LISTEN TO THE LITTLE BIRDS...

Signs that all is not right on the bridge of the SS Minnow...


PM HARPER'S BRUISED...

Quotes from the Hill Times:
"He's bruised a little bit," said one top Conservative insider who spoke to
The Hill Times on condition of anonymity. "He has hurt himself in the sense
that the story of his mastery of Parliament and opposition parties -which was
assumed to be well-believed by caucus and by many in the party - has been
questioned now but he's certainly not crippled and he's certainly proven in
past circumstances that he knows how to adapt and come back and he's still
the Prime Minister and the power of power has an amazing ability to keeping
people in line."

"People are frustrated but Stephen Harper still commands the support of the
party because were it not for him, many people wouldn't be where they are
today and I think people have good memories of infighting and are not
inclined to go into that because today he's still the Prime Minster and
there's a greater fight ahead against the Liberals and no aspiring future
leadership candidate would want to be the first one out of the gate to go
against Harper."

...And although the political crisis in Ottawa is not over yet, the Prime
Minister's hold over his party is firm at least for now, says another
Conservative.

"I think he has a high degree of control over the party. There's no heir
apparent at all, there's no one working behind the scenes to challenge
him...There's no Paul Martin ...," said Tom Flanagan, a former top adviser to Mr. Harper who is now a
political science professor at the University of Calgary.

Mr. Flanagan noted, however, that while the possibility of a Liberal-NDP
coalition supported by the Bloc Québécois is looking less likely, it still
remains a possibility and therefore the potential for damage to Mr. Harper's
leadership is still there.

Meanwhile, another source said that Conservative ministerial staffers were
having second thoughts about the Prime Minister's judgment because they
would have all lost their jobs within a few days if the Tory government had
been defeated on Dec. 8 by the Liberals, NDP and Bloc Québécois.

"This is the first time they're questioning his decisions on a particular
issue. What the issue did was it served as a lightning rod for a lot of
issues that people have. It crystallized a lot of thought. It provided a
forum for a lot of people to voice their opinions and because he [Mr.
Harper] put their livelihoods in jeopardy, they were quick to come forward
with those opinions. Before, when you make bad policy decisions, you're
getting lambasted, that's one thing, but when suddenly you could be
unemployed in the next 48 hours, that tends to focus people's attention,"
said one top government official who also requested anonymity.

BOOK ENDS...

While Michael Ignatieff was toiling away as an MP for his riding, running in an election and helping to hold the CON-serfative government accountable, he was able to finish another book.
Stephen Harper's publishers, meanwhile, are working on the final edit of his story. With the same urgency as Mats Sundin, the PM continues to also work on his hockey book, whose working title is 'The Great One'.

SAME OLD, SAME OLD...

Where's a good size 11 oxford when you need it?

Would our 24-7 partisan distempered PM take a shoe for his cause?

Because that's what I felt was warranted after hearing the typical pap-and-smear by Deceivin' Stephen Harper on his home-team network ConTV tonight.

He took to the airwaves over the past week, trying to remake his scuffed image. An image that even some right-wing writers couldn't polish clean after his disgusting attempt to incite a unity crisis from the pot of political soup he stuck his foot in.

He told CTV last night that the coalition of Liberals and NdPers were trying to overthrow the elected government:

"We only found out later that they had been planning to overturn the results of the election ever since election night."

Excuse me? Talk about paranoid - shouldn't he be implementing the War Measures Act if that's the case? But as I recall it, all the other party leaders made their concession speeches, telling Harper they were ready and willing to work with him. Even that ol' so-called leader made like he wanted to work with the House he was dealt... until hours after his Throne Speech was passed.

By trying to stab at his opposition on the first real day of work, Harper chose to ignore that result. While the coalition idea has in a few polls appeared unpalatable, the overwhelming majority on Oct. 14th thought Stephen Harper as PM was unpalatable, too.

It seems that Harper is the one who isn't pleased with our democratic system. But that's just him being Harper. Back in 2004, when he was "threatening to overturn the results of the election" by working out a coalition agreement with Layton and Duceppe, the electorate were wrong again.

If he had his choice, he would continue to ignore the current economic storm and demand we continue to vote until he got his majority. An election after an election after an election. More people would stay home until he and his bitter core of CON-verts got the power they demanded.

That doesn't sound like responsible government. Sowing the seeds of dissent in Quebec and out west also isn't what we expect from our governments, but hey, Harper's willing to throw that in free of charge.

It appears to me responsibility is not part of the Harper DNA.

PREPARING TO PIROUETTE...

If Harper is anything, it seems to be someone who craves unfettered control.

Whether it's in his own party or as the elected leader of a country, he follows his own script tightly, providing even his most skilled ministers little room to exercise their own abilities. Perhaps the lack of Tory talent explains part of it, but many are now publicly coming to the conclusion that Harper has no faith or trust in others when it comes to making or even pronouncing decisions, but doesn't have the judgement skills to avoid self-inflicted wounds.

That is one reason why the blame for Parliamentary gridlock cannot be shared equally. Who is in control of the government's agenda? Who but the opposition, usually the Liberals, has bent and given way to his often ideological demands? What circumstances were in the way of governing prior to the fiscal update? And did Harper not hear the will of the Canadian people, who favoured giving him a little more rope, but still on a leash?

Harper is not capable of accepting responsibility, and definitely no blame, when cornered with the results of his dictatorial manipulations. Heck, even take his support of the Invasion of Iraq. While Ignatieff has come around and admitted that his support was in error, Harper avoids the question, thus leading to the only conclusion -- He would do it again. The interview with Mansbridge this week highlighted just that trait, as did the press conference outside the G-G's mansion. This current predicatment has even drawn some comedic arrows. When a little contrition could go a long way, even as a political piece, to soothe this trouble, he denies it.

