e guye

A member since November 13, 2006 12:29

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Comment History

Reading the entrails of the Quebec By-elections (2007-09-16)

• I saw the Mansbridge interview and felt Dion looked particularly weak, even flat-footed as if, on several occasions, he truly didn't know what to say. ...
• By tomorrow night we'll have the answers - so this topic is (almost) already outdated. A better topic, perhaps introduced on Tuesday, might have been -...
• Yes. Although some describe him as a 'committed civil servant' he seems to me to be someone backed into a corner and doing as much damage as he can to the C...
• hollinm - I agree with your thoughts - Dion has brought nothing but discord to the House of Commons - his objectives seeming to be complete and utter negativ...
• Nik, Quebec polls vastly under rated the fortunes of the NDP and Conservative parties in the Quebec byelections. One has to ask why? Were these polls, so ...
• parnel - did you watch coverage of the byelections tonight? Care to change any of your comments?
• hollinm, Agree. And in St Hyacinth they came very close. I even listened to one person from Quebec (on CPAC) who said he had told the Conservatives how cl...
• You've got your rose-colored glasses on - this was a route of the Liberal party and a solid rejection of the Bloc. It was a mild overture to the NDP and a r...
• parnel, Yes I'm relating a set of by-elections in Quebec to the fortunes of the Conservative party in the Ontario by-elections. That is only sensible. ...

Harper Tories Should Tread Carefully on Elections Canada Issue - Nik's Sun Media Column (2007-09-10)

• The timing of this opinion piece is suspect - exactly one week away from three important byelections in Quebec. It could be seen as an attempt to shift suppo...
• Hi Nik, Okay, but I still think the timing and tenor of this piece, chosen by whomever, may influence potential voters, particularly in the Quebec byel...
• Hi Erich, I take your point re the seriousness of violations of election spending practices. My point was that this type of spending violation does not i...

Green Party of Canada - Likely the Political Wildcard in the Next Election (2007-08-30)

• Ms May should not be in the upcoming political debates, whenever they occur, simply because the party has no electoral credibility, no voice in parliament - ...
• You're dreaming in Technicolor on a super inflated screen - but dream on.
• RadicalTory - Interesting post. Principle-pragmatism - to my mind at times opposing characteristics. Pragmaticism is I believe acting in such a way as ...
• supper (British Columbia) Your post doesn't really say much about the practical and political realities we are faced with today. We can all agree that 'a...
• hollinm - I believe that Dion has alligned himself with Ms May to 'green up' his image - then, he hopes, when election day comes Green supporters will realiz...
• bas 1809 (British Columbia) Thanks for reading my post, and for your insight. You say 'For practical politics, i.e. actually getting elected and then...
• Sorry, supper (British Columbia) - you just don't make sense to me.
• bas 1809 (British Columbia) To your last paragraph - you may be right, it may be the time for realignment of the left. But I don't think this will happ...
• holinm (Saskatchewan) Mr Dion has slung more mud over the past several weeks at Mr Harper than the reverse was true during the Conservatives horrendous '...
• bas 1809 (British Columbia) You say it took 'a Harper' to get past 15 years of indecision, lack of resolution of the parties of the right. And, 'For anyo...
• supper (British Columbia) The idea of doing nothing is not on the table - our government is trying to do something, while still protecting the economy. ...
• bas 1809 - how do I find your blog?
• Hope, I'm afraid I can't see where 'fairness' comes into this. Just how is it fair that Ms May be included in the next Federal election leaders' debates? ...

Summer will be serious for PM - Nik's Sun Media Column July 16, 2007 (2007-07-16)

