04.25.2013 12:53 PM

Leave Tim Hudak’s wife alone (updated)

Going after Deb Hutton?  Seriously?

That’s going way too far. It’s shameful, in fact.

Spouses, and families, are always off-limits.

If I was still involved, this wouldn’t be happening.  I can guarantee you of that.

UPDATE:  More here.

14 Comments

  1. David says:

    Ok yah but wasn’t Hutton really the puppet master who ran Mike Harris’s Common Sense Revolution and isn’t she the Nancy Regan to Hudak as Ronald? I know family is off limits but she is a player. No? Of course it does give the Tories a great change to run a picture of her holding her kid in in the National Post and softens Tim’s image. Thanks Bob Delaney you just helped Hudak score points on your team. Amateur.

  2. partrick says:

    True if the spouse isn’t part of the political mix other than by association, not so much if they are political players in the foreground or background.

  3. Inge says:

    Deb Hutton is not just the simple aupportive wife and mother in the background. She and Leslie Noble were indeed the mini-Thatchers behind the throne of Harris – never forget him.

    • Warren says:

      Most disagree with you.

    • Ted B says:

      I agree Inge, but she is out of politics now and the political reaction and cost just isn’t worth it, unless she’s done something quite egregious.

      You wouldn’t want the Conservatives doing the same to us would you?

      This would be like Conservatives going after a Liberal leader’s wife’s citizenship. Oh, wait. The Conservatives did that.

      Maybe like Conservatives going after a Liberal leader’s brother and how much he speaks with his brother. Oh, wait. The Conservatives did that.

      Or like Conservatives going after a Liberal leader’s children and how connected he is with them. Oh, wait. The Conservatives did that.

      Maybe like conservatives (Republicans) going after a liberal leader’s wife for eating a hamburger. Oh, wait. Republican conservatives did that too.

      OK, we don’t do it because it’s wrong. Not because we think the Conservatives will stop doing it.

  4. John Wright says:

    It’s all inside baseball. It doesn’t difine anything except the past, not the future. As I’ve said before, Ms. Horwath can stand back and say “Hey, look at those two mud wrestling…it’s time for a change…I will actually be doing your work instead of working other people over…”…Liberal’s: move on…you have been pounded to pieces on the Gas Plant and are just reminding people that it was on your watch…you are keeping a story alive instead of taking new ground…I agree with Warren…Deb, who I know, should not be on the target list of anyone for the reason’s I’ve stated…it just keeps the issue you are wearing and want to go away keep coming back for more…

    • Cath says:

      it just looks like a desperate move. Which it is.
      Agree w/your take on Horwath.
      I’m pretty pissed at how politics is unfolding in this country/province, a change is definitely in the cards and I’m at the point of indecision. Similar to when Eve’s was Premier. Just not feeling very loyal these days. My time and money are worth more, so I’m expecting MUCH more of my elected reps. at all levels.
      I thought I was alone on this. I’m not.

  5. Graham says:

    Serious question:

    Would you consider Sacha Trudeau off limits? He’s Justin’s brother , but he is also one of Justin’s inner circle of advisors.

    Sacha has made some very questionable documentaries and written some questionable pieces, such as the one praising Fidel Castro, the documentary that was highly critical of Isreal, and most recently one co produced by Iranian state run television claiming the world is wrong and Iran’s nuclear program is strictly for peaceful purposes.

    Can people go after Sacha or is he off limits because he’s Justin’s brother?

    Can Justin’s judgement de questioned for giving Sacha a job as an advisor on foreign policy?

  6. Stephen Skyvington says:

    http://www.thewhig.com/2013/04/25/hudaks-tories-look-poised-to-take-power-in-next-election

    POLITICS

    Hudak’s Tories look poised to take power in next election

    By Stephen Skyvington

    Thursday, April 25, 2013 8:59:07 EDT PM

    Former Prime Minister John Diefenbaker once famously said: “Polls are for dogs.” While it’s hard to argue with Dief, an Ipsos Reid poll released on Wednesday says a lot about the volatile political landscape here in Ontario.

    The pollster surveyed 1,360 Ontarians Roughly 37% said they’d vote for Tim Hudak’s Progressive Conservatives, while 29% said they’d cast their ballot for the NDP, led by Andrea Horwath. Twenty-eight per cent of decided voters said they’d support Kathleen Wynne’s Liberals.

