Layton Says US Elections a Wake Up Call for Tories (Canada)

[iverglas]

"Ordinary Americans have sent the Republicans the message ... that they do not support the war in Iraq."

-- taken from yesterday's Debates of the Canadian House of Commons.

The full exchange between Jack Layton, leader of the opposition New Democratic Party, and Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada (originally in French):

http://www2.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?Language=E&Mode=1&Parl=39&Pub=hansard&Ses=1
(my emphasis)

Afghanistan

Hon. Jack Layton (Toronto—Danforth, NDP): Mr. Speaker, on Tuesday, average Americans sent a very strong message to George Bush indicating that they thought his war in Iraq was wrong. Every day we see more and more Canadians speaking out with their concerns about the Liberal-Conservative mission in Kandahar.

The Liberals and the Prime Minister do not have the support of average Canadians when it comes to the mission in Afghanistan.

Will the Prime Minister finally rethink this unbalanced and ill-defined mission before he meets the same fate as his southern cousin?

Right Hon. Stephen Harper (Prime Minister, CPC): Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the concern the leader of the NDP has for my fate.

That said, regardless of what happens in the United States, our role here is to support our Canadian men and women in uniform. I understand that is what the leader of the NDP in Nova Scotia did yesterday in supporting an all party resolution. Darrell Dexter said, “Our job here in this province is to support our soldiers and our military personnel”. That is the job of Canadians in every province and in every party.

Hon. Jack Layton (Toronto—Danforth, NDP): Mr. Speaker, there are reasons why more and more Canadians are opposed to the war in Afghanistan. The mission is unbalanced, there is no exit strategy and there is no measure of success. It is a mission that just is not working. Ordinary Americans have sent the Republicans the message that they do not support the war in Iraq.

Will the Prime Minister finally change the direction of the Afghanistan mission and rethink it, as needs to be done?

Right Hon. Stephen Harper (Prime Minister, CPC): Mr. Speaker, once again, the Afghanistan mission is a United Nations mission, and is supported by almost all of the countries in the world. It is supported by the government and people of Afghanistan. It is important that we always support our soldiers.

Before Remembrance Day, when we remember our veterans, I have to say that it is important to support our troops when they are in the armed forces as they are at present.

I just thought you'd like to see your efforts being recognized in the House of Commons. ;)


Now you can count the number of times "support the troops" dribbled from Steve's lips ...


Edited to add the news story I should have looked for first:
http://www.cfra.com/headlines/index.asp?cat=2&nid=44368

Layton Says US Elections a Wake Up Call for Tories

Jack Layton says Americans have sent a strong signal to the Bush administration by giving Democrats power in the US House of Representatives and the Senate.

And the NDP leader is warning Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the Conservatives could face the same political fate as the Republicans.

Layton suggests the war in Iraq had a lot to do with the Republicans defeat.

[angstlessk]

1. Well, I was certainly unhappy when Harper won in Canada...

since it is a much more liberal country than the USA...I do hope the Liberals in Canada win next time!

[C_eh_N_eh_D_eh]

4. So do we.

Not necessarily the Liberal Party per se; the Grits are so used to being a bloated juggernaut, they've forgotten how to actually get anything done.

Canada's liberal politicians need a good shake-up. Look what happened to the right-wingers after Mulreagan retired. After more than a decade of continuously re-defining their goals and messages, they've managed to unite under a common banner, and are gradually regaining much of the power formerly held by the centrists in the old PC party. If they ever find a leader who doesn't make you want to take a shower after watching him on TV for more than five minutes, we could be in serious trouble.

Unfortunately, too many of us are falling into the same trap as you folks, thinking that this new breed of conservatives isn't any different from the same ones they've been at odds with for the last century.

[iverglas]

6. is that a curse? ;)

I do hope the Liberals in Canada win next time!

Some of us don't actually share that hope ... although we know it's probably the best we can hope for. ;)


on edit: it wasn't the Liberal leader I was quoting, you know!

[Muddy75]

2. I'm glad Layton stated this fact:

"Liberal-Conservative mission in Kandahar"...

It was our 'left leaning' Liberals who put us there in the first place. People need to know this. People need to know that the Liberal party is, in fact, a Neo-con party in disguise.

Please see this thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=190x17893

Gawd help us if we actually manage to derail the Conservatives only to have these Liberal monsters take charge again.

[Harper_is_Bush]

3. Notice how that SOB Harper uses the troops?

He's been doing it for a while now.

Read the exchange. Layton talks about the mission, Harper brings up "support for the troops" 3 times.

He even brings up remembrance day, that f'n asshole.

[C_eh_N_eh_D_eh]

5. He holds rallies, too.

There was one here in Ottawa a couple of months ago; hundreds of people bused in from the sticks with red "Support the Troops" t-shirts. Which was particularly annoying btw, because red is supposed to be a liberal colour in this country, whereas right-wing parties are coded blue or green.

[iverglas]

7. heh heh

right-wing parties are coded blue or green.

