Tuesday, July 23, 2024

The Race Is On

Two races - one to secure the United States and the other to keep China's North American vassal state compliant - are on:

Between Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump, the former is often thought to be the better pick for Canada. If that’s the case, that’s a problem of our own making.

Harris is the likely Democratic candidate for November’s United States election now that President Joe Biden has announced on his X account that he will not be running for another term. He endorsed Harris, his vice-president, instead; her candidacy isn’t set in stone, but she’s the likely contender. ...

Relative to Trump and running mate J.D. Vance, whose “America first” mindset is well-known, Harris is more of an establishment Democrat who sees the United States’ role as one of an ally. She hasn’t made loud complaints about  lagging allies or grand pronouncements about making freeloaders pay their “fair share.” She rejects Trump’s characterization of her country as a once-strong, much-exploited hegemon. In the most shallow sense, she does seem to be the better candidate for Canada.

On defence, for example, Harris had said Trump’s hard line on NATO is “appalling and unhinged.” Trump’s own position is that the U.S. should not defend any country that isn’t contributing the agreed-upon two per cent of GDP toward military endeavours. As one of NATO’s eight under-spenders, Canada can probably expect a longer leash under Harris.

In that sense, Harris is “good” for Canada in the same way that free government-supplied drugs are “good” for drug addicts. In the shortest terms, leniency on NATO spending will allow Canada to continue on its freeloading course by sustaining a toothless, decaying military. Trump’s brash attitude, though uncomfortable for a country that expects only soft treatment, could bring about much-needed renewal of the Canadian Armed Forces. Clearly, asking nicely doesn’t work. ...

Similarly, Trump’s open disdain for China probably plays poorly for Canada, but only because this country chooses to be a site for foreign interference. The prime minister has publicly courted China for years, and has received donations and support in turn; the federal government dragged its feet on banning Huawei telecom technology and continues to allow Hikvision cameras on its properties; some members of our governing houses are said to be compromised.

The Biden-Harris administration keeps out of all this. Trump, at least, can be expected to call it out and threaten consequences. That won’t be good for the feds, but it will be good for the average Canadian who doesn’t appreciate the creep of China’s tendrils.

On trade, Harris’ lesser degree of protectionism once again makes her the supposed better prospect. Such views make sense: Canada predominantly depends on the U.S. for trade — which accounts for three-quarters of our goods and services exports — and we are thus more vulnerable to protectionist ways, so the softer candidate is better. ...

Importantly, a second Trump presidency would sober up Ottawa’s overall hubris. Already, senior ministers, along with Canadian business leaders, are organizing outreach in the U.S. to remind the neighbours about the benefits we provide. Indeed, according to a Tuesday Politico report, state leaders often don’t have much of an impression of Canada at all — indicating that the Liberals haven’t paid much attention to relationship-building in the U.S. If International Trade Minister Mary Ng has to spend more time on North American matters, rather than, say, China-related ones, that’s probably for the best.

 

Trump's return to office would make Justin scared that he will have to be a serious and honest broker.

The four year holiday is up.

 

 

What could be coming down the pipe that would make them leave?:

Like clockwork, in the months before each federal election is called, a number of MPs from each party will announce they are not running for re-election, each with his or her own particular reason. This time around, the numbers tell an interesting story.

 The previous two elections saw 59 MPs in 2019 and 34 MPs in 2021 quitting or not seeking re-election by the time the writ was dropped. Of these, in 2019, 24 were from the governing Liberals, 21 were Conservatives, and 14 were NDP, and in 2021, 19 were Liberals, nine were Conservatives, and the other six were NDP, Bloc Québécois, and Independent.

 This time around, more than a year before the next election, the number of MPs who have either resigned or decided not to run again already sits at 31. Among them are 21 Liberals, close to or higher than the number of Liberals not running again by election time in 2019 and 2021. Seamus O'Regan, the latest high-profile Liberal MP who said last week he won’t be running in the next election, even took the rare step of resigning from his cabinet post as labour minister.

