The New Conservative Revolution?

The horse race that was the Quebec provincial election is finally over, and the fallout has been nothing short of entertaining. With the 'pink-Tory'-led Liberals retaining power but at a significant loss of seats, the separatist Parti Quebecois suffering it's worst result in 34 years by finishing third, and the rise of the Action's démocratique du Québec party into the opposition seats, the media has begun a frenzy of 'now what's' and 'what ifs'.

Most are calling Mario Dumont's ADQ's come-from-nowhere finish a surprising rightwing turn for Quebec. Watching the CBC talking heads trying to make sense of it is borderline comical. Their shock and awe (Quebec? The bastion of leftwing thought moving right?) reminds one of a Three Stooges film. Of course, some of us recall that Stephen Harper's federal Conservatives achieved a minority government in the recent federal election due to surprising support from Quebec voters.

The sudden rise to credibility by the right-of-centre ADQ isn't really a shock. The media is focusing on the wrong issue when trying to explain the Quebec shift. They are stuck looking at it as a leftwing vs. rightwing issue, instead of what it really is: federalist vs. separatist, once and for all.

The PQ, and their federal parent Bloc Quebecois, have become nothing more than the political arm of a fringe movement. There will always be separatists in Quebec, and a rise of support for independence will always be just one federal Liberal scandal away, but the general population of la belle province has grown tired of the debate. In the attempt to find a federalist alternative, they were rewarded with the Liberal Adscam - a slap in the face to the average Quebecer.

Then Stephen Harper arrives on the scene with a totally inspiring concept: let's change the way federalism works in Canada by following the - get this - Constitution! This means, having a small federal government that will oversea the basic national portfolios, while the individual provinces will have the autonomy that they are guaranteed in our most prized and important document. More power to Quebec without the mess and the gamble of separation has appealed to both soft federalists and soft separatists alike. A winning combination.

Quebec voters saw an extension of these policies in the platform of the ADQ. A move to the centre-right is, as shocking as it may be to the swollen craniums of the experts in Ottawa, acceptable to Quebecers as long as the new federalism comes with it.

I couldn't end this rant without a few words about my buddy, Liberal leader Stephane Dion. His reaction to the Quebec outcome was the usual. He accused the Prime Minister of 'blackmail' and of 'influencing' the election. Once again stuck between a rock and nowhere, Dion can't decide whether to be happy that a Liberal government still reigns in Quebec or to be mad that Jean Charest is still the Premier.

Last week, Dion came across the airwaves like a junior-high student when he whined to the media with the infamous 'Stephen Harper is a bully' quote. Now, with that same squeaky, don't hurt me voice, Dion starts machine gun name-calling, desperately hoping that something will finally stick.

THIS JUST IN:

I had a discussion with a Liberal insider from Ottawa right after Dion's comments aired on television this morning. After allowing me to post his comments on here with the promise of anonymity, he confided that the Liberal hierarchy is quickly growing impatient with Stephane Dion. Grumblings are being heard in the corridors of power of the party, especially with the long timers who haven't been impressed with Dion's lack of vision, leadership, and direction.

The new conservative revolution across Canada has officially conquered Quebec, while the federal Liberals spin their wheels.

LL Cool T

Liberals Love Cool Taliban? Ever since losing the last federal election, the federal Liberal party seems to have decided to realign their support in the global war on terror. Recent quotes by some of the Party's top players have left Canadians wondering just where they stand on the issue.

Stephane Dion, since assuming the role of Party leader, has made a practice of questioning our military's effort in Afghanistan. Repeatedly trying to paint the ruling Conservatives as being too focused on killing the enemy and too soft on 'rebuilding', he has built a public perception that has many Canadians wondering just what side he is rooting for.

His line of questioning was so bizarre that it led to P.M. Harper to question where the Liberal loyalties lie: "I can understand the passion that the leader of the Opposition and members of his party feel for the Taliban prisoners. I just wish occasionally they would show the same passion for Canadian soldiers."

