09.06.2011 08:58 PM

Dalton, unplugged

No edits, no fancy stuff.  And, mostly, it reminds me why I’m a Liberal, and why I support this remarkable guy.

24 Comments

  1. Cynical says:

    When Mr. McGuinty originally ran for office, I was not that impressed. That was a mistake. He’s given Ontario sound, middle-of-the-road government in challenging times, a bit like a Liberal version of Bill Davis.
    We could do a lot worse. And sometimes we should remind ourselves what worse could be.
    Greg, in Gibsons, returning home to vote.

  2. Michael S says:

    Well, there’s your ballot question right there.

  3. Pete says:

    Great stuff and I hope the Harpercrite and his puppets were watching as well. Their entry into this election is good for the libs

  4. Robert White says:

    So let me see if I understand this:
    Dalton hopes to win the votes of Ontario by promising to help future residents of Ontario find a job by promising present employers in Ontario a tax credit of $10,000 when they hire someone who cannot even vote in this election.
    Has anyone in the Liberal party, including Kinsella, stopped to think that the votes they are trolling for in the immigrant community with this idiotic promise will not be sympathetic to the Liberals when they realize that the $10,000 promise will not help them.
    I expect there will be some serious informing going on in the next few days and when the people realize what a cynical, divisive move this is by the Liberals, then it will soon become apparent that Dalton has handed the Tories a majorityl

    • Pat says:

      Not future residents, he’ll be helping current residents of Ontario that just happen to have arrived recently. You know, those incredibly well-educated people who drive cabs, or work behind the counter of your local convenience store. There is a guy in London who works at a Mac’s Variety who has a PhD in Chemistry. Are you telling me we couldn’t use that guy’s brainpower for something better than selling chips and chocolate bars? Some of these people may not be able to vote in this election, but you know who will vote – all those people who wish they had this opportunity, or who can still use this opportunity. As far as I can tell, this policy is about certification, so I don’t see the problem if an M.D. from Russia who currently drives a cab in Ontario, and who has lived here for 5-10 years, gets an opportunity to use his/her education for the betterment of Ontario.

      Cynical, divisive move by the Liberals? They basically ripped off a PC policy that they knew would go down the toilet now that the PC party is controlled by the Landowners Association and other radical right wingers – many of whom are xenophobic nativists who hate anyone who isn’t exactly like them. The PC party as it is today is about a mile further right than the Harris government of the 1990s – and the radical right wing is approaching fascism (test me on this claim, I dare you – my guess is that I know my history better than you).

  5. SteveV says:

    If we see that guy in the debate, we’re golden. Don’t over prep him!

  6. Golfrgrl says:

    Possible answer as to why Libs didn’t support was Hudak only took it to 1st reading. Another example of throwing something out with no idea whether he believes in it. Committed to nothing.

  7. Mike London says:

    I totally agree with everything Mr. McGuinty said in that clip. However, I grew up in small-town, rural Ontario. This one tiny issue is red meat to angry white guys who feel they are not fairly treated. I hope this is not going to be a repeat of how the 1995 campaign went, with that total war on disabled people, and those on welfare. Mr. Hudak, by his reaction on this issue, is showing how desperate he is for power, and is entirely willing to cater to the worst in people. I hope it backfires.

  8. Mike says:

    I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting Mr. McGuinty. He seems to me a remarkably down to earth gentleman in the truest sense of the word. I only hope the public starts to see how his middle of the road pragmatism combined with his visionary future are best for Ontario. In contrast Mr. Hudak inspires me to move to Alberta or BC.

    • Pat says:

      He is an absolutely wonderful guy – I’ve met him a couple of times at municipal events. Andrea Horwath is very nice too – I had a long conversation with her at the ROMA/OGRA Conference in 2010. Tim, when I met him, was finding ways of weaseling out of every conversation he was in – AT A PC EVENT!

  9. Rick Thomson says:

    Spin, Spin, Spin & Tax ,Tax, Tax. Remarkable on how he thinks Ontario voters are going to accept his policies. The one reporter asked him what about the parents who spend thousand of dollars to send their child to University and then will have to compete with the $10,000.00 offered to employers to hire an immigrant over a Canadian grad? Did anyone notice that he spun the question and never answered the question.

    Keep up the scare tatics because it is going to backfire on you guys. Tea Party . Yeh right.

    • Donald says:

      So, basically, your imagined aggrieved group is composed of young locally-born Canadians with professional degrees who have parents rich enough to pay their way through school. Here’s a dramatic prediction: They’ll still do fine.

  10. Pat says:

    The people who that new Ontarian policy addresses are people who can fill gaps that we currently have – doctors, nurses, pharmacists, etc. If your kid goes through university and becomes one of those things, they will have a job, guaranteed.

  11. Michael S says:

    You defined your oppo in a week. With some help from them, of course. Nice. Quick work too. Not sure if it was strategy or opportunitism, but it doesn’t matter. Oppotunism is more impressive, it means you turned on a dime, and your bosses listened. If that’s the case Dalton deserves to be Premier. As we both know, Warren, one must choose one’s bosses carefully.

    The Landowners can have the boondocks. 56+1 will be won and lost in the suburbs.
    Future Prime Minister Jason Kenny knows that very well.

    • Donald says:

      I don’t mean to be prejudiced against Kenney but I can’t see Canada electing someone with Stockaholism. I know there are treatment options that can help him maintain but the risks of a full-blown flat-tax and jet-ski relapse are worrisome.

      • Michael S says:

        You don’t understand how much it pains me to admit that Jason Kenny knows what he’s doing, but he knows what he is doing. Remember when Liberal leadership candidates called in their ethnic voter chips? Jason has a steamroller waiting for the next Conservative party leadership campaign.

        • Donald says:

          I sort of hoped that the Liberal Democrats could pick one of those co-op placement MPs from Quebec as leader and they’d still trounce Kenney if he were in. But then again I once met Stephen Harper and thought “nice guy but he’ll never be Prime Minister.”

          • The Doctor says:

            I wish I had a dollar for every time somebody said some politician will never be Prime Minister/President, etc., and then that same politician ended up winning.

            Tons and tons of people swore Ronald Reagan would never ever be elected President of the US. I’m old enough to remember that. Same goes for FDR, Truman, JFK, Nixon etc.

            The essential error is narcissism in the eye of the prognosticator, i.e., thinking that because you would never vote for that guy, nobody else would either.

            The best political strategists and prognosticators (and journalists) have objectivity and empathy — the ability to see how others see things (including, most importantly, other people they may disagree with and even actively dislike). A lot of political partisans don’t have this quality, and they end up making spectacularly wrong calls as a result. Recent case in point — the Liberal Party of Canada triggering an election when they were 10 points behind in the polls, yet somehow convinced that they could get Canadians to “rise up”. Dumb dumb dumb.

  12. White Robert says:

    Nothing is more cynical and divisive than helping new Canadian citizens get jobs, and allowing the economy to benefit from their skills.

    Let’s support Tim Hudak’s optimistic and unifying politics of attacking foreigners. Racists of the world unite.

  13. A. Cynic says:

    Bravo, Mr. WK, Can you please give details on Hudak’s Private Member’s Bill – I would like to post it on a Facebook group. Thank you.

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