quote:

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Originally posted by shaselai:
interesting points but let me riddle you this - Why is Sarah Palin still relevant?

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As bad as I think Palin is... her profession actually is politician. The same cannot be said for Trump, who is a business owner/reality tv guy. I guess now that I think about it, if Ross Perot can run, and Arnold Schwartzenager can run, why not Trump right? I dunno, it just seems like he's being postured as the prime candidate, at least from my POV. I feel like they could have come up with someone way better.

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Originally posted by Goaswerfraiejen:
OMFG, WTF?!?!

*NDP at 104 seats and counting?! WOW! That's fantastic!
*Elizabeth May gets a seat: finally!

*Tory majority despite the NDP getting 104 seats: DEVASTATING.
*Loss of Duceppe's seat, Bloc's crushing: sad face.

I think I'm going to be sick.

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"Hello, I'm the left wing politics in Canada and I just handed Harper a majority because we caused a lot of vote splitting and allowed the Tories to win when they shouldn't have."

Welcome to four years of Herr Harper. Brush up on your marching and saluting because Herr Harper is here to stay. Not looking forward to the next four years. Harper is such a duche bag. I would be very happy with the election results if Harper weren't the Prime Minister.

P.S. Goas, what riding are you in?

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Originally posted by sys41o:
"Hello, I'm the left wing politics in Canada and I just handed Harper a majority because we caused a lot of vote splitting and allowed the Tories to win when they shouldn't have."

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Whatever happened, it happened in Ontario, and not across the entire country. Otherwise, the NDP wouldn't have more seats than the Liberals have had in years. Whether splitting was entirely to blame or whether the Tories just made strong inroads in the GTA that the rest of us couldn't challenge is another question entirely. I'm not comfortable blaming the left, however: they came into the election fractured, and nearly came out of it on top. The trouble was that the Liberals lost basically all of Ontario, and most of us didn't think the losses would be so extreme (we'd though 2008 was the nadir). It happens. Strategic voting is a pile of crap, however, and it was sickening to hear the Grits and Tories repeating the mantra that they're the natural governing parties. I'm glad for the reversal on that front.

quote:

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Welcome to four years of Herr Harper. Brush up on your marching and saluting because Herr Harper is here to stay. Not looking forward to the next four years. Harper is such a duche bag. I would be very happy with the election results if Harper weren't the Prime Minister.

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I agree. On the other hand, it may not all be as bad as it looks right now (I'm holding on to this slim hope pretty tightly). I don't think that Harper can continue to govern as he has for the last five years without provoking another separatist crisis in Québec (all indications are that the PQ will be back in power next year, and the entire province clearly voted the opposite of the rest of the country, which sets the stage for some tension). Particularly radical policies are not going to fly very well, so I suspect Harper will be sticking to tamer reforms once he's done away with the per-vote subsidy and completed his prison/plane spending spree (I suspect these are the more controversial issues that will be passed early on so that we forget them; the rest should be pretty tame, albeit perhaps still undesirable. No doubt there will be glaring silences, such as on the environment).

The more radical and awful the governance, the more likely the Tories will be out of power for years to come. So yeah, maybe the fact that he's no longer obliged to compromise on legislation means that he'll govern better. We can hope. At this point, we can't do much else. At least the NDP will gain more experience, and has gained credibility as a plausible alternative. The main question is how far down the well the policies that WILL be implemented will end up throwing us. The prison and plane spending, at least, is just money. The per-vote subsidy, however, is going to profoundly affect the political landscape. Because the NDP did as well as it did, I suspect it will do quite well even without the subsidy--but will it do as well as the Tories? And what about what's left of the Liberals, Bloc, and Greens?

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P.S. Goas, what riding are you in?

Are you in one of the four ridings that are represented by former McGill students or are you in the riding where the candidate spent more time in Las Vegas then on the campaign trail?

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None of the above: Québec has more than five ridings, you know. I'm in one of the few Liberal ridings left, Westmount Ville-Marie. The astronaut's riding. Marc Garneau barely squeaked past the NDP candidate here. My mother and stepfather, however, are in two former Bloc ridings that went NDP.

__________________
"I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each. I do not think they will sing to me." -T.S. Eliot

RIP Ari

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Originally posted by Goaswerfraiejen:
None of the above: Québec has more than five ridings, you know. I'm in one of the few Liberal ridings left, Westmount Ville-Marie. The astronaut's riding. Marc Garneau barely squeaked past the NDP candidate here. My mother and stepfather, however, are in two former Bloc ridings that went NDP.

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I know Quebec has more then five ridings. Was just checking to see if you were in one of the ridings that made the news.

