Michael Ignatieff will try and save face in today’s budget vote by claiming he is asking Liberal members of parliament from Newfoundland and Labrador to vote against the budget.
This comes after a dinner at Stornoway last night and five of the six stating categorically they’d be voting against the budget anyway.
Such a transparent media line won’t hold for 30 seconds among the sharks in the national press gallery.
Prediction: Iggy will be gone within a year.
Question: Would Stephane be willing to come back?
How about if we said please?
-srbp-
22 comments:
mrvnmouse: Link plus no e-mail addy = spam.
Breaking: Robert Bond Papers owned by short-sightedness and impatience.
Breaking news - this site and writer have been on Iggy's back from day one and will use any opportunity to bash.
...sigh....
Anon, that's the spin from Iggy lovers?
C'mon give us something more credible.
You have 5 elected Liberals saying that they will vote against the budget. Iggy says that the Liberals support the budget.
THEN Iggy says it's okay, he will accept a "protest vote"?
This from the man who voted against the majority of Liberal party to voice the continued support of the farce in Afghanistan...
Let's hope that Iggy the man who rarely contributes to the Liberal party is gone in the year...
It's called "statesmanship" and diplomacy. The vote clearly outlines how Iggy has played his strategy with Harper, while still showing his consideration for the opinions of his MPs. This is a bold move.
We did in December, in both languages and maybe a few more. PLEASE!!!
This Party is in serious trouble.
"You go your way baby, I'll go mine...now and forever... it just about doesn't matter anymore."
I am a David Orchard fan.
This is a bold move.
Best laugh of my day so far. Ignatieff statement sounded far from bold. More like backtracking.
Seems to me that the strategy so far is to point out deficiencies in the Conservative budget but still support it. Is this some feeble attempt to distance the Liberals from a misguided budget and huge deficit come next election?
This is the most infantile analysis I have seen in a blog posting in a very long time. Give Michael Ignatieff the benefit of the doubt. It's not like he has been screwing up left, right and centre. In fact, the obvious is true, and it is refreshing for a change. This issue is a booby trap that Stephen Harper imbedded in the budget on purpose to try to trip Ignatieff. We need to give our leader some latitude so he won't be trapped by it. All Liberals might not be happy at the end of the day but, rememebr, Michael Ignatieff didn't put this in the budget. Harper did.
It's called "statesmanship" and diplomacy.
So that's what it's called when the Liberal leader does it...
And if it was Harper?
Let me guess, it would somehow be different, because it always is...
This is a budget supported by Iggy - it's a much his.
And, I don't think that Harper is that clever to the point of putting booby traps...
But if you want to believe that fine - I wonder what the explanation will be for the Quebec MPs that are not so happy with the budget - will the bigwigs muzzle them in time...
@ anons
As always around these parts we have the utmost respect for people who are chickenshit enough not to sign their names to a comment.
@ Cherniak_WTF:
The one thing I'd point out is the bleeding obvious. Rob Silver's already noted this in other words.
Since the Equalization provisions of this budget were aimed at Ontario and Quebec and they suffer way more than NL, AND given that this is apparently such a monumental issue for "the federation" why aren't the Liberals in those provinces allowed to vote the provincial line too?
I like Star Trek, BTW, but the Federation is science fiction.
@ Gerry: When reason and logic fail, assume a plot AND assume your guy is a genius. Always works and it is as convincing as posting anonymously. Cherniak_WTF already hit the point on who owns the budget now.
@ WesterGrit: If putting a spin on a mess because you can't organize your own team is a bold political move, then why did the Liberals dump Dion?
Clearly he was a genius who simply lacked the ability to tell people without water or a glass that they actually had a well.
Again, when all else fails, assume genius.
This is a bold move.
Beijing York says he's laughing - and I'm sure Harper is too. Because even if the media honeymoon hasn't ended yet, Michael is making himself an icon of complicity.
He pressed Harper to delay this for the sake of national unity - and was rebuffed in an eyeblink. That's what's revealing here.
If Harper's on "probation," he's telling his "statesmanlike" parole officer to bugger off while he hops outside to shoplift some more smokes. Without one iota of consequence.
By rubber-stamping this budget, Michael gives up the hammer.
It's just so disappointing to see one area of the country singled out from the rest. Is that the meaning of confederation?
I find that under Harper's leadership and with Williams "pawning" of the people of the province, the individual members of this confederation have been put to the squeeze.
I'm not feeling patriotic, both for my country or for my province today and I can't seem to put my finger on it.
Why is it that, all of a sudden I feel used?
Why is it that Iggy sees fit to stage a "protest" and the whole Liberal party not question the abuse of confederation in the process?
Why is Iggy letting this travesty of representation go? If he and the Liberal party believes in the union we all call Canada, then stage a complete dissatisfaction with the budget. Canada needs a decisive leader and not another divisive one such as what we are dealing with at the moment in Harper.
pwned.
Okay -- when you cut away all the usual cant, the upshot is that Harpo's budget will pass right?
The tactical swerve by Ig may get national press, mostly because it's a slow news-day; but it won't matter a cuff-link in the end.
Harpo gets the budget passed; Ig gets to avoid an election; Dangovt still gets shafted; ergo, DW & Jeromie! still get their Payne-approved excuse to pass the shafting along, down the bargaining food-chain.
The only uncertainty left is what sort of sports metaphor VOCM and the Tely will use to describe, in no doubt breathless terms, His victory.
Hereth DW: “I'm a big boy. I understand that if you give an elbow, you're going to get an elbow back. But you don't get hit over the head with a sledgehammer, and that's what this guy does."
Boys, sledgehammers, elbows...and nary a brain in sight.
I think it's too early to pass judgement on Ignatieff. In any case, Dion's time has definitely passed!
Well - Cherniak_WTF spends all his waking hours belittling people, especially Iggy and Cherniak. Sad life isn't it?
Mr. Howlett is getting pretty much the same.
Frankly, it's too soon to tell.
By the way, supporting Ignatieff doesn't make one evil or horrible and attacking someone who does is rather sick.
Pathetic or what.
Leave the Liberal party then and shut up. You never have anything new to say and, "get a life" for heavens sake.
By the way - the most recent Harris-Decima polls prove that Iggy has done the right thing - 72% are happy with it and a few disgruntled Iggy haters are small fish in the pond of voters.
Who is this guy Howlett?
Anon - I have stated that I'm not renewing my Liberal party membership -
What is pathetic is having Liberals support Iggy without thinking or pointing out how pathetic he is.
What's even more pathetic is Iggy supporters who can't face reality. The Liberals under Iggy have about the same numbers as under Dion...
This evening CTV reported that Iggy tried to bully the MPs into supporting the budget, when they refused, he had to do this little media spin - now that's sad...
It is starting to show that Iggy lacks both leadership and experience and was appointed as leaders were in fascist countries in the 20th centuries.
I have talked to so many people after he was undemocratically elected, and we need to exercise our disillusion and anger by organizing against Iggy.
Any suggestions or ideas?
Yes I do have a suggestion Anonymous 0207.
If you are going to make a comment in which you use the word fascist, have the courage to sign your name.
No guts, no glory.
No name, no free smears.
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