Many Liberal bloggers are content to argue the party line, talk inside baseball and daily goings on. This is too bad. The Liberals do not stand for anything. They are no role model. Moreover, the Liberal party needs to be regularly kicked in the balls least it become to comfortable with its own mediocrity. The Liberal bloggers, big and small, need to articulate what concrete programs and changes they want. So let us hear it Calgary Grit, BCer in Toronto, et al.
Here again is my list. Of course, not all of them are terribly realistic, but so what
Things that need to be legalized
1) marijuana,
2) prostitution
3) euthanasia.
Needed Federal Programs
1) Dental care
2) Full day Kindergarten and Playschool
3) Natonal Drug plan
Upgrading of national standards
1) $10 hour National minimum wage indexed to inflation
2) Miniumum 4 weeks vacation a year. This is the European minimum.
3) Massive increase the number of ridings. The hinterlands have way too much electoral clout.
Things that need to be abolished
1) Native Rights If someone was to suggest that land should be reserved for, say, Chinese Canadians and that Chinese Canadians should have rights that other Canadians do not have, you would first ask them to lie down; you would then call 911 and tell the person at the other end of the line that you believe that the person before you had suffered a stroke and that paramedics should come quick. Whether it be billions lost to illegal cigarette sales, or setting up school food programs for kids who live on land that if divided equally would net them tens of millions on the open market, it hard to think of anything quite so daft.
A commitment to native rights and reserves condemns future generations to be born into a communities that are completely economically unviable. Without hope for a better future, these children will be plagued by the same problems that plagued their parents. Lamenting high infant mortality rates, teen pregnancy rates, teen drop out rates, crime rates and rapid substance abuse, means nota if you are setting in motion the very things you lament.
The same goes for racism. People can lament that racism still exists in Canada all they want. However,supporting a policy that defines native in the same manner that Nazis defined Jew and giving one particular group rights that no other groups enjoys, is preventing things from getting better. The bleeders should not kid themselves.
2) The Senate.
3) Family Unification If the main point of a high rate of immigration is to lessen the effects of an aging population, what sense does it make to allow immigrants to sponsor their parents and grandparents? The average immigrant to Canada is only a bit younger than the average Canadian. Now do not get me wrong. Canada needs more immigrants -- alot more. Canada needs to at least triple the number of economic immigrants to Canada each year. However at the same time as it needs to do that, it needs to all but eliminate every other category of immigrant. Also, there needs to be a greater emphasis and youth, and language skills.
4) The ability of employers to bring in unskilled temporary workers. The Canadian tax payer should not be paying to have temporary unskilled workers brought in just so the Tim Horton's and company can undercut wages of Canadians. If they want workers, they can pay the piper.
Integrating immigrants is really quite simple. If you bring in well educated immigrants that are fluent in English, they will integrate. It will not matter a lick what their background or skin colour is. On the other hand, if you bring in non English speaking uneducated immigrants to clean toilets and serve donuts at Tim Hortons, you have recipe for what happened in Europe, viz, poor race relations, xenophobia and illegal immigration. It is really that clear cut and Kenney should know this. Every expert on immigration does.
5) The Monarchy
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10 comments:
The big problem that I see from your list is that the NDP and other fringe parties have already beat you to the punch.
If pretty well any of those topics were embraced by the Liberal party they would probably lose what few members they have left.
Perhaps YOU are not really Liberal since the party does not reflect YOUR views (or any views that are not "polled" or for political points lately).
Also, you sure have the wrong Liberal leader for most of your wish list. Is Justin Trudeau left wing enough for you?
You've been pretty negative for some time. Are you still a Liberal?
Because he has different ideas that aren't exactly mainstream in the party...and because he's highly critical - you suggest he's no longer a liberal?
That's a bit low.
On what legal basis would you extinguish the treaty relationship which form the basis not just of Native-Canada relations, but of Canada's very existence?
No ideas are better than bad ideas.
Maple Three,
most of your ideas involve reopening constitutional talks between the division of powers between the provinces and federal government.
Thankfully the current government has slowly begun to restore the massive cuts to healthcare, education and social programs.
I don't think the current government has any interest in fighting with the provinces and introducing a Centralized Power in Ottawa again. We had serious problems the last time with Ottawa not respecting the federation.
The days of PET, Big Government Ottawa knows best is over. Each province is responsible to administer their programs.
Canadians are no longer looking to Ottawa, instead they are looking at their premier and local governments hopefully for your requests.
I am in favour of decriminalizing for activities we can't elminate as well.(Marj/Prost).