This is a bit late but here is the link that has most of the information in the article that I read. Funny how not that the election is over most of the mud-slinging articles are gone.

http://www.metafilter.com/103197/Jane-Corwin-Standing-Next-to-Fire-Trucks

__________________
Ebay problems?
File a claim, leave a neg, buy on MOTL.

quote:

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Originally posted by Tha Gunslinga:
This is way too good:

http://www.metafilter.com/103197/Jane-Corwin-Standing-Next-to-Fire-Trucks

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__________________
"I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each. I do not think they will sing to me." -T.S. Eliot

RIP Ari

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Originally posted by Goaswerfraiejen:
...and the Conservative backtracking on campaign promises begins. At least that's the big one everyone who didn't vote Tory knew was going to end up being thrown out the window. We just didn't expect it quite so soon. I hope this gets Conservative voters thinking about who they've just elected to run this country.

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Originally posted by Volcanon:
Remember when they promised senate reform?

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Yeah, but I feel like I'm the only one who ever harps (teehee) on that any more. If we were building a list, of course, we'd have to add healthcare overhaul, income trusts, the Atlantic Accord... I'm certain there are far more, but those are the major ones that spring to my mind.

EDIT: Just to point out that the (magical) elimination of the deficit by 2014-15 was essentially the cornerstone of the Tory platform. Subtract that, and all you're left with are the F35 and prison purchases, and the elimination of the long-gun registry and the per-vote subsidy. In other words, they're not left with a whole lot to stand on, and none of it is particularly positive.

__________________
"I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each. I do not think they will sing to me." -T.S. Eliot

RIP Ari

He's out of office, doesn't want to seek a seat in Congress and can't seek the presidency, so his political career is over, but that hasn't stopped pundits from making political hay of this news.

I can understand how it's tantalizing gossip, but not really how it's politically relevant, given that the far more pressing issue is how Gov. Brown and the CA Legislature will pass a 2012 budget given the staggering deficit of California.

What I'm having difficulty understanding are the comments being made. I'm not a big fan of the two-party system in the first place, but I especially hate it when one entire party is demonized for the faults of one of its members. When I broke up with my ex-girlfriend, I didn't say that all {ethinic group} are {NSFW}. I didn't blame women in general and disavow myself of any connections with any of them. I didn't say that men were superior to women.

I don't think that his affair is indicative of all members of his party. They aren't all cheating scumbags just because he had an affair. AS has been known to be something of a womanizer for decades. Nor is it fair to categorically dismiss Maria, the Shrivers, or the Kennedys all as living doormats who put up with men like that for the sake of their political careers. Again, this is only ONE PERSON.

__________________
"I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each. I do not think they will sing to me." -T.S. Eliot

RIP Ari

quote:

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Originally posted by Goaswerfraiejen:
I've heard some people guessing that he may be aiming at the EU presidency. Any thoughts on that matter?

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I've heard those rumors, too.

However:

- Trying to run for political office after admitting to an affair is difficult.

- Trying to get elected without a wife seems tricky, too, but I don't know the temperment of those who would elect him.

- In the U.S. every couple of years there are always people who are rumored to be possibly making a run for the White House and nothing comes of it. Often, a possible candidate's interest has to be weighed against what actual polling numbers show. I'm not sure that his virtual resume is looking too appealing at the moment.

quote:

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Originally posted by Goaswerfraiejen:
...and the Conservative backtracking on campaign promises begins. At least that's the big one everyone who didn't vote Tory knew was going to end up being thrown out the window. We just didn't expect it quite so soon. I hope this gets Conservative voters thinking about who they've just elected to run this country.

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Anyone who didn't see this one coming is clearly delusional. With all of the money that he has committed to spend in the next 3 to 5 years there is no way he can balance the budget without gutting other programs or raising taxes.

I do believe that people considered Herr Harper the person to vote for because they didn't want a minority. Not a very good excuse to vote for him but I heard a lot of people use that reasoning to validate why they voted for him. Most of the people I know don't trust him.

As far as balancing the budget, I think this is a moot point. I don't think that your average Canadian cares. As long as the Conservatives keep creating jobs and keep the economy rolling they will overlook these types of things ... as disappointing as it may seem.

I disagree with Herr Harper using this tactic as part of his election platform. However he will simply use the age old tactic of denial when he is put to task during the next election. "The economist in 2010/2011 said it could be done but the economy changed and prevented us from reaching our goals. Don't blame us. The international economy is not under our control.". That is exactly what he is going to say and for the most part he will get a way with it unless the economy completely melts down because people have short memories.

As for Arnold running for E.U. presidency in comparison having a love child isn't that bad. Some of the countries that make up the E.U. have such sleazy and corrupt politics that a love child doesn't even make a blip on the social radar. Italy and France anyone?

http://www.rawstory.com/rawreplay/2011/05/obamas-car-gets-stuck-outside-u-s-embassy-in-dublin/

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Originally posted by bigbob585:
FTW!

http://www.rawstory.com/rawreplay/2011/05/obamas-car-gets-stuck-outside-u-s-emba ssy-in-dublin/

On a side note, if Palin does win she'll fix the unemployment rate in record time because so many people will be leaving the country.

