U.S. Elections 2008

[Brandon716]

I don't think Schwarzenegger is particularly "left", he is just not nearly as rightwing than the mainstream of the GOP is in the US and the same is true of Harper in power. The fact that Harper was a rightwing ideologue at the National Citizens Coalition, etc. doesn't matter to the voters as much as what he's done since coming to office. Things haven't changed all that much from the Chretien/Martin years, policy-wise.

The very small minority of Canadians who like Sarah Palin and post on Free Dominion probably hate Harper and think he's a total sellout and want to bring back the Reform Party.

I'm not convinced. I believe Harper is way to the right on many issues, he's proven so in the past. But he's got extreme discipline in wanting to build the party first before his personal political career. He desperate wants the Conservative brand to be built in Canada, so he's submitted to the reality that Canada isn't far right and has bit his tongue to win over Ontario voters.

I believe once they have a sizable majority government (if they are allowed such a travesty in the coming years) you'll see a lurch to the right after Harper is history.

 

[kEiThZ]

I'm not convinced. I believe Harper is way to the right on many issues, he's proven so in the past. But he's got extreme discipline in wanting to build the party first before his personal political career. He desperate wants the Conservative brand to be built in Canada, so he's submitted to the reality that Canada isn't far right and has bit his tongue to win over Ontario voters.

I believe once they have a sizable majority government (if they are allowed such a travesty in the coming years) you'll see a lurch to the right after Harper is history.

I doubt it.... As he has pointed out several times, rebuilding the Conservative brand requires moderate policies that bring Canadians to the right over a period of time. I doubt he wants his legacy to be the end of the Conservative brand in Canada after one majority term. The proof of this test will be how he reacts to the current crisis. Will he sharply slash spending like his ideologue instincts tell him to do, or will he simply swallow a deficit and apply some keynesian principles to keep the economy afloat?

As for the fear mongering of what the Conservatives would do in a majority....sure they would govern more to the right, but I am skeptical that it would be the horror of horrors that many on the left warn of. After all, he and all the MPs who also like their pay cheques, do want to be re-elected and springing some arch right wing agenda on unsuspecting Canadians is hardly the way to achieve that. Moreover, the fear and gloom is starting to sound tired. Many of those same sirens are the ones who argue that he's been governing like he had a majority for the last two years. So how come no arch right wing agenda then?

 

[kEiThZ]

Many Democrats are fairly far to the right on many issues, but in a two party system where do people go when they have no choices? LOL

Meh, they are simply to the left of their centre. People forget that the US is more to the right of Canada so naturally the Dems would be more to the right of our leftist parties. Interestingly enough, the battle they face to bring the electorate to the centre is quite similar to what the Conservatives face here from the other end of the spectrum. I hope they don't screw it up....

 

[adma]

Provincially speaking, even Alberta is less "right" than its reputation would suggest, i.e. a certain degree of Lougheed-era big-tent moderation endures even through the Klein/Stelmach era...

 

[King of Kensington]

I agree...Alberta is more akin to say, Colorado, politically than to Idaho or Wyoming.

 

[King of Kensington]

I'm not convinced. I believe Harper is way to the right on many issues, he's proven so in the past.

Maybe so - but to the average Canadian the whole Harper = Bush line just isn't convincing. People care more about what he's actually done in office than some stuff he wrote at the NCC.

 

[kEiThZ]

Maybe so - but to the average Canadian the whole Harper = Bush line just isn't convincing. People care more about what he's actually done in office than some stuff he wrote at the NCC.

Exactly. That's hard to accept for many ideologues but that's exactly how voters judge any government's record.

 

[Hydrogen]

I doubt it.... As he has pointed out several times, rebuilding the Conservative brand requires moderate policies that bring Canadians to the right over a period of time. I doubt he wants his legacy to be the end of the Conservative brand in Canada after one majority term. The proof of this test will be how he reacts to the current crisis. Will he sharply slash spending like his ideologue instincts tell him to do, or will he simply swallow a deficit and apply some keynesian principles to keep the economy afloat?

As for the fear mongering of what the Conservatives would do in a majority....sure they would govern more to the right, but I am skeptical that it would be the horror of horrors that many on the left warn of. After all, he and all the MPs who also like their pay cheques, do want to be re-elected and springing some arch right wing agenda on unsuspecting Canadians is hardly the way to achieve that. Moreover, the fear and gloom is starting to sound tired. Many of those same sirens are the ones who argue that he's been governing like he had a majority for the last two years. So how come no arch right wing agenda then?

I agree. The idea is for them to build a party that can remain in government over the duration. It would be pointless to just do an ideological hit-and-run over one term as a majority - only to watch all those policies be undone by a succeeding government.

While more right wing than the PC's, the Conservatives are more centrist when compared to Reform. Maybe there is an understanding that being a viable party demands a much less confrontational stance, and that truly alienating large portions of the populace will not help them in their quest to form a majority.

At the moment, there is an appearance that the CPC can easily be a home to the more extreme religious/political movement that can be found south of the border. That is one thing that is likely to turn many people off from ever voting for them.

 

[Roy G Biv]

If Obama doesn't win this lawsuit, he loses all of California's electoral votes:

According to a press release from the American Independent Party, former presidential candidate Alan Keyes and other members of the party have filed suit in California Superior Court in Sacramento to stop the state from giving its electoral votes to President-elect Barack Obama until documentary evidence is provided to prove Obama is indeed a natural born citizen of the United States.

http://www.nbcaugusta.com/news/elections/presheadlines/34587804.html

 

[Edward Skira]

McCain was born in Panama.

 

[Whoaccio]

If Obama doesn't win this lawsuit, he loses all of California's electoral votes:

According to a press release from the American Independent Party, former presidential candidate Alan Keyes and other members of the party have filed suit in California Superior Court in Sacramento to stop the state from giving its electoral votes to President-elect Barack Obama until documentary evidence is provided to prove Obama is indeed a natural born citizen of the United States.

http://www.nbcaugusta.com/news/elections/presheadlines/34587804.html

are u kidding me?

 

[Mongo]

Alan Keyes is a complete wingnut. Here is an image of Obama's Certification of Live Birth:

A rebuttal of this ridiculous claim in more detail can be found at Snopes.

Obama's Birth Certificate Verified By State

Fukino said she and the registrar of vital statistics, Alvin Onaka, have personally verified that the health department holds Obama's original birth certificate.

"Therefore, I as Director of Health for the State of Hawai‘i, along with the Registrar of Vital Statistics who has statutory authority to oversee and maintain these type of vital records, have personally seen and verified that the Hawai‘i State Department of Health has Sen. Obama’s original birth certificate on record in accordance with state policies and procedures," Fukino said.

 

[unimaginative2]

That's comically ridiculous, since John McCain is indisputably born outside the United States.

 

[Prometheus The Supremo]

live births? do they make certificates for non-live births?

BTW, who the hell names their kid alan keyes? his parents must have had a great sense of humor. it's probably what fucked him up.

 

[kEiThZ]

Read the documents that have been filed. Hawaii offers 2 types of certificates. Apparently the one posted by the Obama campaign can be issued by the state upto a year after the birth and to an individual born anywhere as long as the parents can claim residency in Hawaii.

According to the writ, Obama has never actually produced a copy of his original hospital issue birth certificate. Complicating the matter, his grandmother claims he was born in Kenya and she witnessed the birth, while apparently Obama's wikipedia bio and his sister claim he was born in two different hospitals in Hawaii. So there is some confusion on the matter. Also, interesting is that the writ claims there are 17 other lawsuits in play as well on the same issue in various jurisdictions throughout the US. So it's just a matter of showing the docs and moving on....