gdp's Comments

Macleans.ca : Another right-wing hack on the Conservative payroll

Sat, 17 Oct 2009 16:53:14 +0000

I'm not questioning Hebert's motives, and I'm certainly not questioning the general premise of her column. Would be nice to see some scrutiny being given to the government's position leading up to Copenhagen (since they are the government and set policy in this country), but all columns cannot be all things to all people. However, I would challenge you to look at her recent columns and find one that could not be categorized as "horserace-y." This is problematic for a lot of readers who care about the direction of the country more than poll results.

Macleans.ca : Nostalgia

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 17:17:31 +0000

I seem to remember the Paul Wells who was not the court historian of the Conservative Party of Canada writing columns and blog posts about policy decisions. Alas, books to sell, I suppose...

Macleans.ca : Keeping them honest

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 21:27:56 +0000

1.) The media is generally disinterested in legitimate issues of public policy. 2.) Years of accusations of liberal bias from the political right have injected a sense of self-loathing into the media, resulting in a fear of holding conservative politicians to account.

Macleans.ca : Heavens, how did that get there?

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 11:29:35 +0000

"Staff would have looked after it." Yes, I suppose that's true. Gerald Keddy probably did not order the giant novelty cheques all by himself. Then again, he is the Member of Parliament. One would hope that he would have some sense of accountability and responsibility. This government has a real proclivity for pointing out the errors of low-level staffers, but no inclination to consider who is responsible for said staffers. If staffers think that slapping a partisan logo on government business is a-ok, then their bosses have done a poor job explaining to them the way Canadian government works.

Macleans.ca : Gleeps:

Tue, 6 Oct 2009 00:58:08 +0000

Do the "real Canadians" I keep reading and hearing about care that we now live in the "post-NAC" era?

Macleans.ca : Majorityville

Sat, 3 Oct 2009 15:48:31 +0000

Interesting that you have cited Michael Bliss as some sort of independent arbiter of "majorityville." Isn't it sweet that whenever a Conservative partisan wants to complain about the supposedly Liberal "chattering classes," they have mass media outlets like the Globe and Mail available to them? Perhaps more amusing is your entirely unsupported claim from the Thursday panel that all the Conservatives have done recently is introduce policy after policy. I'd be interested to hear about all these interesting Conservative policies that have captured the imaginations of Canadians. Are you referring to the stimulus plan that they were forced into, or the revolutionary ban on flavored cigarettes?

Macleans.ca : The Commons: Gerard Kennedy has some questions

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 04:56:35 +0000

They should have seen him as a viable present leadership candidate in 2006, and played a good long game. Of course, if Mackenzie King himself were still around today, contemporary Liberal strategists could probably find a way to only get him a slim minority, so it's hard to be revisionist about Gerard Kennedy. Nevertheless, I get the sense that people who are serious about governing will have the time of day for him in future leadership contests.

Macleans.ca : Let the (non) confidence games begin! (Yes, again.) UPDATED

Sun, 27 Sep 2009 20:40:51 +0000

Okay, so political observers and the unemployed are fake. Anyone else? I wonder if this definition of "real Canadians" is consistent with the definition from back when those Lieberals were in power.

Macleans.ca : Hey look: Elect Ignatieff to find out what his plan is

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 17:51:55 +0000

Another week, another column holding Her Majesty's Official Opposition accountable for...something. Perhaps if Ignatieff discussed issues in some numerical list and called them "priorities," the press gallery would clap their flippers more enthusiastically. Even if he did, it wouldn't intetest me much, because we're not in an election campaign and, from what I hear, it is still the governing party that is responsible for setting policy in this country.

Macleans.ca : Outremont: In the finest tradition of the Liberal Party

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 01:46:05 +0000

While granting that Denis Coderre is in his default position of wrongness here, shouldn't Cauchon have tossed his hat in the ring for one of those leadership contests if he was so passionate about coming back to elected politics in the riding of his choosing? He would have been a valuable addition to either the real leadership in 2006 or the fake one this past winter.

Macleans.ca : Question, answer: Jack Layton

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 00:04:52 +0000

Are you suggesting that Harper would eliminate the per-vote subsidy to an election that had already taken place?

Macleans.ca : Suck it up

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 20:17:13 +0000

Rick Salutin is certainly not always right, though in this case he absolutely is. Nevertheless, I am eternally grateful for the thoughtfulness and diversity he adds to the Canadian pundit class.

Macleans.ca : Suck it up

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 20:13:33 +0000

Rick Salutin has had original thoughts in his writing career, so I'm going to go ahead and focus on his actual article rather than Chris Selley's self-indulgent reaction.

Macleans.ca : When you mess with the abyss until you're done, the abyss... well, guess

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 17:27:04 +0000

while opposition parties can demand, only the government can act That's interesting. So what would we call it when the media spends the summer, oh, let's say, whinging about the demands (or lack thereof) of the opposition and ignoring the actions (or lack thereof) of the government? Irresponsible? Lacking in substance? Chessgame-obsessed, perhaps? Here's a question: The PM believes he needs a majority. Why is that? Based on its actions, what would the current government accomplish with a majority that it has been unable to accomplish with a minority? This strikes me as a question that intellectually honest journalists should pursue.

Macleans.ca : Well, Patrick Muttart sees a lot more in the New! Liberal! Ads! than ITQ.

Mon, 7 Sep 2009 20:16:35 +0000

In what perjorative sense is "internationalist" being used here? Is Muttart insulting voters who visit other countries, voters who support global governance institutions, or voters who support immigration and multiculturalism? I want to figure out exactly how loathsome his comment is. Please advise.

Macleans.ca : Jason Kenney, not struck speechless

Mon, 7 Sep 2009 03:41:13 +0000

Not that I thought it was a big deal in the first place, but this response is so, so much more reasonable than, "I only had time to copy and paste a press release, I will be an actual journalist later." I am sure the readers appreciate it. I know I did.

Macleans.ca : Coalition is necessary and necessarily coalition

Mon, 7 Sep 2009 03:35:47 +0000

Steve Janke : Paul Wells :: Matt Drudge : Mark Halperin

Macleans.ca : Jason Kenney, not struck speechless

Mon, 7 Sep 2009 03:26:35 +0000

A carbon tax was included in the 2004 Green Party platform. I found this result in about 3 minutes using this "Google" I hear so much about. Everyone knows that in 2004, Michael Ignatieff was strutting about Massachusetts in a powdered wig, ignoring Canada for a living. Thus, I think Kenney's statement can safely be categorized as, shall we say, utterly false.

Macleans.ca : Jason Kenney, not struck speechless

Sun, 6 Sep 2009 21:42:13 +0000

He was the first Canadian politician to propose a carbon tax. I am going to go ahead and assume this is utterly false. Clearly, Ignatieff should have done the honourable thing and spent his entire adult life in Canada, on the payroll of a political party or the CTF. Then he might be fit for high office.

Macleans.ca : Give him shelter

Sun, 6 Sep 2009 04:05:18 +0000

All of Sun Media, save the photographer, lose serious cool points for not being able to identify Gimmie friggin' Shelter. This brings Sun Media's collective cool points to...well, still zero.