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quote:

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Originally posted by hammr7:
Maybe yes, maybe no. All the people I hear threatening to leave happen to be quite skilled workers. Unless we are going to dumb down the whole society (I guess that is a possibility) having people leave doesn't mean that suitable replacements exist.

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quote:

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Originally posted by Volcanon:
Palin is only good in comparison to Trump. They are both hypocrites and generally an embarrassment to civilization. Why can't the republicans put up somebody intelligent?

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Palin has the "anger energy" that the tea party faction is seeking. It doesn't matter that she is clueless about so many subjects, and that she can't speak coherently without a teleprompter. She voices anger against the government establishment, and that's as far as tea partiers pay attention (heaven forbid that they ponder loss of THEIR Social Security and Medicare benefits).

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Originally posted by super324:
welp newt is done, with all the problems hes had lately and then literally alluding to McCarthyism in a positive light he will be out within the week.

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Shame. At least he had the balls to point out ryan's plan is just right-wing social engineering.

In other news, sarah plain reached a new level of stupid **** when she failed to know who Paul revere is. How has she lived for 40+ years and remembered how to breathe?

quote:

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Originally posted by Bugger:
Shame. At least he had the balls to point out ryan's plan is just right-wing social engineering.

In other news, sarah plain reached a new level of stupid **** when she failed to know who Paul revere is. How has she lived for 40+ years and remembered how to breathe?

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quote:

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Originally posted by Bugger:
Shame. At least he had the balls to point out ryan's plan is just right-wing social engineering.

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He just got lucky that his random babbling hit close to the truth for once. Gingrich is a real moron--or, rather, he's at the very least a massive greed-bag that'll say anything at all (no matter how odious) to advance his cause (himself), which generally leads to moronic statements.

quote:

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In other news, sarah plain reached a new level of stupid **** when she failed to know who Paul revere is. How has she lived for 40+ years and remembered how to breathe?

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While I enjoy her many gaffes (and far be it from me to defend her), my understanding--based on the coverage here--is that she got it more or less right, if poorly expressed. I mean, she was just stepping out of an hour-long (or thereabouts) history lesson and tour, right? So she was trying to recite whatever it was they just finished telling her about Paul Revere, part of which doubtless had to do with the fact that he also warned the British, as per this diary entry (spelling is from the original text):

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I observed a Wood at a Small distance, & made for that. When I got there, out Started Six officers, on Horse back,and orderd me to dismount;-one of them, who appeared to have the command, examined me, where I came from,& what my Name Was? I told him. it was Revere, he asked if it was Paul? I told him yes He asked me if I was an express? I answered in the afirmative. He demanded what time I left Boston? I told him; and aded, that their troops had catched aground in passing the River, and that There would be five hundred Americans there in a short time, for I had alarmed the Country all the way up. He imediately rode towards those who stoppd us, when all five of them came down upon a full gallop; one of them, whom I afterwards found to be Major Mitchel, of the 5th Regiment, Clapped his pistol to my head, called me by name, & told me he was going to ask me some questions, & if I did not give him true answers, he would blow my brains out. He then asked me similar questions to those above. He then orderd me to mount my Horse, after searching me for arms.

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She definitely garbled it up (what with the bells and shots and things), but it seems to me that the uproar is about the British being warned rather than the American townsfolk. But that claim seems to have at least a kernel of truth. Of course, based on the garbed words that she spewed, it's hard to tell whether that was what she meant at all. Maybe not, but I'm happy enough to give her the benefit of not too much doubt, since she did just step out of a guided tour.

__________________
"I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each. I do not think they will sing to me." -T.S. Eliot

RIP Ari

Newt apparently makes between $5 million and $10 million per year, and has virtually all his expenses paid by his PAC, by being relevant. The Republican Party seems to have few highly-public "intellectuals" these days, so Newt mines that piece of turf.

Sarah has gone from making good money to making $5 to $10 million per year as the emotional leader of anger articulation. Facts don't matter and coherence doesn't matter. As long as she is "mad as hell" and "not going to take it any more" she can rile the tea party base into a frenzy. Her recent bus "vacation" for her and her family was completely paid for by her PAC.

Newt has been milking the gravy train for over a decade. He was finally forced to actually declare he was running or risk being considered passe. The way he is campaigning is a parody of "The Producers". The longer he is an actual candidate, the more he gains in credibility, but the more he loses monetarily, so he has to do his best to sabotage his campaign (he's doing a great job so far). Once he drops out he can return to the Newt, Inc. money machine, hopefully (in his mind) with new-found right-wing credibility.