• Hi, Nik, You state 'The latest SES Research survey shows the Tories and Liberals in a dead heat'. A little disingenuous in light of the fact that the l...
• Hi Nik, Will just add, before reading the posts, in answer to you 'sue-me' comment. Don't you think Mr Harper's comment meant that he believes the fede...
• golly gee Blossom - you didn't vote for Harper? I would never have guessed.
• A waste of time, a waste of good will. I would have hoped that posters to Nik's board would offer some balanced, reasoned political judgment, not just th...
• my. my Anvil your prejudices and ignorance are showing - 'Neo-Con'; 'craven political follower'; 'total arrogance and ignorance'; 'you can try to find your...
• hollinm - I prefer Mr Harper's arrogance over Mr Martin's fawning servility in the face of Canadian voters - except that Mr Martin wasn't really servile unti...
• Hi alfee, Have been so busy disagreeing with some of the posters who answered you haven't told you how much I agree with your post. When you look at the ...
• Anvil, You talk about openness, transparency. Was Mr Harper hiding anything from the Canadian people when he invited David Emerson to join his party, fo...
• JosephH - Mr Harper's reputation as an intelligent man is well deserved. He has proven this with his actions. In Afghanistan he saw the need for continue...
• Hi hollinm, The equalization tangle seems to be working itself out - today's paper had interview with conservative MP Gerald Keddy who thought agreement w...
• Hi anvil, I agree I'm partisan and support Mr Harper - for good reason. He was vocal about the faults of Kyoto long before becoming Prime Minister - and...
• doralh, Are you blaming the bombing (assume you mean suicide car bombings) and land mines on Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan? Your point is unclear to me....
• Hi hollinm, Once again the PM is battered by biassed media - the G&M front page headline today ' Harper failing to win country over Poll puts Liberals, Tor...
• doralh, You are obviously much better versed in military matters than I am - my question was sincere, because in the context of your post I wasn't able to s...
• For starters the Maritimes sent thousands of pounds of fish to the prairies during the depression - they didn't have much else to give - have seen the old ne...
• I didn't see the announcement - and don't really know just what the Royal Military College is, how many are in Canada, etc. I think though there was a time ...
• Quite frankly I'm surprised at your post. To say the Quebeckers are pacificists is to say that the Newfoundlanders are ignorant fishermen, Albertans red...
• Hi alfeee, The justification of the Afghan war has not been presented very well in any part of Canada, in my view. Going back to its beginnings - 9/11 i...
• Hi alfeee, Sorry I got a bit off the topic. I think what Holinm is referring to is a lack of enthusiasm by many Quebeckers to fight the battles of the 'E...

Bill Casey and Tory Political Brushfires (2007-06-10)

• Nik, As an easterner have a homemade take on this. Bill Casey is rumoured to be angling for Rodney MacDonald's job as Premier - MacDonald's performanc...
• Isn't it strange that most MP's who only look after the 'best interests of their constituents' seem to be of the publicity seeking Garth Turner stripe?
• Your post is ridiculous - why didn't you just say 'LIAR, LIAR, PANTS ON FIRE' and be done with it? It would have been shorter, one advantage, as you appar...
• Hi drgmobile - I was and am a strong Harper supporter - but I agree with you that his personna, as one sees it in Question Period, is too aggressive. I don...
• Mike, The alliance of the Progressive Conservative and Reform idealogies is a social experiment that needs and deserves the passage of time before judgment....
• Hi James, You say 'Part of the problem is that many in Harper's circle are also offending their conservative base, in the attempt to gain a majority via Que...
• Ken It's my understanding that Harper's government has been trying to cut out the waste in many programs before reinstating. It is not so much that he saw t...
• I believe even the G&M gave these programs fair coverage - that these programs were wasteful with a too high percentage of cost going to administration - how...

SES National Ballot Tracking (as of May 1) - Liberal-Conservative Dead Heat - Greens Up (2007-05-08)

• Is it unusual that people were asked to name their two top choices? It certainly isn't a clearcut 'first past the post' question - maybe more in line with e...
• Eli Xenos (Alberta) The shift in Quebec is huge - too huge. All reports coming out of Quebec indicate the Conservative party's fortunes are on the rise i...
• Bernie (Ontario) No Harper won't be calling an election soon if Nik's polls have anything to do with it. The question asked in this poll 'For those p...
• alfeee (Québec) I couldn't agree more. Wish that I were able to read French Canadian newspapers so that I could understand more fully just what's happeni...
• Tom Good (British Columbia) If you mean by a 'one man show' that Harper is the undisputable leader of the Conservative party, I agree. But you suggest t...
• supper (British Columbia) No election has been called because Harper stated many times that he wished to govern, not go to the electorate. He held back a...
• Candace (Alberta) You say 'For far too many years we have been governed by those who use regional issues to divide us as a nation.' So true. I try...
• Apologies to Nik and others on the board - I was wrong on polling method. Although two choices were asked for, only the top or first choice was used in the...
• Hi Bernie - There's a lot of truth in what you say - I do tend to agree with polls supporting the Conservatives, disagree if not the case. I think it's p...