Good one. ;)

[Pab Sungenis]

8. STFU, LAYTON!

YOUR MANEUVERING IS WHAT PUT HARPER INTO POWER! THE BLOOD'S ON YOUR HANDS, TOO!

[iverglas]

9. ah, an expert in New Jersey no less

Yes, Layton put Harper in power. It's all part of some great left-wing conspiracy plan to put Karl Rove in charge of the world ...

Frankly, I think it's nice to have a taste of the neotories in power. A Harper minority govt doesn't really make me quake in my boots, but it offers a hint of what might lie in store if they got a majority. Unfortunately, it will likely also let the Liberals just coast back into power on empty words and promises.

I can hardly wait to see what the Liberals will do to end child poverty and meet Kyoto commitments. Oh wait -- I think I've seen that movie already.

[Pab Sungenis]

13. I don't deny that the Liberals need to do major work

and I'd like to see what the NDP could do, but it annoys me to see Layton up there criticizing the man he decided to put into the Premier's chair.

If Layton didn't like the policies that Harper espoused, and he was by no means a stealth candidate, he shouldn't have put the Conservatives in control with his no confidence vote.

[iverglas]

14. and again

Layton up there criticizing the man he decided to put into the Premier's chair.

That's just such a fun allegation.

The head of government of Canada is called the Prime Minister, by the way.

If Layton didn't like the policies that Harper espoused, and he was by no means a stealth candidate, he shouldn't have put the Conservatives in control with his no confidence vote.

If the Liberals didn't want to the Conservatives to be in control, they shouldn't have refused to do what they needed to do in order to stay in power. Oh yes -- and what they needed to do in order to govern like progressives instead of like neocons; that too.

But then governing like progressives isn't something that rational people expect from a neocon party, really.

And stifling its own overweening arrogance isn't something one expects the Liberal Party of Canada to do very often, either. Arrogance came before its fall. Hard bananas.



Funny how Jack Layton just didn't cast all those ballots for all those Conservative candidates, though, eh?

[Pab Sungenis]

15. Continuing onward....

Okay, continuing....

The head of government of Canada is called the Prime Minister, by the way.

You're right. I was doing three other things while typing (I was at work at the time) and my mind slipped a gear. I was thinking of the provincial level. I apologize.

But then governing like progressives isn't something that rational people expect from a neocon party, really.

That's correct. I think the Liberals (especially under Chrétien) were too eager to follow the "New Labour" and DLC models from England and the U.S., both of which (if you ask me) have proven to be astounding failures. The Liberals do need to clean up their act, root out the corruption and start behaving, well, like liberals again.

Funny how Jack Layton just didn't cast all those ballots for all those Conservative candidates, though, eh?

I wasn't going to be condescending and end a question with "eh?" At least I know the proper way (in at least three different Canadian dialects) to say "about," and none of them is "aboot." :)

Jack Layton didn't cast all those ballots, but he didn't need to force an election when Paul Martin was at his weakest, before the final report from the Gomery Commission and before he had a chance to clean up the government on his own.

Layton wanted to use the weakness of the Liberals for party-building for the NDP. Instead, he gave Canada a Conservative government and not much of an increase for the NDP. He made a deal with the devil, and now should have to pay for it.

[Megahurtz]

10. I hope it IS a Wake-Up Call!

WTF was Canada doing "going Conservative" anyway? :wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf::wtf:

A little WH influence perhaps? Poppy&Son twisted someone's arms again? :sarcasm:

Or was it the influence of the Right-Wing "Born Again" Christian-Fundamentalist-Cult Movement? :eyes:

[iverglas]

11. what it was

I dunno ... whose arms would Poppy&Son have twisted? All those people in Alberta who voted for the Conservative candidates in their ridings?

Canadians often do things for Canadian reasons, strange though it may seem. Not necessarily good reasons, but Canadian all the same.

The Liberals had demosntrated themselves to be corrupt. Kinda like the Republicans down south, although of course on a much less grand scale. People don't like corruption. Corrupt governments tend to get thrown out, here -- from Sir John A. through Brian Mulroney to the Chrétien/Martin Liberals.

http://www.cbc.ca/canadavotes/analysiscommentary/negativeads.html


"I admit I took the money and bribed the electors with it.
Is there anything wrong about that?"
- A cartoon by John Wilson Bengough, published in Grip magazine
in 1873, takes aim at Sir John A. Macdonald.

Lost that election, he did.

[Megahurtz]

12. I keep forgetting that Canada has

a little bit more honest of a voting system than we do here. Corruption does get people the boot!

It appers that Poppy&Son has been bullying themselves on other Political figures Worldwide
for selfish gain, but I'm thankful Canada still thinks on their own.:) Keep up the good work!

[Spazito]

16. Good for Layton! Now, if he would only take his lips off harper's

ass on Kyoto and join the opposition instead of refusing and trying to "work out a deal" with harper and, yet again, selling his supporters down the road as he did in the last election.

Oh, and it is too bad it was the Liberals who invited Howard Dean to speak on his 50 State strategy and not Layton who's party could sure use a national strategy plan.