This statement in the House of Commons caused the Liberals to scramble in an attempt to minimize damage, mostly by futilely trying to attack Harper.

Liberal opposition defence critic Denis Coderre, never far from idiotic words and actions, continued to live down to expectations with this doozie: "...the P.M.'s words could inflame our enemies..."

Well now, we wouldn't want that, would we? Coderre sunk even deeper later when he gave this eyebrow-raising blurb: "The answer of the prime minister today is a disgrace. To ask us to make a choice between the Taliban detainees and our troops I think it's infamous."

The Liberals being forced to choose between siding with either our troops or the Taliban is 'infamous'? Really?

I'd really love to be able to give the benefit of the doubt on this one. More than anything, in this time of war, I would like to think that all Canadians - regardless of political stripe - would be behind the incredibly hard and dangerous work done by our bravest men and women. Perhaps the problem is that these opinions flow out of a party that doesn't have a clear position. Maybe the trouble with the Liberals is that they haven't taken a solid stand on the war under Dion.

The Libs are the ones who committed our troops to the war in the first place, and ever since they seem to have questioned their own actions. Each time a member of the Liberal opposition opens their mouth on this issue, it seems they care more about the comfort of captured terrorists than our own soldiers.

We will keep this in mind when the next anticipated federal election comes around.

Invasion of the Tory Snatchers

Alberta's reaction to Budget 2007 is actually kind of humorous. After a year of reacting to everything Harper does with "That's GREAT!!!", we sat and watched Jimmy McSpendalot give his speech and we in the Heart of the New West go: "That's GRE...." - followed by stunned silence and a glassy-eyed look of bewilderment, chased by the realization that 'Our Guy' has committed 1/3 of the equalization windfall directly to Quebec.

Then we realize that the 'no resources included in the new equalization plan' really means resources are included in the new equalization plan, and that the tax breaks for the big oil companies - a key to the super-heated Alberta economy that carries the nation's prosperity - were going to gradually disappear. Add the environmental policies that have led some to wonder if Jack Layton attended the last Tory cabinet meeting, and the truth hits like a bucket of cold water - "...heyyy.....wait a minute.."

Of course there are aspects of the Tory fiscal plan that are appealing. Rebates for those who wish to purchase a hybrid vehicle is a simple yet effective way to show that the government cares about the environment. Since the only real difference between a hybrid Honda Civic and a regular gas Civic is the price, if that hurdle was eliminated why wouldn't we choose the more eco-friendly car?

Little nuggets aside, the real reaction in Alberta is one of fear. After years of living under the anti-Albertan Liberals, we finally had a government that spoke our language. Tough on crime, tough on terrorism, didn't pander to the East, protect Alberta's economy from another Eastern Liberal N.E.P.-style raid. Now, with the Harper government showing glaring signs of putting their goal of a majority government ahead of everything else by delivering Quebec and GTA-friendly policies on their agenda, Albertans are wondering if perhaps there is something going on in Ottawa that we here in the West don't know about. Some sort of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, perhaps? Well-meaning conservatives go East with the task of representing Alberta, they get taken over by the Eastern pods, and one by one they are indoctrinated?

Many federalist Albertans survived the Chretien/Martin years by holding on to the hope that one day a Conservative government would break through the darkness and deliver real leadership of the nation. The Tories are now in power, and they are looking suspiciously like Martin Liberals in Harper clothing. Where is Donald Sutherland when you need him?

A Horrible View...

Insider T.W. sent this in along with the following commentary. "Rosie defended Khalid Sheikh Mohammed on the View, saying we tortured him. I think Rosie did some torturing herself."

Photo courtesy of: www.Glennbeck.com

Quote of the Month

What a way to introduce a new feature to the Rant page! The inaugural Q.O.T.M. comes from a Democrat (the jury is out on how 'liberal' he is).





