Great Powers piece on Ambrose

I agree with most of what my brother Powers says: she’s entitled to have a dissenting view, but – given the position she holds, and the position she took – she bloody well be ready to explain herself.  She didn’t.

It’s obviously a mistake to think that a certain demographic (in this case, women) are wholly of one view on a contentious subject (in this case, when life begins).  Not all Conservatives are pro-life, not all Liberals are pro-choice, for example; the vote reflected that.

As Tim notes, having a view not shared by most women is not Ambrose’s sin.  Her sin is being unwilling (or unable) to explain why she voted the way she did.  I doubt that it’s fatal to her career, but I am reasonably confident that she did herself no favours, at all, in the eyes of one Stephen Harper, MP.

Who, by the by, voted with most Liberals and New Democrats.


Ford follies: the noose tightens

Earl Provost, one of Mayor Rob Ford’s top advisors, personally urged Queen’s Park to help bankroll $2.8 million in renovations to Don Bosco Catholic Secondary School’s football facilities, the Star has learned.

The unusual appeal for financial help for the football team coached by Ford was made on March 3 — a Saturday — and there was urgency to the request, sources say.

Despite controversy swirling around his gridiron activities, the mayor refused comment on Thursday.


Holy camoly

The NDP are four points ahead of the Conservatives? Wow!

Sets up my Sunday Sun column, nicely, however.  Free snippet:

Among Liberals, there isn’t much dispute that the cabal of staffers who did the work, the Conservative Research Group (CRG), did their jobs very well. CRG helped remove Paul Martin from power, and made mincemeat of Stéphane Dion and Michael Ignatieff.   They folded, spindled, and mutilated successive Liberal leaders – and policies – with brutal efficiency.

Since obtaining a Parliamentary majority, the CRG kill machine has gone napping.  They have barely taken note of the selection of Angry Tom Mulcair as leader of the New Democrats.  They have done nothing to maul Mulcair in the way that they mauled Martin, Dion and Ignatieff.  As a result, successive polls have shown the NDP at, or near, Conservative Party support levels.

A very senior Harper-circle thinker recently acknowledged that the Conservatives have, indeed, cooled it on the daily campaign stuff.  The reason? Finally securing a Parliamentary majority.  That, and staffer fatigue.  “It was exhausting,” said this fellow, who would know. “But they’ll be back.”