That's the very likable Ms. Hall Findlay with perhaps one of the best lines of the night. Unfortunately she needs to tighten up her speeches in the future to maximize her time on TV.
Well.. what a night! Everyone won, except not really because everyone lost. The only people who actually won were Liberals and Conservatives.
The Liberals won 3 out of 4 and that's never bad. The conservatives won the one swing seat, and while that's good, you can never boast too much about having 1 for 4 as your standard of excellence.
Good themes tonight for the Liberals.. the team aspect. I think they should run with it (and get Karen Redman off tv.. oh yea and Scott Reid while they're at it).
Also, maybe I'm just stretching, but when all the ridings were in Western Canada and Ontario, there was sure a lot of French in the Liberal speeches. Of course bilingualism etc, but I think there was a focused effort to show the Liberal team as palatable to Quebec. It's not like there's a huge french cleavage in Willowdale. I do like Rae's closing line, "Vive le Canada." I see it as a sort of plea for the Liberals to once more become the prime federalist force. I could be stretching it.
In terms of the Tories, I think it's going to be hard for them to sell 25% as a good night regardless of which ridings were in play.
In terms of the NDP, well I think they're more in trouble than any other party. I think their leader is stale, their message is weak, and they're having to watch their backs because of the green party. Unfortunately they just never seem to have their message in order, and being in bed with the Tories in the tag team against the Liberals haven't done them well though. I don't know what other choice they have, however.
What does this mean in terms of an election? Well my guess is that it's Harper's choice. I wouldn't be surprised if the Liberals pulled some kind of surprise move on the whole RESP thing, but I think that's wishful thinking. It's Harper's choice because if he keeps on pushing, Dion will eventually have to push back, and one can argue with a pretty strong case that he now has a lot more strong hands to do the pushing back.
For all that Dion's gone through over the last year, there's a way out for him - though not at all gauranteed. Let's just hope his caucus isn't filled with a bunch of "self serving goons."
Bonne nuit.
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I'm sorry but his has to be viewed as nothing less than a decisive slap in the face for Dion. When you consider, in Totonto, two of their safest seats (both won by well over 50 percent last time) in a by-election (that usually dumps on the governing party and favors the opposition), with the two strongest candidates in the party (Rae and Findlay) they only manage a small percentage increase in their vote. When you look at the Sask riding, a candidate personally selected by Dion, where Dion campaigned and where the Liberal party knew, going in, was critical to do well in (if not win) for the sake of Dion saving face, they lost by a significant amount of votes. A riding that they won by 65 votes two years ago, they now lost by 1,700 votes. A massive defeat. And the forth riding - Liberal for 25 years, a 12,000 vote victory two years ago, is now down to a squeeker of about a 1,000 vote victory. The Liberal party is quickly becoming a Toronto centric party (look at their front bench) with a bit fluff from Montreal Island. I know you want to crow about 3 victories but when you examine the results, it is a significant step back for the Liberals and a massive defeat for Dion on the tail of his last defeat in by-elections.
"And the forth riding - Liberal for 25 years, a 12,000 vote victory two years ago, is now down to a squeeker of about a 1,000 vote victory. "
You're too kind Ron. Final count looks like the Libs held Quadra by a massive 151 votes = 0.6%.
We may need a recount.
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The Liberals won 3 out of 4 and that's never bad. The conservatives won the one swing seat, and while that's good, you can never boast too much about having 1 for 4 as your standard of excellence.
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The liberals never WON 3 of 4......they simply MAINTAINED 3 of 4, huge difference. Boasting about Toronto liberal "Wins" doesn't say much, it only show that Toronto has a sick abuse fetish from the LPT (Liberal Party of Toronto)
I find it unbelievably selective of you to not mention the vote differential in Quadra......just like your beloved media will not talk about it.
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For all that Dion's gone through over the last year, there's a way out for him - though not at all gauranteed. Let's just hope his caucus isn't filled with a bunch of "self serving goons."
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Nice that you mentioned "self serving goons", to bad you didn't use Rae (Rae of hope, Rae of light, deadly laser Rae) in the same sentance. If you really think the man is good for your party, you must have your head up your A$$.
I am conservative, but I really like Dion and Ignatieff (seriously), I think that Rae is too slimy for them, and will stop at nothing to create havoc in the LPT and against them.
Have fun. Usual Liberal denial of the problems.
I also noted the "vive le Canada". There was a message in that.
"I have a message to Stephen Harper... I'm coming!"
So Martha got a new vibrator . . . so what!!!
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