Middle son to father, as he closely examines my forehead
Him: “Daddy.”
Me: “Hmmm?”
Him: “Your eyebrows are super long.”
Me: “Really?”
Him: “Yeah, Dad.”
[Long pause.]
Him: “Dad, you look like a catfish.”
Me: “Ouch.”
Him: “Daddy.”
Me: “Hmmm?”
Him: “Your eyebrows are super long.”
Me: “Really?”
Him: “Yeah, Dad.”
[Long pause.]
Him: “Dad, you look like a catfish.”
Me: “Ouch.”
I can’t stop Twitter from auto-refreshing in Safari. It’s driving me crazy. There. Said that in 140 characters or less. Anyone got a fix?
Tim made a brief reference to the Ontario race. Since that contest hasn’t been covered so much in these pages—and since the political significance of Jack Layton’s passing has been covered extensively—let me offer some perspectives on federal politics from inside the Ontario Liberal war room.
For those who still cling to the view that Stephen Harper is a Master Strategist, take my word for it—he isn’t. In fact, if Ontario Tea Party leader Tim Hudak loses on Oct. 6—and I believe he will—Harper is one of the three federal Conservatives who will share the blame.
The second federal Conservative to hammer Hudak’s chances was Harper crony, and MP, Scott Reid. With his immense personal wealth, Reid bankrolled a coup against progressive Ontario PCs, and helped finance his Ontario Landowner Association pals Randy Hillier and Jack MacLaren. With Reid’s help, Hillier and MacLaren split the Ontario PCs into two warring camps. And Hudak’s inability—or unwillingness—to deal with the resulting rebellion led to his two predecessors, Ernie Eves and John Tory, to denounce the Ontario PCs. The party is now like the federal Conservatives in 1993—Reformers on one side, and truly progressive Conservatives on the other. Both sides despise each other.
The third federal Conservative to play a role in the destruction of Hudak—who, remember, had a double-digit lead over my party for a year—was his campaign manager, tobacco lobbyist Mark Spiro. Spiro, who advertised the fact that he was a member of Harper’s war room, approved the disastrous anti-“foreigner” strategy that has laid waste to PC fortunes in Toronto, Ottawa, London, Windsor, and anywhere else with a significant ethnic demographic. Seeing his party’s fortunes crumble, Spiro has frantically tried to erase the anti-immigrant xenophobia, but—so far—it hasn’t worked. One poll has placed the PCs in third place in Toronto.
There are still two weeks to go in the Ontario race, and we provincial Liberals are running like we are way behind. We will be relentless.
But if we get the honour of a third term, I believe that it is three federal Conservatives—Harper, Reid and Spiro—who will have helped us do it.
August 2, 2011: Stephen Harper calls for a “hat trick” – for Conservatives to run the country, the GTA and Ontario. Almost every day since: Conservative operatives scramble to suppress any record of Harper’s statement.
Download this video, and share it with others before voting day on October 6! You can download the file here.
Download also found here.
Thus, this week, various Ontario Liberal campaign volunteers (of which I am proudly one) could be spotted shouting “woot!” when they espied the front page of the newspaper you now clutch in your sweaty maulers.
Wednesday’s Toronto Sun front: “DALTON’S FIBERALS.” Tuesday: “PREEM FLUNKS FISCAL TEST.” Also Tuesday: “DALTONOMICS: ONTARIO’S ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE LAGS.”
And that’s just this week! Last week was (happily) even worse!
Now, if you are a charter member of the latte-sipping, Volvo-driving, Lib-left establishment like me, those headlines should upset you, right? They should cost you votes, right?
Um, no.
He just had a little stunt at Queen’s Park. Few noticed, no one cared.
What still interests me, however, is how BB can reverse himself on virtually any issue – even the ones he claims are closest to his heart.
During the mayoralty, he claimed to be incensed by the intolerant statements of Rob Ford. Now, when Tim Hudak is the one doling out the xenophobia, he’s a-okay with that.
To wit, this: