[malcolm]

And now for the final word (maybe) on the subject:

Rex Murphy: Somehow, we survived prorogationPosted: February 27, 2010, 10:00 AM by NP Editor Canadian politcs, Rex Murphyhttp://www.nationalpost.com/_assets/blog_heads/rexmurphy.jpg

February in Canada has only one mercy: it is short. And this February was far crueller than most, because of the machinations of that artfullest of dodgers, our Beatle-playing Machiavelli, Stephen Harper, who shut the doors on the House of Commons, and confronted the nation with the great shock and deprivation of — prorogation. February, and no Question Period — how did the nation survive? Will we be able to pick up the threads of our tattered democracy after this callous hiatus? Will there be threads left to gather?

Somehow we seem to have staggered through. We owe a lot of thanks to Vancouver that we did. Were it not for that splendid city's hosting of the Olympic games, and some of the supernally beautiful images that have come out of them, it would have been a hard slog. I know, for example, that the men's hockey team's trouncing of Russia on Wednesday, and the women's romping to gold on Thursday, didn't really fill the void in the Canadian soul left by the absence of Question Period. Nor did they completely stifle the deep yearning every Canadian harbours for daily Ministerial Statements. But for the moment, these small sporting triumphs papered over our common need.

Let's face it. We all miss, more profoundly that it is perhaps polite to specify, Bob Rae and John Baird and that other McGuinty fellow. We all miss the hive-like clusters of the parliamentary scrums, the flashes of razor wit and elegant wisdom that brocade every minute of our parliamentary life. So it was pure serendipity that the Olympics were on to divert us from the absence of these treats in the short, chill, gloomy days of a Canadian February. Prorogation was a massive burden on the Canadian spirit and taxed our very will just to continue. Were it not for our female athletes doing a bankers' run on the medals, and the splendour of so many other Olympic moments, I somehow doubt the Confederation would have survived.

Hansard, as all acknowledge, is the very book of Canadian life. When it is closed, as now, its pages dead to new entries, why then, so is Canada. Which Canadian, in his or her hour of spiritual crisis, has not turned to the great Book of our national life and seen there, some inspirational passage — something like "Some Honorable Members: [inaudible]" or "One moment please. There is a problem with the interpretation. Is it working now?" — and not risen from the encounter a larger, better person?

During Parliament's hiatus I have not infrequently gone online myself to revisit "the sweet sessions of (not so) silent thought" recorded so dutifully by the wonderful Hansard staff, and have invariably been improved and edified by the riches to be found. If you will allow, here is but a single nugget from an overloaded mine — I foreshorten some of the exchange, but its beauty shines through nonetheless:

Mr. Michel Guimond: While my colleague from Joliette was asking his question, members on this side clearly heard the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence say the word "bullshit."

Mr. Laurie Hawn: Mr. Speaker, the words were not spoken. The words were mouthed. I applaud the leader of the Bloc's ability to lip-read in English. That is very commendable. I do apologize for mouthing inappropriate comments. The next time I will mouth something more appropriate, like "bovine scatology."

The spirits of Disraeli and Churchill and Burke live on. How did we, in February, get by without it? Canada is a stronger nation than we give her credit for.

The good news, of course, is that February is almost past, and next week the dark, grey veil of prorogation is lifted. Our Senators and Members, the Ministers and their flocks of flacks, are back. And, a real plus this, we have a double feature: a Throne Speech and the Budget, one after the other. After Lent, there is Easter, and after prorogation two of the biggest parliamentary days in a row.

It's better than the Olympic hockey series. The parties are virtually tied in the polls. Mr. Harper will be slagged for his devious shutdown of the Commons. Mr. Ignatieff will, once again, introduce himself to the Canadian public. Question Period will be ripe with plastic indignation and pious inquisition. The detainee issue looms. For the Commons-starved epicures of this country, it will be a full banquet.

I expect, at the very least, dancing in the streets.

National Post

Rex Murphy offers commentary weekly on CBC TV's The National, and is host of CBC Radio's Cross Country Checkup.



Read more: http://network.natio...x#ixzz0gkv2gL8C

[CD]

Yup, the political cartoonists will soon have some new material to work with... :cool:

http://www.cagle.com/working/100201/nease.jpg
http://www.cagle.com/working/100218/nease.jpg
http://www.cagle.com/working/100225/nease.jpg

[malcolm]

http://www.mapleleafweb.com/files/cartoon/2010-02-03.jpg?1265303809And the latest polls and public opinion say that there will be new cartoons out soon but not about PM Harper.