New SES Research Poll - BQ supporters would Tilt to Tories and NDP (2007-04-17)

• Hi Nik - Congratulations! Your're ahead of the times - noone else seems to have grasped the significance of remarkable political changes, realignments in Qu...
• Glenn, Thoughtful commentary - have to disagree with high volatility in Quebec - we all have provincial elections, some of them surprising. I personall...
• Tom Good - Isn't there a Conservative presence in British Columbia at all? Why not do you think? Maybe the Conservatives will be the new center party in ...
• Pressman (Ontario) You have a jaundiced view of Quebeckers. Perhaps the Bloc may not go anywhere anytime soon, but with time think you will see its decline...
• holinm (Saskatchewan) Agree with you wholeheartedly. I think Quebeckers are more politically astute than most other Canadians - perhaps just a thing of...
• Dani, magusa (Ontario) I agree people outside Quebec can't vote for the Bloc. But suppose you lived in Quebec, and you could vote for the Bloc? - a seper...
• Bernie (Ontario) This is not such a hypothetical question - it is a shrewd look at what is happening in Quebec. Support for the Conservatives is found in al...
• But the Conservatives did not pick the wrong person to lead their party. Stephen Harper will lead a Conservative majority government which may last for Mr C...
• BBS (Ontario) You have followed federal politics longer than I have - became interested with the advent of Stephen Harper, who I feel is 'different' as not ...
• But I still ask, where are the Harper Conservatives? Why aren't they seen as a viable alternative party?
• paulex (Quebec) An interesting post. First of all I agree with your observation that Dion is pompous - to a ridiculous extent - and that Canadians have a ce...
• holinm (Saskatchewan) Stehpen Harper, an Ontarion-Albertan, an outsider to the Canadian political spectrum for the last 17 or so of past 20 years, learned t...
• Thanks, Tom, I think that clears it up a bit. But confusing is the word.
• You're probably right as to longevity of separatist parties, provincial and federal - personally would like to see at least the federal party lose a lot of m...
• hollinm (Saskatchewan) Have read a couple of books on Harper - his views as a younger man on bilingualism, at least the 'politicized' bilingualism pract...
• paulalex (Quebec) I agree Layton appears a sincere man - his position isn't enviable, always last or almost last in line - able to suggest but not put in...
• paulalex (Québec) I agree with your posits right up to the last paragraph - would enjoy advent of a 'divided right' cast out in the wilderness for a good...
• Are there idealogical differences between the PQ and the Bloc? Or is it something like a federal and provincial Liberal or Conservative party? The most s...
• paulalex - Yes a divided left it is. Guess I got too used to a divided right. I can't agree with your statements 'Quebec is nation that is inside a...
• hollinm (Saskatchewan) Harper has clearly stated that his religious views are his own, not those of his party. His action since election as PM, to defuse...
• Hi Holinm, Heard about the poll on Duffy but haven't been able to find a mention of it yet. A ten point spread doesn't surprise me in the least. Have ...
• Paulalex - you say 'Thirdly, the farcical issue of bilingualism outside of Quebec is completely irrelevant to Quebecers'. But it was the Quebecker Trudeau...
• What arrogance. Changing times - the influence of the internet alone will dissolve the concept of the 'two solitudes' - that was many years ago. T...
• 67% voted against Charest because of 1) apparently his broken promises (I don't pretend to know what they were) 2) he's a Liberal. You say 'Most Quebece...
• I not only disagree, think this comment propoganda. As far as Mr Harper's chances in the next federal election - think this poster states 'maybe' a 10% ...
• hollinm (Saskatchewan) No I hadn't read them - find it hard to follow the 'threads' on this board sometimes - but now that I have, posted a few of my own....
• paulalex (Québec) You're probably right - shouldn't have used the term 'neglected'. Perhaps 'misunderstood', 'unappreciated' would have been better. ...
• parnel (Ontario) I'm going to butt into your conversation with paulalex - disagree on so many fronts. Dion is credible where? I've found no evidence t...
• You conveniently forget that most Canadians are disgusted with the Liberal party as it stands today. You seem to think that we will all forget the hypoc...

SES Research Poll - Comfort with Harper Majority - Support/Opposition to Election Call (2007-04-12)

• Nik I take exception to the question in 3 sections of your poll, in my view slanting the results by pre-disposing respondents to judge the PM in a negative l...
• Hi bas 1809 - sorry to display my ignorance, but I don't know what your initials refer to. I too would not vote against the Harper government were an electi...
• Blossom, don't see the post from Ken re leading questions on polls. Could you direct me to this?
• Okay, think I've got two but a little cloudy on the third one. Think basically you would like more effect of each person's vote felt to elect a person,as...
• I'm learning a lot - agree that Atlantic Povinces have an unfair advantage in representation in the HofC due to riding system which basically negates rep ...
• Hi Nik, but why would he? He has said he wants to govern - the last thing he would do is go hat in hand to the the GG. The opposition can certainly br...

