Ignatieff's Talking Tough - Again

The headline du jour coming out of the Liberal party's caucus meeting in Sudbury courtesy of Ignatieff is: "Mr Harper, your time is up; we cannot support this government any further".

Speaking after Mr Ignatieff and going further than Iggy was willing to, Denis Coderre informed reporters that the Liberals will take their first opposition day in October to introduce a non-confidence motion. That certainly remains to be seen considering the cry wolf scenario the Liberals have been repeating over and over this year.

In response to Ignatieff, Steve said:

"Going through more political games, more political instability, does not serve the country's interests right now."

Games like perogying proroguing parliament? Because that little chess game sure was fun.

The Liberal party may have the lead in the fund raising race but the party platform that Ignatieff promised when he was anointed back in the spring which he said would be released in June has yet to materialize. Ignatieff talked about their "vision" during his speech. Okay then: what is it? Because from where I sit, the talk is about being Conservative-Lite (which is basically what the party has become anyway).

It's no secret that I find Ignatieff to be incredibly uninspiring and about as exciting as melba toast. And I'm not alone in that. How the party plans to actually win an election after a year of basically being tied in the polls with Steve's government is beyond me.

I think the party missed the boat when it backed down in June at a time when the recession was a majorly stressful concern across this country. That stress has eased somewhat since then even though the economics haven't improved all that much (and are, in fact, worse in some areas). Steve's government didn't deserve to coast through the summer while being allowed every opportunity to make its case. The poll results clearly show that the summer was a write-off for the opposition parties that provided a boost for the Conservatives.

So, here the Liberals are without a clear platform and with a leader who'd do a better job of narrating lullaby books on tape than rallying Canadians to vote for him. "We can do better" is not a policy statement.

Related:

You can read Ignatieff's speech here.

In my next post about that speech, I'll expose one big lie that Ignatieff spouted. Stay tuned.

Update:

Skepticism abounds in the blogosphere:

Calgary Grit: This Time We Mean It?

Driving the Porcelain Bus: "Liberals won't prop up Tories: Ignatieff" - Hard to believe with their record

Scott's Diatribes: Ignatieff: '‘The Liberal Party of Canada cannot support this government any further’

Accidental Deliberations: On revelations

Hell, Upside Down: Iggy Applies the George Costanza Theory

BigCityLib: What The Hell Does It Mean?
 

Harper Hints About Extending the Afghan Mission

During the weeks leading up to the current parliamentary break, the prime minister was repeatedly asked whether his government had been having discussions within NATO to determine whether Canadian troops would stay in Afghanistan beyond their February, 2009 commitment and/or what plans were being made for Canada's eventual withdrawal. Harper responded that it simply was too early for such discussions - along with spouting several other excuses.

He seems to prefer to be more candid with the press in Afghanistan though than with MPs who represent Canadians:

Canada could lengthen Afghan mission, PM signals

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Canada could keep its military mission in
Afghanistan beyond the scheduled February 2009 withdrawal date despite increasing pressure to bring the troops back on time, Prime Minister Stephen Harper indicated on Wednesday.
[...]
"You know that your work is not complete. You know that we cannot just put down our arms and hope for peace," Harper told a crowd of soldiers at an outdoor ball hockey rink at the Canadian military base.

"You know that we can't set arbitrary deadlines and simply wish for the best. And you must also know that your hard work is making a real difference to real people and their families," he said.

Channeling Bush.

Brigadier-General Tim Grant, Canada's most senior soldier in Kandahar, said the mission could not achieve all its aims by the withdrawal date.

"The work will not be done here in February '09 and so we want to make sure we do as much as we possibly can between now and then. But at the same time it would be irresponsible for us not to plan past that point for the good of the country," he told reporters.

And here's Harper acting like the complete ass that he is once again:

Harper, who won a January 2006 election in part on a promise to increase defense spending, says his critics care more about the torture allegations of Taliban suspects than they do about Canada's troops.

Which part of the fact that people who care about human rights can also care about the troops doesn't he get? Why is it always one or the other with conservatives? And exactly who does he think he's fooling with that cheap shot besides his drooling base who fawn over any red meat he throws their way?

"It is clear in our minds that this prime minister never had any intention of leaving in 2009 ... it's normal in an international mission to have an exit strategy," said Liberal legislator Denis Coderre, a party defense spokesman.

Sorry Denis, "normal" doesn't apply to this so-called "new" government of "accountability" and the Liberals who caved and voted for this extension last spring should have known that.

I spoke to an Afghan immigrant who's been in Canada since the late 70s this morning and who has been back to his native country several times since then. He said quite bluntly to me that the idea that Karzai's government is exercising anything like control beyond small pockets of Afghanistan is a myth. "There is no government", were his words.