A match made in…somewhere. Wow, what a choice. Not the best star to hitch a party’s wagon to these days. Worth noting who a party views as a worthwhile patron.
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It is likely a truism to observe that the value burning brightest in the hearts of most political parties is the passion to get and retain power. Concern for the public good is at best but a very distant secondary concern. We are reminded of this fact by the reaction of Ontario’s political opposition to Kathleen Wynne’s winning of the leadership of the Ontario Liberal Party, thus rendering her the next premier of the province. In his column today, The Star’s Martin Regg Cohn offers the following trenchant observations: With graceless timing, Tory Leader Tim Hudak disgorged an attack ad . . . → Read More: Politics and its Discontents: Cynical Politics – Ontario Style Pop quiz: who wrote this: “Our government expects – as do health care providers – that this change will exacerbate the health conditions of patients with chronic conditions and those who are at risk of developing such conditions. In addition, … Continue reading → 
 andrea horwath, Cindy Forster, deb matthews, Interim Federal Health Program, Jason Kenney, Jim Bradley, Kensington Eye Clinic, Kensington Screening Clinic, Kevin Smith, Liberal leadership, Niagara Health System, Ontario Health Minister, Quinte Health Care, Sandra Pupatello, Suzanne Dajczak, Tim Hudak, Uncategorized, Windsor Regional Hospital This Tory blogger asks: why would Tim Hudak promise to enact the very same reforms Mike Harris already enacted 15(ish) years ago? What would Mike Lite do that Mike Heavy didn’t already accomplish during the last go round? Throw autistic people out on the street? Good question. You thought cancelling that gas plant was expensive? Here’s PCPO MPP Monte McNaughton, representing Lambton-Kent-Middlesex: …we realize that when we make the commitment, we’re not going to build them, if they’re not built. So scrap the 50,000 projects that are in the queue. We realize that there is going to be a cost, our lawyers have told us that there are opt-out clauses and we sure as hell are going to pay those out because it’s going to be cheaper to pay them out than to honour contracts for 20 years. So we’ve been clear that we will not going ahead . . . → Read More: BigCityLib Strikes Back: How Much Will It Cost Tim Hudak To Unwind The Green Energy Act? I have to confess that my last few blog posts have felt singularly uninspired. I therefore yield to one of my favourite sources for perceptive analysis, the readers of The Toronto Star, who offer a panoply of thoughts on the dangerous anti-unionism trend evident in Canada at both the federal and provincial levels. All offer some excellent insights, which you can read here, and I am reproducing just one below: History teaches us that when politicians wield public anger against an identifiable group, the casualty list usually includes those who allow their anger to be manipulated. As a puppet . . . → Read More: Politics and its Discontents: Some Star Readers Respond To Anti-Unionism Were I given to the Christmas flights of fancy that prompt people to compile impossible wish lists that usually include a desire for world peace, the end of disease, and the termination of world hunger, I would add one more: politicians who show respect, rather than contempt, for the intelligence of the people they claim to represent. That, of course, has about as much likelihood of achievement as the other three mentioned above. Too many examples abound of the arrogant assumptions politicians make about people as they abandon the interests of the collective to pursue policies that cater to only . . . → Read More: Politics and its Discontents: What I Really Want For Christmas… As the Ontario Tories gear up to take a run at suppressing the wages of working people north of the border through attacks on unions, fixed benefit pension plans and overall public sector compensation, the U.S. Economic Policy Institute shows how dramatic the difference … Continue reading → In light of the unspeakable tragedy in Connecticut yesterday, in some ways it seems manifestly disrespectful to write a regular blog post today. Yet, to become paralyzed with despair over the evil in the world is not the answer either. Far better it is, in my mind, to try to confront and combat the evil that we actually have some possibility of mitigating. Such is my feeling about the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party’s exultancy over so-called right-to-work legislation now in effect in 24 U.S states, Michigan being the most recent jurisdiction to join the fold. As reported in today’s . . . → Read More: Politics and its Discontents: With Some Ambivalence My operating assumption is that Tim Hudak’s “Progressive” Conservative party of Ontario will win the next Ontario election and form the next government. I hope I’m wrong, but it’s certainly the safe bet after events drove McGuinty out of power and Horwath’s NDP haven’t managed yet to convince voters they’re a plausible non-crazy alternative to the PCs. One depressing certainty of a Hudak administration would be a war on organized labour. If Republian Governor Snyder can take on Michigan, Hudak can certainly bring some variant of “right to work for less” to Ontario. Indeed, he has . . . → Read More: Autonomy For All: Right To Work For Less Coming to Ontario The Canadian political elite really needs to be much more consistent in their propaganda. They like to whip up antipathy towards public sector workers suggesting they are overpaid and pampered, but they may have overlooked that strategy recently in the … Continue reading → I guess the short answer is to ignore the prating lad. Failing such a massive challenge to self-discipline and restraint, I suppose the other best answer is to hold his pronouncements up to public scrutiny, a goal I have modestly tried to achieve in this blog. Such scrutiny invariably gives rise to ridicule; the risible nature of most of Tim’s recycled pronouncements, many of which are mere carry-overs from the inaptly named Common Sense Revolution of his