 This trend is reminiscent of what happened in the 2015 election, which saw the Liberal Party gain a majority under Justin Trudeau and the Conservatives lose power. At that time, a total of 73 MPs quit or did not run for re-election, including 43 Conservatives, 20 New Democrats, eight Liberals, one Bloc Québécois, and one Independent.

 According to Julie Simmons, an associate professor of political science at the University of Guelph, a high number of Liberal MPs choosing not to run this time around can likely be attributed to what the polls are showing, with the Liberals trailing the Tories by large margins. ...

Nelson Wiseman, a professor emeritus of political science at the University of Toronto, agrees there is a trend of MPs deciding not to run again before elections where their party is expected to lose. However, he said he believes many of the MPs this time are not running for a different reason.

“A lot of those people that got elected [before the 1984 and 2015 elections] had now been serving for quite a long time. So it’s partly a function—not just what happened in the last election, it’s what happened from the first election they got elected in,” he said.

 Mr. Wiseman said many MPs will not run for re-election because they have become resigned to the fact that they will never get into cabinet, while others were first elected in old age and simply want to retire. “Some decide, ‘I don’t like the job, but I’ve worked now long enough I get the pension,’” he said.

 Mr. Wiseman pointed to the example of NDP MP Charlie Angus, who was first elected in 2004 and is now 61 years old. Mr. Angus announced in April that he wouldn’t run for re-election, along with fellow MPs Carol Hughes and Rachel Blaney.

 However, Mr. Wiseman predicted that many more Liberal and NDP MPs will decide to step down between now and the next election, as the polls currently show many will lose their seats if the election were held today. He said this is also why comparatively fewer Conservative MPs have announced they will not run again.

 

The Liberals are cutting their losses.

Justin will never repay their loyalty, their pensions have come in, and if the St. Paul is an actual indication, it will be a bloodbath in some ridings.

One's lips to Santa's ears. 

 

Also - another chump to lose?:

A decision by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to prevent Liberal party members from choosing their own candidate in a byelection in the riding of LaSalle—Émard—Verdun by parachuting in his own choice is not going over well with those who had sought to win the nomination locally.

Morrison said she can’t believe her party let her knock on doors in the riding and sign up new party members only to then refuse to hold a nomination meeting for a byelection that has to be called. The deadline for that move is Tuesday.

She argued that the nomination vote is an important part of the process “because this has been a Liberal bastion for a very, very long time,” she said.

Trudeau made the decision to name Montreal city councillor Laura Palestini as the party candidate, Liberal cabinet minister and campaign co-president Soraya Martinez Ferrada said. Trudeau is on vacation and not available for an interview, his office said Monday. The party did not make anyone available to answer questions, replying instead with generalities.

The Liberals have held LaSalle—Émard—Verdun during the three elections held since its creation. The last vote saw former justice minister David Lametti re-elected with 42.9 per cent of the ballots cast. The riding has been vacant since Lametti left politics in January after being excluded from Trudeau’s cabinet.

Entrepreneur and would-be candidate Christopher Baenninger said Trudeau’s decision left him in a “state of shock” and that the imposition of a candidate is “not right” and “demotivating.”

“We’re still in a democracy,” he said. “People can still vote, just not for the people they thought they were going to vote for.”

Despite his disappointment,  Baenninger said Trudeau’s intervention “respects the rules” as there is a “green light committee that can reject any candidacy on the grounds of the higher interest of the party.”

That said, Baenninger maintained that Palestini was “parachuted” into the riding and Morrison said she had “never heard (Palestini’s) name.”

Asked if Trudeau’s decision has hurt the party’s chances in the byelection, Baenninger replied: “We didn’t improve our chances. I’ll leave it there.”

 

That's not how democracies work, PM Blackface. 

What vote is Justin attempting to sew up?

 

 

His pension is due:

New Democrats are now election-ready, Jagmeet Singh said yesterday. “We are getting close,” Singh told reporters while touring Northern Ontario where the Party stands to lose a veteran incumbent due to resignation and redistricting: “We are getting close to an election.”

 

Singh can go to hell.

For his own selfish ends, he propped up the flailing Liberals.

He is rotten to the core. 

 

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