing fragmented.

Of course there is.

The Liberal Party has a fair bit of support in the West.  It elects MPs in significant numbers in SK and MB, and decent numbers in BC.  Alberta is a bit of an oddball by being so overwhelmingly Conservative.

[crazy canuck]

True. And yeah, I'm not really a Trudeau fan, old or young. However, to comment on what you said. Is there any point in the Liberals trying to win in the West or in Quebec? Seems to me, Harper and the Bloc have those areas secured. Maybe if they can find someone, who at least can consolidate their Ontario vote, they might stand a chance.

It's said to say, but Canada is becoming increasing fragmented.

What BB said.  With the right kind of leader/platform/candidates the Liberals could do well everywhere in the West with the exception of Alberta.  Alberta and Quebec are special political cases with their own dynamics.

[saskganesh]

I have big problems calling Ignatieff a "decent" man. I think he is a snake.

How so?   

flip flops on torture, Iraq and oilsands, depending on who is listening. he has few convictions.

Harper has also flip flopped. Flip flopping is part of politics in a democracy. I'm sure, for instance, that Layton wears flip flops to work.

I have never voted for Harper so his flops and flips don't effect me the same way. But I am a potential Iggy voter by default of being a somewhat centrist, so it matters more to me if the leader of the centrist part is actually a conservative.

[saskganesh]

... Canada's demise is very premature.

[Barrister]

by default of being a somewhat centrist,

I love ya sasks, but you're no centrist. 

[Jacob]

I love ya sasks, but you're no centrist. 

Who are Canadian centrists in your estimation?

[Barrister]

I love ya sasks, but you're no centrist. 

Who are Canadian centrists in your estimation?

Malthus and CC come to mind.  Grey Fox perhaps, although he doesn't talk enough serious politics for me to be sure.  HVC I think.

Pretty much everyone else comes down on one side of the spectrum or the other.

Left:
you, buddha, sasks, josephus

Right:
me, Neil, Viper,

Grallon of course is off in his own unique little corner.

[Jacob]

Malthus and CC come to mind.  Grey Fox perhaps, although he doesn't talk enough serious politics for me to be sure.  HVC I think.

Pretty much everyone else comes down on one side of the spectrum or the other.

Left:
you, buddha, sasks, josephus

Right:
me, Neil, Viper,

Grallon of course is off in his own unique little corner.

I thought that would be your answer.  It seems you see the "centre" as being somewhere between the Cons and the Libs and so people who swing between those two are centrists.

I think if you include CC and Malthus (potential Lib and Con voters) you have to put those who are potential Lib or NDP voters as part of that continuum.  Basically, anyone who might vote Liberal (federally) is a centrist, those who'd never consider it are either right wingers or left wingers depending whether they vote Conservative on one hand or NDP or Green on the other.

That's the Anglo analysis anyhow, not sure how it looks in Quebec.

[Barrister]

If you didn't have any other information that would be a way to try and describe people's political views.  But since we actually have years of political musings from people to go by, I would base my assessment on people's actual politics, not their voting patterns.

[Jacob]

If you didn't have any other information that would be a way to try and describe people's political views.  But since we actually have years of political musings from people to go by, I would base my assessment on people's actual politics, not their voting patterns.

Well... yeah... you make a good point

Personally I'd class CC and Malthus as slightly right of centre and Sask as being further left of centre than CC and Malthus are right but still acceptably within the "somewhat centrist" moniker, even if he is in the left side of that field.  He's in favour of actually funding the Canadian military better, I believe (not uncommon amongst strategy gamers, I think) which can hardly be classified as "left of centre".

[Barrister]

A concession of sorts?  On languish?

At the end of the day of course there's no absolute right or wrong answer to such a classification.  But Sasks has certainly struck me, both in person and on the boar, as being firmly left-of-centre.

[Malthus]

A concession of sorts?  On languish?

At the end of the day of course there's no absolute right or wrong answer to such a classification.  But Sasks has certainly struck me, both in person and on the boar, as being firmly left-of-centre.

Anybody on a boar will look a bit off-centre.