Friday, October 15, 2010

A tale of three Liberals

The public decide when your time is up. The public decide when your rhetoric is past its due date. The media wishes to quantify this "throw the bums out" as anger. That is too simplistic.
The public are much smarter than the pundits in smelling BS and they understand what is not working and who is accountable.
The media cheerleaders on the wrong side of the debate are finding out through poor ratings: we don't accept your fairytale. Report the news or fade away, the choice is yours.
United States -Obama
Obama’s approval rating fell to a new low of 43 percent since he took office, down from 47 percent last month, according to a Reuters-Ipsos national poll.
Ipsos pollsters say it appears that much of that drop comes from Democrats whose approval of Obama fell to 70 percent from 78 percent last month.
Among likely voters, 48 percent said they will choose Republican candidates in the midterm elections, while 44 percent say they will vote for a Democrat. That gap narrowed in the full survey sample, with 44 percent saying they would vote for the Republican candidate vs. 43 percent for the Democrat.
Sixty-three percent said the country is on the wrong track, which was the highest since Obama took office. Sixty-five percent said creating jobs is what Congress should focus on in 2011, and most said the best indicator of economic recovery is a drop in the unemployment rate.
The economy topped the list of the most important problem facing the United States, while respondents did not mention the Iraq war. -Winds of Change
Obama has time to save his job, he does not have the capacity to save the Democrats in the Senate, Congress. Does he have time to balance the books and get voters behind his economic policies?
Ontario - McGuinty
Three out of four Ontarians believe it’s “time for a change” at Queen’s Park because of the unpopular 13 per cent harmonized sales tax and lingering economic fears, a new poll suggests.
The Toronto Star-Angus Reid survey indicates Premier Dalton McGuinty’s Liberals, who mark their seventh anniversary in power on Saturday, face major challenges as they head toward the Oct. 6, 2011 election.
With 76 per cent of respondents saying they would like to see another party in power and 71 per cent warning the province “is on the wrong track,” the poll signals change may be on the horizon.
The global recession might officially be over, but the new HST and rising hydro bills have left 86 per cent of Ontarians claiming “it is harder now than it was two years ago to make ends meet.”
What won’t be debated, except perhaps in hushed tones over free drinks at the hospitality suites Friday night, is who will succeed Premier Dalton McGuinty as Liberal leader.“The folks around McGuinty will be trying to stamp this (talk) out as quickly as they can because they don’t want to undermine him or even question his standing at the head of the party,” confided one Liberal insider - Liberals quietly ponder McGuinty's replacement
Dalton is beginning to unwind and halt some of the decisions in order to limit the damage to his party and his leadership. Will it be enough time? Does he have the fiscal room to fix it and balance the books?
Best PM 2007- 2010 -Nik Nanos
 
Opposition Leader -Ignatieff
The Polls illustrated above/below for six months ( May-September 2010) a trend Conservative 5-8%  average lead normally. Every summer the "race" is reported as tightening up. The Liberals can't break and hold 30%. You need 37% to win a minority parliament. The majority of Canadians think the economy has improved and going in the right direction. Their frustration is directed at Provincial and local officials who have been increasing taxes. Property taxes, hydro, cost of transportation.

On leadership Prime Minister Stephen Harper is a force of nature. The Federal Government was given a pass on the massive Economic Stimulus as necessary.
May 2010- Oct 14 2010 All Polls CanadaNewsDesk
Ignatieff is not connecting with the average Canadian regardless of another road trip or plaid shirt wardrobe change.

The Liberals need money to buy advertising to convince Canadians they are not the party of props, tax and spend. They don't have it from the latest figures.

"This is Canada, not Australia," Ignatieff said. "That means Canada has principles, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, our international obligations."-Ignatieff 
In 1969 Pierre Trudeau mused MPs were nobodies 100 feet from Parliament Hill. The  official opposition's refusal to represent their constituents has reduced the Trudeau musing by another 50 feet.
The PM Satisfaction score is up six per cent from September and twelve per cent from January  2010. The PM outpaces the Premier by seven per cent. Conservatives beat the Liberals by two per cent on support from the Francophone. The Conservative beat the Bloc by nine points around Quebec City. 
Why are the Federal Liberals SILENT on criticizing the high taxes, high hydro rates being charged by the municipal and provincial government? Did the compassionate Liberals miss the fact the same paper that ran his photo op reported the loss of twenty seven jobs and the closing of the production from the dairy on May 20, 2010?
Of the $7.2-billion three-month deficit, nearly half -$3 billion -was attributed to tax reductions, increased employment insurance benefits and infrastructure spending.- Recovery continues in spite of political stunts by opposition.
 
September 2008 Nik Nanos Poll on Leadership found both Ignatieff and Layton slid. The PM has moved up 4.1% to 83.3%. Ignatieff is in third place behind Jack Layton.
I am particularly appalled at the Liberal announcement that they would cancel this contract at the first opportunity. As a former Sea King squadron commander earlier in my career, I know only too well the consequences of such political games.
Lt.-Gen. (Ret.) Angus Watt is former chief of the air staff (2007-09)
Canadians don't see him as PM material. They don't trust Michael Ignatieff, his numbers reflect it in almost every poll. His efforts to date are not seen as a credible alternative. Voters are tuning out National politics because of the relentless negative attacks from the media and opposition. His party has not used this minority parliament to enact ANY legislation that would help the economy. He just abandoned his forty five day Employment Insurance Plan and left many of his MPs holding the bag. What is the message when half of the party vote for a 35% increase in employment insurance rates and you deem as no longer necessary?
Off all of the three Liberals, Ignatieff is in the most vulnerable position without the ability to control the timing of the election, party discipline or have access to a war chest to match the Conservatives. 
Obama and McGuinty both have campaign experience and a successful track record in fundraising.
What do you think?
 
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