Looks like the Big Tent Party is not interested in any criticism against the party including the lack of substance from Lib bloggers.
It is more important to parrot the LPOC and launch into repeating the silly talking points ad nausem.
Canadians care about wafers, plagerism, unsexy comments, tasteless jokes, "expensive" signs, calling the gov't racists and mean.
The party of props has returned to historic lows again. An official Poll in 2010 will confirm the wisdom of parroting and NOT being critical of the LPOC when appropriate.
Dion was a better leader than MI and in 2010-2011 the public will confirm it.
Yawn...you've been on a rant for quite some time....and your ideas are NDP.
Who do you think you're kidding?
What BS, really it is.
Lib bloggers and any other bloggers don't have to say anything but what they feel like talking about each day.
Get over yourself.
"The big problem that I see from your list is that the NDP and other fringe parties have already beat you to the punch."
The reason I dismiss such comments out of hand is that the vast majority of those on the list are a reality in many other Western countries. Your hopelessly narrow frame of reference reveals an profound ignorance of world beyond North American. Oh by the way, the NDP do not support the majority of such measures.
"On what legal basis would you extinguish the treaty relationship which form the basis not just of Native-Canada relations, but of Canada's very existence?"
Like any bleeder you do not even bother to defend this idiotic armament. How could you. It produces nothing good. That all sides seem to agree on. As for the law being immutable, of course it is mutable. Land reserved for the natives is not alienable to individual Canadians, which is at the heart of the problem, yet alone a another national state and so the notion that Canada is an arrangement with various existing nations on par in with existing nation states is confused. Not that the US would ever recognize a particular band as a nation with defined borders, but various native bands can not in principle declare independence or negotiate to cede land Crown land RESERVED for it the US or any other nation state. The first nations no more exist outside of Canadian law than the Free State Frankfurt exists as a result of being annexed by Prussia in 1866.
It is next to impossible to get us out of this mess, but I would start with the judges. At minimum make limiting native rights or better yet rolling them back a litmus test for advancement.
"You've been pretty negative for some time."
Not without reason.
Anyway, the notion that the blogs are good means of disseminate party talking points is silly. Liberal bloggers just do not reach a large enough audience for one. As I see it, on one level Liberal bloggers are the useful focus group for the party. As such, if we are parroting the party line we do the party no good whatsoever.
Most of us are political junkies and I have worked on campaigns. Our individual rantings might not amount to much, but as a collective some of feedback we provide might be of use to the party.
Was just going to comment on the list, but wow!
This string represents everything that's wrong with your party so aptly. It's like an impressionist painting of the implosion of a once-proud political party.
Where to begin?
1st off, Anonymous #1: No, actually if the Liberal Party had some ideas they'd do better not worse. Also, Health Care, Public Pensions, and most other durable policy ideas all originated with the NDP/CCF. Its once the Liberals adopted (stole) them that they were able to distinguish themselves at the Federal level.
As for fringe, if present trends continue you're gonna be the fringe one, pal.
As for Jason C, that's not just low... its stupid, wrong, and utterly counterproductive. What are you? The brand loyalty police? The political suicide enforcer?
If someone's not negative and introspective about the direction of the LPC under Iggy, they're delusional, not positive.
What is a 'liberal'? I don't know. I'm not a Liberal but I oppose 17th century absolutist monarchs, too!
Canadian Sense first of all to call the current crop of Liberals as a party of big government is ludicrously funny. Under Paul Martin, who was in no way a liberal, federal government spending as percentage of GDP dropped to levels not seen since the 1950s. Even under Trudeau spending was not out of control. When Trudeau left power in 1984 Canada's debt to GDP ratio is exactly what it is now. Moreover, government spending had nothing to do with the sharp increase Federal deficits between 1980 to 1984. Deficits quickly mushroom out of control when interest rates go above 20%!!!!!! Public spending was higher under Mulroney and transfer payments went through the roof under lyin Brain.
The same goes for the Harper Conservatives. Do not listen to chicken little Andrew Coyne droning on about government spending. The increase in government spending only looks impressive because of the huge drop in spending in the 1990s. When measured against other western countries Canada government spending is low. If memory serves, it is lower than the States.
As for what Canadians think of big government, if what you mean by big government is national programs, well that is the type of government they like best. Universal health and CPP are wildly popular. Candians like social programs, but only if everyone is able to access to them. What the do not like is social programs that targeted towards particualar groups and that the vast majority of Canadians can not access and amount to little more than welfare and or affirmative action.
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