So I was thinking (excuse me for this fruitless exercise, I don't have a dog to walk) what can we read in the tea leaves of today about this narcissist?

He's cornered in a way, although still holds a powerful tool, that being the threat of an election. Just today he's signalled another loss in principle by moving to load the senate with 18 CON zombies to follow his orders. Is it because he feels this is his chance to do it, under cover of a coalition threat, or is it because he sees the writing on the wall entirely?

Put it this way -- he spent nearly 2 years attacking his nearest rival with never-before-seen-in-Canada adverts outside an election cycle, denigrated an honest man's whole career essentially through the power of money and many bleating sheep repeating the false mantra. And the end result was a slightly bigger minority, not a majority. He broke another promise to just get to that point. Could his fiscal update have been a belated tantrum meant to slap the opposition silly while continuing to stick to the whole 'There's nothing wrong in a Conservative Canada' meme that cost him the chance at a majority?

The whispers behind the door have yet to escape outside, but they are there. Harper has heard them, if not just in his own self-obsessed mind. Just as he refuses to provide elbow room for a possible successor, he most likely won't want to hand over or share any power at this stage.

If his measure of Ignatieff is that a Harper government must offer an authentic olive branch, or risk it all in a high-stakes (playing with Canada's national unity like so much kindling) game of poker, would this 'winner-take-all' type revert to running away like he did in the past?

Could Harper, who has felt the heat from inside his own office, despite the timidity of his staff around him, be preparing to exit?

Are we watching a man rehearsing his own pirouette?

MONKEY SEE...

There's little doubt that Stephen Harper has the authority to lather his bagmen and yesmen (and maybe a yeswoman if he can find one) with senate seats for the holidays. In one of his very first moves as Prime Minister, he appointed one so-called democratically challenged senator, who proceeded to sit at the cabinet table. But while he has the power, this lame-duck leader has tossed away nearly all conviction (well, except when his own Karlheinz comes clean) as he white-knuckles his grasp on power.

I'm not going to get high-and-too-outraged about it, either. As CON-tributors around the blogs have pointed out, Liberals are finely skilled at filling the red chamber. The current score reads 58-20, and there is no doubt that Harper's laggard ways in filling vacancies has slowed down the senate's ability to debate and process the bills sent its way. That the Harper spin remains way off base, that its Liberals stopping his plan to democratize the senate, is just more of his 'throw it and something will stick' routine. A bigger thorn in his plan remains a majority of provinces, some who have a lot of clout.

But I'm completely amused how it remains now a repeated meme from the CON-patrol: The Liberals did it, so can we!

That has become a bigger motto than the Northern Star malarkey, or even the Canada Is Back hoo-haw.

While some PMs have displayed a little sense of contrition by throwing the opposition a bone appointment now and then, this PM has made it clear that he intends to put only true Blue Believers. So while the CON caucus covers its mouth, the CON cabinet covers its ears, he will pack 18 more senators into the comforts of the red chamber to cover its eyes while Harper lamely attempts to seem concillatory.

Canadians can only cover their noses.

WITH FRIENDS LIKE HARPER...

For the second time in just over 20 months, Stephen Harper has almost singly-handed drowned Jean Charest. Only due to Charest's own popularity, and the strong political machine that is the Quebec Liberal party, has the former Progressive Conservative leader overcome Harper's habit of soiling his Quebec bed -- the previous time when Charest squeaked through with a minority.
You don't think Mario Dumont also wishes he'd never flirted with the Conservatives' constipated leader?
On the other hand, separatists in both Quebec and Alberta have a true friend in Harper. Forget that, when in opposition, he was pretty geared up to consumate a union that would have brought down the Martin government. Ignore that the foundation of the Bloc Quebecois was born out of the singed ruins of federal conservativism, which at the same time fueled the bitterness of Alberta-based separatists, who many went on to join the Reform party. Encouraging mob rule against the tyranny of democracy -- afterall, who's essentially protesting the Oct. 14th decision of Canadian voters but Harper? -- is only enabling those who want to break up this great country.
Well done, Tory toads.

BUILDING AN ARSENAL...

No matter who we Liberals replace Stephane Dion with, the first task at hand should be establishing a strong, positive image of him for the Canadian public.
I don't just mean some neat shots of him, his family and Liberal forefathers caught in a confetti-strewn hug; we need to have the leader's images and words in a variety areas of life (personal, historical, global) displayed and framed before the CONs do it for us.
Either Michael Ignatieff or Bob Rae will be an outstanding choice, but both will have their achilles. And Harper's gang of thugs will be swinging for them, as noted in this well-written piece by Charlie Smith of the Georgia Straight.
On the plus side, Harper's own credibility is suffering at this time, even from some of his more friendly servants in the media; he has never been shy about being a divisive leader, however, in the past he has resisted taking his eye off 'the ball' which in this case is going for the Liberal jugular. With serious questions on his leadership creeping out, one would expect that he would shift his focus.
Another plus is that we've seen this show before. Canadians have been exposed to the CON strategy and they needed 20 some months to make it stick last time. I am willing to bet that people will be more cynical to any CON ad campaign that insists on flinging monkey feces while the government has a huge economic crisis it should be expending its energies on.
Another positive point? Stephen Harper's actions over the past few weeks may have done more for uniting the left-centre and centre than Brian Mulroney ever did.