OTTAWA -- Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservatives would coast to an easy victory -- but not necessarily a majority -- if a federal election were held today, according to a new poll done exclusively for Canwest News Service and Global National.

The Conservatives enjoyed the support of 37% of voters across the country, followed by the Liberals with 29% and the NDP with 16%. In Quebec, 39% of voters would cast their vote for the Bloc Quebecois, pollster Ipsos Reid says. The Liberals were second in Quebec, with 25% support, following by the Conservatives at 17% and the NDP at 11%.

The long political break imposed by Mr. Harper when he prorogued Parliament in December appears not to have harmed his party's standing as MPs return to Ottawa for the beginning of a new session Wednesday. With 37% support, the Tories are up three percentage points compared to a month ago.

"I think what's happened is that with the coverage of the Olympics, instead of the steady diet of coverage of the prorogation, people have kind of let it slip into the past," said Darrell Bricker, Ipsos Reid's chief executive. "It really is tough for the opposition to sustain that [prorogation criticism] but again, this wasn't really about the opposition, this was really people's reaction to the actions of the government. The opposition really hasn't had much impact on this at all."

The Liberals are down two points over the month and the NDP has lost a percentage point. In Quebec, the BQ is up two points in a month.

Mr. Harper's personal numbers, though, have suffered over the last three months. When survey respondents were asked if their impression of the prime minister had improved over the last three months, about one in 10 (12%) said it had but four in 10 (38%) said their impression of Mr. Harper had worsened.

"This is fairly typical for Harper," Mr. Bricker said. "Very rarely has he ever had a time of public positive momentum. He's a controversial leader and even though people respect him, they don't personally warm to him."

Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff, too, has had a rough few months, with about one in 10 (12%) saying they had a better impression of the Liberal leader but about three in 10 (29%) saying their impression had worsened.

NDP Leader Jack Layton, though, is viewed more favourably at the end of the prorogation period, with just one in 10 (12%) feeling worse about him but two in 10 (18%) feeling better about him.

Ipsos surveyed 1,000 Canadians by telephone Feb. 18-22. It says the national results of its poll are accurate to within 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. The regional results have a wider margin of error.

But despite the fact that the prorogation period caused many Canadians to change their view of Mr. Harper for the worse, nearly half of voters -- 46% -- still say he's the right man for the job he has.

Mr. Layton was the second most popular answer when survey respondents were asked to name the leader they thought would be the best PM. He scored 33% support on that question, an improvement of 10 percentage points since Ipsos asked the same question a year ago.

Mr. Layton has now overtaken Mr. Ignatieff in every category of leadership attributes that Ipsos polls on.

Mr. Ignatieff is seen as the best man to be PM by just 21% of voters. A year ago, 33% of respondents thought he would be the best man to lead a government.

"The problem Jack Layton has is he leads an unpopular party," Mr. Bricker said. "The problem the Liberals have is they have an unpopular leader."

Some other findings in the latest Ipsos poll:

• In Ontario, a province where either the Conservatives or Liberals must do well to win majority governments, there is a statistical tie between the two major parties. The Liberals have the support of 40% and the Conservatives have 37%.

• Female voters are split between Conservatives (32%) and Liberals (31%).

• Male voters prefer the Conservatives (41%) by a wide margin to the Liberals (27%)

• Support for the Tories is highest in Saskatchewan (59%) and weakest in Quebec (17%). The Tories are the preferred party in B.C., Alberta and Atlantic Canada.

• Support for the Liberals is highest in Ontario (40%) and weakest in B.C. and Alberta (18% each).



Fact box:

Here are the results of the latest poll from Ipsos Reid, provided exclusively to Canwest News Service and Global National:

Party / Now* / Last General Election

Conservative / 37% / 38%

Liberal / 29 / 26

NDP / 16 / 18

BQ / 9 / 10

Greens / 7 / 7

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Read more: http://www.nationalp...8#ixzz0gy6sI98V

http://www.mapleleafweb.com/files/cartoon/jan910.jpg?1263836238

[CD]

Ok, so they're not quite done with the proroguing cartoons yet...

http://www.cagle.com/working/100224/rice.jpg

For the daycare issue, I prefer these:

http://www.cagle.com/working/100202/nease.jpg
http://www.cagle.com/working/100115/nease.jpg

[malcolm]

http://beta.images.theglobeandmail.com/archive/00524/Jenkins_Ignatief_524661artw.jpg
Globe & Mail Article that goes with the cartoon