SES Research Poll - Best PM - Harper 42%, Dion 17%, Layton 16% (2007-04-10)

• Nik I feel a lot more comfortable with this poll than the last one. It's a great cross-section of opinion and as a loyal Tory pleased to see Mr Harper rated...

Federal Grits Drop in Quebec – Tories Still Short of Majority (2007-04-08)

• Nik Your poll results surprise me, and I am in disagreement with one of your conclusions. The latest decima poll showed a 9 point spread between Tories and...
• Hi Anvil, I too rate Nik's polls as top of the list - my comment was that the results surprised me, and they do. However I reiterate that a 'new' sponsers...
• Mr McOrmond, Your knowledge of environmental matters greatly outweighs mine. But I do feel the environment issue, in particular Kyoto, is one that may pr...
• Re the lack of 'marketing - education' by opposition parties - If you are correct, perhaps Mr Dion doesn't want to explain to Canadians why he, as Environme...
• Bernie, I completely agree.
• Platty, Alberta - Sorry I think in error expressed agreement with Bernie, while I meant to agree with your thoughts. The differences between Mr Harper's ...
• Fuzzy, I quote from your post: 'This would give Dion an opportunity to call a Royal Commission investigation in the Ad Agency political contributions and ...
• Ken the effects of adscam, resurrected with Mr Lafleur's problems, may have short-lived consequence in Quebec, although I doubt it - this will not be so in...
• It's difficult to converse with someone who uses phrases as 'the hatred of the Canadian people' ----- 'ultra right wing government'------ 'morons kicked ...
• To your question - I think it should more properly be - if you're the opposition parties - do you call an election or not? Mr Harper will not call an elec...
• Just as I thought, you are a real 'class act' - deduct a couple of letters, you'll know the ones I mean. Your bullying tactics are more suited to a schoo...
• Ken Chapman Doesn't your first paragraph basically agree with what I am saying, that the money flowed from the top? How did the Montreal volunteers of t...
• Bernie, I live in a rather remote part of the country, and Adscam was a big deal for me. I think many Liberals would like to believe the effects were fe...
• Russell McOrmond - a great post. But - taking your last paragraph first - you are stating that Kyoto is a 'massive debt' that Paul Martin hid from the publi...
• Ken Chapman - 'they enabled the money to flow' - doesn't that say it all? I go back to my original statements - it is my belief that the federal Liberal ...
• Hi Regina B B - If ever a man was 'damned if he does' and 'damned if he doesn't' it's Stephen Harper. Listened to commentary I think on CTV last eveni...
• The national press has shown bias against Stephen Harper from Day One, and it's constant. If they can't get bad news for him in the story itself, they'll t...
• If your interpretation of debt is a debt owed by Canada to make the world a better place environmentally, because Canada is in contrast to developing nation...
• Have friends in Newfoundland who say this time Danny went over the top even for them, getting some home grown criticism even from editorials. Flip-floppi...
• paulalex (Québec) Quite right. That didn't even occur to me. I've often thought I'd like to have access online to the leading French language newspa...
• paulalex (Québec) You say 'When I read what is written in English about Quebec I often feel as though I have fallen through the looking glass. It seems...

SES Quebec Provincial Election Poll in Sunday's La Presse (2007-03-17)

• Hi Nik, It appears from your poll that the Liberals are heading for another majority government, at the least a strong minority. Mario Dumont in second pla...
• Ken, I also would like to see a poll following Mr Haper's budget - I think you may be surprised at the 'traction', as you put it, behind the Harper governme...
• Ken, Find your views puzzling. In your first post - a 'bad' election in Quebec - presumably a sudden rise in the fortunes of the PQ - would be to you a goo...
• Hi Ken thanks for your courteous and thoughtful reply. But again, take issue in some regards: it appears to me obvious that strong federalism in Quebec c...

The Green Party: Political Force or Political Phantom? (2007-03-04)

• I am not sure that the Greens have momentum, but that the Environment has momentum. Have not read about the abortion issue, but would be interested in her v...
• Ken, I agree with your analysis of the numbers. This week is interesting in Quebec - it looks as if Mario Dumont is coming up the middle there. A different ...