failed mentor, Mike Harris, invite such a response. As usual, Toronto Star readers are happy to share their own observations, their letters-to-the-editor . . . → Read More: Politics and its Discontents: How Do You Solve A Problem Like Tim Hudak? Tim Hudak, leader of Ontario’s opposition Progressive Conservatives, released a policy white paper this week, outlining his party’s extremist plans for the province if his useless party ever manages to slide its hands into the political cookie jar. His two main brain farts are to privatize casinos and other types of gambling, and to privatize the government-owned liquor stores. What a fucking idiot! The angle that Tim “the dim” has been playing is that they are expenses, and take scarce government resources away from services like health care and education. The brutal truth is that being in charge of . . . → Read More: The Ranting Canadian: Tim Hudak, leader of Ontario’s opposition Progressive… This and that for your Thursday reading. - Pat Atkinson discusses the need to make sure that Saskatchewan’s boom-time spending actually sets us up for long-term prosperity, rather than fiscal disaster: Even though the OECD report, the burgeoning federal government deficit, China’s economic slowdown and America’s political deadlock all advise us that now is the time for caution, the Wall government is trapped. Its political image is completely dependent upon constant economic growth or the appearance of it. It is so cemented in its own message of a New Saskatchewan, that any deviation from it is unlikely. From its first . . . → Read More: Accidental Deliberations: Thursday Afternoon Links Tim Hudak, the boy who would be premier, has issued a policy clarification: Hudak said the thrust of his proposal to put alcoholic beverages in corner stores, supermarkets or private specialty stores is to make it easier for Ontario consumers to buy a six-pack of beer or a bottle of wine. Should the master recycler of tired ideas ever attain his ambition of leading the province, I suspect that the ready availability of alcohol, and the temporary solace it provides, will be much appreciated by Ontarians. Recommend this Post I have a busy morning ahead, so just a brief post for now. That serial recycler of tired policy, young Tim Hudak, continues to maintain his naive faith in the virtues of the private sector as a panacea for all that ails us, yesterday calling for the end of the LCBO’s monopoly on alcohol sales. Trumpeting the virtues of privatization, along with the possible sale in whole or in part of the monopoly that injects about $1.6 billion per annum into provincial coffers, the never-ready-for-prime-time-politics leader of the Progressive Conservatives might be advised to supplement his populist rhetoric with . . . → Read More: Politics and its Discontents: Just A Fleeting Thought About Young Tim What does it say about young Tim Hudak that this constitutes a major policy announcement? Just wonderingRecommend this Post . . . → Read More: Politics and its Discontents: Just Wondering The University of Ottawa Conservatives are notably excited by the prospect of buying cheaper booze in Ontario. I’ve noticed one other university student tweet touting the benefits of cheaper alcohol in Ontario if students vote for Tim Hudak’s Conservatives. Cheap alcohol is one way to motivate youth to vote. I’m not a prude, by any stretch – but, one of the chief arguments against increased availability of alcohol is with regard to youth consumption in the province. I wonder how this will play up in a debate? Is this an official Conservative campaign talking point? He must have one, since he recycles, recycles and recycless the same ideas at every opportunity.Recommend this Post . . . → Read More: Politics and its Discontents: The Green Side of Tim Hudak Actually, were I not committed to a certain level of decorum on this blog, the mouth is not the part of the horse’s anatomy I would have chosen as the point of origin for young Tim Hudak’s latest utterances that are simply a pathetic recycling of pas… . . . → Read More: Politics and its Discontents: From The Horse’s Mouth In a valiant effort to not be forgotten by a fickle public, Tim Hudak is at it again, advocating a policy that is guaranteed to find favour with the public: going after the pension plans of civil servants. Unfortunately for young Tim, this repetition … . . . → Read More: Politics and its Discontents: Nothing New Here Ontario PC Leader, and most likely our next Premier Tim Hudak has released his predictable rehash of the Harris “common sense revolution.” Massive tax cuts are of course there, but it seems Mr. Hudak can’t quite decide how best to shovel money at rich people, immediately under his top priority (groan) “Balance the Budget,” which has absolutely no plan for doing that, we get “Tax Cuts Create Jobs”: Significantly reduce Ontario tax rates to attract investment, create jobs and expand the economy. Acknowledging Ontario’s debt crisis drastically reduces manoeuvring room to reduce taxes as much as we would . . . → Read More: Autonomy For All: Tim Hudak Proposes to End Overregulation with More Regulation Ah. Another session of Parliament and another tome of an omnibus bill. Despite whines and screeches to the contrary, there is lots of new stuff in this 450 page monstrosity! The Navigable Waters Act, Indian Act, Customs Act, Hazardous Materials, the Fisheries Act, Canada Shipping Act… The list goes on and on and most have [...] World class cities build underground. When finances are available, our priority for Toronto will be to build subways.Translation: one day far, far down the line (as it were), Scarborough will get its subway. One day. Karen Stintz, Chair of the Toronto Transit Commission, on Ontario Progressive Conservative leader Tim Hudak`s credentials on the transit file. Mr. Hudak has some experience with the TTC, its infrastructure delays and its funding, from his time in [Ontario Progressive Conservative] caucus in 1995. Tough decisions were made then. Those decisions reverberate today. They should be remembered and we should discuss them. Zing~! |
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