Monday, May 03, 2010

Tax Break for Volunteer Firefighters. Is That Ignatieff's Idea of Liberal Policy?

Yesterday it was extending the term of the Governor General. Today's it's unveiling a Liberal policy for a $3,000 refundable tax credit for volunteer firefighters.

Look, I appreciate volunteer firefighters as much as the next guy, but why does Ignatieff keep linking himself with piddly little policy pronouncements? Does he not want the public to take him seriously? It comes across sounding as though he's talking for the sake of getting noticed. With all the problems afflicting our country today, the tax plight of volunteer firefighters surely isn't really that high on the list. It makes Iggy look like he's lost in minutiae, grasping at straws to mask a lack of vision.

We waited well over a year for Ignatieff to host his "thinkers' conference" and he's had two months since then to formulate policy all the while the LPC's national support continually sags.

Sorry but it's time for this guy to deliver something meaningful that will energize the Liberal Party and resonate with the voting public - or get out of Dodge. The party faithful have displayed their considerable capacity for political masochism but enough is enough.

15 comments:

ck said...

Actually, about that GG thing, it may seem insipid to most of us, but I think I am starting to understand. Perhaps a different approach; perhaps simply the wrong person selling the idea.

Steve has already stacked the senate while he was 'recalibrating'.

Now, there are rumors that Steve will appoint someone hyper partisan and sympathetic to Harpercons: Enter Preston Manning.

I think this is something most of us should fear. An evangelical Christian theocrat, no less.

If Manning is appointed, be very afraid.

ck said...

And MoS, you know that Iggy ain't goin' anywhere until he loses an election.

Unfortunatley, that would mean Brother Steve wins. Perhaps even that coveted majority. Yes, that possibility is very real

The Mound of Sound said...

You're right CK. Wish you weren't.

Anonymous said...

You're both wrong! Ignatieff is too the right guy to deliver the message, he's the best leader we've had in a generation. And Mound, you wouldn't know a good strategy if it kicked you in the ass. I'd estimate that the overwhelming majority of volunteer fire-fighters live in rural Canada. This is another strategy to win over rural votes. If you didn't know, we need to win a few of those in order to form government.

Liberal Justice said...

Sorry, that's me above.

The Mound of Sound said...

LJ what a ridiculous observation. Look at the polls - going back since your guy was annointed leader and compare his personal polling to the lacklustre performance of the LPC. "Best leader we've had in a generation." Are you that removed from reality? No matter how badly Harper screws up, Iggy can't put a dent in his lead. The uncommitted voters have had time to watch Ignatieff and to pass judgment on his suitability to lead the country - and that's just what they've done. Without them he and the LPC are going nowhere and he's lost them already. That happens in politics - it happens a lot. You get your chance and it's up to you to either hit one out of the park or go back to the dugout. Iggy wanted the bat so we took it out of Dion's hands and gave it to him. He didn't deliver as he promised and that's a reality you're going to have to live with.

Anonymous said...

After Iggy bent over and let Harper reem canadian democracy time and time again do you think it's time to say "I told you so?"

Iggy is more of a dub than Dion ever was.
As MOS states, no matter how bad Harper fucks over Canada, Iggy is still behind him in....

If not for the BQ and NDP, Canada would look like the U.S. during the Bush years.

Christian said...

Liberal Justice, hi, nice to meet you. Why the harsh words? In The Mound's second paragraph, he raises a valid point. That point is, not many are going to view this as a dire issue. And he is probably coming from a prospective that many voters share. Where I disagree with Mound, is that it's "grasping at straws to mask a lack of vision." I actually think it shows great vision, at least as far as getting votes goes. So I agree with you on that point.

Where I disagree with you though, is your claim he is a great leader, or as you put it, "the best leader we've had in a generation." I can only speak from the point he became the leader, not of those before him. And he has failed. Don't get me wrong, I think he would be a great Prime Minister. He's miles ahead of most vying for the position. His problem is, he just can't get there. I'm disappointed too.