"There is something profoundly wrong when opposition to the war in Iraq seems to inspire greater passion than opposition to Islamist extremism. There is something profoundly wrong when there is so much distrust of our intelligence community that some Americans doubt the plain and ominous facts about the threat to us posed by Iran. And there is something profoundly wrong when, in the face of attacks by radical Islam, we think we can find safety and stability by pulling back, by talking to and accommodating our enemies, and abandoning our friends and allies. Some of this wrong-headed thinking about the world is happening because we're in a political climate where, for many people, when George Bush says "yes," their reflex reaction is to say "no." That is unacceptable."
-Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-CT)

The Latest Rant Bouquets

The I Lost To This Guy? Bouquet: Deputy Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff. While being a novice in the House of Commons, Ignatieff has shown more intelligence and political knowledge than his leader Stephane Dion. If fact, the longer the two are seated beside each other the better Iggy looks.

The Get 'em While They're Young Bouquet: Environazi David Suzuki recently spoke to a group of Calgary elementary school children on the pretence of saving the environment. What he really did was launch into an anti-Harper tirade in front of 8 year olds. Ironically, most of the children in attendance had more social skills than the good Doctor.

The Black Like Me Bouquet: Senator Hillary Clinton took her presidential campaign roadshow to the deep South and did her best to tell the African American crowd that she was 'one of them'. I don't think they bought it.

The World Is Ending Bouquet: The local Edmonton media gets this one for their coverage of the recent incident at the Petro Canada refinery. Reports of possible injuries and even fatalities flooded the airwaves when the news first hit. In reality? No one hurt, not much of a problem. Sorry to disappoint you.

The They Love Me! They Really Love Me! Bouquet: Al Gore gets an Oscar for his pseudo-documentary An Inconvenient Truth, proving that you don't need talent to be a Hollywood fav.

Just Learn the Damn Language

Those wacky, kooky French Canadians are at it again. A few months ago, I posted a rant on the Franco-Albertan guy who fought a traffic ticket on the grounds that it our provincial system of justice isn't bilingual enough for him (http://lpsullivan.blogspot.com/2006/10/bilinguisme-obligatoire-dans-alberta.html). Now it's our big, bad natural resource industry that is the reason for the latest Franco-whatever to declare Albertan 'racist'.

Carol (really?) Rioux, is a transplanted Quebecer who, like so many others from that side of the country, followed the scent of prosperity that led to the Alberta oilsands. During the initial safety orientation at Suncor, the administrator of the exam realized that Rioux had obvious difficulty understanding the English language. Following company guidelines, Rioux was dismissed. That blew the door open for the current media storm, with cries of racism being shouted from the four corners. Human rights groups (and the usual leftwing radical idiots) are jumping all over this issue, with Rioux's union now trying to take center stage. Supporters of Rioux are claiming that Suncor employs international workers without prejudice. What they don't say is that these 'English as a second language' workers passed the test - they obviously understand English better than Carol Rioux. Once again, politically-correct hysteria is being mixed with the tired stereotype of Alberta as a french-hating redneck outback. And once again, common sense has been lost.

I work at a refinery and can say with absolute certainty that if the guy standing next to me isn't going to understand what I am saying in an emergency, I don't want him around me when it happens. Trying to simplify the issue by claiming that 'a siren is the same in both languages' is an absurd argument. In such an instance, Mr. Rioux might understand that there is a problem, but he might not understand what the problem is. Given the array of things that could happen at your typical oil refinery, and the equally vital and varied actions that are needed to respond to each incident, understanding directions that are being yelled at you over that very loud siren could be the one factor that determines if you make it home that night or not.

Not lost on me is the fact that, if I were to move to Northern Quebec with the hopes of gaining employment, you can be damn sure they would demand that I speak French. How many so-called 'anglophones' have been turned down from jobs in that province because they didn't understand French well enough? You sure don't hear about that in the papers.

Ground Control to Major Dion...