Harper a Bonehead, but Another Election? Really?!

The Harper government has done some boneheaded things in the last couple of months but the empty sabre rattling from the left wing makes me wonder just how together the Liberals are. The NDP had proposed widespread changes to Employment Insurance in order to make it easier to get since many people do not qualify for it. Namely those who work too few hours or are self employed. I suppose that's fair enough even though the last thing we need in this country is an expanded welfare state. Whether it's an issue of confidence in the House is a completely different question. If a Federal election were called this summer, it would be the third is as many years. Given the dismal voter turn out last October and the flat rejection of the Liberal coalition, one has to wonder whether even bringing up the possibility is a wise idea. Judging by polls, any election is just going to return us to the status quo. We either have a narrow Conservative minority (most likely) or a narrow Liberal minority. Either way it would be a colossal waste of taxpayer dollars. Canadians are already beginning to show strong signs of election fatigue.

The Liberals are just doing what they do best, politciking without really accomplishing anything. The party has major image issues and the unelection of Michael Ignatiff has done nothing to help their cause. Stephane Dion was an academic with a loose grasp on what Canadians wanted. Ignatiff is a Harvard professor who has lived outside of the country for the past several decades and has a loose grasp on what Canadians want. Really, the two men show little difference other than the latter passing off as more of a sleazeball to Dion's wussyness. Canadians see this. So, I'm going to give the Liberals a little advice. Get rid of Ignatiff and find a home grown leader who isn't Quebecois. Focus on the economy and take the carbon tax completely off the table. That's what killed them in the last election. The environment really only has mass appeal for yuppies, crunchy granola types, and academics; not blue collar people who see it as another expense. There's lots to attack Harper on but so far the Liberals have only focused on petty things, which doesn't sit well with the people at home. The Liberals are their own worst enemies simply because they cannot connect with average Canadians.

Secondly, I want to deal with the issue of Ignatiff being outside of Canada for some twenty-seven. The Conservatives have been attacking him heavily in various ads over the last couple of weeks over this vary issue. The ads have been criticized by people supporting multiculturalism and immigration, with critics saying it's equal to attacking new citizens for living most of their lives outside Canada. However, I think the Conservatives do have a large point to make, whether intended or not. A person who has been out of the country for that long and has only returned recently does not have a strong grasp of the specific issues. A lot has happened since Ignatiff left, stuff that effects us profoundly today, and surely he wasn't glued to Canadian papers on a daily basis. Picking someone like that as leader was a really dumb decision on the Liberals part as it further paints their party with the notion of being out-of-touch. In the United States, the qualifications to become president require one to be born or naturalized in the US, be at least 35, and lived there for 14 consecutive years as a permanent resident. Canada has no such restrictions but it would be worth considering them for adoption, namely the last two. To be Prime Minister, you should have to be at least 35 and have lived in Canada for at least 10 consecutive years before you can run for office. Under this, Ignatiff could not qualify since he has only been back in the country as a permanent resident for four years. Rules such as this are necessary for making sure leaders are informed and have the best interests of Canadians in mind. It also doesn't exclude immigrants which should pacify the multiculturalists. Surely the Liberals could find someone who has lived here, though they did entirely rule out Rae for the candidacy. The fact that they didn't even bother to elect their leader as everyone else does shows their mentality.