    Although Hudak finds himself with 5% less support than he had going into the 2011 provincial election, he’s actually in better shape because the NDP and Liberals are in a virtual tie. With the two parties on the left splitting the vote in many ridings—particularly in the seat-rich GTA—the PC leader should have no trouble finding the 25 or so urban seats he needs to add to his current total of rural Ontario seats to form a solid majority government.

    Even more telling than the so-called “horse race” numbers, however, are the following gems:

    Fifty-four per cent of those responding to the survey say the province is heading in the wrong direction, while only 46% say the province is on the right track. Sixty-six per cent say it’s time for another political party to take over. And the big one—only 34% say the government has done a good job and deserves to be re-elected.

    But the real news is buried even deeper in the poll. Hudak and Wynne are tied at 32% for who would make the best premier. Horwath trails with 30%. Further down, we discover that there is a three-way tie when it comes to things such as honesty, the ability to compromise, and who would best handle our healthcare system.

    So, how does one interpret all this?

    Well, for one thing, the honeymoon is definitely over for Premier McWynnety and her Liberals. Despite her best efforts to present herself as something fresh, new and different, the fact is no one seems to be buying it, based on the poll. It also hasn’t helped that the “seat saver” scandal continues to dominate the headlines, as more slime oozes out of the hearings into the decision to cancel the Mississauga gas plant.

    For another, voters seem to be losing patience with Andrea Horwath. She’s friendly, she’s feisty and she’s very good with the media. Unfortunately, she appears to stand for nothing and is ready to fall for anything. Propping up an unpopular pack of losers and storytellers like the Liberals definitely looks like it’s beginning to come back to haunt Horwath and the NDP.

    As for Tim Hudak, voters seem to be discovering that maybe he isn’t so scary after all. In fact, he’s actually rather likeable. Combine this with the fact that Hudak’s PC party is the only one churning out policy papers and talking about actual solutions to what ails our province, and you’ve got a premier-in-waiting—at least in the minds of those polled by Ipsos Reid.

    In fact, of the three party leaders currently vying for the top job in Ontario, Tim Hudak is clearly the brightest, the best qualified, and the one who cares the most and is talking about the things Ontarians think most important.

    He’s also very, very funny. I remember attending the annual PC Party leader’s dinner just before the 1999 election. A bus rolled onto the floor of the big ballroom at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. All the nominated candidates got off the bus and stepped up onto the platform. Along the way, someone stuck a microphone in front of a very youthful Tim Hudak and asked if he was the youngest member of the PC Party currently serving as an MPP.

    Without missing a beat, Hudak said: “I’m not the youngest, but I am the most immature.”

    Fourteen years later, the sense of humour is still intact—as is the mettle and maturity necessary for the task at hand. Of that, you can rest assured.

    Of course, much can happen between now and the next election, whenever it’s called. Horwath and the NDP might save the Liberals for a second straight year by supporting the upcoming budget. Patrick Dillon and Working Families Coalition are also likely to once again distort the facts and spend millions to keep their buddies, the Liberals, in power for another few years.

    And then there’s always the campaign itself. As we’ve seen only too often in the past, campaigns matter. So do voters.

    But if the current numbers hold and the trends emerging from the latest Ipsos Reid poll continue, Ontario will soon be witnessing the kind of change they haven’t seen since the days of Mike Harris and the Common Sense Revolution.

    Stephen Skyvington is the President of PoliTrain Inc. and can be reached at politrain@sympatico.ca.

  7. David says:

    Stephen Skyvington. I’m sure this is a nice feel good article for Tea Party Tories but the reality is most people live in the middle and are afraid of Tim Hudak and his zealots. When the writ is dropped the unions are going to outspend Tim and scare the pants off of the voters. Nothing motivates like fear and fear of the PC Tea Party will resonate throughout the living rooms and soccer pitches of Ontario. The fact is the PCs would be better off right now with John Tory at the helm but hey that as they say is history.

    • Michael says:

      David, I think you hit the nail on the head. I think if we have another election we will end up with very similar results. As much as I would like to see a different outcome.

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