A black cat just crossed my path. Being a descendant of a superstitious, backward people, this immediately terrified me.
I considered backing up down the street, but this would have meant slamming into at least two cars behind me. I therefore cast an ancient Gaelic curse (“Dóite agus loisceadh ort!”) on them, and deflected the black cat bad luck.
The day thus repaired, I carried on merrily.
But, by all means, they should keep at it, Mr. Speaker. They are making a bad situation worse. For themselves.”
I don’t know a lot, but I think I know a little bit about how Prime Ministers think. So, when the Wall Street Journal writes that “members of the ruling Conservative Party attempted to suppress opposing votes in the May 2011 election,” important people notice. And not just in Canada, either.
In places like the White House, that story is being read, and Stephen Harper is increasingly being measured in an entirely new (and, for him, entirely unwanted) way.
“Did you get there, Steve,” they ask themselves, “by cheating?”
Liberal and NDP politicians in Ontario say some of the alleged dirty tricks used in the federal election also surfaced in last fall’s provincial campaign.
Just like the federal contest, Ontario’s election featured automated calling machines with messages directed at voters.
Several Ontario candidates say there were messages designed to mislead voters — although none that said their polling station had been changed at the last minute, as is alleged in the federal vote.
Ontario Liberals, who were reduced to a minority government, say they were targeted in several ridings with so-called robocalls to voters suggesting they were going to set up a provincial gun registry as the federal registry was wound down.
The Harper Government™ “categorically” played no role in defrauding voters says, er, Harper.
Forget about the Conservative staffer they fired. Forget about the Conservative firm that was hit with an RCMP search warrant a few days ago. Forget about the Conservative firm facing Elections Canada questions next week. Forget about the 41 ridings now linked to Conservative electoral fraud. Forget about all that.
We didn’t do it, says the leader of the Conservative Party.
Well, I’d say that clears up the matter, wouldn’t you? Nothing to see here, move along.
Gotcha.
Because – and I say this as a Church-going one, now in the first week of Lenten observance (no hooch!) – modern Catholics are way more liberal than far-right lunatics like Santorum. We left his ilk behind back in the Middle Ages.
Saying JFK made him want to “throw up” wasn’t such a good idea, either. In Irish Catholic households, we still regard that man as our King (much like our Uncrowned King, Parnell, which is a story for another day).
That said, the longer Santorum’s in the race, the happier I am. He’s practically guaranteeing an Obama victory in the Fall.
Suddenly, Krista starts speaking loudly in tongues. I remain calm, but alert.