As Mound points out, "No matter how badly Harper screws up, Iggy can't put a dent in his lead."

Whether that is due to the cons propaganda machine or not, certainly as a great leader of the party, he, the party, should be up in the polls.

Christian said...

Cherniak_WTF thinks he should be more like Jack (in the box) Layton. He would never bend over for harper. He prefers to go down on his knees.

Anonymous said...

Why csn't we get rid of Iggy and Harper at the same time? Oh I know why!! Canadians love having something to whin about over their morning coffee while tucking their legs under their arse.

The Mound of Sound said...

Christian I don't believe this VFD tax break reflects "vision" in the context of something truly national in scope and forward looking for the country. It's small change.

I disagree that Ignatieff has the stuff to be a great prime minister. Look at his reversal on Iraq and the awful way he backpedalled on Israel. That's spinelessness, a fatal lack of conviction in one's principles. Worse yet, it's been accompanied by vote pandering.

We can all agree that Ignatieff has had a steller academic career but that, of itself, doesn't make a person suitable for political leadership.

Unfortunately he undermined his own credibility. People watched as he scolded Harper and made bold threats to bring him down only to fold, again and again, when Harper called his bluff.

In his year-end interviews Iggy blamed his miscues on inexperienced advisors which was kind of shitty. He told us HE was ready to lead the party, not that he had advisors to absolve him of responsibility to lead.

Sorry, the guy's unquestionably intelligent, but he has too deeply flawed a personality to be suited to leading the Liberal Party of Canada.

Anonymous said...

My wife doesn't follow politics AT ALL. So in many ways here views are very typical of Canadian women. She mentioned to me a few weeks ago, almost out of the blue, that she does not trust Ignatieff. I asked her why and she said she wasn't sure, there's just something about him that is untrustworthy. I asked a few other women and they said almost exactly the same thing. I'm not sure what it is, but Igantieff rubs people the wrong way. Women overwhelmingly do not trust him, men as well; and that isn't just based on my own unscientific survey, polling data shows the same thing. Trust is everything in politics and this guy will never be trusted by Canadians. Funny enough, my wife said she trusts Harper more than she trusts Ignatieff, and she never trusted Harper before. Why would you guys pick someone so unsuited for the job?

The Mound of Sound said...

Anon 5:19, part of the "trust" thing falls to the smear job Harper has done on Iggy. Without question this seems to be Harper's greatest strength - smearing rivals - and he uses it to powerful effect. It might make him a total asshole but it works and his own people seem quite happy with the smell. But that's only part of Ignatieff's problem. He doesn't have a natural talent for connecting with voters other than committed Liberals and he lacks Harper's political instincts.

Anonymous said...

I agree with everything you wrote in response above. However, the reason I gave the example of my wife is because she doesn't follow politics, so she is totally unfamiliar with the smear job Harper has done or the lack of political instinct that Ignatieff has and yet she does not trust Ignatieff. I suspect that if you polled women on the subject and dig deeper that their gut reaction to Ignatieff is one of distrust. It's not fair to judge someone based on your gut reaction but many people do it. Ignatieff has an unappealing approach and personality that leave people to believe he is not to be trusted, i.e.: watch out for that guy.

The Mound of Sound said...

Even a worshipful IgLib would have trouble arguing with your points Anon. The polls consistently bear out your claims. Ignatieff, perhaps unjustly, is considerably less popular than his party and is bested by both Harper and Layton. That's a reality that Liberals are going to have to accept, sooner or later, because it's almost certainly not going to change.

If the voting public won't back the guy it simply doesn't matter how brilliant he is or the length of his resume or even his decency. A leader's job is to win public support. If he can't, he's a failure and that's the end of it.

Maybe we do have to go through the charade of another election, even at the risk of Iggy's unpopularity translating into a Harper majority, but we all know the Liberals's prospects of winning even a minority and we all know that Iggy won't be given a second chance. In my view the guy is already the walking dead. That's unfortunate but it's the inevitable result of a string of blunders and bad decisions taken by the leader since he rose to power.