21 Days Later...

Jack Layton actually shows up in his own riding! The MP for Air Canada finally touched down close to home. Three weeks. That's how long it took him to talk to voters in his own riding. Will he be back? We don't know. There is an all candidates debate scheduled in Toronto-Danforth for October 7th. Jack didn't think it worth his time to come to the last one. We'll see about this one. To track Jack's travels, please visit www.wheresjack.ca. It's time to remind Jack Layton that local matters.

Tyler Banham for Hamilton Mountain

This is brilliant.

Oh, The Joys of a Low Profile Blog

Cherniak has the Layton/9-11 Truth video I posted about a month and half ago. Now apparently, they are news. I'm glad the videos are making the rounds even if it is a month and half late.

Markets Bounce

Whenever I see a dead cat bounce like this I am reminded of the words of the American poet Ogden Nash:

"Man is a victim of dope/in the incurable form of hope."

In Other News...

We're all screwed. I know that most politically minded folk north of the 49th are consumed by the election. However, even I have noticed in between canvasses that the world's economy is circling the drain. Liberal, Conservative, NDP, Green or Bloc this economy is going south and fast. The US government's completely inconsistent policy on bailouts isn't helping either.

Take Heart

I know that there are a lot of Liberals out there who are pulling their hair out right now. They see the poll numbers and they start to panic. Let's all take a deep breath. Remember the national campaign for 99% of us, is beyond our control. We have to have faith that they will start turning things around. We need to stop panicking, stop complaining, and start working our butts off. I encourage everyone to go into your local candidates office in the coming days and help out. The Liberal Party is as strong as we make it. Go out and win this election. You can make a difference.

If any of you are in Toronto and are looking for a campaign to help out on. Look no further. Jack Layton is ignoring his home riding of Toronto-Danforth. Andrew Lang and the Liberal team in Toronto-Danforth are working hard to make Jack pay for this mistake. If you want to help please send us an e-mail at andrew@andrewlang.ca, give us a call at (416) 463-8378 or drop by our office at 746 Danforth Avenue, just east of Pape Station. Together we can paint the Danforth red.

Lang Slams Layton Over Debate Decision

From the Andrew Lang for Toronto-Danforth Campaign:

LAYTON’S OPPOSITION SHUTS GREEN PARTY OUT OF DEBATE
Toronto-Danforth Liberal Candidate Andrew Lang calls 
Layton’s decision disappointing

September 8, 2008 – Toronto-Danforth Member of Parliament Jack Layton denied Elizabeth May and the Green Party the opportunity to participate in the televised leader’s debate today, according to local Liberal candidate Andrew Lang.

“Jack Layton spends a lot of time talking about giving a voice to people who don’t have one,” said Lang. “And so I find his decision to silence Elizabeth May disappointing, although not altogether surprising. Jack Layton showed the same disregard for debate and dialogue when he refused to participate in a local debate in this riding in the last election.”

Recent polls put Green Party support across the country around 10%, and in by-elections held in early 2008, the Green Party finished neck-and-neck with the NDP in several ridings, including Willowdale, where the Greens finished ahead of the New Democratic candidate.

The NDP, along with the Conservatives and the Bloc, opposed May’s inclusion in the October 2 debate, announced today. The Liberal Party supported her participation.

- 30 -

For more information:
Andrew Lang Campaign
media@andrewlang.ca

The Message Track We're Not On

As Campaign 2008 kicks off, I expect my blogging to be light. My time will be spent helping to elect Andrew Lang as the next Member of Parliament for the great riding of Toronto-Danforth. However, I do want to throw an idea out into the blogosphere. Stephane Dion is saying that he wants the opportunity during this campaign to define himself after enduring two years of Conservative attacks. His tactic seems to be to portray himself as a lean green fighting machine. All well and good, but I think we can do better. Stephane Dion is a Canadian hero and we should not be afraid to remind voters of his heroism.

Stephen Harper rightly says that we are facing turbulent times ahead. I would argue that if you want an example of leadership in crisis, look no further than Stephane Dion. When our country faced, perhaps, its greatest crisis during the 1995 Referendum and its aftermath, M. Dion showed extraordinary courage and heroism. During the referendum, M. Dion went toe to toe with Lucien Bouchard and held his own. Something all the pundits said couldn't be done. After the referendum, Stephane Dion ensured that our country would never again face the issue of national unity without clear rules and regulations. M. Dion is a hero. He put his personal reputation, his name, on the line for his country. It is that Stephane Dion that will be a great Prime Minister. We can talk policy until we're hoarse and get nowhere. Or we can talk about the character of the man who we believe should be Prime Minister.

The Front Bench Empties

The Conservatives are facing a slew of retirements as we enter into a federal election. I get Emerson and Hearn. They're older and they've got battles for re-election. Well a battle for Hearn with Harper's unpopularity on the Rock, an impossible dream for Emerson. However, Solberg is a bit of a head scratcher. Apparently, he's got a job offer he just couldn't turn down, which was my suspicion when I heard the news. I mean the man is turning fifty in a couple of weeks making him a spring chicken by parliamentary standards. He's in one of the safest ridings in the country where he is personally extraordinarily popular. I have to think that Solberg has decided to cash in and make some money. Frankly, I don't blame him. The man got elected at 35, he's served his country for fifteen years, he's entitled to want to make a little more money and spend some time at home. The only reason it surprises me is that I would have put him on a short list to replace Stephen Harper. Then again, maybe he's going into the private sector to build up a war chest for a future leadership race, who knows. I do know that Harper just lost two of the better members of his "team" in Solberg and Emerson.

Palin Problems

McCain's VP picks increasingly looks to be the 2008 answer to Dan Quayle. There are a growing list of problems for Gov. Palin. First and foremost, her 17 year old daughter is five months pregnant. Why is this a problem? Well, if the goal is to appeal to working class women, particularly mothers, how is this story going to play. How many mothers would think it appropriate to throw their 17 year old pregnant daughter into the national spotlight? How many mothers would think it appropriate to be moving halfway across the planet (check out the distance from Washington to Alaska) at this time of personal upheaval? This is the kind of thing that politicians (of any gender) might leave politics to deal with, not try to climb the ladder. Obama is right to say that the Palin family is not up for political discussion. However, if Gov. Palin is being picked in large measure for her values, for her personal qualities as a human being, it is entirely fair to question a potential vice-president's judgment in a time of personal crisis. Further muddying Palin's judgment is the trooper-gate affair. Once again, the central actors in the story are almost irrelevant. Whether or not Palin's former brother-in-law is an abusive husband and father is almost irrelevant. No matter how dispicable her brother-in-law is, the Governor was in a clear conflict of interest and should have recused herself and her office from any involvement in the case. The fact that she may have taken steps to have her brother-in-law fired and subsequently fired a bureaucrat who defied her wishes is at issue. The allegations, if true, would further cast doubt on Palin's judgment. Even if we throw Palin's experience or lack thereof out the window, her lack of judgment should disqualify her from the office that she seeks.

Tick, Tick, Tick

So, we all know when the election is going to be. We all know how its going to happen. Can we just get this show on the road?